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THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY FRATTA curated by Fabio Mariotti THE CASTLE OF FRATTA The castle within the walls was divided into three areas: the Terziere Inferiore , the Terziere di Mezzo , the Terziere Superiore which included the northern part of the castle (Rocca, north-west bulwark and was also called Terziere della Campana). The Terziere di Mezzo included the part towards the Tiber, the houses in front of the church of San Giovanni, the central square (square of the Marquis of Sorbello), the northern part of the Vicolo delle Petresche with the hospice of the Capuchin Fathers of Montone behind it, the part north of the middle road near the central square. It was also known as Terziere della Greppa. The lower Terziere (or Terziere della porta di sotto, also known as the door of the slaughterhouse) included the area around the southwestern bulwark, the southern part of the via delle Petresche (via Spunta current), the via regale (or straight, via Cibo), of the middle road and the San Giovanni road that led to the church of the same name. The castle walls In 1736 the Tiber, with its floods, ruined the central part of the west curtain and destroyed four houses built on that point of the walls. The budget of the defenders of Fratta amounted to 1,032 scudi. Wanting to hasten the reconstruction, they asked Clement XII for a subsidy and the pope replied that he would give five hundred scudi, however, when Fratta proved that he had found the rest. The defenders were able in a short time to find their part but, seeing that that promise from the pope did not arrive, they began to buy the timber for the armor, the bricks and the lime and entrusted the work to the master builder Bartolomeo Ferranti of Rome. They took action on September 15, 1739, but the pope had not yet paid the promised subsidy at the end of the year. The defenders gave the task to a Mariotti, a Frattegiano resident in Rome, and he replied that Clement XII was very ill and that the defenders of Fratta had to work hard to get the five hundred scudi. He adds that if the pope had died, it would have been much more difficult to obtain them. It is not known when the work was finished, but it was certainly done very quickly as winter approached. A plaque was affixed to the wall with the inscription "Clem XII Pont Max MDCCXXIYIX.", Which can still be seen about fifty meters before the bridge. The Tiber It had a different trend from the current one and was dangerous for two reasons: - the current was perpendicular to the road that led to the Niccone valley and to Città di Castello, even then of great communication, so it could have been cut. By 1758 he had come fifteen meters from the road and was threatening to cut it off. - if this had happened, the bridge would have remained dry, with evident damage to the town and with serious compromise of activities such as military defense, weir, mills, gardens, public wash house, sewage disposal. Work was done, using many large poles. In 1726 the bridge of the Reggia was consolidated, over which all the traffic, even heavy traffic, passed from Santa Maria to the church of the Madonna della Reggia and to San Francesco and Montone. The bridge was made of wood, except for the two brick ends and in 1770 the judiciary of Fratta decided to enlarge it. In 1787 the municipality incurred an expense to cover the top of the Rocca. The roof of the tower is rebuilt. The villages adjacent to the Castle The Borgo Superiore It is located north of the castle within the walls and includes the Castel Nuovo (formed by the two streets of the Boccaiolo and the one that leads from the Piaggiola to the market gate), the "Mercatale di Sant'Erasmo" (today's Piazza Marconi), the area of furnaces and the church of Santa Maria della Pietà. Palazzo Ranieri Owned by Count Curtio Ranieri, son of Costantino, it was in the Piaggiola road. In 1756 the count enlarged it. In front there was a public well (the widening that forms between the end of the Piaggiola and the Boccaiolo road) called the well of Sant'Agostino, near the church of the same name. Mill of the Fathers of San Bernardo (Castel Nuovo) It is located along the small road (now called del Molinaccio) which leads from the end of the Piaggiola to the Tiber. It was close to the castle walls and belonged to the Fathers of San Bernardo or Barnabiti. These had two small convents, one in Fratta and one in Migianella. In the Borgo Superiore there are still two tower-houses, one in the Mercatale area and another at the Porta del Boccaiolo. They consist of a bottom below and a room above. They were built for peasant use. The Lower Village It is also called "le Fabbrecce" because there are blacksmith shops and in the mill outside the Borgo, the scythes were rounded (as in the fourteenth century! Nothing had changed). It included the area of the street that led from the bridge of the Reggia to Piazza San Francesco, the Via di Santa Croce (now Via Soli) and the area outside the Borgo gate. At the beginning of the century, the road that began outside the San Francesco gate and led towards the Madonna del Moro was called the Caminella road; then strada del Piano (during the French occupation at the end of the century, strada Consolare del Piano); at the beginning of the twentieth century via Secoli. Along Santa Croce there was the Osteria della Corona, owned by Count Ranieri. The square was already called Piazza San Francesco. It changed its name later to go back to that name. Roads In 1790 work was carried out on the road to Montone, in the section under the convent of the Observant Friars of Santa Maria. The width is eight feet, like all the other roads leading to Fratta, the bracing of which is redone every year. The doors In 1788 an arm wrestling was put on the Porta della Saracina (there was still this mighty tower at the beginning of the bridge). Other works were done on the door of the market and that of the nuns. In 1790 the door of the Saracina is set up. In 1792 it was the turn of the bridge and work was done to lower the door to the market. Sources: - Renato Codovini - “History of Umbertide - Volume VI - 18th century” - Unpublished typescript. - Calendar of Umbertide 2001 - Ed. Municipality of Umbertide - 2001 (Texts by Adriano Bottaccioli - Walter Rondoni - Amedeo Massetti - Fabio Mariotti). South-west bulwark of defense The plaque on the walls dedicated to Pope Clement XII The ancient houses on the Tiber. In the red circle the headstone - On the left, cadastral map of Fratta from the mid-1700s - Above, map of the medieval Fratta with the castle doors The cover of the 2001 Umbertide Calendar The historian Renato Codovini Il Castello di Fratta Il modo di vivere, di morire, la solidarietà e gli svaghi La chiesa di Sant'Andrea di Castelvecchio Il Castello di Fratta Le chiese minori di Fratta e i proietti L'Amministrazione e la Pubblica Sicurezza Gli appalti e le proprietà pubbliche Agricoltura, Commercio, Mestieri e Istruzione Il Tevere, i ponti, le mura del Castello Il sistema elettorale comunale L'Amministrazione e la Pubblica Sicurezza ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC SECURITY The municipal administration In the eighteenth century the public administration of Fratta has two different offices. From 1700 to 1787 the building located in today's Piazza Fortebracci, formerly the seat of the convent of Santa Maria di Castelvecchio (current seat of the Riuniti theater). From 1787 to 1799 in the palace of Castel Nuovo, formerly the seat of the convent of Santa Maria Nuova, suppressed in 1787. There are three administrative bodies: the judiciary, the council of twelve and the general council (or 42). The judiciary is made up of the four defenders, also called "priors" or simply "the magistrates". Once elected, they met and nominated the "chief magistrate" or "first prior". Person of great importance in social life, he came from the "first class". The election of the council was made between only two classes, the primary people of the place, civilians and landowners and the artists (craftsmen). The former are destined to obtain the rank of head of magistrate, the office of public chamberlain and the harangue of the council. The second the other three parts of the judiciary: the second, third and fourth prior who are distributed by seniority. The council of twelve met for decisions of greater importance, when they wanted to be sure that there would be no opposition to what was to be established. It was made up of the four defenders, the four counselors of the defenders, the three health conservatives and the chamberlain. He could not impose new taxes, vary the prices of abundance, discuss quarrels between citizens and the public administration, make decisions about wars, invasions, earthquakes, plagues. He was summoned by ringing the big bell with twelve taps. The council of 42 was the general council, that is the council of the twelve, increased by the representatives of the classes that had the right to be part of it and by the exponents of the major villas (hamlets). Organs: - Councilors (municipal). People who made up the two municipal councils (12 and 42). They were partially renewable, one third at a time, always removing the oldest ones. They belonged to the first and second classes. In 1798, following the French occupation, women were appointed municipal councilors for the first time. Three in Fratta and one in Preggio. - Defenders. There were four of them and they remained in office for four months. They were elected by means of a "bussolo" vote, but they did not receive any salary since theirs were an honorary office. Only at the end of the mandate were they compensated with a small sum as a gift, not exceeding one and a half shields. - Counsel for the defenders . There were four of them and each "on the sidelines" of a defender (or prior), to whom he gave advice. almost like today's personal secretary. They were chosen from among those who had been defender in the previous quarter, assuming that he had acquired some experience in the affairs of comitative government. - Gonfaloniere. First prior and head of the judiciary, he was called so only at the beginning of the restoration, after the end of the Roman republic. in August 1799. - Consular prefect of Fratta. Office of the French administration, reporting directly to the prefect of the canton of Fratta. He was the head of the commune of Fratta and also "president of the commune". - Prefect of the canton. Figure established in the last decade of the century, when there was the French invasion. The prefect was responsible for everything that took place in our canton, including the municipality of Preggio and Poggio Manente (San Paterniano) as well as Fratta. Employees and officials: - Archivist. Usually a notary. He drew up acts for the municipality but also for the citizens. - Balio. He was in charge of liaising between the judiciary and other community bodies and private citizens. He took four scudi a four-month period. - Camerlengo. Collection and payment clerk. He did not take any premium on the collection as he received a normal salary. - Chancellor. He had more or less the functions of today's municipal secretary. His office was called "chancellery" or "priority secretariat". - Commissioner and judge. Public official appointed by Perugia. His main task was to enforce the law and punish the guilty, but in the most difficult, delicate and controversial cases he had the order to send the guilty to Perugia subjecting them to the examination of the higher court. - Conservatives of health. Three people who remained in office for two years and had to belong to the first sphere, that is, to the first class. They spoke to the city council when called and their job was to give an opinion on what was being discussed in the meeting. - Donzello. Clerk to all minor duties, he had the lowest salary paid by the administration to an employee. - School teacher. His salary was paid partly by the municipal administration, partly by the parents of the children and another by the brotherhood of Santa Croce. - Doctor led. He was also paid by the municipality. - Moderator of the public watch . Supervisor, maintenance, loading and various checks of the public clock. - Portinari. Surveillance of the gates of the town who opened every morning and closed in the evening at about "two hours at night". - Preacher. Ecclesiastical, priest or friar, about three times a year he preached in the churches of the town. He stayed in Fratta for a few days, staying in a convent. - Praetor. Charge born at the time of the French invasion. - Commissioner. Charge that arose at the time of the French invasion. He kept the books of the canton's administration. - Scribe. Person in charge of copying documents, letters, reports of board meetings, etc. - Sindicators. We find this use in the first half of the century. The mayors controlled the community accounts and remained in office for one year. - Letter dealer. He was the postmaster, also hired by the municipality. - Public appraisers. We find them in the first half of the century. They were people responsible for estimating properties or various activities both for the interest of the municipality and for private citizens. They remained in office for a year. - Community representatives in Perugia and Rome. People involved in unraveling community affairs in these cities. Being well established in state offices, they had practice in public administration and were known by various employees. Management of the Municipality Revenue for taxes There were the chamber tax, the municipal tax, the privileged and fair tax, the allotment of the ground coffee. The community of Fratta imposed them on the population and then calculated its percentage on the sum; the remainder was sent to Perugia. The chamber tax was requested by the reverend Apostolic Chamber of Perugia, which kept a small sum and sent the rest to the central government of Rome. The privileged and fair tax related to the various privileges that the city of Perugia granted to its dependent communities. The ground tax concerned everything that was brought to the mill and was the most detested by the peasants. Then there was the focatico tax. It hit all the "fires", that is, the hearths, the families. It remained until the 1960s under the name of "family tax". In 1706 only eleven families paid for it; in 1728, fifty-seven. The "property tax" hit the owners of houses and land. In addition, there was the "undressing and jail tax". By "bare" was meant unnecessary clothing and by "galleys" a tax intended to strengthen the state's navy. Finally, there were other occasional taxes, such as the "tax on the million", introduced in 1713 by the papal government which needed as many scudi. Revenue for procurement They were preferred by the municipalities as they were easy to manage and made it possible to collect the maximum on set dates. The contracts were made known by posting a notice outside the door of the town hall: on the appointed day, the "piper" would station himself in certain points of the town, sound the trumpet and let people know the time and place of the competition. Which took place with the "virgin candle" method every three years. Procurement of the oven. Granted in 1710 to Ercolano Fanfani. It ensured the production of bread for the whole country. Wage contract. The prerogative of distributing the salt belonged to Perugia, which gave it out to the various communities. Fratta, in order to get the necessary, had to go and pick it up in Perugia or, when there was none in the warehouse, in some town on the sea road: Fossombrone, Fabriano, Jesi, Ancona. Contract of the oil shop and grocery store. It consisted in granting a contractor the service of selling edible oil and kinds of delicatessens in the municipal shop, at the prices established by the municipality and written prominently on a sign. Procurement of the land stamp. Those who wanted to occupy a part of the public land (for example street vendors) had to pay a certain fee. Procurement of the meat stamp. The "butchers" of Fratta had to "skin" the animals in the public slaughterhouse. After removing the skin (which was used for the sole of the shoes) they cut the animal and the pieces were stamped by the "meat boiler". The operation served to make it clear to those who bought which was ox and cow, calf, sheep or mutton. The "bollatore delle carne" made the butchers pay the stamp, then paid the municipality, in two or three installments, as established. Public procurement slaughterhouse. Whoever won the tender sold the meat in this shop for two or three years by paying the agreed sum, in half-yearly installments, to the municipality which had the purpose of keeping prices calm to favor the poorest population. Contract for damage given and deposit of pledges. The depositary of the "damage given" was assigned to the surveillance of public goods, movable or immovable, he noted, in his interest, the damage caused by citizens to public goods, brought these facts before the judge and commissioner. This was also joined by the contract for the "depository of the pawns" , that is the office that advanced money to whoever deposited a pledge. Procurement of measures. The possibility of having large quantities of goods weighed was the prerogative of the Noble College of Exchange of Perugia. The operation took place with a large scale, publicly owned, called "the big steelyard". Procurement of firewood. Those who intended to bring firewood into the village had to pay a right in money to the municipality. Who contracted the collection to a private citizen. Procurement of the foietta. The right to tax the sale of wine "al menuto", ie sold by glasses or foiette, was also contracted out by the municipality to third parties. Procurement of the cenciarìa. He charged the collection of rags. The contractor collected a fee from those who collected the rags and was also a collector. Contract for the pen . Collection of the excrements of the animals that passed through the country, assigned by means of a contract to the one who offered the highest price. Tiber wood tender. It used trunks and branches that were deposited under the bridge after the floods. Tiber fishing contract . It struck those who wanted to fish in the stretch of river under the jurisdiction of the municipality, that is, upstream of the bridge. Expenses The municipal administration of Fratta divided the expenses into "recurring expenses", "Occasional outgoings and expenses", "various gratifications". The "recurring outings" yes they distinguished in outputs for the achievement of the purposes of the institution and for alms. Among the former, the main item is the payment of employees and employees of each degree. A recurring exit was the seasonal arrangement of the roads which, both in the country and outside, they had to be bridged every November. Another expense was the annual cleaning of sewers, wells and fountains. It does not seem strange to consider among the recurring expenses also those "for alms", because at the time the municipality used to give money to some brotherhoods for the patronal feasts of Sant'Erasmo, San Bernardino and SSma Annunziata. He also bought wax (candles), "powder" (for the barrels), oil for lighting and other useful things in the processions. At Christmas and Easter the municipality also used to give gifts: to the representatives of the community in Rome gave two capons; to the four defenders, at the end of the mandate quarterly, two scudi. The "occasional expenses" were used, for example, to repair municipal-owned houses and farms, roads, bridges, town gates, to pay interest liabilities on debts, cops' living expenses. All those rewards, finally, that the It was common to give the refreshments offered in the form of gifts and tips to distinguished visitors to guests (for example for the arrival of the bishop), gifts to the commanders of the foreign troops of passage so that they did not do too much damage, donations to the convents. Public safety While the public administration was delegated, in Fratta, to the judiciary and to the municipal councils, in the eighteenth century public security was strictly the responsibility of the commissioner, who was appointed decenviral (that is, of the Perugian judiciary). The commissioner and ordinary judge, in this double capacity, had in his first role the competence over the public safety of the whole territory and the investigating power given to him by the Perugian executive. On the basis of this power, it resolved all issues relating to public order that arose in a territory of about five or six thousand inhabitants (Fratta and hamlets), up to the arrest of those responsible. For certain crimes he sent the guilty to Perugia, to his superior judicial body or criminal office, as it was then called. In the event of minor disputes (those which today, for example, are the responsibility of the justice of the peace) he invited the parties to go to a notary and in his presence formulate a "peace act" between them. In case of crimes of greater gravity (usually acts of banditry), where the powers and possibilities of the commissioner proved powerless, he asked Perugia to send one or more teams of cops. They, with the force of arms, were able to put an end to those emergency situations and to restore the normality of life, bringing the offenders to Perugia. In the village the behavior of the cops was rather heavy and savage and the population paid the price, but this was well tolerated by the "good government" for which the fear that they knew how to instill in the people was obviously convenient, as it facilitated their way to act. The cops also came in times of epidemic diseases and if there was to fight the bands of brigands. In these cases they also went to guard the border areas and blocked the road with large iron gates to prevent transit in both directions. During their passage they stayed at the Osteria della Corona where they could stay for several days, but they were always frowned upon by the population as they committed abuses of all kinds and even harassed the hosts and their families. The Count of Civitella, who owned it, decided for these reasons to close not only this tavern to the public but also the one located in the San Giovanni street. It is the first case of "lockout" of an exercise. The municipality then bought a house to be used for housing the cops when they came to Fratta. It was bought in 1770, in via di San Giovanni and became the office and residence of the commissioner-judge. In this way it was possible to free the two rooms of the town hall which had already been used for this purpose for several years. Security problems also arose at the time of French domination, due to the harassment carried out by those troops. The commissioner-judge could not move as he wanted in these situations: the military occupation had effectively nullified many of his possibilities. In May 1798, for example, the French soldiers of General La Vallette, coming from Città di Castello, committed various abuses, including the destruction of furniture and books from the convent of San Francesco. It is due to such vandalism that nothing has remained on the life of our convents whose friars had come to Fratta in the last decade of the 13th century. In December 1785 the central government of Rome forbids all games in taverns and taverns. In 1788 soldiers were sent to Fratta to oppose a gang of criminals. In 1791 it was necessary to arm other soldiers, in the face of new raids by brigands who escaped, in July, from the Macerata prison and considered very dangerous by the government which had made prizes available to those who had captured them. A great scourge of time was that of collecting grains, which were then sold outside the kingdom. To put an end to this illicit trade, the municipality issues a notification against the "grabbers of wheat products". On August 13, 1795, a decree tends to limit the underworld of our province by forbidding those who go to the Monteluce fair from carrying weapons. In 1788 an ordinance was issued against "wounders and those who insult in the streets, with or without weapons". On 26 March 1797 two companies of the Colonna regiment pass through Fratta, the Vespiccini company and the Colonnello company. On June 26, Corsican soldiers "fled from Faenza due to the French invasion, commending themselves to the mercy of this public". He is fed. On February 2, 1798, carriages from Cisalpini pass. Sources: - Renato Codovini - “History of Umbertide - Volume VI - 18th century” - Unpublished typescript. - Calendar of Umbertide 2001 - Ed. Municipality of Umbertide - 2001 (Texts by Adriano Bottaccioli - Walter Rondoni - Amedeo Massetti - Fabio Mariotti). Today Teatro dei Riuniti, from 1700 to 1787 seat of the Municipality of Umbertide The town hall in the early 1900s Old photo of the church of S. Bernardino Ancient image of the Castle of Civitella di Civitella Ranieri THE WAY OF LIVING, OF DYING, SOLIDARITY AND LEISURE The way of life At the beginning of the eighteenth century most of the people of Fratta struggled in misery. The few owners (and this throughout the Papal State) had a good game to keep wages low, given the large supply of labor, fed by many poor people looking for work. There were other elements to burden this picture: the frequent famines, the extraordinary taxes to compensate for the various flaws in the central administration, the devaluations of the currency to fill the sudden cash gaps. The people were totally subject to higher taxes. He didn't feel the need to rebel, but he certainly felt the weight of it. The entertainment The Frattegiani's opportunities for recreation and distractions were not many and all more or less orchestrated from above. The theater, as the local academics society had a certain activity; patronal and religious festivals in general; the public joy in the cases of the most sumptuous marriages and in the passage through Fratta of the cardinal protector; the festivities in the immediate surroundings of the town. They could lock themselves up to play in the Osteria della Corona or in that of the Staffa but, above all, they had the greatest set of distractions and entertainment during the carnival period. It began on the day of Saint Anthony and ended on the "fat Saturday" with the midnight dinner, called "la sabatina", made up of fatty foods. Weddings They were characterized by three moments: the private policy, the notarial deed, the ceremony in the church. With the private policy, the families established the economic conditions under which they would allow the marriage of their children. The parties then went to the "notary", together with the witnesses, to ratify the agreement. Finally, the ceremony followed, celebrated "according to the rite of the Holy Roman Church", preceded by a public "denunciation". The marriage was registered by the priest in the special book which, in 1741, had the five baiocchi stamp of the reverend Apostolic Chamber. The processions They all had a religious character and there were no civil processions or parades. Their development was linked to the many festivals of the time; then there were others that originated from contingent events (rain, earthquake, disease, etc.). In the seventeenth century they were still called with the old medieval name of "lumi", for which going in procession was said to "go to the light" (taking place almost always in the evening, there was a great display of lights, with candles, "fàcole" of pitch , oil lights). They were planned a few days earlier by a certain fraternity which appointed a group of five or six brothers who were entitled to the honor of the organization. These were called "above" and had the task of looking for the necessary money in the "begging" done in the countryside or in the streets and squares of the town, especially on market or fair days. Elements common to all the processions were the presence of (lay) companies and (religious) congregations with their brothers, closed in their cloaks of different colors and shapes. The representatives of the community for the occasion wore the ceremonial dress (the purple rubbone), while the soldiers, often Corsican mercenaries, came specially from Perugia. Another element was the "machine", that is the large wooden scaffolding equipped with two large and long poles which served to support the statue of the saint for whom the procession was made and which was carried on the shoulder. Finally, the banners of religious and secular associations among which wooden sticks with cloth and fringes sprouted, carried by the sacristans of the churches, in the midst of a cloud of smoke, smells and sizzles of burning pitch released from the many "fàcole", candles, lights and a burst of barrels that framed that whole. In the end, those who had intervened wearing the "hood" were given food consisting of bread, cakes, torcoli, wine, the distribution of which often gave rise to "abuses and dishonesty" and several times the bishops of Gubbio suspended "the brothers' tycoon that go in procession ", and replaced it with distribution of candles. But given a certain rarefaction of the people in tow, everything returned as before. Parties and sweets In the eighteenth century there were about twenty feasts a year and they all had the common and main component of religiosity. The banners of the art corporations, religious fraternities (or companies), congregations (only priests) intervened together with that of the community of Fratta. These associations, together with the municipality, thought of the decorations, both of the town and of the churches. They were made with great pomp, of the drapery type (the "drapoloni"), of silk or damask, as well as they could consist of light weaves (structures) of wood or light metal, of various designs, covered with fabrics or flowers ( even fake), ribbons and lace at will. It was possible then, but only on major occasions, to the construction of real triumphal arches for the streets and gates of the town. Among the characteristic festivals there was the "flower festival of May", promoted by the company of Sant'Antonio. On such occasions, in the organizing church, there was always a "choir of musicians" and singers. On 8 September 1795, for the feast, the famous Frattegiano singer Domenico Bruni arrived in the church of San Francesco, passing through one of his numerous artistic tours that he sang among the amateurs of the town, without any compensation. In the evening, the houses were lit with candles in the windows and everyone waited for the climax of the "barrels and rays". The costume In the eighteenth century the "sumptuary laws" of the seventeenth century on the way of dressing were in force in the Roman ecclesiastical kingdom, which forbade citizens (not the rich) certain luxurious ways, discriminating and further distancing the various social classes. In 1703 Pope Clement XI issued an edict in which he ordered low-status women to renounce any adornment, imposing the use of ordinary fabrics and non-violent colors. It was then forbidden to those of the people and petty bourgeois (edict of Clement XII in 1730) to put gold and silver trimmings on headdresses, fabrics and ornaments. The way to die In the parish books we find various "systems" to pass on to a better life. In 1715, with a touch of romanticism, - "... died at 10 pm on the moon ...". There are also descriptions of violent deaths, such as "... assaulted by two brothers, one of whom took his gun and shot him in the chest and so wounded he fled the Tiber on the boat of Ascagnano". In 1740, for a woman who throws herself into the Tiber "... At other times she had done other wisdom". A woman dies "from a serious fall made on the precipitous stairs of her house". Another, certain "Francesca di Brizio found in the house all burned with the exception of the head". Then there are death records and testamentary dispositions which show the religious sentiment of the people. Sant'Antonio da Padova enjoyed a certain cult in our country, so much so that he had his own altar in the church of the Compagnia del Soccorso, in the monastery of Santa Maria Nuova. In 1722 a Frattegiana told the notary "I want to be buried at the altar of St. Anthony of Padua, my lawyer and protector dressed in the habit of St. Anthony ...". In another testament of 1794 we find instead the extreme will of a sinner (or presumed such). He explains how his funeral must take place: "... from the house where I live my body is to be taken directly to the church without any turn of the streets and this in order not to remind the public of the scandals given in my life. When it reaches the church it is immediately buried without to expose the corpse of such a great sinner to the public's view, without wax, or music, or other similar things that vanity has been able to invent ". Funerals and burials The dead person, after having received, sooner or later, the visit of his parish priest for the absolution and registration of the death in the parish books, remains entrusted to the relatives and is stripped, washed, then wrapped in a sheet, ready for the funeral (or fùnere, as it was said then). That was the responsibility of the parish priest of the parish to which the dead man belonged and, if he was in a company or in a congregation, the association sent its own representation of brothers dressed in "hoods". The dead man was placed on top of the bier, with the top layer covering him, then carried on the shoulder to the church. Often the testator, among other things, indicated the place of burial. In fact, the dead were buried in the rear part (cemetery) of the church, but some were placed in existing mounds under the floor. There was therefore a distinction between outside, where the poorest were buried, and inside, where the brothers of the lay companies and the wealthy were placed (noble sepulchres), while the truly rich had their chapel. The noble tombs, for the rich, were obtained in front of the altars (even the main one) or on the sides of the same. In the entombment, the simple burial of the corpse wrapped in a sheet was carried out. The box was used only exceptionally, when it was a person who had acquired a great human value in life, or for the rich or for those who died outside the country and whose body had to be brought back to Fratta, transported on the wagon to horses. The burial in consecrated land was conditional on the fact that the dying person had first confessed and communicated, with the exception of those who had died suddenly. In the latter case it was the priest who ascertained whether the deceased had confessed some time before and, in any case, had always lived as a good Christian. The unconsecrated land was near the church cemeteries. Solidarity Wheat mountain It was commissioned by Don Giuliano Bovicelli di Fratta, a priest in Rome where he held the office of secretary to Cardinal Sacripante. Bovicelli, in the year 1715, donated the sum of one hundred scudi to the brotherhood of San Bernardino, of which he was a brother, with whom "... he wanted and longed for a mountain of wheat to be created in order to buy grain for the poorest population ". The brotherhood immediately bought two hundred wheat "stands" and started this institution. The wheat mountain stored grain for harvest and then gave it free to the poorest during the winter and spring, when it was difficult to find it. After the legal institution of 17191a confraternity began looking for a suitable seat where to arrange both the grain and the administrative office of the mountain. He succeeded only many years later, in 1764, when he bought a small house owned by the company of the Most Holy Sacrament in the central square, called "del Marchese" (Piazza Matteotti). The pawnshop Poor people who needed small loans of money turned to it and brought their little things as collateral, that is, movable goods of all kinds. For this service the municipality requested a sum to be calculated as a percentage. This was truly negligible, that is, much less than what would have been paid by resorting to the loan of the Jews, then present in Fratta, whose interest rates were much higher. The community of Fratta was authorized to manage this institution by the municipality of Perugia, from which it had contracted it out and to which it had to pay a sum. annual. The municipality could therefore manage it on its own but could also subcontract it, as it did in the year 1748 when the Monte was sold under contract to Ubaldo Moretti di Fratta. Free study The community of Fratta could send "two young people to the Episcopal Seminary of Gubbio every year, to remain free there, as long as they have the necessary requisites and are suitable to set out on the Ecclesiastical Way". Assistance to the "exposed" The "exposed" were newborns abandoned at the door of churches or hospitals, sent by the community to the hospital of Santa Maria della Misericordia in Perugia. Here many foundlings die because the nannies cannot be paid. Those who take babies to breastfeed them "... Also have five or six in the chest", so nourishment is scarce and deaths are many. Before 1739 the external nurses received a "dirty" grain mine a year, too little for Cardinal Martino Enrico Caracciolo, apostolic visitor in that year to Perugia, who assigns each six paoli a month, plus a shield, a tantum, after the eighteenth month. These children went around with a tag attached to their neck to indicate the date of baptism and the name. Gifts for spinsters In the eighteenth century some local brotherhoods, including that of Santa Croce which was the richest, bestowed a dowry on a spinster. In this way, girls who had to marry but who could not afford the necessary expenses were helped in this way since 1612. The dowry, one a year, was granted upon written request to spinsters born in the village (such as their parents), attaching a certificate from the parish priest who attested to both the birth, the age and the patronage of these girls. The brotherhood then chose a certain and limited number of girls and subjected them to an examination. The vinciti-ice could have the dowry only if and when he got married. There was also a deadline, which was 35 years; if the girl did not marry by this age, the brotherhood would take back the dowry. Another reason why the dowry was denied was that the girl, before marrying, did not live honestly. The entertainment Theater Already in the seventeenth century an association of theatrical art lovers was operating in Fratta called "Accademia degli Inestabili". In 1746 it had to proceed with its reorganization, which suggests that it was in a strongly negative phase. On the other hand, public and private music teaching was very active. In particular in the oratories, where the youth met for religious representations, with singing and instrumental schools linked to the various religious functions of the feast days. The Fratta theater was located since 1746 in the town hall, in today's Piazza Fortebracci. On the first floor there were some offices and the council meeting room which was given to the "unstoppable academics" for their performances. It had two "lodges" which probably served for municipal councilors, but were open to the public for the theater. You entered via a stone staircase placed outside. In 1770 it was still in the hall on the first floor of the town hall but this room was by now insufficient for the activity of academics. They therefore decided to expand it and asked for two adjacent rooms that served as the office of the commissioner and judge as well as for the passing cops. In 1746 we know that they wanted to reconstitute a theatrical association on a different basis from the old one: perhaps the "unstable academics" had dissolved, in whole or in part, towards the end of the 17th century. In the mid-eighteenth century the members of the "Accademia degli Inestabili" were eleven, from the main families of the town, such as the Fabbri, the Francesconi, the Burelli, but then the number grew and other illustrious personalities took part, such as Dr. Prospero Mariotti, his son Annibale and doctor Giulio Fracassini. The academy had a coat of arms formed by a noble shield where a hand was drawn. He held three gold cords intertwined together that ended with leads like a small tassel and, all around, the motto "Difficile solvitur" (it will hardly melt). Outside the theatrical season (ie outside the carnival), the amateur dramatists of the country acted instead, who were mostly the academics themselves and the members of their families. The plays were performed to train young people in stage disciplines rather than to give entertainment to the population. In the mid-eighteenth century, dramatic companies of a nomadic nature were a rarity and the first came to play in Fratta in 1748. It was the company of Giovanni Gazzola, a professional "histrionist artist" who, after many difficulties in obtaining authorization, was able to delight the Frattegiani with the affected parts of Pulcinella, Brighella and Doctor Belanza. Our theater closed, like everyone else in the Roman kingdom, from 1791 to 1795 by order of Pope Pius IV, due to the political events of the time, centered on the invasion of Italy by the French army. It was then reopened with the works "The guilty woman" and "The corsair of Marseille", where that "corsair" must have been a clear reference to the work of Napoleon, the most interesting character in the political scene of the time. The theater was granted on request for dance parties, elementary school work, occasions in which the best children were rewarded. Sometimes it was then granted for the game of bingo, introduced in Perugino in 1796. In the first months of 1798 the "Viva Maria" movement arose. In mid-February Fratta was invaded by these rioters who did various damages to municipal and private property, tampered with the theater and dispersed the administration documents. Free time In 1730, the "ox hunt", or "fence game", a sort of bullfight between oxen and dogs in a town square, usually San Francesco. In 1760 we have news that hunting was practiced in the months of September and October, the so-called "birding" (with the net). In 1794 the game of the "ball" or "ball" appears in Piazza San Francesco. Sources: - Renato Codovini - “History of Umbertide - Volume VI - 18th century” - Unpublished typescript. - Calendar of Umbertide 2001 - Ed. Municipality of Umbertide - 2001 (Texts by Adriano Bottaccioli - Walter Rondoni - Amedeo Massetti - Fabio Mariotti). Il modo di vivere, di morire, la solidarietà e gli svaghi Procession of the Madonna - late 1950s. (Corradi photographic archive) The facade of the church of San Francesco The opera singer Domenico Bruni Piazza Umberto I (now Matteotti) in the early 1900s. (Historical photographic archive of the Municipality of Umbertide). In 1700 it was smaller and was called piazza del Marchese. Annibale Mariotti Giuliano Bovicelli AGRICULTURE, TRADE, TRADES AND EDUCATION Agriculture In 1700 the permanent settlement in the countryside was much safer than in previous centuries and the construction of farmhouses was no longer based on the tower-house system, the house with a minimum surface area but developed in height, suitable for housing and also for defense. of the peasant and his household goods. Now the type of house developed on a flat level is adopted, with a greater base, lower height, overall higher airspace. It has a ground floor used for agricultural management and a first floor for the farmer's home. The land could be "arable", "canapinato", "cerquato", "gineprato", "gengato", "working", "olivato", "ortivo", "pergola", "grass", "sodivo", "fucato" "," Vlneat0 "," silvato "," boschivo "(or" buscato "). The "cerquato" land was held in great esteem because the oak was even considered a fruit plant due to the great need for acorns that were used for pigs but, at times, in cases of great famine, they were reduced to flour as an aid to feeding. Human. There was a dominance of the pergola over the vineyard, a fair extension of the olive grove and the presence of the "canapinato" in the places richest in water. The extension of the land was measured in the capacity (rubbia, mina, stara, cup) of seeds necessary to cover the ground. The owners are very few. We find noble families such as Ranieri, Degli Oddi, Bourbon di Sorbello, Florenzi, Antinori, Crescenzi, Zeccadoro who had lands in Fratta but resided elsewhere, for which they did not pay taxes. There were resident families, also very rich: Alberti, Albanesi, Bertanzi, Bruni, Agostini, Burelli, Gnoni, Fracassini, Guardabassi, Magnanini, Paolucci, Petrogalli, Reggiani, Vibi, Cambiotti, Cibo, Mavarelli, Ramaccioni, Montanucci, Falici , Bartoccini. The leases were of two kinds: a temporary type, stipulated for three, six and nine years and the type called "emphyteusis" which usually covered a period of three generations. These were the most used but there were some valid for a single "riculture", that is, for a single crop or a single agricultural year. There are three parties to the dispute, even if only two stipulators, namely the owner of the land and the tenant who makes the peasants work the land, excluded from the negotiation. The owner had to allow the tenant to have the peasant's family members live in the farmhouse; he had to give vines and olive trees to be planted in the year. If he did not provide them, the tenant was released from the "planting" obligation and the owner could not oblige him the following year. The tenant was required to keep the plants found in the delivery inventory, he could send the farmers away at his will and pleasure. It was up to him to pay, in addition to the rent, the duties, the gabelles, the chamber's taxes. He had to leave the sown land as he had found it at his entrance; he had to return the barrels but be careful "that they are of good smell and without any vice, as he receives them". At the end of the rent, the pigs and the large cattle were given back according to the estimate; the sheep and goat cattle were made at the head. The farmer had to sow wheat and fodder with his own seed, prune and undermine young and old trees, plant a certain number of vines and olive trees every year with the system of formoni and that of single holes. Do not cut fruit trees, only lumber that has died from the fire. He had to take part of the land product to the master's house and for this he was paid in kind or in foodstuffs. The must was divided in half. At Easter he had to give a certain quantity of eggs and "pancasciato"; he had to give gifts and obligations in chickens and eggs. In the eighteenth century there was no "colonial pact" specified and imposed by law as will happen later, but only unwritten agreements. Of the products of the fields, half went to the owner (dominical part) and half to the farmer. In the cases of three-way relationships (owner, tenant and farmer) the division took place between tenant and farmer; the master took the rent. The owner was responsible for the costs of pruning and undermining the vines, the formoni and the pits, the fees to the farmer when he was called to give his "assistance" to the harvest work, to sift the wheat and shovel it, to do various jobs of the cellar, when it brought to sell the products to the market, the appraisals and the taming of the cattle, the construction and the accommodation of the rural buildings. They produced cecio, red cecio, hemp, cicerchie, cherries, beans, broad beans, mulberry leaves, opium leaves, figs, cheese, wheat, corn, acorns, lenses, lentils, wool, flax, lupins, honey, hazelnuts, walnuts , barley, olives, panic, pears, peaches, peas, grapes, vetch, vein, wine. The farmer had to pay a tax called "collar" when he used the oxen that belonged to the owner to work the land. The peasant's give and take resulted from the "workers' book". On the hill farms, sheep and goats were kept, but also many pigs. The Commerce The aspect that characterizes the economy is the static nature of values. There is no inflation and the differences in the prices of some commodities are caused by momentary extraordinary factors. Another component is the painfulness of work, of wages stuck on the verge of a tiring survival. The economy is very poor, both at the territorial level (municipality of Fratta) and in the Papal State. Another aspect is the almost total concentration of productive activities such as agriculture, for example, in the hands of a few nobles who also took possession of a certain industrial activity (wool mills). There was also a small artisan industry (iron and figulina [terracotta]), but it was limited by a limited availability of capital, always insufficient as it was available in the family. The large payments were made with "bank coupons", generic receipts issued by banks (the "Monti"). The deeds were stipulated by the notary who certified that the buyer was putting the money on the table. Sellers - Bocci (silkworms): Mavarelli, woman Caterina Igi. - Hemp: Alessio Moriconi. - Calcina: Mariangelo di Paolo, Domenico Stoppa. - Construction material: Giovanni Maria Diamanti, Menco di Natale, Andrea Fanfani, Molinari, Domenico Salvatori, Fortunato Agostini, Ludovico Cristiani. - Fronda dei mori (mulberry trees): Antonio called "il Regnicolo", the "Stinco". - Timber: Andrea Bellagamba, Raffaele Scapicchi, Antonio di Giovan Battista, Paolo di Giorgio, Gio. Tomasso da Monte Castelli, Giuseppe Jotti, - Straw: Girolimo di Rondino. - Hides: Pietro Baldoni is a seller (and collector) of goat skins and "white bassettes". - Stabbio: Donna Carolina Gratini (1712) to the brotherhood of San Bernardino; Costantino di Vincentio, Angelino Mavarelli, Giulio Rovinati. Mattio Massi, Filippo Leonetti, Filippo Carocci. - Wine: they received monetary compensation for each barrel of wine. Santi di Cristoforo (1700), Francesco Franceschini, Federico Palazzari (1701), Pietro Martinelli (1715/1749), Francesco Mercante (1722), Antonio Jotti (1726), Costanza Martinelli (1727/1738), woman Elisabetta Jotti, known as " the Padella "(1733/1735), Bernardino Cantelli (1741), Elisabetta Falcioli (1741/1747), Fabrizio Brugnoli (1749), Donna Francesca d'Andrea (1751), Donna Margherita Massi called" the Margarita "(1756/1759 ), Giovanni del quondam Andrea (1759/1760), woman Virginia Ciangottini (1767), Tommaso and Clemente Ciangottini (1768), Antonio known as "il Regnicolo" (1780), woman Maria Antonia Mercanti (1782/1784). Gambattista Fanfani (1787), Gian Maria Bartolini (1789). Shops and shopkeepers 1702 - Gregorio Molinari: glass. 1706 - Francesco Luminati: wax. 1718 - workshop of "Fabbreccia", in Piazza San Francesco, on the side of the Tiber. 1722/1730 - Sante Mavarelli: bread, lard, lard, wax, fàcole and gunpowder. 1724 - cobbler's shop. There were hammer, pincers, ligiatore, knife, stick. 1732 - Pietro Spaccini: glass, dies for windows (to be placed between the glass). 1732 - Gaspare Martinelli: lead for the dies. 1741/1749 - Domenico Cerbonelli: wax, string, nails, incense. 1745 - Borgo di Sopra, market area, Vasaro Giovan Maria Martinelli. 1745 - Borgo di Sopra, master Antonio Vibi, arquebusier. 1745 - Borgo Inferiore, three blacksmith shops. 1748 - Agostino Bettelli: wax. 1753 - Gaspare Martinelli: lead for glass. 1765 - Ercolano Roni: eggs. 1767 / 1797- Vibi: lace, wax, etc .. 1770 - Silvestro Jlartinelli has a "cossi" shop. 1770/1776 - Domenico Mavarelli: wax, lead for paints, canvas bombage . 1779/1795 - Donino Passalbuoni: shoe shop. 1776 - Burelli: "spetie", wax and shellac. 1781 - Vincenzo Mavarelli: wax. 1788 - Guerrini: wax. 1788 - Ubaldo Perugini: oil. 1791 - Alessio Vioriconi: cloth for sacks. 1792 - Girolamo Ciangottini: wax. 1794 - piazza San Francesco, a potter's shop with an adjoining furnace. 1794 - Piaggiola, shoemaker shop. 1794/1797 - “between the doors”. small square at the south-west bulwark (Tiber), the butchery shop, municipal meat resale. 1795 - 1799 - Vincenzo Mavarelh: balance bills, nails, pins, centaroles, silk buds. Taverns and hotels -Osteria della Corona "with accommodation. It was located in Piazza San Francesco, in front of the church of Santa Croce. It was owned by the Counts of Civitella Ranieri. In 1738, a Perugia cop died there, hit by a harquebus." Osteria della Staffa " , with lodging, in the street of San Giovanni, inside the castle walls.It was probably the property of Count Ranieri.There were also the taverns of Antonia Mercanti, with lodging, of Giuseppe Carocci, of Sebastiano Cesaretti. In 1721 there is "the Osteria di Pier Antonio", managed by a certain Bruscatelli. Next to it stood a "palombaro", the classic peasant house. The villa (hamlet) consisted of only these two or three houses. Nearby was the chapel of the Holy Spirit. "L'osteria della Mita" was owned by the Marquises Florenzi di Reschio, who lived in Perugia. Towards Città di Castello there was "l'osteria di Montalto", on the level of the Tiber, along the consular road from Fratta to Niccone. It belonged to the Counts Degli Oddi of Perugia, also owners of the castle of Montalto. Finally, there was "1'osteria della Nese", on the river of the same name, on the border between Perugia and Fratta. Fairs and markets Fairs were held in the first week of June and took place in the square of the church of Sant'Erasmo, also known as "il Mercatale". Only the cattle for such occasions found place in another location, usually the large municipal lawn located beyond the Tiber bridge. In Civitella Ranieri the fair took place between 20 and 25 July. In Montalto, on May 28th. The post office In the eighteenth century the Upper Tiber Valley was crossed by two services with diligence (two "mail courses", as it was then called). One came from Città di Castello and was directed to Perugia, the other departed from Montone and was also directed to Perugia: they stopped in Fratta to change horses, to pick up the mail and any passengers. These "mail courses" arrived in Fratta early in the morning, first that of Montone, then that of Città di Castello, with a delay that could be half an hour compared to the fixed time. They reached Perugia about four hours later. In addition to the "scheduled" service, there was also a special "course", for urgent community mail, called "lo sped" or "celerifero" (a kind of "priority mail). Provided by a man on horseback who brought "bolzetta" (leather bag) only the parcels of the municipality for which the departure of the diligence could not be expected the following day. Trades Oil mills There was one near the Lazzaro ditch, on the border between the "Mercatale di Sant 'Erasmo" and the area of Santa Maria. He probably also had a millstone. In 1794 it belonged to the Mazzaforti brothers who rented it for four years to Ubaldo Cambiotti. In the area there were oil mills in Cicaleto, Migianella, Monte Acuto ("Molino with its press and vine, in whose stump there are three iron circles, the millstone with its trestle and on an iron stake but with a wooden wedge" ), Racchiusole, San Patrignano. Grain mills In the "villa" of Cicaleto, in the parish of San Giuliano, property of the Camaldolese friars of Montecorona. It was located one kilometer from the Tiber river, south of Fratta and remained active until the early decades of the twentieth century. It had its own dam, the grinding wheel, the "cialandro", the hopper, the iron blades. And the "fulling machine", the mechanism for beating woolen cloths by means of large wooden hammers that were moved by the water. Other grain mills were located in Molino Vitelli, Monte Migiano, Serra "di Partuccio", San Patrignano and the abbey of San Salvatore (inside, it was called "mill of the cloister" and drew water from a ditch). I calcined In Santa Giuliana, owned by Mariangelo di Paolo. He made mortar which he sold the soma to four baiocchi. Another on the coast of Monte Acuto, belonging to the Fracassini family. Furnaces They had one Angelo di Roso and Fortunato Agostini, who in 1751 sold bricks for the facade of Santa Croce. In Carpini and Montalto, of the Degli Oddi of Perugia, owners of the castle of the same name. It was demolished by a flood of the Tiber in 1760. A bit of everything'.. Archibugieri: master Giulio Castellani, master Giuseppe and master Antonio. Gilders: Antonio Gabriotti, in 1717 gives gold to the candlesticks and carteglories of Santa Croce; Giuseppe Ferranti, from Gubbio. Silversmiths: Silvestro Angelini, from Perugia; in 1743 he sold a chalice and a silver paten to the Confraternity of Santa Croce. Bastari: Pietro Profili, Tommaso Mischianti, Giacomo Botti and Fabio Urbani. Bottari and bigonzari: Alessandro Jotti, Angelo Ciangottini, Francesco Puletti. Calzolari: were gathered in the congregation of the art of shoe-making (which had its own chapel in the church of Santa Croce, at the altar of Saints Crispino and Crispiniano, protectors of the category): Pietro di Angelo, Ubaldo Moretti, Carlo Guerrini, Donino Passalboni, Antonio Mariani. Hatters: Passalbuoni, Giuseppe Benedetti from Città di Castello. There was also a shop in Castel Nuovo. Canapari: Giovan Carlo Montanucci. Tanners: Giulio and Panfilio. Designers: Brischi, Giuseppe Notari and Giovan Pietro Gigli. Fabbri: Lorenzo and Pietro Martinelli, Carlo Francesconi, Domenico Paganelli, Raimondo Rotelli, Pier Giovanni Lestini, Francesco d'Agostino, known as "Ferraccio". At the end of the eighteenth century two blacksmith shops were in the small open space at the beginning of the road that leads to the Borgo Inferiore, immediately after the bridge over the Reggia. In 1798 Silvestro Martinelli and Vincenzo Jotti are the "officials" of the art and university of blacksmiths. Carpenters: Carlo Bolisi (1720), Ludovico Franceschini (1724), Alessandro Jotto (1753), Giovan Lorenzo Gigli (1750), Francesco Moscatelli (1745) in Pierantonio, Giuseppe Jotti (1749). Founders: Gregorio Righi, from Perugia, melts and accommodates the bells of Santa Croce in 1717. Fornari: Bartolomeo di Lorenzo, Domenico Lauri, Giovan Battista di Giulio, Bernardino Tassi, Olimpia Tassi. Carvers: Marco Batazzi, Alessandro Igi. Slaughterers: Santino, Andrea, Giuseppe Schiavini; Angelino Mavarelli, Marino Farneti. Magnani: Michele Aragoni (1698/1710). Laborers and porters: Tommaso di Francesco, Santi Paoletti. Giulio di Goro, Domenico Salvatori. Marescalchi: Antonio Mazzanti. Measurers, estimators: Fabrizio Mazzaforti (barrel meter), Lodovico Franceschini (grain meter), Alessandro Jotti (timber estimator), Antonio Brischi (wine meter), Vincenzo Mavarelli (wine estimator). Molinari: Tommaso Mancini, Giuseppe di Antonio. Masons: Giovanni, known as "Miracle", Costanzo di Cesare, Antonio di Giovan Maria, Ventura Bartoccini (master mason), Ercolano Corsini, Domenico Farneti (master mason). Mason's tools were the hammer, the spoon, the hoe for making mortar, the hammer, the lead, the archipendolo, the shovel to scornigate. Organ builders: Carlo Balducci, Pietro Forti, Orazio Fedeli. Pyrotechnicians: 1786, Francesco Natali; 1787, Bernardino Brischi Painters: Antonio Gabriotti, Francesco Leonardi, Ubaldo Vitaliani, Giuseppe Ferranti, Francesco Cocchi, Giuseppe Bertanzi. Pollaroli: Pietro known as "1'Anitraro", Giambattista. Pruners: Antonio called Sciuga, Francesco di Antonio; Francesco Scalseggia. Embroiderers: Colomba Vespucci. Tailors: Guerrini, Crestina Francesconi woman, Francesco Moriconi, Mauritio Pucci, Margherita Massi woman. Stonecutters: Francesco di Vincenzo, Lorenzo Brischi, Francesco known as "Borzicchio", Domenico Mavarelli, "il Riccio". Segatori: Giuseppe Moretti, Tommaso di Pascuccio, Belardino known as "il Regnicolo", Paolo Pieroni, Panfilio di Francesco, Paolo Ercoli. Saddler: Fabio Urbani Stucchi: Giuseppe Notari (1753, works in Santa Croce), Giovanni Cherubini. Weavers: Maria Cristina Francesconi, Aurora Roni, Elisabetta Cantelli woman, Margherita Massi woman. There are no factories, woolen mills and cloth factories. The processing is done in the homes of private citizens as many have looms. Dyer: Gerolamo Martinelli. Vasari: Francesco Fussai (1709), Giammatteo Martinelli (1742), Silvestro Martinelli, Gaetano Martinelli. Painters: Giuseppe Ferranti Carriers and couriers: Paolo Cangelotti, Marino Rotelli, Tommaso di Marco, Andrea di Ercolano, Giovanni known as "Spaterna", Pietro Simone Cicutella. Education In the eighteenth century there was a school where the first elements of reading, writing and arithmetic were taught, held by a clergyman. He was paid by the community with a salary that was, at the beginning of the century, of about twelve, fourteen scudi a year. To these were added three shields from the confraternity of Santa Croce as schoolmaster and another twenty-five that the same corresponded to him "for the chaplaincy", the task of saying masses in the chapel of the brotherhood. The employment contract was stipulated between the municipality and the master before the notary. In case of vacancy, the parents of the children signed a policy with which they agreed to pay a small sum to the municipality, in favor of the teacher. The school was located in the Borgo Inferiore, in the premises of the Confraternity of Santa Croce. At the end of the century, the master took thirty-two scudi a year from the community. In addition to this he received eight scudi from the Confraternity of Santa Croce again for the school and the "chaplaincy", to which were added the sums from other confraternities for various religious or occasional services such as musical performances on the occasion of parties. However, the annual income was sufficient for a decent standard of living. A teacher taught grammar and rhetoric for a salary of seventy scudi a year. At the end of the century this school was located in Castel Nuovo, on the premises of the former monastery of Santa Maria Nuova, purchased by the community of Fratta. In 1700 the schoolmaster was Don Pietro Cardoni, from Nocera. He lived in the two rooms above the Santa Croce hospital that the brotherhood had reserved for him. The latter retained fifteen paoli a year from the salary she paid him for the rent: thirty paoli in all, that is, three scudi. As was customary at the time, the maestro also performed the "music service" for the company of Santa Croce. In early August 1719 Cardoni resigned. Don Matteo Silvestrini took over and the brotherhood also rents the rooms above the hospital to him. In 1725 the teacher is Don Pietro Burli. In the early months of 1730 the school teacher was a certain Fabbri, but in April he was replaced by Don Innocenzo Diamanti, for four years. Then the Abbot Giovan Battista Orlandini and Don Lorenzo Meuccio. From 1741 to 1750 the masters were Don Ubaldo Balducci, Don Gerolamo Passi, Don Francesco Tosoni, Don Gaspare Mazzaforti, Don Lorenzo Pellegrini, Don Modesto Spinetti. From 1750 we find don Arcangelo Mischianti (teacher of sacred theology is fra 'Francesco Maria Calindri, guardian of the convent of San Francesco), don Alessandro Dini born in Urbania, don Matteo Tosciliani, don Paolo Costantini, don Ubaldo Menghini, don Stefano Loretti, don Angelo Mavarelli, don Antonio Giuseppe Gnagneri, don Cristiani, don Giuseppe Angelini, the canon don Paolucci. In 1787 the school teacher was Don Ercolano Mavarelli. He took four scudi a four-month period. He is a canon of the collegiate church of San Giovanni. In 1789, Father Fulgenzio Maria, a minor of the observers of the convent of Santa Maria, born in Città di Castello, was the master. In 1790 there is the canon Pecchioli followed by Don Luca Brami. We then find Don Sebastiano Riccardi and Abbot Paolo Padoni. The teaching of music It could be public and private. The first was entrusted to the chapel masters and these, having graduated in music in some school, were called and paid by the various brotherhoods and religious congregations. Their dependence explains the term "di cappella", as the brotherhoods had their headquarters in a church where they owned a chapel with an altar dedicated to their protector. The major brotherhoods, of Santa Croce and San Bernardino, had their own teacher but he did not take a salary that would guarantee him economic security; for this he also carried out occasional work at other brotherhoods and churches, managing, among other things, to earn enough to live. In addition to public teaching, there was a private one. There was the custom of entrusting a young man, from early adolescence, to a teacher who undertook, for an annual fee, to teach him instrumental music and singing and, at times, also to read and write. The boy, however, had to leave his family and move to the house of the teacher, who became father-master, staying here for the established time, about ten years. All this was agreed through a notarial deed comprising many clauses. Sources: - Renato Codovini - “History of Umbertide - Volume VI - 18th century” - Unpublished typescript. - Calendar of Umbertide 2001 - Ed. Municipality of Umbertide - 2001 (Texts by Adriano Bottaccioli - Walter Rondoni - Amedeo Massetti - Fabio Mariotti). Illustrations by Adriano Bottaccioli. Harvesting of wheat by hand (Historical photographic archive of the Municipality of Umbertide) Peasant family (Historical photographic archive of the Municipality of Umbertide) Sul paiaio (Historical photographic archive of the Municipality of Umbertide) On the ox cart (Historical photographic archive of the Municipality of Umbertide) Calesse (Historical photographic archive of the Municipality of Umbertide) 1977. La Fornace (Giuseppe Severi Archive) 1975. Trace of a potter's oven in via Bovicelli (Giuseppe Severi Archive) Glimpse of Santa Croce Agricoltura, Commercio, Mestieri e Istruzione Le chiese minori di Fratta e i proietti La chiesa di Sant'Andrea di Castelvecchio Church of Sant'Andrea di Castelvecchio The ancient temple was located at the height of the current analysis laboratory in the old hospital of Umbertide The church, of very ancient origins dating back to the early twelfth century, stood in the Upper Borgo of Fratta, called Castelvecchio, right on the spot where the old hospital was built in 1870. It had a bell tower with two bells and several altars inside. One of these, dedicated to Santa Barbara, was built in 1735 (1). Despite the long life and the prestige it had held in the hearts of the faithful of Fratta, we know little of its characteristics. We do not know its shape and we are not able to know if it kept works of a certain value within it, which is possible given the long history of the temple. If we lack certain information on its origins and its structure, we have, on the other hand, detailed information on its end which coincided with that of the eighteenth century. The collapse, in fact, began much earlier, in the year 1751, when the parish priest, Archpriest Petrogalli, informed the Bishop of Gubbio that a part of the roof was collapsing and also the wall around the bell tower was about to do the same. The authorization for the "reduction" of the church arrived and as the collapses continued, it was further reduced to become a small chapel. In this capacity it was occasionally officiated for some time and later disappeared as the seat of the services of the cult. The "reduction" works were financed with the proceeds from the sale of the main bell (2) which also made it possible to embellish the altar of the church of San Giovanni Battista, where on 15 December 1752 the painting representing Sant'Andrea, painted by Benedetto Cavallucci of Perugia. Note: 1. See Umberto Pesci, History of Umbertide, Typography R. Fruttini di Gualdo Tadino, year 1932, p. 133 et seq. 2. Archpriest Petrogalli, with the Bishop's permission granted on 10 November 1751, had sold the main bell, weighing 220 pounds, to the Philippine Fathers of Montefalco for 38 scudi. Sources: "Umbertide in the XVIII century" by Renato Codovini and Roberto Sciurpa - Municipality of Umbertide - September 2003 THE MINOR CHURCHES OF FRATTA AND THE PROJECTS The minor churches The church of the Madonna del Moro was located just outside the Borgo Inferiore, in the center of a farm owned by the Savelli family, next to the farmer's house and a well. In 1746 the farm was sold to Bernardino Dell'Uomo with all the annexes and the small chapel followed the fate of the house and the fields. The instead, the small temple of the Madonna del Giglio was located near the Borgo Superiore, in a property of Donna Pellegrini Stella, widow of Giovan Francesco Paolucci. The lady contributed to the maintenance of the chapel with the sum of five scudi a year. On 16 September 1730 she made her will and ordered that, after her death, the heir, who was her nephew, Captain Giovan Tommaso Paolucci, should continue to pay the contribution. In the market area there was a small chapel, also called Chiesina del Boccaiolo , dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. The news comes from very few lines of a notarial deed (1) . The church, which we do not know precisely where it was, was enlarged by Marcantonio Stella who did not have it as a property, but was obliged to maintain it as well as to have one mass said a month and six masses on the 10th. December each year. In front of the church of Sant'Agostino, before entering the Piazza del Mercatale, on the left, stood the Monastery of Santa Maria Nuova with the chapel of Santa Lucia attached to it. When the Monastery was suppressed on July 21, 1787, it continued to be open to worship. It was also called the "church of the blacksmiths" because that corporation had obtained it for use by the Municipality, which in 1787 had become the owner of the entire former monastery. Towards the end of the century, in 1790, it underwent substantial maintenance work for an amount of 140 scudi advanced by Lorenzo Vibi. The intervention suggests that the chapel was still officiated. There is little news about the church of Calatola . It was located in the homonymous farm word, above the hill where the Bertanzi house stands (Villa Pace). The chapel almost certainly belonged to the same family. Church of Sant 'Agostino Shortly before entering Piazza del Mercatale (Piazza Marconi), to the right of whoever descends from Piaggiola, stood the convent of Sant'Agostino and the church of the same name, right in the center of Castelnuovo. The temple was regularly officiated by the Augustinian Fathers who had the responsibility and care of it; it housed several altars, including one dedicated to Sant'Antonio, and communicated with the premises of the convent in the west. Above the ceiling of the church there were two large rooms and on the north side, between the road to Montone and the apse, there was a vegetable garden cultivated by the friars. The church was a thriving center of religious life and faith as long as the Augustinians who were its soul remained there, but when they left Fratta, the church also took second place. The convent, in fact, was suppressed and in 1738 its property, which also included that of the church, passed to the Municipality. The Judiciary of Fratta, in the same year, asked the Bishop of Gubbio for authorization to sell the buildings adjacent to the church. The permission was granted especially since the transfer was destined to remain "in the parish" because the buyer was a priest, Don Silvestro Fanfani, who offered 110 scudi. It was a forced choice since the administrators needed cash to pay the salary of the school teacher, since for several years and after numerous attempts, they had not been able to rent those premises. The church, which showed signs of subsidence in the wall along the road, was the subject of a careful restoration with the construction of a sturdy support spur. Towards the middle of the century, therefore, it was still officiated and was entrusted to the Company of Death. Note: 1) The deed reads: "Remembrance of the faculty given by Mr. Giambattista Bartolelli from Città di Castello to the late Marcantonio Stella of this land to enlarge and expand the church of the Madonna SS.ma di Loreto in the Market. Deed of the notary Michelangelo Cenni di Gubbio , on 15 September 1690, without reserve of patronage ". The projectiles (foundlings) One of the many painful problems of the century, of the previous ones and also of the following one, was the plague of projectiles (or foundlings, or exposed). There were many, more than one can imagine, and in some cases, in addition to the doors of convents, churches and hospitals, where newborns were usually abandoned, revolving drums were also put into operation, communicating with some convent, to to deposit defenseless children, wrapped in poor clothes as best they can. Also in Fratta there was one (1) , near the “scortico”, in the inter portas square that led to the Tiber bridge. It was called "The wheel of the exposed". The painful phenomenon had deep social roots and did not bear the signs of the scarcity of the maternal sense. The mere thought of such a hypothesis would be an offense to feelings and history. The mother was certainly the first person to feel the agony of the dramatic detachment and to swallow drops of daily bitterness at the thought that the fruit of her breast would grow without affection and without caresses. But in a society such as the eighteenth century, in which infant mortality reached very high levels even in the most affluent families, and the darkest poverty gripped a large part of the population, the abandonment of one's creature to a destiny that was hoped to be generous with better assistance, paradoxically it could represent an act of love or, at the very least, an extra hope of survival. History hides, pitiful and discreet, a series of sufferings and dramas that have not touched the palaces of power, the only archives that an ancient and widespread historiographic theory has carefully consulted in its partial research. The Fratta projectiles were taken to Perugia, to the Misericordia hospital, which then sent them to Assisi, where Mons. Caracciolo, since 1739, had created a special hospice. The transport to Perugia, for the weak newborn, already represented a heap of hardships, especially in the winter period, but for the insiders it was a normal practice to be carried out, governed by a series of strict provisions, behaviors and remunerations. (25 baiocchi per trip, for the coachman). Several had to arrive in Perugia if the Prior of that city, on May 14, 1741, sent a recommendation to the Confraternity of Santa Croce which had asked for information on the matter. The letter was long, but we report the most pleasant part, to soften the tints of the drama: "In response from the highly esteemed Loro Loro around the reception and transfer of the Proietti from there to this Hospital of Perugia, there is no difficulty in bringing us those who were born in this Territory of Fratta to be this of the Territory of Perugia, only the diligence remains that they are not from another nearby Territory, or from Città di Castello, or from Gubbio, that these have their Hospitals and there is the order of Monsignor Caracciolo, as they will see to the notification sent to them, as well as being careful that they do not take legitimacy and comply in everything with those orders, to which the due penalties are imposed ". With all the good will it was difficult to establish the provenance and territorial belonging of the projectiles, and if we had some certainty about it, they would no longer be such. Those in charge of this sector did everything they could to entrust them to some local nurse who nursed them in the very first days of life, before making the journey to Perugia, but the death records are pitiless. In 1753 one of them was entrusted to the Briganti family of Polgeto: “Luigi dies, of an uncertain father and mother, ten days old, handed over to Veronica Briganti on January 21st”; "On February 18, 1753 Anna dies, of uncertain father and mother, handed over to Veronica Martinelli to nurse her on February 11"; "On May 9 Maria dies, of uncertain father and mother, handed over to Veronica Martinelli to breastfeed her". And the list goes on, but we prefer to stop here. Just to give an example, in the parish of Sant'Erasmo alone, in 1710, five were collected in front of the church door and six in 1720, to refer only to two years of a religious community that had 600 souls. Note: 1. There was also another one next to the convent of Santa Maria Nuova. The gardener who cultivates the adjacent garden testifies that it was visible until the end of the 1950s. Sources: "Umbertide in the XVIII century" by Renato Codovini and Roberto Sciurpa - Municipality of Umbertide, 2003 PROCUREMENT AND PUBLIC PROPERTIES Procurement Almost all of the taxes were contracted out to a debt collector through a regular competition. The obligation was introduced in 1729 by an Edict of Pope Benedict XIII which remained in force for a large part of the following century. The method used for the award was that of the "virgin candle" described in detail in another volume (1). Some contracts were extraordinary and remained in existence for the duration of the tax, as we have seen for the passage tax; others were fixed because the sector of activity subjected to the tax was permanent, such as that of supplies and some services, and were renewed every three years. They constituted the most reliable and most substantial income for the Municipality. All citizens duly informed by the notice of the announcement posted on the door of the Municipality and by the Balio tubatore could participate in the conduct of the race who, after scraping a few rings of tuba, read the main heads of the announcement through the streets of the castle and in the squares inter portas. In a council meeting of May 27, 1747 the contracts were discussed and thanks to it we were able to know not only which and how many there were, but also the amount that we wanted to obtain. We report them in the same order in which they were exhibited at that meeting: 1. Public Oven Contract 2. Tender for the Land Stamp 3. Procurement of the Carne Stamp 4. Public Slaughterhouse Contract 5. Procurement of the Damage Given 6. Contract of the Salara 7. Oil shop contract 8. Procurement of Measures 9. Procurement of Wood 10. Contract of the Stabbio 11. Procurement of the Foietta 12. Cenciaria contract 13. Tiber Wood Contract. Procurement of the oven The public oven belonged to the Municipality which did not manage it directly, but gave it to contract. In truth, in some short periods of the century, for reasons that escape us, the system of direct management was adopted. We can only exclude that they were of an economic nature, since the average annual gain obtained with self-management was about 40 scudi, while the contract yielded 90. Self-management lost 50 net scudi, to which they were owed add all the management hassles and worries. The contractor, in fact, in addition to the bread making was forced to provide for the purchase of the grain, its grinding; to the wood for the oven, all at his expense, and finally to the bread trade. It was a job that took a lot, especially in an era when there were still no electric ovens, special yeasts and various types of flour already packaged. The frequent change of management of the oven, moreover, indicates that the profit margins were not flattering. In 1710 the contract, always three years, was in the hands of a certain Pietro Antonio Marcellini who had inherited it from Ercolano Fanfani and Giovanni Antonio Agostini. The most lasting management was the one that goes from 1770 to 1781 held by Giovanni Antonio Agostini, perhaps a descendant of the manager we met at the beginning of the century. In the five-year period 1787/1791 the Municipality almost certainly managed it on its own with the results we have illustrated. In the following year the contract was won by Ubaldo Perugini. Towards the end of the century, in 1793, there was an attempt at competition by the Count of Civitella who was determined to open a bakery on the border of his county with the territory of the Municipality of Fratta, right at the point where today Viale Unità d ' Italia intersects with Via Roma, in the place then called Case Nuove. Giuseppe Palchetti had to manage it. The new exercise would have represented a serious blow to the public oven because Civitella did not apply duties to the activities inside its territory. The matter was resolved haphazardly in a meeting between the Count and the First Prior, at the end of which it was decided that things would remain as before. Procurement of the land stamp Even in those days whoever temporarily occupied the public land had to pay a tax to the Municipality. The most typical and recurrent case was that of the itinerant trade. As usual, the Camerlengo did not directly collect the sum and the entire sector was given out on a three-year contract to the highest bidder. In the middle of the century the contract yielded 38 scudi a year. Procurement of the meat and slaughterhouse stamp All the beasts had to be "skinned" at the slaughterhouse. The skins were then left to dry in the sun and the meat, cut into pieces, was subjected to the stamp by the "Bollatore delle Carni". The stamp was a guarantee of safety for the consumer and also of quality among the various types of meat (ox, cow, veal, sheep, mutton, pork, etc.), but above all a tax expedient. The Bollatore was the one who had won the three-year tender and not a veterinarian. Its only role was to withdraw the stamp duties from the butchers and to pay the Municipality an annual fee that was between 30 and 140 scudi per year. The slaughterhouse was also subject to the same regime. This is obviously the public slaughterhouse that the Municipality kept open for calming purposes, while the private butcher had fulfilled his obligation with the payment of the stamp on the meat. The management of the public slaughterhouse was subject to the normal procurement procedure and the winner undertook to pay a fee that averaged around 35 scudi per year (2). In addition to being a contract, the relationship could be configured as a "slaughterhouse rental", but the rules and procedures followed were those of contracts and not those of leases. Since they had to carry out the control function, the prices were agreed with the Municipality. Castrato, for example, had to be sold for 4 baiocchi (twenty quattrini) a pound, but from the first Sunday of Lent until the feast of St. John (24 June) it had to be sold for 21 quattrini a pound. Cow, sheep and goat meat sold for 12 quattrini a pound. The regulation of the contract of 1782 required that during the Christmas holidays all meat had to undergo a reduction, in line with the "social" function that the public slaughterhouse performed. Contract for the damage given and the deposit of the pawns The contractor was responsible for the surveillance and protection of public, movable and immovable property. When they were damaged ("damage given"), his task was to report the person responsible to the Commissioner Judge and to collect the compensation established, if the dispute had not been settled by amicable means. Part of the sum (usually a third) was due to him and the other part was paid into the coffers of the Municipality. It was a type of contract whose revenue was unpredictable and for this reason it was entrusted to the same contractor as the Depositeria dei Pegni, or Monte dei Pegni, as it was more commonly called. Debtors who could not meet their financial obligations often resorted to them, in the absence of the banks, to deposit an object of value and receive a sum in cash. At the set deadline, the depositary withdrew the pledge by paying the amount received with the interest and deposit rights. If this did not happen, as it often did, the pledge remained the property of the contractor who arranged for the sale and withheld the proceeds. The contractor had to have a fair amount of cash to secure the loans and had to be a skilled trader to make the valuation of the assets deposited. The contract paid the Municipality 6 scudi per year approximately. Contract for the salary, oil shop and grocery store Salt was a kind of monopoly in the Papal State and the sales regime was subject to government regulations. The purchase had to take place in the official "Salara", which for the Fratta Community was that of Perugia, or of Fossombrone, Iesi, Fabriano or Ancona, if it did not have one. The amount of the withdrawal was fixed at 36,000 pounds per year, and the local salary was also to serve the municipalities of Preggio, “Castelrigone”, the Badia di Monte Corona, “Pier Antonio” and Pian di Ronzano. For retail outlets, the usual procurement system was used, which in this specific case had a duration of two years, and the "Minister of the Salara", as the contractor was also called (3), had the strict obligation to cover the entire needs of the territory under its jurisdiction, since salt is an indispensable element of very large consumption. With the “Salara”, but in separate tenders, the oil shop and the grocery store were also contracted out. In the first, edible oil was sold and in the second, cured meats, lard and lard, salted meats and cheese. The prices of the products were set by the Defenders and had to be clearly visible on a sign posted in the shop. While we do not know how much the Community earned with the salt contract, the oil shop and the grocery store yielded 20 scudi a year (8 scudi for oil and 12 for other products). Procurement of weight measurements The possibility of weighing quantities of goods over 50 pounds was an exclusive prerogative that belonged to the Nobile Collegio del Cambio of Perugia, which held the monopoly right in this sector. Not being able to exercise it directly, the Noble College contracted it out to the various communities and these, in turn, to a local contractor through the usual tender procedure. "The large steelyard", as the scale was called, was considered a "public weigher" and the receipt issued attested not only the payment of the rights, but also the exact weight of the goods, to be asserted in court in case of disputes. The large steelyard belonged to the Municipality, which had to comply with all the provisions issued by the Collegio del Cambio and the Congregation of the Good Government (CBG) of Perugia. Even private individuals could equip themselves with a similar instrument, which had to be "stamped" by the contractor, that is, subjected to the control and payment of a tax, and was not valid in the event of a dispute, nor could it be lent to others, under penalty of seizure of the "steelyard". Weights under 50 pounds were carried out in all the shops of the time and in private homes, but the scales, in addition to the stamp duty, were subjected to bi-monthly checks. Other contracts Anyone wishing to bring firewood into the village had to pay a tax to the contractor as a "right of entry". The parcels were different in relation to the type of transport that could take place “a some”, that is, on the back of a donkey or mule, or in larger quantities of wagons. Payment in kind was also envisaged with the deposit of a piece of wood next to the entrance door to the castle. Generally the wood came from the cutting of the woods, but there was - also the “del Ponte” one, that is all the trunks that the floods of the Tiber piled up close to the pylons of the bridge. All this material that formed a kind of dam, with a lot of practical sense and foresight, was removed and sold on a systematic basis. Most of the time the contractor was unique, but the " wood of the Bridge " could have a different one from the official one. The streets of the town were haunted by the passage of beasts which, not being angels, deposited their excrements along the way, without much modesty. In an economic system in which nothing was thrown away and everything was recycled, even the “pen” was a useful material. The Municipality contracted out the collection and sale to the highest bidder who, in addition to making a profit, kept the streets of the town clean. The same thing happened with the rags whose collection was contracted out (contract by the cenciaria). The rags then ended up in Fabriano, where a thriving processing industry had existed since then. The pleasure of the "drop" of wine seems to have ancient origins and even goes back to Noah. For the taxman there could not have been a better opportunity. Thus the innkeepers and innkeepers who sold the wine by the minute had to pay the “foietta” tax. Even fishing, in the stretch of the river along the walls, did not escape the tax burden and the fishermen had to pay a kind of "license" to the contractor on duty. These latter contracts did not represent large revenues for the Community. The tax on the fishing license, for example, paid the municipality a shield a year. We do not know about the others, but we are inclined to believe that municipal finances could not be raised with rags, stabbing and wood. Various revenue A few more shields entered the anemic municipal coffers through the leasing of land, of the Shiites, of the houses and shops of public property, but it was very little. The sale of the crushed stone of the Tiber, the foliage of the poplars ( albaroni ), of the willows, of the elms and above all of the morigelsi, planted along the roads and the banks of the waterways, also gave some shields. The breeding of silkworms was widely practiced, even in small quantities in common houses, not to mention the massive production of maggots that were found in the area. The recycled materials of the renovated public properties were also sold, such as bricks, beams, tiles and bent tiles. The Rocca enjoyed direct financing from Perugia of 45 scudi a year, intended for the maintenance costs of the building and the entire complex of the castle walls . There were also chancellery rights at that time and those who needed declarations, certifications or copies of deeds were subjected to the payment of the expected fee. In any case, the proceeds deriving from the various items of income were very often not sufficient to cover the expenses of the Community and recourse to the loan was a constant practice even in those times. As there were no public credit institutions, private individuals were used, which were mostly religious communities. The loan was always guaranteed with the stipulation of a written deed, often with the endorsement of a guarantor and sometimes also with the deposit of a pledge by the guarantor himself. It happened that the Municipality had credits to collect, but they did not constitute an additional income, but the recovery of taxes not paid at the time by the defaulting taxpayer. Public properties In the century in question, the concept of "inventory" did not exist and therefore we do not have a detailed list of municipal property. From the various documents examined, however, it can be deduced that the patrimonial situation of the Municipality was approximately the following: L. Since 1725 there was a community of Monte Acuto with land on the coast of San Giovanni. We do not know for sure what the relationship between the Comunanza and the Municipality of Fratta was, but it is possible that it was a municipal property sold for use to farmers in the area. 2. In 1738 the Municipality became the owner of the church, the building, the gardens and the farm of the former convent of Sant'Agostino. The farm word “ Sant'Agostino ” had an area of 18 mines and three tables; farmhouse, cellar, barn and oven. The rent paid the Municipality 10 scudi a year paid in "two pays", that is, in two half-yearly installments. 3. In 1766 the Municipality owned the "shop of the bridge" which was located in the south-west bastion, that is in the small inter portas square near the bridge over the Tiber. It was rented to Silvestro Somigli with land under the public oven. 4. All the shiites under the castle walls were municipal property and also the environments in which commercial activities of public utility were carried out: oven, salary, flaying. 5. The seat of the municipal residence belonged to the Municipality, namely the Palazzo in the Rocca square and, subsequently, the former Convent of Santa Maria Nuova. 6. A house located in via San Giovanni di Bartolomeo Petrogalli was purchased by the Municipality in 1780. 7. Some registrations of 1798 certify that the following assets are sources of income for the Municipality, and therefore owned by it: • a vegetable garden attached to the municipal house; • a cellar under the municipal house; • a vegetable garden above the castle walls and under the Bruni house; • a vegetable garden in the word Porta Nova; • two pieces of land under the fortress; • two pieces of land at Boccaiolo, under the castle walls; • a shop known as the "old slaughterhouse"; • a large number of mori-mulberry trees on the municipal skies. Note: 1. For the same reason, Montone had to pay 2,500 scudi (Ascani A., Storia di Montone). The news is interesting because it can be deduced that at that time the territory of Fratta was smaller than that of Montone. 2. For the sake of completeness, we report the names of the contractors that result from the records in the Archives: 1774/76 Angelo Mavarelli, 1776 Angelo Nardi from Fiesole, 1779 Gismondo Contadini. 3. In 1745 the contractor was Mattia Degli Arrighi. After him the post was taken on by Bernardino Dell'Uomo. Sources: "Umbertide in the XVIII century" by Renato Codovini and Roberto Sciurpa - Municipality of Umbertide, 2003 Gli appalti e le proprietà pubbliche THE TIBER, THE BRIDGES, THE CASTLE WALLS Work on the area after the bridge The Tiber, silent and lazy, in some circumstances also knew how to be noisy and violent, so much so that, over the course of the century, it caused considerable damage to the banks and the castle walls. The banks along the Montalto area were the hardest hit, in particular the right one where the road to Città di Castello passed. The biggest damage occurred in 1760 when a brick kiln belonging to Count Degli Oddi, then owner of the castle of Montalto, and a long stretch of road were swept away by the current. "The city of Perugia, with the assistance of Mr. Domenico Tickets, factor of the castellano Degli Oddi, made a new road and built a double brush in the place of corrosion ..." But the most dangerous damage occurred to the north and south of the Fratta bridge, right along the castle walls. The river bed then followed a slightly different path, and upstream of the bridge, due to the erosions accumulated over time, the Tiber described a wide loop between the fields, moving away from the primitive route parallel to the road that corresponds to the current one. The current of the waters coming from the north direction rushed through the area of the bridge and threatened to dig an autonomous path, cutting the road and bypassing it on the right bank of the river. In 1758 the erosion reached only fifteen meters from the route of the via tifernate and the risk seemed to materialize with the breakthrough downstream. Fortunately, the phenomenon stopped, otherwise serious troubles would have been produced: the weakened castle defenses, the dry bridge, the compromised weir and large expenses for the adaptation of urban infrastructures to the new route (mills, public wash house, gardens and sewer system ). Therefore, a serious reorganization of the banks was urgent and the first systematic interventions began in 1753. In that year, the Sacred Congregation of the Waters of Perugia sent the engineer Antonio Felice Facci to Val di Chiana, then a marshy area, to carry out no better specified remarks. And since the Fratta was along the route, the technician was also in charge of examining the state of the banks of the Tiber around the castle. On the outward journey he stopped for two days, taking lodging at the Staffa tavern (1) at the expense of the Municipality; on his return trip, on February 17, 1753, he stopped again for three days, always in the same inn and always at the expense of the Municipality. We do not know the report that the engineer presented to the competent Authorities, but something concrete certainly suggested, if at the beginning of 1754 the first expense reports for works of a certain consistency appearing on the right bank of the Tiber, north of the bridge. . The trick used was to reinforce the bank with a palisade of large beams embedded in the ground and connected by thick planks behind which stones and bundles of glass were stowed. The "club" was also ingeniously built to drive the beams into the ground. It consisted of a castle of wooden planks from which a heavy oak trunk was lowered, shod at the edges, which hit the head of the pole. After each stroke the log was hoisted up again by six workers who pulled a sturdy rope wrapped in a pulley and the strokes were repeated until the desired depths were reached. All the timber was supplied by the Camaldolese of Monte Corona. The costs of the works, including technicians' fees, travel and reimbursement of expenses, reached high levels and in 1755 provisional tolls were imposed on every animated being who crossed the bridge. The table of tax levies has come down to us and we are reporting it for information for our readers. Surprisingly, they also paid the people at a rate equivalent to pigs, for reasons of weight and nothing else. People, 3 cash per person per day Beast unloads, cash 6 Charged beast, money 12 Horse-drawn carriage or wagon, baiocchi 4 Pigs, 3 bucks each Sheep, castrated and goats, 2 money each Vaccine, money 6 each In the same year there were important visits. The engineer of the Municipality of Perugia, Pietro Carattoli, the engineer of the Sacred Congregation of Waters, Antonio Felice Facci and a Jesuit, certain Father Ippolito, came to "recognize the state of erosion, draw up the map of the place and check the works". Syrians. The works continued uninterrupted throughout the year and beyond, so much so that on June 22, 1756 another inspection arrived, that of Don Pietro Tassinari. The monsignor left, on 10 July the Tiber organized another ruinous flood which, in addition to damaging the sheltered banks, took away a good quantity of planks stowed in the yard, later recovered in Ponte Felcino. The flood in July made it clear that the defense of the banks alone was not enough to prevent damage and around the sick area the commitment of the administration and technicians for more radical solutions intensified, with surprising timeliness. In March 1758, the engineer of the Municipality of Perugia, Pietro Carattoli, came back to Fratta and drew a new plan of the area in which the construction of an artificial canal was planned to bring the river back to its original layout, parallel to the road, so that close to the city walls it made a bend of 90 ° sufficient to harness the violence of the floods. The works began immediately in May and were almost finished by the end of June (2) . The work gave the desired effect: not only did it lighten the places from the damage of erosion, but the river immediately began to flow in a stable and definitive way in that riverbed which is still its natural bed today. Other floods occurred in 1773 and 1778 which threatened the Tifernate road and the Cistercian mill, but the works carried out considerably limited the damage. The use of manpower was massive and also involved women. Their task was to find the stones to be placed inside the "baskets", a kind of wicker containers, which were used by the workers in charge of sheltering the banks to stabilize the river embankments. The papers tell us that they were 19 and they received six baiocchi a day, almost as much as men. There was also a large group of woodcutters to saw the beams and boards, a team of cable workers to work the hemp and weave the ropes and ribs (sturdy bands of canvas), a handful of men who took care of the poles and these, in all likelihood, they must have been the workers at the poles of the castle of the mace, and a series of other figures of workers and artisans such as carters, masons, shovellers, etc. The most urgent and imposing works for the arrangement of the banks and to avoid damage to the castle were certainly those to the north of the bridge, but the intervention to the south was also necessary and in this sense, since 1752 (3 ), repeated requests were made which had no effect. In 1758, once the work to the north was completed, the pushes began again to fix the stretch of river from the bridge to the Schioppe, the cliff that was then also called "Punta della Genga" (4) . The practice went on very slowly due to evident contrasts between the Municipality, the frontists and the Perugian authorities who had to grant authorization to proceed, as well as an economic contribution. Since 1757 the three frontists - the friars of the convent of San Francesco, the Paolucci family and Count Ranieri di Civitella - had taken steps on their own to stem the banks along their properties. They were even willing to intervene on their own even in the most critical point of the situation, that is, at the mouth of the Palace into the Tiber, with the construction of a masonry "spur" or "guardian". The Municipality, although not very convinced of the solution, agreed because "you don't look a gift horse in the mouth", but Perugia rejected the proposal because it would have worsened the situation. On the contrary, the Sacred Congregation of Waters also contested the works of arrangement of the banks already carried out, inviting the frontists to demolish them. The result was a technical-juridical controversy which lasted for years and which had the sole result of paralyzing every initiative until 1789, when hostilities resumed. This time the experts came forward. The Municipality of Fratta, the city of Perugia and the Camaldolese friars (owners of the land on the right bank of the Tiber) chose Pietro Casimiro Fagliuoli as their expert; the convent of San Francesco, Paolucci and Count Ranieri commissioned the archpriest Don Bartolomeo Borghi, a great expert on the subject. But even the experts did not find an agreement and decided to resort to the arbitration of a well-known professional, a certain Virgilio Bracci, architect and engineer of the Sacred Congregation of the Good Government of Rome, who in those days was in Perugia. The meeting "in spite of the place" took place on 25 October 1789, in the presence of the archpriest Borghi and the abbot Luigi Pacini representing Fagliuoli. After two days of discussions, the dispute ended at the table with the lunch offered by the Camaldolese and a transaction was signed. It was a platonic agreement only because the commitments were never honored. Only two years later, the signed pacts were resumed with the decision to build at the mouth of the Reggia that triangular spur that the wise frontists had already designed in 1757. But when the work began, the Congregation of Waters of Perugia, still allergic to spurs, made it known that it did not intend to participate in the costs as it was due only to the frontists. One thing finally became clear: if the agreed works were to be carried out, the three owners had to bear all the expenses and the engineer Cristoforo Bartoli was promptly sent from Perugia to establish the boundaries of the land and share the shares. The bridges La Fratta was a fortress completely surrounded by water and the bridges were the only means of connection and communication with the surrounding area. Not only that, but since the surrounding countryside is crossed by the Tiber, the Royal Palace and the Carpina, other crossing systems were necessary to join the banks of the waterways and allow greater ease of movement and traffic in the fertile plain that it crossed. the valley. In some cases, considering the costs of a bridge, we relied on the ferry boats, but the Fratta was quite lucky and, in its immediate vicinity, had safe and stable tolls in masonry or wood. The bridge over the Tiber was a masterpiece of engineering, technique and aesthetic taste. It rested on three arches, which constitute the coat of arms of the Municipality of Umbertide and, even after the demolition of the drawbridge of the Porta Saracina, it had not lost its beauty and grandeur. Two sturdy doors guarded its entrances and the small church of Carmelo, located above the central pillar of the valley, invited peace and prayer when the road was all slower. The year of its construction is to be found between 1571 and 1588, at the will of the "Company of the Madonna della Reggia and Madonna del Ponte", entrepreneur of the two aforementioned sites (5) . Another bridge, the one over the Reggia stream in front of the Collegiate Church, played an important role in the town's economy. It connected Montone, the entire plain below and the Borgo Superiore with the center of Fratta and was also open to heavy traffic of animals and wagons. Its structural conditions were precarious because it was all made of wood with the exception of the two masonry heads on which the beams rested. The passage presented some difficulties because the bridge was narrow and without banks and on several occasions the Reggia had the bad taste of giving a few pieces to the Tiber. The spending resolutions for the restoration work were recurring, so much so that on April 4, 1770 the City Council decided to build it from scratch. The work was entrusted to Giovanni Tomassini, a Swiss from Lugano who lived in Gubbio, for a hundred baiocchi. The entrepreneur was known to Fratta because the previous year he had renovated the facade and the interior of the church of San Bernardino to the satisfaction of those who had commissioned the work. The new, wider bridge had sturdy sides and was suitable for carrying greater loads. It offered all the prerequisites of comfort, stability and safety. In the last years of the century the Judiciary of Fratta launched the project for the construction of a second bridge over the Reggia, the one that was to connect the center of the town with the Collegiate Church through a nave of the church of San Giovanni. The bridge will be built in 1807, but the first projects and intervention plans date back to 1794. In the surroundings, then, there were secondary but equally important bridges, such as the bridge over the ditch of Lazzaro and the one over the Fonte Santa. The latter, completely rebuilt in 1799. Further north, on the Montonese road, there was an ancient bridge over the Carpina built since 1294. To these bridges outside the castle must be added those that directly linked the area within the walls with the outside, such as the Piaggiola bridge, which allowed to cross the moat and access the Porta della Campana, and the bridge over the Reggia which allowed access to the Borgo Inferiore (Piazza San Francesco area). The Rocca had a drawbridge that descended over the Reggia and put it in communication with the lawn in front of it. In 1787 it still existed and was used. A note dated 3 September, signed by the Municipal Secretary Giambattista Burelli, stated: “Mr. dr. Giuseppe Paolucci Camerlengo to pay Angelo Gigli paoli four for refurbishment of the drawbridge of the Rocca, which with receipt are forty baiocchi ”. The walls of the Castle The most natural and spontaneous defense system among the ancients was to surround the castle, the village or the city with a robust wall. Sometimes ditches filled with water, palisades or other similar devices were also used in order to curb the impetus of the enemies and immobilize them in front of the obstacle in order to hit them with greater ease and precision from above. The walls therefore were born with the first urban settlements and have developed and strengthened with them, following their historical evolution. On more than one occasion, particularly in large cities, their successive and concentric walls are evident documents of population growth and urban sprawl. The castle of Fratta had only one wall of walls, robust and compact and nature had also endowed it with the natural defense of the water of the Tiber river and the Reggia stream in the area of its confluence with the older brother. Its inhabitants had built an artificial moat in the short stretch free from water, making the castle a fortified islet, with stone edges, among the safest in the area for very long centuries. The maintenance and repair of the city walls was always a meticulous commitment for the inhabitants and administrators of all times, well aware that it was a priority asset, essential for the survival of the community. For the Fratta the part most exposed to the wear and tear of the corrosive pressure of the waters was the stretch along the course of the Tiber. On several occasions it had suffered damage and had recourse to repairs, but the flood of 1736 was particularly devastating. He dragged out 1,600 square feet of walls and four houses that stood on them. The appraisal, immediately prepared for the repair of the damage, established the total amount of expenses at 1,032 scudi. It was a high figure that the local community, alone, could not have met and the Pope was turned to for the granting of an extraordinary contribution. Clement XII declared himself willing to provide 500 scudi on condition that the other 532 provided the inhabitants. And so it was. Having found the money, the reconstruction machine started with the purchase of the necessary material and the preparation of the construction site. The contract for the work fell to Bartolomeo Ferrati of Rome (6) and the direction was entrusted to Cesare Francesconi della Fratta. The excavation of the foundations began on 15 September 1739. Some financing problems arose immediately because at the end of the year the Pope had not yet granted the promised contribution. The Defenders of Fratta approached the representative of the community in Rome, a certain Mariotti, to act as intermediary for the handling of the file. We do not know if the choice was happy, the fact is that Mariotti made it known that "... the Pope was in a very bad state and almost sent to the doctors", taking care to add that if he died it would be more difficult to get the contribution and advised to get busy quickly, as if in the Roman Curia there were no offices in charge of dealing with the commitments undertaken, regardless of the Pope's health. Mariotti certainly did not have those "entrances" that his fellow citizens attributed to him and for which they paid him and he suggested asking others what they had rightly asked of him. It often happens that when you need a favor, the person you are addressing, instead of giving us a hand, submerges us under a heap of thoughtful advice, thankfully free. One thing, however, got it right: Clement XII died on February 16, 1740. A few years later, Mariotti was replaced by Giacomo Guadagni, a more authoritative and introduced Abbot who moved with greater agility in the offices of the Quirinale. The papers do not tell us what happened to the Pope's contribution that certainly arrived, otherwise we would have found traces of increased taxes in subsequent years and also on the reconstructed walls a plaque was affixed with the inscription "Clement XII - Pontiff Maximus - MDCCXXXIX" ( 1739) which testifies to a direct economic intervention by the Pope. The building intervention gave stability and safety to our walls precisely in that stretch where the thrust of the current was greatest, at the beginning of the sudden swerve of about ninety degrees that the Tiber makes before passing under the bridge. The abrupt change of direction makes us guess the nature of the ground below at that point. The castle of Fratta rises on a resistant conglomerate base that forces the Tiber to deviate its course in an almost unnatural way. Its consistency, as well as ensuring stability to the urban center and its walls, protects the buildings and their basements from the infiltration of humidity typical of the most permeable soils. The notarial deeds relating to the sale of properties located along the walls describe in a precise manner their characteristics and the neighboring strip of land. All the houses with the front in Via Diritta, in the rear part, bordered the fence, the municipal skids and the walls. The fence was not attached to the houses, but was separated from them for logistical reasons. Between it and the back of the houses ran a strip of land that formed a street or path. Later, in the west of the castle, the path will become Via delle Petresche and then Via Spunta. The space between the fence and the walls constituted, on the other hand, the "municipal shito", publicly owned which, in the distant past, was used for military defense purposes. At the beginning of the century, however, construction began on this area, reaching as far as the walls. The four houses that the flood of 1736 demolished are clear proof of this. The following graph reconstructs the characteristics of the castle walls. The design was made on the basis of what the notary Filippo Maria Savelli, della Fratta affirms, on 12 March 1768 in his notarial deed relating to the sale of a house. Note: 1. It is the only reference we have about the existence of this inn. In all likelihood it is the one that will be managed by Romitelli in the following century. 2. In a letter dated June 24, 1758 it is said: "... the work of the new cut is carried out almost to an excellent end". 3. Between 1752 and 1758 five reminder letters were written which can be found in the Augusta Library in Perugia among the "papers of Pietro Giacomo Mariotti". 4. The genga is a limestone rock for which the expression is scientifically more correct than others to indicate a cliff. It is used in the report of the engineer Cristoforo Bartoli of 1791 and in a notarial deed of the notary Giovan Battista Burelli, also of 1791. 5. In 1571 the Depositary of the “Company of the Madonna della Reggia (see the book Revenue and Expenses 1565/1571) and of the Madonna del Ponte” paid for some materials taken to accommodate (prepare) the pylon on which the church will have to support. In the year 1588, another recording tells us that a painting already existing in the Majesty which was at the beginning of the bridge is brought to the said Chapel. On that day the Confessor reminds us that the Chapel was not yet finished. In fact, it does not appear even in the drawing by Piccolpasso, dated 1565. 6. The Roman master mason came with a team made up of two masons and two unskilled workers (apprentices). He perceived in all (daily) paoli 14.50 (equivalent to scudi 1.45, i.e. baiocchi 145) divided by him as follows: baj 75 for him, baj 25 for each bricklayer and baj 10 for each boy, for a daily total of 145 baiocchi. Sources: "Umbertide in the XVIII century" by Renato Codovini and Roberto Sciurpa - Municipality of Umbertide - Gesp, 2003 Il Tevere, i ponti, le mura del Castello IL SISTEMA ELETTORALE COMUNALE Al centro della vita democratica del tempo c'era un bussolotto che faceva girare le palle. Di esso abbiamo ampiamente parlato in un altro volume, al quale rimandiamo il lettore per evitare di ripeterci. Qui esporremo solo le procedure tipiche dell'epoca, avvertendo che quanto diremo è il resoconto del rinnovo del Bussolo del 17 luglio 1783: "Rinnovare il Bussolo" era sinonimo di "predisporre la lista virtuale" di coloro che avrebbero dovuto amministrare il pubblico bene per i due anni successivi. Alla fine di ogni biennio esso veniva "rinnovato", inserendo nella cavità delle palle di legno poste al suo interno, un foglietto con i nominativi degli uomini destinati all'incarico. Non si trattava di eleggere solo i Difensori, che duravano in carica quattro mesi, ma anche i Consultori della Sanità, un triumvirato del primo Ceto con incarico biennale; i Sindacatori (Sindaci Revisori), una coppia con incarico annuale; i Terminatori e Stimatori (Quasi sicuramente si trattava di persone esperte nei confini catastali e nelle valutazioni dei beni mobili e immobili. Dopo la metà del secolo lentamente scompaiono), un'altra coppia con incarico biennale; i Portinari, due custodi, uno per la porta sud e l'altro per la porta del Mercato, che restavano in carica due anni; i Sindaci, una coppia con incarico annuale. Per questo motivo le palle, tutte uguali nelle dimensioni, erano contraddistinte da un'etichetta che indicava la categoria dei nomi contenuti: "Difensori, "Sindaci", "Portinari", ecc. per essere individuate al momento del sorteggio. Ma seguiamo da vicino il rinnovo del Bussolo del 17 luglio 1783 per avere un'idea diretta e precisa della procedura adottata. Si doveva, prima di tutto, rinnovare la Magistratura, ossia i Difensori, la carica più importante, che aveva una durata quadrimestrale e gli Imbussolatori avevano perciò a disposizione sei palle, entro ognuna delle quali dovevano inserire il biglietto con una quaterna di nomi. Ogni Ceto o "Sfera" indicava i suoi. Dei quattro, uno doveva appartenere al primo Ceto, ed era di diritto Capo di Magistrato, gli altri tre al secondo. Nella prima votazione furono indicati: Giuseppe Paolucci, Vincenzo Martinelli, Mattia Massi ed Angelo Gigli. Questa quaterna, di cui Paolucci del primo Ceto sarebbe stato il Capo, fu scritta in un foglietto, chiusa dentro la palla contrassegnata con l'etichetta "Difensori" e imbussolata. A questi signori, quattro mesi di governo cittadino da scontare quando sarebbero stati estratti, non li toglieva nessuno. Si passò alla seconda quaterna seguendo la stessa procedura e furono indicati: Angelo Cristiani, Giovan Battista Guerrini, Giovanni Montanucci e Silvestro Martinelli. La terza quaterna dette il seguente esito: Giuseppe Bertanzi, Angelo Ciangottini, Filippo Legnetti e Vincenzo Iotti. Man mano che veniva definita una quaterna, e dopo aver compiuto le operazioni di rito, si imbussolava la palla. A questo punto il Bussolo conteneva già tre palle. La quarta votazione dette il seguente risultato: Giuseppe Cerboncelli, Vittorio Ceccarelli, Pietro Crosti e Maurizio Pucci. La quinta votazione sentenziò: Giovan Battista Burchi, Lorenzo Gigli, Ubaldo Perugini e Pietro Bruni. La sesta e ultima votazione indicò: Giovan Maria Criacci, Gabriele Dell'Uomo, Donino Passalbuoni e Antonio Martinelli. Ora nel Bussolo si trovavano tutte e sei le palle dei Difensori e ogni quadrimestre ne sarebbe stata estratta una che conteneva i quattro componenti della "Giunta" cui spettava la guida del Comune. Si passò alla designazione dei tre Conservatori della Sanità, tutti possidenti appartenenti al primo Ceto, che dovendo restare in carica due anni, come il Bussolo, non vennero imbussolati. Lo stesso criterio fu usato per i tre Terminatori e Stimatori e per i due Portinari. Le due coppie di Sindicatori, con incarico annuale, furono nominate, scritte sul foglietto, chiuse nella palla e imbussolate. A questo punto nel Bussolo c'erano otto palle che diventarono dieci con le due coppie di Sindaci. Le operazioni erano terminate ed il Bussolo, completamente rinnovato, conteneva dieci palle. Al suo interno fu inserito anche il foglio degli "Spicciolati", una lista di riserva, divisa per ceti, da usare nel caso in cui, al momento dell'estrazione della palla, uno dei nomi ivi compresi non fosse più in grado di accettare l'incarico o perché malato o passato a miglior vita. Le elezioni erano finite e per due anni tutti i principali ruoli del governo cittadino erano assicurati dentro le palle. Riflessioni "elettorali" I metodi con cui venivano scelti gli amministratori e gli altri titolari di incarichi importanti nella Fratta del 1700 non sono nemmeno lontani parenti del sistema elettivo attuale. Ci siamo espressi con termini quali "elezione" e "sistema elettorale" solo per usare un linguaggio di uso comune e perciò comprensibile a tutti. Non sarà sfuggito ai nostri lettori che non esiste il minimo accenno alla procedura con cui veniva eletto il Consiglio Comunale Generale. L’accenno non c'è, perché non l'abbiamo trovato. Ma si può ragionevolmente affermare che quel Consiglio fosse l'espressione delle indicazioni assembleari dei due Ceti, riuniti separatamente, come avverrà nel secolo successivo. Non si hanno notizie nemmeno circa la sua durata e il rapporto distributivo dei Consiglieri tra i due Ceti, ma è legittimo sostenere che esso durasse quattro anni e che i membri del secondo Ceto fossero in misura doppia di quelli del primo, come nel secolo successivo. Anche la proporzione tra i Difensori legittima un'ipotesi simile. Del resto in un sistema politico immobile, come quello dello Stato Pontificio, in cui il precedente costituiva prassi duratura per il futuro, non è da escludere che i meccanismi in vigore agli inizi del secolo XIX fossero gli stessi del secolo precedente. L’avvicendamento avveniva quasi certamente con sostituzioni di aliquote quadrimestrali, in modo che al termine della legislatura il Consiglio fosse completamente rinnovato. Pur nei limiti di una rappresentanza ristretta, il sistema era ingegnoso e finalizzato ad assicurare continuità e stabilità all'amministrazione del territorio. Le notizie sugli organi di rappresentanza sono comunque pochissime. Dati i tempi, era infatti superfluo trattare un argomento che si giocavano tra loro solo una ventina di famiglie. Il paragrafo precedente dedica un ampio spazio al resoconto della riunione consiliare del 17 luglio 1783, che si occupò del rinnovo del Bussolo. È una delle rare occasioni in cui il secolo, avaro di notizie politiche, diventa generoso. Prima ancora, i1 20 ottobre del 1743, ci fu un'altra importante riunione consiliare che offre molti spunti di riflessione. Il rinnovo del Bussolo, nella sua disarmante trasparenza e semplicità, dovrebbe aver creato non pochi problemi, litigi laceranti e destabilizzanti ricorsi. Si viveva, insomma, in un clima di incertezze e di sospetti anche perché, in assenza di una normativa precisa, ci si rifaceva alle usanze e alle disposizioni precedenti. Le une e le altre venivano invocate, quando faceva comodo, dai personaggi più abili e interessati. Le cose stavano arrivando ad un punto di non ritorno e nella riunione dell'ottobre 1743, il Consiglio nominò una Commissione paritetica, composta da tre Consiglieri del primo Ceto e da tre del secondo, per elaborare una nuova bozza di Regolamento sul rinnovo del Bussolo e su altri problemi, da sottoporre poi all'approvazione del Consiglio Generale. I poteri conferiti ai Commissari erano ampi e andavano dal ripristino delle prassi "passate", all'adozione di misure nuove da adattarsi "alle circostanze de presenti tempi". La Commissione, presieduta da Filippo Maria Savelli, era composta da Cesare Francesconi, Bartolomeo Petrogalli, Domenico Franceschini, Francesco Guerrini e Carlo Vibi. La bozza di Regolamento, riportata per intero alla fine di questo capitolo, i1 6 dicembre del 1743 era pronta e si presume che fosse sottoposta all'esame del Consiglio Generale nella riunione successiva. I sette capitoli di cui si compone, nel loro stile involuto e tra ardite contorsioni concettuali che fanno invidia a un'odalisca, denunciano molti aspetti del costume del tempo. Senza dubbio, ci sarà stata anche la necessità di maggiore trasparenza e di moralizzazione della vita amministrativa, ma certe sassate impietose, scagliate con troppo disordine, sono sospette e sorprendono non poco: "... perché attesa la scarsezza degli uomini intelligenti e capaci e la molteplicità delle persone meno idonee, ne avviene che il più delle volte fannosi risoluzioni poco profittevoli agli interessi pubblici... ". Possiamo concordare sulla "idoneità", dal momento che non tutti sono portati per la vita politica; meno sull'intelligenza che è una dote di più difficile lettura; quanto alla posposizione del bene pubblico al privato, è un problema di etica politica e non di attitudini o di intelligenza. La furbastria ha un albero genealogico lungo e ramificato ed in questo il `700 ha anticipato i tempi. Senza dire che un giudizio del genere, approvato dal Consiglio comunale, si ritorceva con effetto autolesionistico su se stesso ed in particolare sul primo ceto, costituito al massimo da quattro decine di famiglie e sul secondo che ne contava poche di più. Non sappiamo se quel regolamento si applicò veramente. Il resoconto del rinnovo del Bussolo, riportato nel paragrafo precedente, ad esempio, ne è la violazione palese a distanza di soli quarant'anni dalla sua adozione. In quella circostanza, tutte le indicazioni avvennero per "ballottazione", cioè per votazione consiliare, ed era proprio quello che esso vietava, affidando ad una Commissione ristretta di soli tre imbussolatori la scelta dei nomi, con l'obbligo strano di mantenere la massima segretezza. È chiaro che si sarebbe trattato del segreto di Pulcinella, anche in considerazione del fatto che il mercato delle persone "intelligenti e capaci" disponeva di pochi scampoli di rimanenza. L'introduzione di un accorgimento inutile sta forse a significare che 1'ufficializzazione delle quaterne dei Difensori o degli altri incarichi del biennio, sollecitava attese del turno "amico" o più "arrendevole" o comunque del momento più opportuno per effettuare poco commendevoli manovre. Così, affidandoci alla riservatezza degli Imbussolatori, si salvava la forma ma la sostanza rimaneva immutata, come spesso succede tra gli umani, e l'estrazione sarebbe diventata davvero una tombola. Il Regolamento, inoltre, dava per scontata una prassi che a distanza di due secoli appare poco chiara, quando affermava che i quattro Difensori dovevano essere "uno per Sfera". Nel lessico usato, sembra assodato che il termine "Sfera" sia sinonimo di "Ceto" ed i ceti che godevano del diritto elettorale attivo e passivo erano solamente due. Come mai le "Sfere" diventano quattro? L'unica spiegazione plausibile è riposta nel fatto che mentre la prima sfera era molto ristretta ed omogenea perché l'appartenenza richiedeva il solo requisito del "possesso", la seconda era più eterogenea in quanto agli Artisti appartenevano non solo gli artigiani, ma anche i commercianti e i professionisti (medici, chirurghi, farmacisti, veterinari, avvocati, notai, preti, ecc.). Non si può escludere, pertanto, che all'interno di questo Ceto una prassi condivisa e consolidata stabilisse che i tre Difensori spettanti appartenessero ad ognuna delle tre categorie costituenti la "Sfera". Un'altra constatazione che ci convince della non applicazione del nuovo Regolamento sta nel fatto che il Bussolo avrebbe dovuto contenere 17 palle, invece ne furono inserite solamente 10, e non figurano più alcuni incarichi importanti come quello di Ufficiale della Madonna SS.ma della Reggia. La nomina dei "salariati" aveva procurato molte "turbolenze" a causa delle raccomandazioni, un vezzo dalle lontane radici che qualcuno fa risalire alla nostra Religione che ha codificato il ruolo intermediario dei Santi presso Dio (N.d.R.: Avere qualche Santo in Paradiso) e sotto questo profilo occorre riconoscere che le nostre radici religiose sono lontane e resistenti. Per eliminare il vezzo delle raccomandazioni vengono dettate misure severe quanto inutili e inapplicabili poiché è difficile stabilire il limite tra la raccomandazione e la segnalazione dei titoli di capacità e di merito, richiamate dal Regolamento, se non si precisano i sistemi per documentarli. Tanto per finire ricordiamo che le disposizioni regolamentari stabilirono la possibilità di imbussolare "padre e figlio" e "due fratelli", purché in palle diverse "attesa la suddetta mancanza di persone capaci". Non si può certo dire che quei Signori Consiglieri mancassero di autostima. Del resto basta dare uno sguardo all'elenco dei Difensori per accorgerci che gli intelligenti e i capaci appartenevano solo a un paio di decine di famiglie. Adesso si capisce perché quelli bravi erano tanto pochi! RIUNIONE CONSILIARE DELLA COMUNITÀ PER DECIDERE SUL NUOVO BUSSOLO E CAPITOLATO RELATIVO In Dei Nomine Amen - Die 20 Octobris 1743. Convocatum et celebratum fuit publicum et generale Consilium per illustris Comm(unitatis) Insignis Terrae Fractae Perusiae more solito intimati cum interventu, et assistentia per Ill(ustris) Dom. Francisci Ghezzi Commissarii, in quo quidam Consilio interfuerunt infras(criptii)… Illu. Dom. Joseph de Sabelli Caput Officii Laurentius Martinelli Anselmus Donatuti Petrus Ant. Guerrini Ill. Dom. Philippus de Sabellis Franciscus Guerrini Carolus de Vibis Joseph Andreas Milanesi Dom. Franciscus Francisconi Joseph Matthias Cristiani Joseph Bernardinus de Homine Petrus Joseph Lestini Raimundus Rotelli Bartholomeus Petrogalli Caietanus Molinari Laurentius Gigli Philippus Roni Dominicus Franceschini Constantinus Pignani Augustinus Bettelli Franciscus Passalboni Carolus Ant. Francesconi Dominicus Paganelli ... de Consilio... et notum in eo habent ed illud totum representa ; et pro absen. si qui... promittentes. Et omissis aliis de voluntate reperiuntur infrascripta videlicet. Dom. Dominicus Franceschini in aringo eius med. ... dixit.... Intra. Vedendosi questo nostro Consiglio posto in molta confusione attesi i vicendevoli ricorsi fatti da diverse persone circa la Rinnovazione del Bussolo, numero dei Difensori, ed altre cose appartenenti a questo Consiglio, e non potendo fare a meno che questa Comunità non sia per risentirne gravi pregiudizi da questa discrepanza di voleri, sarei di sentimento pro bono pacis, ed in vantaggio del Pubblico et del Privato, che si eleggessero sei persone delle più capaci e dare a questi la facoltà di accomodare le differenze suddette; col darli anche l'arbitrio di rimettere in pristino molte buone e sagge disposizioni del nostro Statuto e rispettivamente de Signori passati Superiori, concedendoli anche la libertà di accomodare tali procedimenti alle circostanze dei presenti tempi e di fare insomma tutto ciò che li parerà opportuno per bon regolamento di questa Comunità con sottoporre poi alla Sag... questa loro... acciò si degni approvarlo e perché abbia la piena forza e debba essere osservato da tutti ed in tal modo credo che si darà fine alle liti e si rimetteranno gli animi in quiete, come tutti desiderano. Rimettendomi... [seguono due righe in latino]. A chi pare e piace di aprire il suddetto Aringo e di dare alli signori Difensori la facoltà di nominare sei persone tre della prima Sfera, tre della seconda in effetto suddetto, dia la palla bianca in favore, e a chi non piace, la negra in contrario. Tunc distribuitis et re... fuerunt reperta nota albe ri dece et nove, et unum nigrum... Post modum vigere... nominarunt... Cesare de Francescani, Bartholomeus Petrogalli, et Philippus de Sabellis, et Dominicus Franceschini, Franciscus Guerrini et Carolus de Vibis. Iterum de... A chi pare e piace di lor signori di approvare gli uomini nominati come sopra e dargli tutte le facoltà necessarie et opportune come sopra, dia la palla bianca in favore e a chi non piace, la negra in contrario. Tunc distribuitie e recollectis de more suffragia fuerunt reperta vota alba favorabilia viginta…" MODO DI FORMARE IL NUOVO BUSSOLO Capitolo I Primieramente, a tenore delle enunciate facoltà, si determina e stabilisce che essendo già determinata l'estrazione delle Palle degli Officiali di questa Comunità un mese prima che termini l'amministrazione delli Difensori estratti nell'ultima Palla, debba radunarsi il Consiglio nel modo e forma che dirassi in appresso ed ivi il Signor Capo d'Offizio dovrà nominare per primo un bussolatore uno della sua Sfera, il secondo e terzo Difensore un altro per ciascuno della sua Sfera, e dandosi il caso che alcuna delle persone nominate non fossero presenti al Consiglio, dovrà immediatamente mandarsi a chiamare da Donzelli ed in caso di legittimo impedimento dovrà nominarsi altro in suo luogo e, stabiliti che saranno gli imbussolatori, dovranno questi, doppo licenziato il Consiglio, rimanere in Palazzo col Signor Commissario e Segretario per formare il nuovo bussolo, quale dovrà rifarsi perpetuamente per soli due anni, sotto pena di nullità, e dovrà farsi di comune consenso, invocato prima l'aiuto dell'Altissimo e prestato il solito giuramento di prescegliere i più atti ed idonei, rimossa ogni privata passione e di tener segreta l'elezione fatta conforme costumasi e ritenuta convenientemente la facoltà al Capo Imbussolatore di prescegliere i Capi, in caso che il secondo e terzo imbussolatore non volessero convenire col primo e richiedessero che si ballottassero per voti le persone da eleggersi. Il Bussolo poi dovrà contenere sei Palle delli Difensori da durare ciascuna mesi quattro; una Palla delli tre Conservatori della Sanità o Consultori della Comunità da durare tutto il biennio; due Palle degli Officiali della Madonna SS.ma della Reggia, da durare un anno l'una; due Palle delli Sindacatori; altre due delli Stimatori Pubblici; altre due delli Portinari; due delli Sindaci, parimente da durare un anno per ciascuna, conforme si è sempre costumato, col fare anche i nomi de Spicciolati. Capitolo Il Delli Difensori e Conservatori della Sanità Dovranno in ogni palla imbussolarsi quattro Difensori cioè uno per Sfera delle persone più capaci e discrete e che possiedono qualche stabile di proprio, giacché nelle presenti circostanze non puol pienamente adempirsi la mente del nostro Statuto che determina che nessuno possa essere eletto Difensore che non possieda almeno 30 di Scovere, determinandosi ancorché oltre alla possidenza debba essere ancora unita la capacità, ad effetto, che siano ben regolati i pubblici affari, il tutto sotto pena della nullità, a tenore del medesimo Statuto. Si dovrà inoltre formare, come si disse, la Palla delli tre Conservatori della Sanità, o Commissari della Comunità, quali dovranno durare per fin che saranno compite le Palle delli Difensori, e questi dovranno sempre essere della prima Sfera, sotto pena di nullità, e persone non imbussolate se sia possibile in altri Offizi, la incombenza dei quali sarà di intervenire al Consiglio tutte le volte che saranno invitati, e di sopra intendere alla custodia delle porte in tempi di contagi e sospetti, di attendere alla restaurazione delle mura, ponti e fonti con l'assenso però dei Difensori, sotto pena a quelli che ricusassero di comparire al loro Uffizio d'uno scudo per ciascuna volta da applicarsi dal Signor Commissario, non essendo scusati dal legittimo impedimento dichiarandosi inoltre che non potranno gli Imbussolatori sotto la pena suddetta aggiungere alcuna persona al numero dei Consiglieri, né mutarle dalle loro Sfere e gradi ma solo sia lecito agli stessi Imbussolatori l'imbussolarsi per loro in caso di mancanza di persone. Capitolo III Delli Consiglieri particolari delli Difensori Per miglior provedimento degli affari pubblici si determina e stabilisce che ogni Difensore debba avere il suo Consigliere e questi debbano essere quelle persone medesime che sono stati Difensori nella Palla immediatamente antecedente, per essere essi meglio informati dei pubblici interessi e dandosi il caso che nella prima Palla che si estrae finito il Consiglio, uscisse per Difensore alcuno delli Difensori della Palla antecedente, in tal caso anche il suo Consigliere debba proseguire nel suo officio per altri quattro mesi, se pure questo accidente non si dasse in uno dei tre Conservatori della Sanità nel qual caso dovrà surrogarsi dalli Signori Difensori altro nel suo luogo. Il che dovrassi sempre osservare quando per accidente o per mancanza di Soggetti una delle persone fosse imbussolata in Offici contemporaneamente. L’incombenza poi per tutti suddetti Consiglieri sarà di dire il loro parere in tutti li consigli dopo che dal Segretario sarannosi proposti gl'affari da risolversi e non potranno consigliare fuori del luogo destinato e se prima non averanno prestato il solito giuramento de bene et fidate liber consulendo e se non volessero consigliare vi potranno essere forzati sotto pena d'uno scudo d'applicarsi come sopra, restando dopo di loro la facoltà alli Conservatori della Sanità di dire il loro parere approvando il sentimento di Consiglieri secondo le sarà dato dalla coscienza, sempre però prestando il suddetto giuramento, senza di cui non devrassi scrivere il sentimento e consiglio veruno. Capitolo IV Del modo di convocare e celebrare il Consiglio Perché attesa la scarsezza degl'uomini intelligenti e capaci e la molteplicità delle persone meno idonee, ne avviene che il più delle volte fannosi risoluzioni poco profittevoli agl'interessi pubblici, si determina e stabilisce a tenore delli statuti e disposizioni, che in tutte le occorrenze della Comunità debba convocarsi il Consiglio composto di dodici Persone ed inoltre con l'intervento del Signor Commissario, e questi saranno li quattro Difensori, li quattro Consiglieri, li tre Conservatori della Sanità, ed il Camerlengo del Pubblico e questo Consiglio avrà tutte le facoltà di risolvere, determinare, decidere e far tutto ciò che puol fare il Consiglio Generale fuorché in materia di nuove imposizioni, prezzi d'Abbondanza, introduzione di litigi ed altri gravissimi emergenti per i quali dovrassi convocare il Consiglio delle 42 persone, senza intervento del Signor Commissario a solo fine di ben digerire le materie d'importanza da discorrersi nel Generale Consiglio, e tutto ciò a tenore di diverse risoluzioni fatte nei Pubblici Consigli ed approvate dalli Presidi di Perugia fin dal 1620, come si raccoglie da libri dei suddetti Consigli e dallo Statuto rispettivamente a quali si rimanda. Per convocare poi e celebrare validamente il suddetto Consiglio si determina che il giorno avanti debbano per ordine delli Signori Difensori invitarsi dalli Donzelli tutti quelli che dovranno intervenire e dandosi l'accidente che qualcuno fosse legittimamente impedito, li Signori Difensori avranno la facoltà di surrogare un altro della medesima Sfera nel luogo della persona impedita il che parimente dovrà farsi tute le volte che nel Consiglio dovesse trattarsi dell'interesse particolare d'alcuna delle 42 Persone sopra nominate, non volendo che la persona interessata possa in nessun conto intervenire al Consiglio sotto pena di nullità del medesimo a tenore delle suddette statutarie disposizioni. Stabilito poi che debba farsi all'ora determinata il giorno seguente il Consiglio, dovrà la sera innanzi dalli Signori Difensori farsi dar ordine al Campanaro del Pubblico che suoni all'Ave Maria, senz'altro segno, mezz'ora prima dell'ora determinata per il Consiglio si diano dodici tocchi alla Campana del Pubblico, che sarà il segno della convocazione del Consiglio delli 12 lasciando nel solito stile il modo di convocare il Consiglio Generale, come costumasi di presente. In caso poi che le persone che dovranno intervenire al Consiglio delli 12 ricusassero d'intervenirvi all'ora determinata, non avendo legittimo impedimento da approvarsi dal Signor Commissario si determina e stabilisce che debbano essere puniti nella pena di uno scudo di moneta romana da applicarsi dal detto Signor Commissario, nella qual pena parimente incorreranno quelli che non avendo riguardo al luogo e alle persone ardissero discorrere temerariamente profferendo parole ingiuriose contro alcuno dei presenti in Consiglio, qual pena dovrà duplicarsi in caso che l'ingiuria fosse fatta ad alcuno delli Difensori, volendo che si discorra con tutta la modestia e solo degli affari pubblici nel luogo destinato e non altrove, tenuto conto di ogni umano rispetto, conforme ordina il suddetto Statuto al quale si rimanda. Attesa poi la suddetta mancanza di persone capaci si determina e stabilisce a tenore degli ordini ultimamente emanati da Mons. Enriquez Giud. Dep. della Sagra Consulta, che possano imbussolarsi due fratelli, padre e figlio d'una medesima casa, in diverse Palle però, e che questi nel Consiglio delli 12 abbiano unitamente il voto per non diminuire in modo alcuno il numero dei voti che dorassi sempre mantenere integro; determinando che nella ballottazione il partito s'intenda vinto per voti otto favorevoli e non altrimenti. Capitolo V Delli salariati Perché nel elezione di Medico, Chirurgo, Predicatori ed altri salariati sono in questa Comunità varie volte accadute varie turbolenze ed inconvenienti a cagione delle raccomandazioni procurate dai medesimi concorrenti, si determina e stabilisce che non possa essere ammesso alcuno a pubblici uffizi quando voglia impetrarli con loro commendatizie, ma si abbia solo riguardo a requisiti e meriti del concorrente, e perciò ne meno alcuno del Consiglio possa far pratica per unire li voti dovendo ciascuno votare a tenore de dettami della propria coscienza, avendo così altre volte decretato li Signori Superiori con lettere; a quali essi determinandosi in oltre che li salariati, dovendosi riproporre, si faccia due mesi prima che spiri l'anno dal giorno della loro elezione, acciò rimanendo esclusi possa la Commissione provvedersi d'altro soggetto che presti la debita servitù a se stessa ed agli abitanti del luogo. Capitolo VI Della rinnovazione di alcune pene Si stabilisce in oltre, che qualunque persona commettesse fraude in pregiudizio di privativa, che gode questo Pubblico nei suoi proventi, o de i detti loro appaltatori, possa e debba dal Consiglio de i 12, coll'attestato d'un testimonio degno di fede, procedere unitamente col Signor Commissario a privare il suddetto defraudatore di Medico, Chirurgo, Maestro di Scuola e d'ogni grazia e favore che potesse concedere questo luogo e ciò a onore di quanto anno altre volte stabilito li Signori Superiori, qual pena dovrà anche infliggersi contro quelli che senza legittimo impedimento e privi di sufficiente privilegio, vi ricusassero di accettare gl'Uffizi Pubblici, non essendo giusto che riceva benefizi da questa Comunità chi si mostra ingrato in servirla nelle sue occorrenze. Capitolo VII Del acompagno del Magistrato nelle pubbliche funzioni Si determina finalmente che in congiunzione, cioè in occasione, delle solennità dei nostri SS. Avvocati (Santi Protettori del paese), ed altre solite Sagre Funzioni debba sempre portarsi il Magistrato in Corpo a visitare le chiese consuete, ancorché sia sospesa quella ricognizione che era solita darsi in tal congiunzione, cioè occasione, e acciò a tenore del costume sin ora osservato e molto più perché non si manchi di prestare il debbito onore all'Altissimo e nostri SS. Avvocati e Protettori e in tal congiuntura debbano i salariati e Consiglieri necessariamente intervenire all'accompagno del Magistrato, assieme con gl'altri uomini della Comunità con abito e ferraiolo negro e con quella maggior decenza che li sarà permesso, altrimenti potranno essere rigettati indietro e puniti ad arbitrio del Signor Commissario e ciò per maggiore decoro del Pubblico e di tutto il Paese. Quali capitoli come sopra stabiliti approvati che benignamente saranno dalla Sagra Consulta, vogliamo che siano inviolabilmente osservati, né sia lecito ad alcuno il mutarli senza il preventivo assenso della detta Sagra Consulta e del Generale e Particolare Consiglio. In fede li abbiamo sottoscritti di nostro carattere adì 6 dicembre del 1743. Io Filippo Maria Savelli Deputato mano propria Io Cesare Francesconi Deputato ma. pr. Io Bartolomeo Petrogalli Deputato ma. pr . Io Domenico Franceschini Deputato ma. pr . Io Francesco Guerrini Deputato ma. pr. Io Carlo Vibi Deputato ma. pr. [Seguono poi sei righe che si riferiscono alla stesura del documento stilate da un notaio, quasi sicuramente il notaio Burelli, e datate 17 giugno 1794, cioè 51 anni dopo. Esse sono siglate con il timbro "IBBN" che è quello di Burelli (Iohannes Baptista Burelli Notaio)]. FONTI: “Umbertide nel secolo XVIII” di Renato Codovini e Roberto Sciurpa – Comune di Umbertide, 2003 Il sistema elettorale comunale

The historic calendars of Umbertide Adriano Bottaccioli, the creator of the Umbertide Calendar and author of the illustrations and of the editorial and graphic project of all editions In the photo alongside, from left: Fabio Mariotti, Adriano Bottaccioli, Mario Tosti and Amedeo Massetti. Below, from left: Walter Rondoni, Fabio Mariotti, Adriano Cerboni, Amedeo Massetti and Mario Tosti with the cover of the second edition of the Calendar. The idea of an Umbertidese lunarium could only arise from the brain (and heart) of an emigrant-commuter fellow citizen, due to that particular sensitivity towards his own land that the distance develops; but Adriano Bottaccioli did not just pull the stone and hide his hand, as many "thinkers" too often do, but sharpened his formidable pencil and intellect to give his intuition a body full of warmth and collective intimacy . An editorial staff was set up around Adriano made up of Mario Tosti , Amedeo Massetti and Fabio Mariotti to whom Walter Rondoni was added who guaranteed quality and continuity of work and to whom other collaborators were then added year by year because good ideas, fortunately, are still contagious and many have been ready to have fun lending a hand, with the enthusiasm of rediscovering themselves part of a community, which comes from the same memories and moves towards the same goals and expectations. The Calendar, on its first release, aroused great surprise and huge success among the citizens, especially among the people of Umbria residents in other cities and abroad (to which was promptly sent): and they began to get enthusiastic letters from the City every where. All copies were snapped up (many requests they came even from nearby cities) and it was necessary prepare a second reissue. This convinced the municipal administration to continue the initiative, considered a important tool to strengthen even more the identity and values of the community and in the same time to fix historical and cultural aspects that otherwise they would have risked getting lost. 1992 calendar Read the calendar 1993 Calendar Laws the calendar 1994 calendar Read the calendar 1992 . The first edition of the Umbertide Calendar has the role of a lunario - almanac, presenting all the aspects of our cultural traditions: from the dialect to the idioms; from proverbs, to games, to nursery rhymes, to popular chants; from the typical dishes of our peasant civilization, to the nicknames that were once given to all the members of our small community. 1993 . The second edition the research on popular traditions and local linguistic aspects continued, but also the "ancient crafts" were included and "portraits" of Umbertidese characters were added who, for their originality and sympathy, had left their mark on the collective memory and were remembered by all with love. There were also memories of nice village events or famous jokes that occurred several decades ago, but still remembered by many. 1994 . The 1994 Calendar, continuing on the traditional mainstay, examined above all the events of the Second World War in Umbertide, with particular regard to the tragic aerial bombardment of April 25, which marked the fiftieth anniversary. 1995 calendar Read the calendar 1996 Calendar Read the calendar 1997 Calendar Read the calendar 1995. The following year, 1995, saw a calendar dedicated to the "great trades" that have characterized the life of the city from 1900 onwards; the most important, those that have interested and continue to interest generations of Umbertidesi and those who have disappeared or risk disappearing in the name of a modernity that too often tramples on traditions and cancels creativity. 1996 . In 1996 the research on popular traditions was extended to twelve municipalities of Altotiberini, Umbria and Tuscany (Anghiari, Citerna, Città di Castello, Lisciano Niccone, Monterchi, Monte S. Maria Tiberina, Montone, Pietralunga, Pieve S. Stefano, San Giustino, Sansepolcro , Umbertide). The Calendar of the Upper Tiber Valley was born, distributed in many copies by the publisher Cerboni of Città di Castello. 1997 . The 1997 Calendar was dedicated to the rediscovery of the ancient districts of Umbertide, with the trades, games and characters that animated the alleys and squares of the time. Ramiro, Giovanni, Bigo Bago, Pàrise, Silvio de Santa Maria, L'Andella and Federico, 'The accountant Martinelli, Checco de Camillo, Peppe de la Fascìna, L'Ottavia, L'Alba de Budidò, Tomassino. 1998 calendar Read the calendar 1999 calendar Read the calendar 2000 calendar Read the calendar 1998 . 1998 was the turn of the historical associations of Umbertide which formed the soul of the city and involved thousands of people in their recreational, social, cultural and sporting activities. 1999 . Since 1999 the main theme of the Calendar has shifted towards historical research on Umbertide, based on the very rich material collected in decades of passionate research by Renato Codovini . The monuments and the most ancient defensive works of the past have begun to be examined in depth, often providing unpublished information, such as those on the "Saracina" tower at the beginning of the bridge, on the Collegiate Church, on the castle walls, on the door of San Francesco, on the great fourteenth-century dam on the Tiber. Numerous news also on the hamlets of Umbertide, such as Preggio, Pierantonio, Montecastelli. On the left, Renato Codovini 2000 . The nineteenth century was the main theme of the end of the millennium calendar. The nineteenth-century Fratta, albeit with the necessary brevity, has been examined in all its aspects: public safety, the administration of the Municipality, traffic and communications, agriculture, associations and institutions, music, theater and leisure, industrial activities, commerce, health, public education, the postal service, transport, the population. An unprecedented slice of life that has fascinated many people. Elementary and middle schools have adopted it as a news source for historical research on our recent past. 2001 Calendar Read the calendar Calendar 2002 Read the calendar Calendar 2003 Read the calendar 2001 . In 2001 the Calendar celebrated its tenth anniversary with a special edition that carried all those of its predecessors on its cover. The main topic was the eighteenth-century Fratta. Map of the siege of Fratta during the "War of the Grand Duke" Drawing by Adriano Bottaccioli 2002 . Always continuing on the historical trend, we arrived at the 2002 calendar, which dealt with Fratta in the seventeenth century, providing information of great interest on the life of our small fortified city in the seventeenth century. The famous “blacksmiths of Fratta” appeared there, the potters with their precious ceramics. The way to live, to dress, to have fun was described. The school, the music, the theater, the "hotels". The life and poems of Filippo Alberti, a famous poet and man of letters from Fratta, a friend of Torquato Tasso. Numerous curiosities. It contained the names of the families of the seventeenth century and their events. Finally, an accurate and exciting exposition of the "War of the Grand Duke" which hit Fratta in the autumn of 1643. The siege of the Tuscan army, the fortifications, the defense of the walls, the great flood of the Tiber. Until the general exultation for the narrow escape. 2003 . No less interesting was the 2003 edition, with the presentation of the laborious life of the Fratta of the sixteenth century. The first “photograph” left by Cipriano Piccolpasso in 1565 was published there, reproduced for the first time from the original - kept in the National Central Library of Rome - with the digital system. The quality of the enlarged image provided details that had not been possible to observe with previous photographic reproductions; many details of the castle and of the lower village emerged, with very interesting aspects of the architectural structure, of the military fortifications, of the productive activities of Fratta. Really exciting. Calendar 2004 Read the calendar 2005 calendar Read the calendar 2006 Calendar Read the calendar 2004 . The 2004 Calendar provided surprising information on the 15th century Fratta. The stay of Pico della Mirandola in our small village, chosen as the ideal place to write the "manifesto of the Renaissance"; the presence of a prestigious Jewish community; the many important figures of national importance who were born here, such as the illustrious jurist Giovanni Pachino and the pontifical archiatrist Andrea Cibo. News always drawn from the precious research of Renato Codovini . 2005 . After popular traditions, dialect, ancient crafts and historical research, a new phase has opened with 2005. This year's Calendar has in fact opened the line of images more important to everyone, than real family albums. A photographic story of the families of Umbria in the most significant moments of life. Edition that has achieved extraordinary success for the sense of intimacy and the high evocative value that it is successful to create. 2006 . The 2006 Calendar also continued in the vein of family images. The most important images for everyone, real family albums. A photographic story of the families of Umbria in the most significant moments of life. Edition that has replicated the success of that of the previous year, always for the sense of intimacy and the high evocative value it created. 2007 Calendar Read the calendar Calendar 2008 Read the calendar Calendar 2009 Read the calendar 2007 . This edition concludes the section dedicated to the images of the families of Umberto in the most significant moments of life. Three editions that have met with great success success for the sense of intimacy and the high evocative value that they managed to create, also involving citizens in the search for often forgotten photos. 2008 . The 2008 Calendar was instead dedicated to the knowledge and enhancement of important works of art in our Municipality. On each page of the month it was one of the great works that are part of the artistic heritage of the city and the territory. Signorelli , Pomarancio , Pinturicchio , Nero Alberti , Corrado Cagli , Ernesto Freguglia : the great artists who have left traces of their work in Umbertide. The graphic design in which the work was carried out is also splendid. 2009 . In 2009, however, the Calendar guided the visit to the Town Hall, formerly the luxurious residence of the Bourbon Marquis of Sorbello, which has been the seat of the local administration offices since 1841. A detailed illustration of this historic building, the heart of public life in Umbertide, of all its architectural features, and its notable artistic merits. In addition to the description of the "noble" floor - seat of the halls of the Mayor, the Council and the Executive - full of sculptures and frescoes, also detailed images and maps to improve knowledge of all the offices that provide services to citizens every day. Calendar 2010 Laws the calendar 2011 Calendar Read the calendar 2012 Calendar Read the calendar 2010. The 2010 edition completely changed the subject, turning attention to the world of work, to the vast productive world of our territory. Shops and workshops, factories and farms, construction sites, schools, hospitals, shops. Ingenious and creative craftsmen who qualify our productive world, competent and passionate entrepreneurs who face sacrifices and risks for their own company. It was surprising to discover the very high technological level of some companies and that certain products for brands of national importance, such as Fiat. Maserati and Ferrari are manufactured in Umbertide. 2011 . The 2011 Calendar was dedicated to the Tiber, to which the life of our city has always been linked. The story of Fratta on the river, a secure military defense and bringer of floods and destruction; the characteristic figures, the washerwomen, the fishermen, the "renaioli", the "bracelets", the carters. The characters who lived in symbiosis with the river, the fishing systems, the fluvial flora and fauna, the cuisine of the Tiber. Finally, the historical events on the Tiber, from the siege of the Tuscan army in 1643 to the aerial bombardment of 1944 which aimed at the destruction of the bridge. Fantastic illustrations: a highly evocative calendar. 2012 . The 2012 edition celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the calendar, with a special issue that retraced the history of the Umbertian lunar year by year, with an exciting ride back in time. We spent more than seven thousand days and 175 thousand hours together. Beautiful and less beautiful days, marked by joys but also by disappointments, successes and failures. Almost a lifetime, and we did it by discovering and rediscovering the history of Fratta, both the big and the small one, made up of many stories, anecdotes, characters who have left their mark on the community. 2013 Calendar Read the calendar 2014 Calendar Read the calendar 2015 Calendar Read the calendar 2013 . This edition was entirely dedicated to CUISINE , in particular the local one, with columns related to the theme of food: the recipe of the month, smells, spices, good herbs, mushrooms and truffles, the professions of food, magnà alla frattegiana, ristulzini 'ntorno al foco, food anthology. A particularly appetizing calendar in which the inspiration and competence of Adriano Bottaccioli were exalted. 2014 . The main theme of the 2014 edition is the Fratta of the nineteenth century which relives every year in the historical re-enactment in costume for the squares, streets and alleys of the historic center. The inns and taverns, the festive air, the shows and events, as people lived then, portraits from the 1800s, 150 years as a Umbertidesi. This edition was dedicated to Amedeo Massetti and Peppe Cecchetti who left us, the first a backbone of the Calendar since birth, the second great collaborator with his photographic art. 2015 . Umbertide between '800 and' 900: The 100 years of the Tiberis, the arrival of electricity in the city, the story of Zelmirina Agnolucci, the Rometti family and ceramic art, the Central Apennine Railway and the Umbrian Central, Leoncillo, the minimal anthology of writings on Umbertide . These are the topics covered. 2016 Calendar Read the calendar 2016 . It is the 25th edition and it is also the last one signed by Adriano Bottaccioli and his editorial staff. An exciting cycle closes with a calendar addressed, as a sign of homage and thanks, to the UMBERTIDESI IN THE WORLD . The history, the memories, the characters, the images of the many people from Umberto who went to seek their fortune all over the world, where they proved to be "... diligent, ingenious, solicitous and avid ..." as they were already defined, in the mid-16th century, by Cipriano Piccolpasso. Help us remember umbertidestoria@gmail.com

THE FRACTAL OF THE CINQUECENTO The rules of life in the Fratta of the 16th century Curated by Fabio Mariotti In addition to wrinkles and white hair, the accumulation of birthdays in itself proportionally restricts the feeling of depth of the centuries; if we then realize that the weaknesses of the men of half a millennium ago are substantially the same as today, the norms of the Statutes of the Fratta of 1521 seem to be placed just around the corner left behind us. There is nothing new in plain sight: fears, greed, selfishness, in perennial antagonism with the aspirations of security, justice, equality. And the willingness to turn a blind eye to the former and to the detriment of the latter: every era has its own compromises. Prostitution Although fornication is forbidden by its nature and by divine law, nevertheless the lesser evil is sometimes tolerated in order to avoid the greater one. Therefore we establish and order that in the castle or in the neighboring villages, according to common judgment, a home or refuge is identified for prostitutes who, for a set price, put themselves at the service and give their bodies to the pleasure of young people or others in need. Therefore prostitutes must exercise their service in this place assigned to them or in remote places outside the villages, far from the women's conversation areas, to protect huts and mats so that they cannot be seen. Therefore we establish and order that prostitutes who provide their service in the street, in the square, in the tavern or in other public places be sentenced to 20 soldi: credit can be given to any accuser, assisted by a witness worthy of faith, receiving in this case one third of the sentence. Adultery We establish and order that anyone who attempts to rape any woman, rich or poor, known or unknown, be punished; the penalty is 20 lire if the female is of good family and reputation; it is reduced to 10 lire if it is chat. On the other hand, anyone who actually commits adultery with married women against their will is punished with 25 lire, for each woman and for each time. In the event that the violation is committed - against their will - with spinster women, virgins, unmarried women, nuns or whimsical women, the penalty of 25 lire is added to the penalty established by the Statutes of Perugia: the penalty is halved if the female is consenting. The betrayal If a married man engages in carnal relations with a female in contempt of his woman and, similarly, if a married woman does with a man, in contempt and against the will of her husband, the man or woman will be punished or punished with 10 lire, whoever infringes these rules. In these cases, the testimony of the neighbors constitutes legitimate and sufficient proof. The riots If someone in the castle or in the villages incites or promotes a riot or a fight in order to disturb the quiet of the castle, involving up to 20 people or causing a murder or a beating, he will be subjected to the penalty of 10 lire, without prejudice to the subsequent sentence. by the podestà of Perugia. Anyone who causes disturbances in the council or general assembly, or plots and conspires, will be punished with 10 lire which must be paid immediately without trial before leaving the building. Anyone who provokes a protest or a riot such as to cause a scandal will be punished with 40 soldi. The podestà will have to carry out investigations to identify such wrongdoings, at least once a month; in case of negligence the podestà will have to pay a fine of 100 soldi. The night owls We establish and order that no one should wander around the castle and its surroundings after the third ring of the municipality bell which must be rung by the bell ringer in the evening as soon as the castle clock strikes one hour after dark; time must pass between the strokes to recite a miserere. A penalty of 5 soldi is applied to the bell ringer for every time he does not carry out his task; a penalty of 10 soldi is imposed on anyone who is caught walking around at night without lights. Anyone who has lights or embers lit before leaving the house is exempt from the penalty; also exempt are doctors or pharmacists, bakers who go to order bread, those who bring or withdraw bread from the oven, those who go to look for the midwife and also those who prove that the light has gone out due to the wind or in any case against the his will, or who watches over the fires that the neighbors sometimes light on the street or those who stay cool around the house in the evening. The inns No host or hotelier can house any straggler or rebel or condemned by the Holy Church or by the city of Perugia; may not allow gambling by lending cards, dice or board. The host will have to carry out the serving with the correct and stamped measures. We intend to prohibit hoteliers from accommodating more than 10 men without the authorization of the mayor; in suspicious times no man or woman can be hosted without this authorization, under penalty of 20 soldi. We order that no hotelier lodge an armed guest, unless he has first laid down his arms or refuses to do so; soldiers and officers of the Holy Church and of the city of Perugia who came to the castle by order of the commanders of the same are exempt. The bakers We order that the bakers of the castle must cook the bread brought to their ovens well and according to law, using competence and care. The fee for cooking is set at 2 soldi per bushel of bread; if this remuneration is increased, a penalty of 10 soldi will be imposed each time. If, due to a cooking defect, the bread is bad, the owner of the bread will be compensated. Each oven must be equipped with a chimney that comes out of the roof, to avoid possible fires. Bakers must keep the bread for sale placed in baskets covered with white placemats so that buyers get an appetite and not a stomach upset. Anyone who defrauds the sale will have bread confiscated and assigned, for God's sake, to the poor in the hospital of Santa Croce in Borgo di Sotto. The dead In order for women to behave with due honesty, we order that no female can or should leave the house to cry desperately for any dead, wherever they are, under the penalty of 40 sous. And no female can accompany the dead to the burial, following him weeping and disheveled. And no person, man or woman, is to despair over the grave after the dead have been taken to church and buried and in later times. Anyone who is able to prove such an accusation will receive a third of the sentence, provided they have a trustworthy witness. The corruption To ensure that those in public office have clean hands, we establish and order that no public administrator, in the performance of his function, tries to put any amount of money in his pocket, or behaves with fraud or malice or tries to barter. the benefits granted or forcibly demand or spontaneously receive rewards. Anyone who does not respect these rules will have a penalty equal to four times the amount he has defrauded, traded or illegally earned. Anyone guilty of these crimes will never be able to hold offices again; his crimes must be reported to the public opinion by the auctioneer in all places frequented by the fraudster. The hoarders It is our will to curb the greed and avarice of many people who study with all their ingenuity to accumulate goods (to the displeasure of God and the damage of the neighbor, not satisfied and satisfied with their share) by hoarding wheat and other food to be able to resell when they have increased in value. For this reason we establish and order that no one plots or plots to buy food in this castle and its surroundings and, removing them from common use, causing famine. For each accumulated state a fine of 20 soldi will be applied. Anyone who will allow these hoarders to be unmasked, accusing them, will receive a third part of the sum as a reward. Leprosy In the Old Testament it is written that those infected with leprosy must be segregated from others. So we establish and order that if someone is infected with leprosy the defenders of the castle must inform him or have him informed, with charitable and polite ways, that he is required to move away from the castle and its villages by going to live separated from everyone or in a leper colony. If the leper accepts the invitation, it is better; if, on the other hand, he refuses to leave within an hour, he is advised by the podestà that he must leave the castle within 10 days under the penalty of 5 lire; if he has not left after this deadline, the invitation to leave is renewed within 5 days, under the penalty of 10 lire; if he has not left after this deadline, he is granted another day, under the penalty of 20 lire. If he does not obey, he will have to pay out 20 lire and will be thrown out of the castle door, by popular acclaim. Modesty It is evident that in these modern times honesty has returned to heaven and shame has abandoned even the old ones: in fact, the shameful parts are shown and exposed without respect for anyone, not even for virgins and married women, and with greater insistence by those who have more abundance; and this happens in various places but in particular on the Tiber, in the areas frequented by people. To remedy this filth, we establish and order that those who dare to expose themselves without underwear or other honest cover in the water, swimming at least, to the "stone" or "patollo" along the stretch of Tiber that goes from the Calbi mill to be punished with 5 lire. to the greppo of Cristoforo. Those under the age of 12 and those who jump into the water to save someone who is about to drown are exempt from the sentence. (To facilitate the reading the rules have been reported from the vernacular in the current Italian) Sources: “The rules of life in the Fratta of the '500” are taken from the “Statutes of the Fratta dei Figliuoli di Uberto (Umbertide) of 1521 "(B. Porrozzi, Ed. Pro Loco, Umbertide, 1980). They were published in the Historical Calendar of the Municipality of Umbertide - 1st edition - 1992. All the historic calendars of the Municipality of Umbertide can be found in Pdf format on the institutional websites: www.comune.umbertide.pg.it / www.umbertideturismo.it Le attività economiche La Fratta di Cipriano Piccolpasso Le regole di vita nella Fratta del Cinquecento Le cariche pubbliche Artisti ed opere d'arte Chiese, conventi e il miracolo della Madonna della Regghia I Fanfani di Fratta Gli Statuti della Fraternita di Santa Croce Le regole di vita nella Fratta del Cinquecento La Fratta by Cipriano Piccolpasso Curated by Fabio Mariotti Cipriano Piccolpasso was born in Casteldurante (today's Urbania) in 1524. He began to work as a military architect and was a master of fortifications; from the country of origin it passed to Rimini, Ancona, Fano, Spoleto. Passionate about ceramics, he decided to return to Casteldurante where he distinguished himself as a creator of art majolica and one of the most refined decorators in the sector. Here he opened a factory which soon became famous and which trained numerous workers who later became famous. Author of various works of various kinds, he owes his fame as a writer above all to the treatise “The three books of the potter's art” (1548) in which he illustrates the secrets of the workshop of making ceramics. Here are explained in detail the stages of the production of ceramic products (clay treatment, shaping, firing, glazing, decoration ...), the different construction techniques, the tools used, as well as the different doses of the mixtures and colors. The manuscript is also enriched by autographed plates that report in great detail the decorative types of Durantine widespread in that period (trophies, grotesques, cerquates, ...) and by drawings that illustrate various stages of processing and the fundamental tools of the potter. The treatise, which always remained in Casteldurante first and then in Urbania, became famous starting in 1758, when it was mentioned by Passeri in his book on the history of the majolica of Pesaro and its surroundings. Between 1857 and 1879 it was published at least three times and on 10 January 1861 it was purchased on behalf of the South Kesington Museum (now Victoria and Albert Museum) in London where it still stands today. Piccolpasso died in Casteldurante on 21 November 1579 and was buried in the local church of San Francesco. Cipriano Piccolpasso was for a certain period of time deputy supervisor of the fortresses of Perugia. In this capacity he was sent, in 1565, to visit the state of the fortresses of the castles dependent on that city to ascertain their military potential and then report them. On this occasion he was also at Fratta, he visited the castle walls and the Rocca, making two drawings, one of the perimeter of the walls and a view of the entire castle seen from the south. Piccolpasso came from the Apennines and was almost at the end of the journey, which began in Perugia on April 12 and ended on June 21, 1565. We report his travel notes in which he noted all the steps and the various expenses incurred. Everything is relative to the last week, in which period he was also in Fratta. Piccolpasso reports news on the perimeter of Fratta "La Fratta di Perugia turns rods 138", meaning that the perimeter of the castle walls, measured with the rod used in Perugia (5 meters long), was about seven hundred meters. To make this measurement he used an instrument called "il Bossolo" and also explains how it was used and the inconveniences that can happen if you don't know how to use it. It also gives us information on the distances between Fratta and the neighboring villas and towns Borders of the Fratta of Perugia: Tramontana to the west Città di Castello X miles away, by mile I boundaries; Montone III miles away, for 1/2 mile border; Montalto I miles away, for borders 1/2 miles; Monte Migiano 2 - 1/2 miles away, for borders 1 miles; Monte Castello 3 miles away. Ponente a Mezzogiorno Preggio XII miles away; Castel Rigone far away from Miles XIII. Noon in the Levant Perugia XII miles away; Assisi away XX miles. Levante to Tramontana Gubbio distant XII miles; La Serra and Civitella miles away II. Piccolpasso then goes on to give us the news about Fratta and its inhabitants. The description he gives of the town and its people, compared with that of other cities - even close to us - is among the most beautiful of all. The extremely favorable impression he gave of this town overlooking the Tiber ("like a very clear lake"), with its well-cultivated countryside, with the skilled artisans at work in the shops makes us think with curiosity about the images he saw in this late spring of 1565 and to the life of our ancestors four and a half centuries ago. And, proud of the Frattegiani of the sixteenth century, we are grateful to Cipriano Piccolpasso who was able to describe its fundamental characteristics so well. We faithfully and proudly report his report on Fratta, only by placing it in a more fluent language than the sixteenth-century one he used. “La Fratta has about eighty families. This is a small but nice place where it is very pleasant to stay and has a nice view. It has the Tiber on the west side, like a very clear lake (remember that the dam under the bridge significantly raised the water level), but harmful and of great danger to the place because, if no measures are taken, in a short time, such as he has already started to do, he will take the whole place away (evidently he acted in time if this did not happen!). The men of this country are diligent, solicitous and shrewd because, working their small territory incessantly, they make it bear fruit as an extensive countryside and a very large place. Here we work very well in building arquebuses and auction weapons. The walls, although ancient, are of solid and very sturdy material, but everywhere, above them, there are houses. The fortress is surrounded by large walls and has a tower about one hundred feet high. They have no cattle or pastures. There are no weapons of any kind here (1) " Expenses incurred account - For a dinner in Sassoferrato baiocchi 10 - To those whom I will help to measure baiocchi 30 - For the horse for the Fratta with the boy baiocchi 25 - To dine in Segello and refresh the horse baiocchi 50 - For a dinner at Fratta with the boy and the baiocchi horse 35 - For the horse for Castello baiocchi 30 - For dinner and dinner at Castello baiocchi 20 - For dinner and dinner at Castello baiocchi 20 - To those whom I will help to measure the baiocchi walls 30 - For the horse for the Fratta baiocchi 30 - For dinner and dinner at the Fratta baiocchi 30 - To those who will help me to measure baiocchi 10 - For the horse to Perugia baiocchi 30 - And more made to give to the family of Messer Paulo, said Messer Gherardo soldier of fortress for the 50 (1) Cipriano Piccolpasso - The plants and portraits of the cities and lands of Umbria submitted to the government of Perugia - Ed. Passetto and Petrelli - Spoleto - 1963. Text published on the Historical Calendar of Umbertide 2003 - Ed. Municipality of Umbertide - 2003 Map of Fratta by C. Piccolpasso (1565). The three city gates are clearly visible: the "Porta castellana" to the west for C. di Castello; the "Porta senza nome" in today's Piaggiola for Montone and the State of Urbino; the "Porta Romana" at noon for the current Piazza S. Francesco and Perugia. It can be seen that the Fratta was then completely surrounded by the waters of the Tiber and the Reggia stream. Drawing of the Fratta by C. Piccolpasso (1565) Above, view of Casteldurante (today Urbania) by C. Piccolpasso. Below, cover of the book by C. Piccolpasso on the art of the potter (1548) La Fratta di Cipriano Piccolpasso I Fanfani di Fratta Economic activities curated by Fabio Mariotti The weavers There was an intense craft activity in Fratta, which took place inside many houses: the work of looms to weave the cloth (cotton, hemp, linen), of the reticellai and embroiderers in general, aimed at private citizens and to the brotherhoods for their linen needs in the church. From some documents of these lay associations we find for the first time in Fratta a particular way of working fabrics, called "alla moita" (later used up to the whole of the eighteenth century). With this expression "working at the moita" it was meant that the finished product went half to the owner of the hemp, linen, cotton and half to the person who had done the work, as a reward. Payment, of course, could also be made in cash, which was always preferred. Hemp and flax, produced in the Fratta countryside in quantities satisfactory to the needs of the population, were processed in the houses in a purely artisanal way. Hemp (as well as linen), also called "accia", was first unraveled and then "cured". The unraveling consisted of a first, superficial combing with which the upper part called "il capeccio" (it carried flowers and seeds) was removed from the plant, which was not used for weaving. With this first coarse combing, even the smoothest part of the plant was separated, which was then used to package secondary products (bales for wheat, harnesses for transporting weights, etc.). Flax (like hemp) was tied in thirteen-pound bundles. The one that still had the "capeccio" was worth less than the "scapecciaato" one as it had undergone the unraveling. After this operation, the product was put to macerate in a well of water, then a second combing was carried out which gave the best fiber with which the fabric was manufactured for the finest, most valuable and requested cloths (tablecloths, sheets , linen in general). In the registers of the brotherhoods and in the inventories found in the notarial deeds of the municipal archive there is evidence of a rather singular fact: the big bags used in hospitals as mattresses were made with linen, considered precious. Inside they contained straw and dry leaves, the cheapest material that could be found. This gives an idea of the mentality of the time for which it was not at all scrambling to enclose the humblest material in linen. The trade in scythes Large production of sickles in Fratta, in the sixteenth century, both common that were used to harvest wheat ("ad secandum granum"), and of the "necessarium" type, that is used for crops in general (rye, barley, hay). therefore large trade organized by individuals or groups that from April to June of each year (but also in the other months) dealt with this activity. The operations of steel purchase, production, finishing, transport, sale of the finished product were based on the utmost seriousness and correctness between the parties, who always resorted to a notarial deed. The copy of which also served as a transport document during the journey and was shown to the authorities of the places crossed asking for information on the goods (it was the accompaniment of that time). At the beginning of the sixteenth century the most qualified group in the trade of scythes was formed by Pietro Paolo Tempesta together with Simone di Antonio called "il Guercio", Sante di Antonio, Bernardino del fu Renzo, Paolo Bartoli, Bernardino di Iacopo Cortoni known as "Fallature" and Antonio del fu Mattiolo. In April 1511 they bought five thousand scythes, ordering hundreds of pieces from each blacksmith's shop. Among others, the brothers Giovan Battista, Michelangelo and Gabriele, sons of Francesco; Warrior of Matteo Ridolfo Alberti, Vico of mastro Nicola, Giliotto of mastro Filippo and his brothers. Two or three people work in each workshop and when they have to deal with orders for several thousand pieces, they join together, aided by the "art of blacksmiths" corporation which gives them the necessary assistance for the purchase of raw materials. and for sale. Buyers placed orders in April or early May, delivery took place between the 20th and 24th of this month. Rome and the Maremma were the main destinations, present in every contract, but also "Tuscia" (southern Tuscany) and the castle of Sarteano (just south of Chiusi). The buyers always claimed that the scythes were made to perfection (we always find the phrase "ad usum merci et legalis magistris fabrij ferrarij"). They were tied in bunches of one hundred pieces and transported by horses or mules, sometimes owned by the blacksmiths themselves. The payment, by the month of June, was usually completed in Fratta. As in all contracts of the time, a penalty was established for the party who did not fulfill the written obligations. A notarial deed dated 25 April 1524 provided for an original one. The blacksmith Arcangelo Bavaglioni sells three hundred scythes for twenty-three florins, including transport. The buyer, Cecco del fu Carlo, undertakes to pay the price by the month of June with the agreement that, failing that, he should give the blacksmith Arcangelo, as a penalty, a plot of land with the word "Pagini", up to the competition of the amount due. The arquebusiers In addition to the blacksmiths, united in various companies and famous throughout central Italy, who produced among other things thousands of scythes a year to be sold in the Roman countryside and the Maremma, there were also manufacturers of firearms. They can be considered specialized blacksmiths, because they were successful in this job even though they did not have today's machines to turn the various pieces; they did everything by hand and in an extremely precise way. Various documents contain information on the sale in Fratta of both arquebuses, long weapons, shoulder or easel weapons, and the "scppietti", that is, short weapons. There is also news on accessories: the "powder" and the "flasca", which we think were gunpowder and its container. On 21 December 1510 these artisans sold five hundred arquebuses, the value of which was two gold ducats each. The weapons had to be delivered by March of the following year by the arquebusiers Giovanni Folcantoni, Bonaventura Pulicardi and Sebastiano Brelli, all from Fratta. They, considering the holidays, therefore had to produce five or six arquebuses a day which, given the total manual skill of the work, is certainly a remarkable productivity. Such a large commission also makes it clear how these "artillery" works qualified the activity of these masters of art at a regional level. The deed of sale was drawn up by the notary Paolo Martinelli in the castle of Civitella dei Miuletti [?], Where Raniere dei Ranieri, a noble from Perugia, lived. Buyers are Pier Luigi dei Farnensi and ser Michele Pier Ventura, from Lugnano: they undertake to pay half the amount, that is five hundred ducats, upon delivery (March 1511) and the same amount in mid-August (the nobleman Raniere dei Ranieri guarantees the payment). The buyer ser Michele di Pier Ventura gives a security of fifty gold scudi to be calculated as an advance. The sellers say they will be able to deliver a third of the five hundred arquebuses by the end of January and the remaining month by month, until the delivery is completed in March. In a document dated 12 March 1522 we find a "fidem facio" (I trust) granted by Giovanni del fu Fioravanti, a Perugian citizen living in Fratta, to the blacksmith Sebastiano di Gabriele. It is a guarantee that the first offers to the second, before the notary Marino Sponta who draws up the deed, regarding the commitments that he will want to make from any person or association in building arquebuses, "crackles" and any other kind of "artillery". Sebastiano is therefore authorized to make any notarial deed relating to his work, under the guarantee of Giovanni. Another document dated May 10, 1586 concerns the repair of an arquebus which had a "cracked chest". The owner of the weapon is a certain man from the castro di Danciano (Val di Pierle) and the blacksmith repairer is a certain master Angelo who has a workshop in Fratta. It seems that the arquebus was broken in the "war of Siena" (1554-1555). Cipriano Piccolpasso, deputy superintendent of the fortresses of Perugia, also talks about our arquebusiers. He was sent in 1565 to visit the state of the fortresses of that city and was therefore also in Fratta. In his report he writes among other things: "... Here we work very well with archebugi et weapons auction ". But then he adds:" ... There are no weapons of any sort. " and hid our hand? The shopkeepers Francesco di Cristofano He was "Spetiale", that is a seller of spices but also of medicines, almonds, barley, torches for lighting, candles, "turpentine", white spirit and various spices. These shops, in addition to being "spetierie", were also called "aromatic", perhaps because the predominant goods in them were those products that came from the "new world", discovered by Christopher Columbus about forty years earlier. Francesco the apothecary left us several accounting records between 1530 and 1533. Fabrizio He too was an apothecary, who lived towards the end of the century. We find records of it in the years 1595 and 1596, when he sells wax, "facole" and apothecaries for the sick in a hospital in Fratta. Bernardino Cibo He had a grocery store. We have news of it in the years 1515 and 1528. Bano de Cibo In 1538 he had a shop, unspecified. It belonged to the Cibo family, one of the most important in Fratta. Giomolo In 1539 he sold "aguti" (ie nails), wax, oil and more. Perinelli In 1590 it had an "aromataria". Felice Manfredi He ran an "aromataria" in the years from 1590 to 1595. His shop was in via Regale (today's via Cibo). Ruggero Burelli In 1590 it has an "aromataria" and in 1595 we find news of it in a document in the notary Curtio Martinelli. He is the son of Tolomeo Burelli. Orfeo Burelli In 1590 he had an "apoteca", that is, a shop. He is the son of Francesco Burelli and lives in a house he owns. Gasparino Haberdashery. We find it in 1572 In addition, there were other shops in Fratta: two butchers and two ovens. Fairs and markets In the sixteenth century, when a villa or castle in the Perugian territory wanted to set up a trade fair, it had to ask the authorities of Perugia for permission, then pay an annual tax to this city. The villa or castle in turn recovered the money from those who attended the fair. Fratta was an exception. Since the fifteenth century it had been exempted from this obligation by the Pope of the time, so whoever came to its annual fair in the first days of June did not tax. It was called "free fair", it brought a greater influx of merchants, therefore a greater influx of wealth which benefited all citizens. The annual fair was that of Sant'Erasmo and lasted from 1st to 4th June. In 1506 we find a "Brief" by Pope Julius II who reconfirms the exemption from taxes and adds to the "free fair of Fratta" another six days to the four granted in 1444 ("said fair of St. Erasmus may last up to ten of said June"). In 1532 the duration will be increased to seven days. In 1537 the Perugian magistracy removed all the markets that were held in its countryside; he made an exception for Fratta and allowed them to continue on a weekly basis here. This was confirmed by Pope Paul III on November 4, 1537. From April 6, 1541, the tax exemption granted for the fair was also extended to weekly markets. The day was, like today, Wednesday. In 1542 the exemption was reconfirmed by Cardinal Sforza and in 1547 by Cardinal Crispo, Apostolic Legate for Umbria. A huge number of people attended the fair from nearby villas and castles. Many people also came from Tuscany, passing mainly through the Pierle valley and the Niccone valley. At the fair they sold livestock, agricultural products, fabrics, plates, vases and ceramic objects of the potters of Fratta, agricultural tools produced by blacksmiths. There are two places of sale: the municipal lawn (the "meadow below") at the end of the bridge over the Tiber and the Sant'Erasmo market, now Piazza Marconi (the "meadow above"). A huge cattle fair took place in the municipal lawn. In the market of Sant'Erasmo cereals and all other edible kinds were sold, as well as handicraft products. The early June fair continued until the mid-1960s, while our weekly Wednesday market has more than six centuries of history. Drawings by Adriano Bottaccioli published in the 2003 Umbertide Calendar Photo by Fabio Mariotti from the Historical Photographic Archive of the Municipality of Umbertide Sources: "Calendar of Umbertide 2003" - Ed. Municipality of Umbertide - 2003 "Umbertide from the origins to the sixteenth century" - Roberto Sciurpa - Ed. Petruzzi Città di Castello - 2007 Ancient frame. Drawing by Adriano Bottaccioli Ancient scythes. Drawing by Adriano Bottaccioli Piazza S. Francesco (1930s). In the 16th century it was the seat of the blacksmith shops Ancient weapons. Drawing by Adriano Bottaccioli Street vendors in Piazza Mazzini in the early 1900s Via Cavour and Piazza Marconi (1930s). In the '500 Mercatale di Sant'Erasmo Le attività economiche Public offices curated by Fabio Mariotti The authority Authority of the government of Perugia, also called commissioner, was the representative of the Roman state within the community and had some powers that did not directly affect the administration of public affairs. He was always a foreigner, a "foreigner", as they said, that is, not a citizen of the Roman state. He was allowed to bring with him the notary, two servants (they had to have livery), a horse and, of course, his wife and children. In addition to the tasks of representation, which kept the community of Fratta united in Perugia, its "dominant city", he was allowed to remove from the agenda of the council meetings everything that, in his opinion, could harm the interests of the city of Grifo and the ecclesiastical state. The term of office was variable, depending on the contingent reasons of Perugia. Chancellor Notary of power, who followed in the movements, remained in office for the time of his "vicariate". He was involved in the drafting, on his own books, of everything that concerned the work of the authority, both in relation to the communities where they resided, and in relations with Perugia. The chancellor (or ordinary judge) also kept the volume of the "trials" that he and the authority held in the administration of justice. The defenders Authorities of Fratta, they were the highest representatives of the community, they decided on what to do for the positive development of public affairs and the good living of the population: they combined the powers of today's mayor and the municipal council. They brought in the council meetings the topics to be discussed and on which to vote, with the endorsement of power. The defenders were four, they remained in office for four months. Considered "officials" of the community, they were chosen from among the "bookies" of the castle, that is, people who had real estate registered in the "Cadastre". The three above the guard There were three "officers" who supervised the military apparatus of the castle, that is, the safety of all the inhabitants. They remained in office for four months. The four councilors Persons in charge of advising defenders on matters to be discussed in the council. They were also considered "officials" of the community and remained in office for four months. The camorlengo He was considered the "official" with the task of keeping the accounts of the community. He paid the salaries and expenses, collected the income and various annuities. The office of camorlengo (or chamberlain) lasted four months. These were the twelve most important people for the life of the community, summing up in them the civil and military power. They alone were part of the secret council (or of the twelve). Photo by Fabio Mariotti from the Historical Photographic Archive of the Municipality of Umbertide Sources: "Calendar of Umbertide 2003" - Ed. Municipality of Umbertide - 2003 "Umbertide from the origins to the sixteenth century" - Roberto Sciurpa - Ed. Petruzzi Città di Castello - 2007 The town hall in the 1920s The seal of the Defenders of Fratta 1905 - Piazza Umberto I (now Piazza Matteotti) - 1918 Artists and works of art curated by Fabio Mariotti There have been many, and some of great prestige, the artists who have worked in Fratta in this century. Bernardino di Betto (Pinturicchio) In 1502 the observant Franciscan friars of Santa Maria della Pietà ordered a work from the Perugian painter Bernardino di Betto, known as "il Pinturicchio" (1454-1513). The painting was done on the main facade of the church, above the entrance portal, in the shape of a lunette. It is called the "Lunette of motherhood". It represents the Madonna with Child in her arms and two angels on either side. Also in 1502 the Franciscan friars of Santa Maria commissioned a large painting from Pinturicchio, a pupil of Pietro Vannucci from Perugia, which was to represent the "Coronation of the Virgin". Pinturicchio performed the work admirably. The painting was stolen by Napoleon's soldiers in 1809 to be transported to France. This did not happen and the work stopped in Rome. Subsequently the Roman curia proposed to the Franciscan friars of Fratta the purchase of the painting and they sold it to the Vatican for five hundred scudi. It was the favorite painting of Pope John Paul II under which he often received heads of state and illustrious guests. In its place, in the church of Santa Maria di Umbertide, a photographic reproduction of the same size has been placed. Luca Signorelli In the first months of 1516 Luca Signorelli from Cortona came to Fratta to paint the "Deposition from the cross". The painting had been commissioned from him by the Confraternity of Santa Croce. The painting, on wood, was placed on the wall behind the main altar of the original and small church of the same name. It was only in 1612 that the still existing wooden exhibition was built by Pietro Lazzari of Sant'Angelo in Vado. Signorelli painted three predellas below the picture and, as can be seen from the records of the brotherhood, also a "top", that is a "Pietà" in the shape of a lunette that dominated the whole. All traces of the latter have been lost since the end of the sixteenth century. Black Alberti On 11 January 1523 the Conventual Franciscan friars of Fratta (they had the convent in the Borgo Inferiore, now Piazza San Francesco) ordered the sculptor Nero Alberti, of Borgo San Sepolcro, a wooden statue, four feet high, depicting Saint Anthony of Padua. , for their church. Eleven florins paid for the work. The other artists In 1556, the painter Marino da Perugia painted a "Madonna in relief" with angels around for the church of Santa Croce. The work was paid to him for twenty florins, twelve soldi and eight denarii. Also the brotherhood of Santa Croce, in 1557 commissioned the painter Vittorio da Montone to create frescoes depicting Jesus Christ and St. Joseph for the "new chapel" of the church, which had recently been slightly enlarged. He was paid with more than twenty florins. From the registers of the brotherhood of San Bernardino we finally learn that in 1596 master Antonio was commissioned by the brothers to make the design of the main altar of the church. It means that during the second restructuring works, which took place between 1554 and 1555, the high altar had not yet been built, just as the large picture of the "Last Supper" above the altar had not yet been painted, executed in 1602. by Muzio Flori . Photo Fabio Mariotti Sources: "Calendar of Umbertide 2003" - Ed. Municipality of Umbertide - 2003 "Umbertide from the origins to the sixteenth century" - Roberto Sciurpa - Ed. Petruzzi Città di Castello - 2007 Le cariche pubbliche The lunette by Pinturicchio on the facade of the church of Santa Maria della Pietà The entrance portal with the lunette The coronation of the Virgin. On the right, the photographic reproduction in the church of Santa Maria The Deposition from the Cross by Luca Signorelli. On the right in the precious wooden exhibition The San Rocco by Nero Alberti in the Museum of Santa Croce Church of San Bernardino. The last supper of Muzio Flori Artisti ed opere d'arte Church of San Francesco. Wrought iron gates made by the blacksmiths of Fratta Churches, convents and the miracle of the Madonna della Regghia curated by Fabio Mariotti The churches In the 16th century Fratta, with a population of less than five hundred inhabitants, there were more than a dozen churches. Chapel of Santa Maria di Castelvecchio At the bottom of the Piaggiola, it was also known as the church of Santa Maria dei Meriti. It had its own hospital which was joined, in 1411, by the hospital of Santa Croce. Santa Maria della Regghia Octagonal in shape, commissioned in honor of the Madonna del miracolo (1556), it was begun in 1560 and completed at the end of the century (1598) with the original dome then replaced in 1612. An image of the primitive structure is visible in the painting by Bernardino Magi ( 1602), in the church of San Bernardino. Santa Maria della Pietà In the Borgo Superiore, or Castelvecchio, it was officiated by the Franciscan friars of Santa Maria dell'Osservanza who lived in the adjoining convent. It was built in 1481. Sant'Andrea In the Borgo Superiore, we have news of it since the year 1146. It was located on the place where (1860-1870) the old hospital of Umbertide was built. Our Lady of Carmel On the first east pillar of the bridge over the Tiber, enlarged and modified, a small church had been built, dating back to around 1570, because it does not appear in the 1565 drawing by Cipriano Piccolpasso. It was dedicated to the Madonna del Carmelo, whose feast was celebrated on the 15th in August. Sant'Erasmo It is located in the "mercatale", the space where the markets were held (today Piazza Marconi). Currently it is no longer visible because a house has been built there. On the ground floor, however, you can appreciate the structure of an ancient crypt, dating back to the 11th century. The church had many real estate properties, including the adjoining hospital. The first news dates back to 1145. Sant 'Antonio It existed since 1374 and was in the Borgo Superiore. On 27 February 1556 it was visited by the episcopal vicar Don Giuseppe Sperelli who found it "well decorated but damp". In fact it was between the Piaggiola and today's Piazza Marconi, subject to the floods of the Tiber. Holy Cross It did not have today's dimensions, which it assumed from 1632 to 1644. The original church was much smaller and more backward than the one we see today. We have the first news in 1338. It belonged to the brotherhood of the same name. St. Augustine It was annexed to a convent of the order of the hermits of Sant'Agostino. It was built in 1374 at the end of today's Via Leopoldo Grilli (adjacent to the Migliorati pastry shop), so it was often flooded by the Tiber. The friars owned land. Saint Francis Built starting from 1299, it was in the Lower Borgo, next to the small church of Santa Croce. It was annexed to a convent of friars which had received various bequests in the middle of the century. In 1530 the chapel of San Rocco was still missing, to the left of the central nave. San Bernardino Also in the Lower Borgo, it belonged to the Confraternity of the Good Jesus which owned its own hospital adjacent to it. In 1550 the works for the enlargement of the church began (first restructuring). In 1558 the brotherhood built the bell tower. St. John Baptist It is the first church contained within the castle walls. Its construction and that of the bell tower date back to the 12th century. It was consecrated in 1250. At the beginning of the sixteenth century, the brothers of the brotherhood of San Giuseppe or of the Body of Christ built a new chapel in the space next to the church, in a room that had previously been used as a stable. There were also the churches of the Madonna del Moro and the Madonna del Giglio . In the surrounding area there were finally San Bartolomeo in Camporeggiano, San Cristoforo in Civitella, Sant'Angelo and Stefano in Migianella, the church and monastery of Santa Caterina in Preggio, San Paterniano (today's Pierantonio where, at the beginning of the century, c 'was only Pier Antonio's house and tavern), San Giovanni a Serra Partucci. Convents and brotherhoods Monastery of Santa Maria We have news of it already in 1521, from the Statutes of the Fratta. It is a convent for women, probably located in the same place where one was built in 1604 of the nuns in Castel Nuovo, after Piaggiola, on the left, going down towards today's Piazza Marconi. It is also traced in 1555 and 1596. Immediately after the convent there was the door of Santa Maria which opened onto today's square. Fraternity of disciplines of the church of Santa Maria and hospital of Sant'Antonio The first news dates back to 1405. In 1515, "mayor and procurator" of the brotherhood is Giovan Paolo del fu Cristoforo. It has a land with the word "Seripole". The church is that of Santa Maria di Gastelvecchio, which Pesci calls "Pieve di Santa Maria". The brotherhood also has the hospital of Sant'Antonio, which joined that of Santa Maria in the distant 1411. Brotherhood of Santa Croce It has its origins in 1330. Large, historical, brotherhood of Fratta, it operated for several centuries up to the last one. She was the owner of many assets and engaged in a vast religious and welfare activity. Deeply engraved in the social reality of the country. Capuchin friars Before 1580 they lived, for rent, in two rooms owned by the brotherhood of San Bernardino. They worked in the various hospitals of Fratta. In the second half of the sixteenth century the brotherhood of Santa Croce hosted them in its houses, in today's Via Soli. Cistercians and Camaldolese in Montecorona The abbey of San Salvatore di Monte Acuto, located in the valley, near the Tiber (today's Badia) was built in 1008 by the Camaldolese and inhabited by them until 1234. They also have the small church of San Savino, halfway up the coast of Mount Corona where , in 1190, the saint died. In 1234 Pope Gregory IX transferred them to the Cistercian fathers, who lived there until 1524, the year in which Pope Clement VII gave everything back to the Camaldolese who kept it until around 1860. In 1532 the Camaldolese built the great hermitage on the top of Mount Corona, where their hermits went to live. Observant Franciscan Friars Minor of Santa Maria They lived in the convent of Santa Maria della Pietà since 1481. They also officiated at the church of Sant'Erasmo, providing for the adjoining hospital. Hermits of Sant'Agostino They were in the convent annexed to the church of the same name, at the bottom of the Piaggiola, going down on the right. In 1517 they bought a house owned by the church of Sant'Erasmo, located in the upper district of Fratta, in the town square (today's piazza della Rocca). They had land bordering the word "Le breccie", in the territory of Fratta. In 1597 Fra Gabriele da Polgeto was prior and they owned a field at Petrella, in the word "Campo della nut". Brotherhood of the Good Jesus He owned the church of San Bernardino and the adjoining hospital. In 1587 he signed a contract with the painter Mutio Flori, from Fratta, for a picture to be placed above the main altar ("The Last Supper", still visible today) and in 1588 he built the bell tower of the church. The seat was in the premises adjacent to the church, therefore it was also called the Confraternity of San Bernardino. Brotherhood of Saint Joseph or of the Body of Christ The seat was in the church of San Giovanni Battista, within the castle walls. Brotherhood of Sant'Antonio or della Buona Morte Its church was that of the nuns of Santa Maria Nuova. In 1750 it will be transferred to Sant'Agostino. Convent of San Francesco It was in the Borgo Inferiore, annexed to the church. The conventual Franciscan friars, called zoccolanti, lived there. On February 12, 1516 the general chapter of the friars meets. The custodian and procurator of the convent is friar Angelo di Giovanni, a professor of sacred theology. Other friars are Giuliano, Cipriano di Bartolomeo, Pierfrancesco da Montalcino, Pacifico di Piergiovanni della Fratta, Francesco di Giovanni Ursini. The convent owns a farm in the Rio. The miracle of the Madonna della Regghia The story aroused the explosion of devotion that led to the construction of the great and superb Madonna della Regghia, the Collegiata. We are in the year 1556, on the 14th of September. At Fratta there are many churches, but also several "Maestà" (aedicules with a sacred image) and as many chapels. One of these was located on the public road, on land owned by Francesco Graziani, a nobleman from Perugia, less than twenty meters from the current Collegiate Church (where the former Zampa building now Casi is). This can be deduced from a constructive anomaly in the elements that support the architrave of the west door with respect to those of the north door. The stone columns are placed on bases that each have two oblique sides with respect to the main wall, as if they want to indicate a direction, closely linked to the project. How many times have we walked past it without noticing it? An ideal connection between the existing chapel and the large new building under construction; a set of affection, devotion, gratitude that the people felt towards that image painted inside. The image of the Madonna, hence the "church of the Blessed and Glorious Virgin Mary", near the castle walls of Fratta, called by the people "Madonna della Regghia", from the name of the stream that flowed not far away. On the morning of September 14, a seven-year-old girl, daughter of Orlandino Vibi, born with a serious malformation in a leg that did not allow her to walk without support, was praying in front of the image, when "it is said that this spoke to him" and immediately "she found herself free and healthy and walked frankly." It was the clamor aroused by the event that prompted the bishop of Gubbio to make a pastoral visit to Fratta for two days, Wednesday 7 and Thursday 8 October 1556, appointing his vicar Don Cesare Sperelli to do it. The extraordinary event led the civil and religious community to build a large church in honor of the Madonna, depicted on the small altar of this shrine. A competition of alms and bequests began, so much so that a special metal box had to be built. The construction plans were prepared (authors of the original design were Galeazzo Alessi and Giulio Danti); the Graziani of Perugia ceded the land and in 1560 work began. When they were completed at the end of the century, the painting was transported, together with the wall block on which it was frescoed, to the temple erected to welcome it and placed behind a glass case above the main altar. And today, after so many years, the sacred image of the Madonna is still the object of a special cult on the part of the people of Umbria. Photo by Fabio Mariotti from the Historical Photographic Archive of the Municipality of Umbertide and from the Archive of Giuseppe Severi Sources: "Calendar of Umbertide 2003" - Ed. Municipality of Umbertide - 2003 "Umbertide from the origins to the sixteenth century" - Roberto Sciurpa - Ed. Petruzzi Città di Castello - 2007 S. Maria della Regghia (Collegiata) 100 years ago 1900. S. Maria della Pietà 1976. Church of the Madonna del Giglio Piaggiola today. On the right the building that in ancient times it housed the Monastery of S. Maria and later that of Castel Nuovo The convent of S. Maria in 1977 and today, after the last restoration The abbey of San Salvatore in Montecorona 1980s. Hermitage of Montecorona 1978. Church of the Madonna del Moro 1930s. Church and convent of San Francesco The cloister of San Francesco The image of the Madonna around which it was built the impressive temple The Carmelite church in an ancient painting The church of Sant'Erasmo in a 1910 drawing The Piaggiola. On the left stood the convent of S. Agostino 1915. The facades of Santa Croce and San Francesco 1890. The bell tower of San Giovanni Battista 1910. The church of San Bernardino Chiese, conventi e il miracolo della Madonna della Regghia The Fanfani of Fratta The Fanfani di Fratta, curiously often nicknamed the "Corto" and the "Migno", have been present in our territory for about 300 years, then suddenly there is no trace of this surname in Umbertide. curated by Fabio Mariotti Information taken entirely from the research of the local historian Renato Codovini in the civil and ecclesiastical archives of the ancient Fratta from which the presence of the Fanfani family has been documented from the mid-sixteenth to the mid-nineteenth century. The first news about the Fanfani di Fratta dates back to 1548. It is initially a family of peasants who worked on a Petrella farm, owned by the Confraternity of Santa Croce. In civil and ecclesiastical documents of the time, they are often cited with the nickname of "Corto" and also of "Migno", as if they were people of short stature. In the book of entries and exits of the Confraternity of Santa Croce, year 1548, there is this entry: "And more than many he hauti in the account of the Fanfani for trimming the beam and the ribs ... (it is a Fanfani who lends himself to transport, with the treggia, some wooden beams that probably were used for the house of the Petrella farm; for this work he had 28 baiocchi). From documents of the notary Angelo Tei of 1568 it appears that the "short of the Fanfani" (so generically identified) was a rather quarrelsome type, called into question by several people to whom he caused damage. From these acts it appears that the Fanfani, having to carry pigs or sheep and goats from one place to another, instead of walking along the various farm roads, had the habit, to make it first, to cross the fields of others, even if sown. This caused some damage to the owner of the land who had nothing else to do but sue the "Corto" before the Judge of Fratta. From a civil act of 1607 it appears instead that the Bishop of Gubbio rents a land located along the Carpina to a certain Sante di Tommaso Fanfani who is in partnership with Gerolamo Pisanelli. Rent for three years at 435 scudi a year to be paid the first half on the Feast of St. John the Baptist and the second on December 25th (a sort of Christmas present). From a civil act of 1662 we learn that this Giovanni Maria Fanfani was appointed by the Community of Fratta to make a count on the relationship between flour and the production of bread in the public oven. The Fanfani in question is defined as a "recognized Professor". For the record, the count shows that the flour that comes out of the mill is made up of the following parts: pure flour (51.05%), sembola (33.34%), farinello (6.24%), Tritello (6 , 24%), bait (3.12%). From an ecclesiastical act of 1676 it appears that Bartolomeo Fanfani is Prior of the Confraternity of Santa Croce together with Francesco Burelli and Ippolito Petrogalli. In 1761 Tommaso Fanfani applied to the Church of Santa Croce to be named Spedaliere, a request however not accepted and the assignment was assigned, on May 3, to a certain Giuseppe Padovani. From a civil act of 1767 it appears instead that Alessandro Fanfani is a municipal damsel, whose task was to carry out the orders of the other employees: to clean the building, to ring the public bell for council meetings, for school or for parties. For this he takes a shield of salary every four months, which was the lowest salary, paid monthly with 25 baiocchi. In 1790 Alessandro Fanfani, after 23 years, is still a municipal boy (even then promotions were not within everyone's reach. Perhaps "our Fanfani" did not have enough "Saints in Paradise" and a "White Whale" (1) behind"). From a civil act of 1808 we know that on September 6, during the fence competition (ox against dogs) the scaffolding built in Piazza San Francesco fell. On this occasion, Sante Fanfani, a 54-year-old shoemaker, was questioned about the event. The last official news we have about the Fanfani di Fratta dates back to 1841, when Nicola Fanfani is Prior of the Confraternity of Sant'Antonio da Padova. Since then there has been no news of the Fanfani and this surname is no longer present in Umbertide. Perhaps the Fanfani moved to nearby Tuscany, perhaps to Pieve Santo Stefano, forgetting their ancient Umbrian origins. The most famous was certainly Amintore, a leading exponent of the Christian Democrats from the 1950s to the 1980s (2). Note: 1. " White whale " was the nickname of the Christian Democrats 2. Amintore Fanfani (Pieve Santo Stefano, 6 February 1908 - Rome, 20 November 1999) was an Italian politician, economist, historian and academic. He was president of the Senate three times and five times president of the Council of Ministers between 1954 and 1987 when, at the age of 79 and 6 months, he became the oldest head of the government of the Italian Republic, twice secretary of the Christian Democrats and also party president, Minister of Foreign Affairs, interior and budget and economic planning. - The images of the documents are by Renato Codovini, taken directly from the article by Umbertide Cronache. - Renato Codovini's photo is by Fabio Mariotti - The photo of Amintore Fanfani is taken from the Internet (Wikipedia) Sources: “History of Umbertide - from the century. VIII to the century. XIX "by Renato Codovini (unpublished manuscript) Article by Fabio Mariotti published in “Umbertide Cronache” n.2 - 1995 The Umbertidese historian Renato Codovini GLI STATUTI DELLA FRATERNITA DI SANTA CROCE Dal libro “Statuti e ordini della Fraternita di Santa Croce in Fratta (Umbertide) dal 1567 al 1741” – a cura di Bruno Porrozzi Premessa Allo stato attuale delle conoscenze non siamo in grado di affermare con sicurezza la data precisa di fondazione a Fratta di una confraternita laica di Santa Croce (o di altro nome), ma certamente non dovremmo essere tanto lontani dal vero se ne facciamo risalire le origini al tempo di San Pier Damiani (morto nel 1072), di San Francesco (1182-1226) promotore dei Penitenti, fondatore dei Frati minori. Dopo San Francesco, il pio laico Raniero (o Rainerio) Fasani, propagatore della disciplina pubblica nel territorio perugino e oltre, nel 1260 predicava la necessità di far penitenza, di espiare pubblicamente i peccati rievocando la passione di Cristo, partecipando alle sofferenze di Gesù flagellandosi a sangue. Può essere verosimile che a Fratta, nella seconda metà del XIII secolo, fossero presenti gruppi di penitenti e disciplinati che, riuniti nelle parrocchie, praticavano esercizi penitenziali non quotidianamente, in maniera incruenta, indossando sempre (penitenti) o in certe circostanze (disciplinati) un abito speciale. Con il passare del tempo, dopo il 1260, i confratelli, organizzati in fraternite locali, scelsero una divisa, una uniforme che, per lo più, consisteva in una tunica bianca, rossa o di altro colore, con o senza scapolare e mantello; tali divise venivano conservate, in genere, negli armadi della sede della confraternita ed indossate per andare in processione o durante le riunioni. Le confraternite laiche, secondo quanto affermano il Mavarelli e altri studiosi, avrebbero avuto origine dall'ordinarsi e dal raccogliersi nelle parrocchie delle folle di disciplinati, dopo il 1258-1260, attenuato il primitivo entusiasmo che li aveva portati "fuori dei casali, dei presbiteri, dei tuguri, dei palazzi, per andare processionalmente per le strade e per le piazze e di paese in paese percuotendosi con fruste di cuoio (scope) fino a sangue, implorando con gemiti e lacrime la divina misericordia" (FRANCESCO MAVARELLI, Notizie storiche e laudi della Compagnia di disciplinati di S. Maria Nuova S. Croce nella Terra di Fratta (Umbertide), Stab. Tipografico Tiberino, 1899, pp. 6, 7). Sul finire del XIII o all'inizio del XIV secolo doveva essere attiva a Fratta la Compagnia dei Flagellanti, come attesta un privilegio, concesso dal vescovo di Gubbio, Pietro di Rosso Gabrielli, che reca la data del 1337; il privilegio prevede la concessione di quaranta giorni di indulgenza a chi darà “aiuti per condurre a termine la fabbrica iniziata dell'ospedale” (Cfr. F. Mavarelli, Op. cit., pp. 6, 7). Per carenza di documentazione sicura, non si può dire che dalla Confraternita dei Flagellanti si passò a quella di Santa Maria Nuova e a quella di Santa Croce; di certo c'è che negli Statuti del 1567 che si presentano, si afferma che verso il 1360 “considerando alcuni huomini da bene della Fratta contado di Perugia, come nella detta Terra non si trovava una Compagnia che attendesse alle opere di charità, come nelli altri luoghi si trova, mossi et ispirati dallo Spirito Sancto, si risolvemo unitamente a fondare una sancta fraternita et compagnia sotto il nome prima di Santa Maria nova e di poi sotto il nome et invocazione della S.ma Croce di Cristo..”. A Fratta, come in molti altri luoghi, le confraternite chiesero aiuto ai francescani o ai domenicani per aver in uso una sala per le riunioni e come sede sociale, un cappellano per celebrare i riti religiosi nella chiesa del convento e come assistente spirituale; è questo un momento importante per la vita delle confraternite, per l'istituzione che viene riconosciuta e le vengono accordate delle indulgenze. Numerosi sono gli esempi di confraternite che ebbero l'opportunità di possedere una propria sede, un oratorio, un centro amministrativo, un hospitalis per i pellegrini e poveri malati. La Confraternita di Santa Croce a Fratta ebbe proprietà immobiliari. una chiesa, un ospedale e propri statuti che lasciavano “entro certi limiti” i confratelli liberi di “poter mutare, aggiugnere o dichiarare più et manco li sopradetti capitoli ogni volta che parerà o piacerà alla stessa Fraternita in tutto o per tutto”...; nel 1612 gli statuti del 1567 vengono “aggiornati”, per il buon governo della Compagnia, dal vescovo eugubino monsignor Andrea Sorbolongo e confermati poi dal successore monsignor Alessandro del Monte nel 1622, sempre in occasione della visita pastorale, con decreti del vescovo Sostegno Maria Cavalli nel 1730 e nel 1741. L'indipendenza della confraternita laica dall'autorità religiosa era comunque sicuramente parziale, poiché soggetta al controllo del vescovo che emanava decreti ed esaminava lo statuto sociale con riserva di approvare o apportare modifiche, quasi sempre in occasione delle visite pastorali. Introduzione Il manoscritto originale si compone di due parti ben distinte: la prima di quattro pagine di carta con poche scritte esplicative (1-4), sedici pagine bianche, sempre su carta (5-20), due fogli bianchi (21-24) in pergamena, ventiquattro pagine scritte su pergamena con i più antichi (1567) capitoli degli statuti e ordinazioni della Confraternita (25-48); la seconda parte, su carta, di trentaquattro pagine scritte, con i capitoli degli statuti del 1612 e i successivi ordini (49-80). Concludono il manoscritto otto pagine bianche di carta. Il tutto, nel formato quindici per ventidue centimetri, rilegato in cuoio marrone scuro, redatto in un volgare quasi sempre sufficientemente chiaro e regolare. Le pagine in pergamena non risultano numerate, quelle su carta, dopo l'indice, sono numerate con cifre arabe da mano coeva. La legatura, assegnabile al XVII secolo, è formata da due fogli di cartone ricoperti in pelle, come si è detto, con quattro borchie (oggi scomparse) sulla prima e quarta di copertina. A Fratta, nel tempo, operarono diverse confraternite; le più attive furono quelle di Santa Croce e di San Bernardino, ancor oggi presenti nella realtà umbertidese. Il lavoro di ricerca storica su queste confraternite e su altre rimane ancora tutto da fare, utilizzando la documentazione reperibile negli archivi pubblici e privati in notevole quantità. La pubblicazione dei presenti statuti vuol essere un contributo, uno stimolo all'apertura di un nuovo "cantiere" per la ricerca storica locale, un cantiere interessante, sicuramente significativo se si tiene presente che le confraternite non furono solamente un centro di spiritualità, ma anche una struttura di notevole importanza sociale, politica, economica e culturale nella realtà di Fratta nei secoli XVI-XIX; qualcuno dovrebbe scriverne la storia. In fiduciosa attesa, con la speranza che venga raccolto l'invito, i consiglieri dell'Associazione Pro-loco hanno il piacere di offrire ai propri concittadini i rarissimi, forse unici, documenti che seguono in copia anastatica con "traduzione", ritenendo che leggerli significa, oltre tutto, cercare di capire la nostra storia, le nostre radici, le nostre tradizioni, le origini della solidarietà della quale oggi tanto si parla. A1 termine del lavoro, oltre a chi ha contribuito alla stampa del volume, è doveroso esprimere un sentimento di gratitudine alla dottoressa Silvana Tomassoni , al signor Mario Gasperini , all'architetto Maurizio Pucci , tutti della Soprintendenza ai Beni A.A.A. S. di Perugia, al dottor Stefano Felicetti , archivista e ricercatore, per i preziosi suggerimenti. Capitoli e regole della Compagnia della Croce del castello della Fratta - diocesi di Gubbio - Contado di Perugia Prologo Tutta la vita cristiana e la sua perfezione non è altro che amare, con il cuore e con le opere, nostro Signore Dio, il prossimo nostro, come dicono il medesimo nostro Salvatore nel Vangelo: "Amerai il tuo Dio con tutto il cuore e con tutte le tue forze e il prossimo tuo come te stesso", e il suo diletto discepolo San Giovanni evangelista: "Quello che non ama suo fratello che vede, come può amare Dio che non vede"? Pertanto, alcuni uomini dabbene della Fratta contado di Perugia, considerando come nella detta terra non si trovava una compagnia che si dedicasse alle opere di carità, come avviene in altri luoghi, mossi e ispirati dallo Spirito Santo, decisero concordemente di fondare una santa confraternita e compagnia con il nome, prima di Santa Maria nuova, poi sotto il nome e l'implorazione della Santissima Croce di Cristo, il quale sulla Croce ha dimostrato la maggior carità che mai si è dimostrata verso i poveri peccatori, affinché, anche loro, memori del sacrificio del Cristo, fossero incitati con cristiana carità a compiere le sette opere di misericordia a beneficio dei poveri, secondo le forze che Dio avrebbe concesso loro. Tale confraternita è stata fondata anticamente nella terra di Fratta, duecento anni fa circa, niente di meno, e ai nostri giorni è "alquanto rifreddata", così, sentendosene la mancanza, come si verifica con le cose buone che hanno bisogno di essere riproposte e migliorate, i fratelli sopra citati, desiderando ricostituire la detta confraternita in forma migliore, dedicandola a Dio e alla sua gloriosa madre vergine Maria, riuniti in assemblea generale l'anno del Signore 1566, il giorno della presentazione della Madonna [21 novembre] all'unanimità deliberarono di mandare a Roma, come loro procuratore generale, Gabriello di Bastiano Angelini di Fratta, il quale avesse "piena authorità" di assumere informazioni sugli ordini, capitoli e statuti di qualche confraternita di Roma e di unire a questa la nostra confraternita, che ne imiterà ed osserverà le regole "perpetuamente" ad onore di Dio, della sua santissima Madre e ad aiuto dei poveri della Terra di Fratta. Dunque, avendo il sopracitato Gabriello "ritrovato in Roma la Compagnia della charità" conforme allo spirito della confraternita di Fratta e considerato favorevolmente l'insieme degli ordini della Confraternita della Carità, tenuto conto del prestigio e delle raccomandazioni di questa ed in particolare del consiglio di molti uomini dabbene, specialmente del Reverendo Padre fra' Paulino da Lucca, maestro in sacra Teologia dell'ordine di San Domenico, unita la detta fraternita di Santa Croce alla Compagnia della carità, come risulta da atto pubblico, ne riportò i capitoli infrascritti che si devono osservare da tutti i fratelli "con obbligo non di peccato alcuno", ma di effettuare la penitenza che verrà loro imposta, oppure di essere cancellati dall'elenco dei confratelli. La Confraternita, infine, riunita in assemblea generale potrà deliberare ciò che sembrerà più opportuno e necessario, "secondo li tempi, purchè non si manchi della osservanza, et sustantia di detti capitoli" e, nel più breve tempo possibile, si proceda di bene in meglio, come speriamo, sorretti dalla misericordia di Dio. E poiché prima siamo obbligati ad amare Dio e a cercare la salvezza della nostra anima, poi quella del prossimo, così, prima riporteremo i capitoli che affronteranno "il modo di vivere delli fratelli", poi i capitoli e il modo "circa 1'exercitare le sette opere di misericordia inverso delli proximi". Dunque, ricevano i fratelli questo santissimo dono di Dio, ringraziando sua Maestà [il Signore, il papa, o ...?] e, con grande fervore, si rinnovino al ben fare, come se oggi, di nuovo, fosse fondata questa Santissima Compagnia al nome della Santissima Croce di nostro Signore e della sua Santissima Madre, benedicendo sempre quelli "in saecula saeculorum, amen" [nei secoli dei secoli, così sia]. Capitolo primo Del modo di associare i fratelli di questa Compagnia Quando qualcuno chiederà di far parte della nostra fraternita, la proposta deve essere fatta dal Priore; l'associazione avverrà con voto segreto, con le palline bianche e nere, e dopo che il candidato avrà ottenuto i tre quarti dei voti, altrimenti non sia accettato. Un giorno di festa, poi, riunita tutta la Confraternita, il Priore dirà alcune parole sui presenti capitoli e, chiamato colui che vuole entrare a far parte della Confraternita, lo vestirà della veste della Compagnia, gli darà una candela in mano, mentre i confratelli canteranno l'inno "Veni creator spiritus" o qualche altra orazione; e così sarà inscritto tra i fratelli della Compagnia. Non venga associato alcuno che sia di cattiva fama o che abbia compiuto qualche azione scandalosa o che giochi a carte o che abbia inimicizia o che conduca una vita disonesta o sia un cattivo cristiano. E se qualcuno della Compagnia cascasse in simili vizi o che fosse disobbediente al Priore o che non osservasse i capitoli o non prendesse parte alle processioni o all'ufficio, quando si dirà, dopo essere stato ammonito dal Priore a nome della Compagnia due o tre volte e non volendosi ravvedere, sia espulso immediatamente dalla Compagnia. E affinché nessuno possa invocare ignoranza il Priore convochi una volta al mese tutti i fratelli e, in presenza di tutti, legga i presenti capitoli. Capitolo secondo Degli ufficiali della Compagnia Tutti gli ufficiali della Compagnia si eleggeranno con le palline nere e bianche su nominativi di persone idonee proposti dal Priore; il primo candidato che raggiungerà i tre quarti dei voti verrà nominato ufficiale. Per primo si eleggerà un Priore che resterà in carica per sempre, se, per gravi motivi di grande importanza, la Compagnia non delibererà di eleggerne un altro. Ogni anno, il giorno di Santa Croce, si eleggerà un Sottopriore, il quale farà tanto quanto vorrà il Priore, verrà altresì eletto un Depositario, che, per inventario annoterà e renderà conto, ogni anno, di ogni cosa, né potrà dare né spendere, sia pure un quattrino, senza espressa autorizzazione del Priore; in caso contrario sarà controllato e pagherà del suo. Verranno poi eletti due Sagrestani, ovvero custodi della chiesa, che si dedicheranno a tutte le adunate, feste, processioni, secondo gli ordini del Priore. Infine, si eleggerà uno Spedaliere che stia nell'ospedale a ricevere i pellegrini; se non si comporterà bene il Priore potrà toglierlo dal posto e, con il consenso della Compagnia, metterne un altro. Il Priore potrà distribuire ai poveri e ad altri bisognosi tutti i beni della Compagnia, tenendo però buon conto con il Depositario di ogni cosa, ma non potrà alienare niente, né assumere un cappellano perpetuo, né dare un salario senza l'autorizzazione della Compagnia. Il Priore potrà comandare tutti i fratelli, i quali gli saranno sempre obbedienti nelle cose possibili, ragionevoli e che riguardano l'osservanza dei capitoli e del vivere cristiano, dell'ufficio divino, e nei bisogni e uffici che lui ordinerà; non ci sia alcuno che ardisca ribellarsi e disubbidire, altrimenti sarà cacciato dal Priore dall'Associazione con il consenso della Fraternita. Capitolo terzo Dell'ufficio divino La sera della vigilia di tutte le feste, i fratelli converranno alla loro chiesa a dire il Mattutino della Madonna, la mattina a dire Prima [al sorgere del sole], Terza, Sesta e Nona e, dopo pranzo, a dire Vespro e Compièta; quelli che non sapessero leggere diranno la Corona o il Santo Rosario della Madonna e quelli che, per qualche motivo legittimo, talvolta, non potranno essere presenti mandino o facciano scusa al Priore. Questo medesimo ufficio si dirà tutti i venerdì di Quaresima, e ciascuno dei fratelli sarà obbligato, oltre l'ufficio sopraddetto, a dire ogni giorno cinque Pater noster e cinque Ave Maria a riverenza della Santa Croce e della gloriosa Madre di Dio. Ognuno ancora, potendo, farà di tutto per udire la Messa ogni mattina, per andare alle prediche, per confessarsi una volta al mese, non mancando però mai di confessarsi oltre la Pasqua di resurrezione, alla Pasqua dello Spirito Santo, per Santa Croce di maggio, per la presentazione della Madonna e per il Natale. Tutti imparino, oltre il Pater noster e 1'Ave Maria, ancora il Credo, la Salve Regina e i dieci comandamenti; sarà compito del Priore far controllare simili cose pubblicamente in chiesa durante la festa, affinché chi non le sa le impari. Dopo il giorno di Tutti i Santi si celebri un anniversario per i benefattori della Compagnia, e un altro ancora per i fratelli di detta Compagnia e per i morti sepolti nella loro chiesa. Si faccia ancora la disciplina tutti i venerdì di Quaresima e nelle vigilie comandate. E nei tre giorni della settimana santa si facciano quelle cerimonie che sono riportate sul libro della Compagnia, come si fa negli altri luoghi. Il giorno della Purificazione il Priore farà benedire le candele e, dopo pranzo ne darà una per uno ai fratelli della Compagnia; farà ancora celebrare solennemente tre feste l'anno con il solito ufficio e processione, alle quali feste converranno tutti i fratelli e cioè a Santa Croce di maggio e di settembre e alla Presentazione della Vergine Maria. Capitolo quarto Delle processioni Ogni domenica e ogni venerdì di Quaresima tutti i fratelli andranno a processione devotamente e così i tre giorni di Pasqua di resurrezione e di Pasqua rosata, i tre giorni di Rogazione, il giorno dell'Ascensione, del Corpus Domini, San Bernardino, San Giuseppe, Santa Croce, Sant'Antonio, la Presentazione, la Visitazione e tutte le altre volte nelle quali la Compagnia sarà invitata; chi può si compri la cappa da per sé e a chi non può sia provvista dalla Compagnia e vada cantando o dicendo qualche cosa devota; nessuno ardisca parlare per la strada e chi non sa cantare dica la corona e faccia orazione per tutti. Così in chiesa, nel vestirsi e nello spogliarsi, non si faccia rumore, ma tutti in silenzio e con ordine stiano devotamente, e quando sono alla Messa non parlino, ma stiano in orazione, o leggano o dicano qualche devozione con i due ginocchi in terra e discosti dall'altare con riverenza, mostrando esser presenti al loro Signore. Il medesimo faranno in coro, quando si dirà l'ufficio. E nessuno se ne vada senza licenza del Priore o del Sottopriore. Capitolo quinto Dell'ufficio dello Spedaliere Le sette opere di misericordia sono quelle delle quali, nel giorno del giudizio universale, dobbiamo rendere ragione davanti al tribunale di Dio, per le quali saremo premiati o condannati. Fra queste opere una delle principali è il dedicarsi agli ospedali e ricevere poveri forestieri. Perciò sarà compito dello Spedaliere, quando viene qualche povero secolare o religioso per alloggiare, riceverlo nell'ospedale e subito darne notizia al Priore o Sottopriore, affinché, con loro ordine, sia provvisto di quanto sarà di bisogno per una sera o più, secondo le necessità; e se verrà alcuno che è infermo sarà obbligo del Priore farlo portare o a Città di Castello o a Perugia negli ospedali grandi, secondo il beneplacito dell'infermo; e accadendo che qualcuno muoia nell'ospedale, si provveda ogni cosa circa lo spirituale e il temporale, in vita e in morte, come se fosse un fratello della nostra Compagnia, ricordandosi di fare al prossimo quello che vorremmo fosse fatto a noi stessi. E poiché quello dello Spedaliere è il principale ufficio di questa Compagnia, pertanto, oltre gli altri ufficiali, si userà grandissima diligenza (come anticamente i nostri maggiori hanno fatto e fanno tutti gli ospedali bene ordinati negli altri luoghi) di eleggere ogni anno uno dei fratelli della Compagnia idoneo a questo incarico, da bene, capace, caritativo e sollecito, il quale abbia sempre un compagno coadiutore per tutte le necessità; se sarà necessario la Compagnia potrà deliberare di dare loro un salario giusto e ragionevole affinché non si manchi per alcun motivo a quest'opera tanto degna, la quale è il fondamento di questa nostra Fraternita. Lo Spedaliere, dunque, vigilerà che nell'ospedale non si giochi, non si faccia alcuna cosa disonesta né che sia in disonore di Dio in alcun modo e, se vi sono infermi, che siano somministrati loro tutti i sacramenti della chiesa, e che le donne stiano separate dagli uomini. Lo Spedaliere tenga netto e pulito l'ospedale, i letti provvisti e i poveri forestieri, sani o infermi, siano ricevuti con carità e trattati bene in tutte le cose loro necessarie, pensando che non riceve solamente un povero, ma Cristo Gesù e faccia a loro tutto quello che vorrebbe fosse fatto a sè quando si ritrovasse in simili bisogni. Capitolo sesto Del seppellire i morti Quando ci sarà qualche povero che non ha chi lo seppellisca, il Priore provveda due o tre persone o più secondo il bisogno dei fratelli della Compagnia, le quali lo seppelliscano e facciano tutto quello che sarà necessario a simile opera pia; la confraternita lo porti alla sepoltura e così si faccia per tutti gli altri morti, uomini e donne poveri o ricchi che siano, non essendoci altri che si interessano a questa opera pia. Il Priore potrà dare ordini a quattro fratelli per volta al mese o, come a lui sembrerà più opportuno, a persone più adatte, caritative e sollecite in tale necessità. Il Priore provveda ancora a ricordare i turni di attività e faccia in maniera tale che nessuno muoia senza sacramenti e che nessuno sia abbandonato, né da vivo né da morto, finchè non sarà seppellito. Il Priore provvederà a far lavare i morti, a farli vestire, accompagnare, portare e seppellire; in tutte le cose si faccia quanto richiede la carità e l'abitudine dei buoni cristiani. E tutto questo che si è detto si farà con più diligenza nei confronti dei fratelli della Confraternita quando saranno infermi e poi dopo la morte; verranno vestiti della veste della Fraternita e, con quella sola, senza altri ornamenti della bara, siano portati in chiesa e così sepolti. Tutti i fratelli, quando si seppellisce uno di loro, saranno presenti, leggendo tutti quei salmi o altre devozioni che sono nel libro della Compagnia. I fratelli diranno per il morto, più presto che sia possibile, una volta la Corona, ovvero il Rosario della vergine Maria, mentre il Priore, il giorno medesimo ovvero il seguente se sarà possibile farà dire nella chiesa della Compagnia una messa per l'anima del fratello morto, alla quale messa tutti i confratelli della Compagnia sono tenuti ad essere presenti. Il sagrestano darà in mano a tutti una candela per uno da accendere mentre si dice la messa fino alla fine. Capitolo settimo Del modo di distribuire le elemosine ai poveri Poiché i beni di questa Compagnia sono stati lasciati dai nostri antichi per beneficio dei poveri e non per altro, così il Priore abbia cura che le entrate della Compagnia siano spese esclusivamente per i poveri e per i bisogni della chiesa e dell'ospedale, che non si facciano pranzi solenni né altri pranzi di alcun tipo in alcun luogo. Il Priore vigili affinché non si faccia alcuna elemosina a coloro che non sono poveri e che non hanno bisogno, ma solo a quei poveri che chiederanno l'elemosina, ai quali si dia tutto quello di cui necessitano "in sanità et in infirmità" come pane, vino, medicine, denari e simili e altre cose necessarie; e altrettanto ancora si farà per quelli che sono poveri vergognosi, i quali si vergognano di chiedere. Se poi qualcuno fosse in difficoltà economiche per maritare le sue figlie zitelle, sia aiutato secondo il bisogno e ad arbitrio del Priore. E nei tempi di carestia la Confraternita sia tenuta a distribuire una mina di grano ai poveri nella chiesa della Compagnia ogni venerdì, cominciando il primo venerdì di Quaresima fino al venerdì avanti San Pietro, cioè per circa quattro mesi. Il Priore provveda affinché la Compagnia abbia questi libri: prima il libro che si chiama "Campione", nel quale verranno registrati tutti i beni della Compagnia, mobili e immobili, con le loro misure e confini, chi li tiene e in che modo; il secondo libro riporterà le entrate e le uscite "minutamente" di tutto quello che si spenderà durante l'anno, e ogni anno, dopo la festa di Santa Croce di maggio, si renda conto di ogni cosa in presenza dei sindaci in modo tale però che tali conti siano rivisti e saldati entro e non oltre il mese di maggio e si possa consegnare l'inventario al nuovo depositario. Il terzo libro conterrà tutti i contratti e le scritture importanti della Compagnia e tutti i ricordi di quelle cose che accadranno, meritevoli di essere conosciuti da quelli che verranno, massimamente i presenti capitoli e gli ufficiali che si eleggeranno di anno in anno, gli ordini e i decreti che si faranno dalla Compagnia nel tempo; tutti questi libri saranno conservati dal Priore e da nessun altro. Capitolo ottavo Del correttore, predicatore e cappellano della Compagnia Poiché in tutte le buone opere i secolari hanno bisogno di essere indirizzati e aiutati dai sacerdoti e affinché la Confraternita possa essere governata meglio massimamente nel ben vivere, nel buon costume e nella osservanza dei presenti capitoli, il Priore, con il consenso della Compagnia eleggerà, secondo il costume delle altre compagnie, un sacerdote religioso osservante di buona vita e che voglia attendere, aiutare, consigliare e correggere i fratelli in tutte le cose necessarie al buono stato della Compagnia, al quale sacerdote il Priore con tutti i fratelli, renderà onore e obbedienza e riferirà tutte le iniziative importanti e necessarie; senza il suo consiglio non si ordinerà o cambierà alcuna cosa, in particolare nei confronti dell'osservanza dei seguenti capitoli. Se non sarà possibile avere un sacerdote residente alla Fratta, se ne eleggerà uno che stia a Perugia, ovvero a Città di Castello come meglio sembrerà, mettendolo al corrente delle necessità della Confraternita, invitandolo spesso a venire alla Fratta per insegnare, coordinare tutte quelle cose che saranno indispensabili per lo sviluppo della Fraternita. Il Priore e la Compagnia siano obbligati ad eleggere ogni anno, per predicare tutto l'Avvento fino alla festa dell'Epifania, un religioso osservante dell'ordine di San Domenico o di San Francesco e spendere in simile opera quello che sarà necessario per il predicatore. Se il convento della Fratta non avrà tale predicatore, come non hanno adesso i frati di San Domenico e i frati dei cappuccini, la Compagnia dovrà provvedere l'alloggio il vitto e le altre cose necessarie. Poiché però la Compagnia ha bisogno di continuo aiuto, di esortazioni, messe, confessioni, comunioni e altri simili esercizi cristiani, il Priore dovrà cercare diligentemente, trovare (se però sarà possibile) ed eleggere con consenso della Compagnia e con un salario conveniente, un sacerdote come cappellano della Fraternita e della chiesa, il quale sia uomo di buon esempio, adatto all'opera che dovrà svolgere, e che voglia abbracciare con tutto il cuore questa santa opera, a lode di Dio, utilità comune della Confraternita e di tutti gli uomini e donne della nostra terra. Finis Ed io, Alessandro Marocilli , pubblico notaio, inscritto nell'archivio della curia e segretario dell'Arciconfraternita della Carità di Roma, tutti i sopraddetti capitoli letti e visti, deputato per R. O. da parte dell'Arciconfraternita nel segno della conferma degli stessi capitoli secondo le lettere patenti e la bolla di unione della suddetta Confraternita della Fratta con la predetta Arciconfraternita sotto la data e millesimo infrascritti ho sottoscritto su ordine demandato il giorno 18 del mese di febbraio 1567. Così è, Alessandro Marocilli Come sopra, etcetera. Addì 9 di maggio 1567 Si dichiara per il presente capitolo come i soprascritti capitoli non obbligano, sotto pena di scomunica o di peccato o altra pena o pregiudizio, i fratelli della Compagnia, ma che loro sono liberi di poter mutare, aggiungere o togliere i sopraddetti capitoli ogni volta che sembrerà opportuno o piacerà alla detta Fraternita in tutto e per tutto come del resto è contenuto nella bolla dell'unione fatta il 18 di febbraio 1567. E così io F. Paulino, in presenza della Compagnia, dopo richiesta e consenso di tutti, il giorno sopra scritto ho dichiarato e capitolato per levare via ogni scrupolo dalle menti delle persone. Lode a Dio e alla Santissima Croce. Gli Statuti della Fraternita di Santa Croce GLI STATUTI DELLA FRATERNITA DI SANTA CROCE AGGIORNATI AL 1622 Statuti e ordini per il buon governo della Compagnia di Santa Croce della terra della Fratta fatti da Monsignor Rever.mo Andrea Sorbolongo, vescovo di Gubbio, nella visita dell'anno 1612 e confermati da Monsignor Rever.mo Dal Monte, suo degnissimo successore, Quem Deus etcetera. Capitolo primo Del numero degli ufficiali della Compagnia Essendo necessario per il buon governo di questa Confraternita che vi siano ufficiali con le opere dei quali e col dividere tra loro gli incarichi venga ad essere amministrata e governata con buoni ordini, ordiniamo che ci siano gli infrascritti ufficiali e cioè due Priori, un Camerlengo ovvero Depositario, due Sindaci o Revisori, due Priori dell'ospedale, un Segretario e quattro Sacrestani da durare un anno nell'ufficio; dell'elezione e ufficio degli ufficiali si dirà nei seguenti capitoli. Capitolo secondo Della qualità degli ufficiali Per eliminare alcuni inconvenienti che si possono verificare nelle elezioni degli ufficiali, si ordina che nella Confraternita ci sia un elenco pubblico dei fratelli della Compagnia, nel quale siano riportati e annotati solo quelli che dichiareranno di voler essere di detta Compagnia e vestire l'abito di questa e non di altre di detta terra, dal quale elenco di fratelli così descritti si prenderanno persone adatte per gli uffici della Compagnia, permettendo però che quelli che sono soliti vestire sacchi di altre Compagnie, ancorché siano da lungo tempo anche di questa, nella quale non siano soliti vestire, possano godere gli altri privilegi e grazie spirituali che godono gli altri Confratelli. Non può essere ufficiale chi è scomunicato e bollato di infamia pubblica o che non è comunicato a Pasqua. Similmente è inabile agli uffici chi fosse debitore o creditore o interessato con la Compagnia o che fosse in lite con essa per qualsivoglia causa. Non potranno essere ufficiali nel medesimo tempo padre e figlio, due fratelli, anche zio e nipote. Non possa essere Priore, Camerlengo, Sindaco chi non arriva a venti anni; prima che si effettui qualsiasi elezione, il Segretario legga il presente e il seguente capitolo. Capitolo terzo Del modo di eleggere gli insaccolatori e gli ufficiali Per adattarsi all'uso inveterato di questa Compagnia di eleggere i suoi ufficiali per mezzo di insaccolatori, ordiniamo che nel secondo giorno di Pasqua di Resurrezione dell'anno che si dovrà rifare il sacco dei nuovi ufficiali, in una pubblica assemblea, i Priori, il Camerlengo e i Sindaci eleggeranno sei persone discrete tra i fratelli della Compagnia, dal quale numero si estrarranno tre persone, le quali dovranno rifare il sacco per tre anni; nel fare ciò si procederà in questa maniera: la domenica dell'ottava di Pasqua i tre insaccolatori si riuniranno segretamente in chiesa, ove, recitate le solite preghiere, fatto giuramento di operare con carità e senza tornaconto personale, eleggeranno i nuovi ufficiali o "a voce" o "per voti segreti"; se ci "fosse discrepanza", diversità di vedute, "si metterà la sorte". Il tutto dovrà essere verbalizzato dal Segretario, che parteciperà a tutte le operazioni "senza voto decisivo". Lo stesso Segretario, finita la votazione, rinchiuderà segretamente le schede degli ufficiali eletti per ciascun anno in tre palle di cera, sigillate in un'altra palla simile alle tre, ma più grande, inserendovi un foglio ove saranno annotati tutti gli ufficiali di ciascuno dei tre anni, affinché, verificandosi qualche inconveniente (frode, dubbio o altro) si possa immediatamente confrontare con quanto scritto sul foglio e superare ogni difficoltà o controversia. Si avverte che i tre elettori suddetti "sono privi di voce passiva", cioè non possono essere eletti "per li tre anni futuri" all'ufficio del priorato e camerlengato. Il segretario e i tre elettori dovranno tenere segreti i risultati elettorali [fino al tre di maggio, festa di Santa Croce]. Capitolo quarto Del modo e tempo di dare l'ufficio ai nuovi ufficiali Ogni anno, nel giorno della festa di Santa Croce al 3 di maggio, nella assemblea generale si estrarrà una palla dei nuovi ufficiali il cui contenuto verrà reso pubblico dal Segretario. Quelli che saranno eletti a qualche ufficio andranno avanti all'altare maggiore da dove, pregando Iddio che doni loro la grazia di amministrare bene il detto ufficio e, fatto un cenno dai Priori anziani, se ne ritorneranno; al tornare dei quali, tutti gli ufficiali vecchi si alzeranno in piedi e se ne andranno dal loro posto facendovi sedere i nuovi ufficiali e si consegneranno le chiavi, i libri e il sigillo. Poi il Priore presente più anziano esorterà i nuovi ufficiali a mantenere le opere pie che si fanno dalla Confraternita, pregandoli a conservarne i beni e le robe con ogni loro potere e scusandosi con gli ufficiali passati delle loro negligenze, domanderanno perdono a Dio. Poi si dirà il Te Deum e Deus innocentiae restitutor, e fatto ciò, non essendovi altro da dire, si stabiliranno le ore della giornata nelle quali consegnare le robe, riscontrare gli inventari e rendere i conti in conformità di quanto si dirà nel capitolo settimo. Capitolo quinto Dell'ufficio dei Priori Vogliamo che i Priori siano capi e guida della Compagnia, ai quali ciascuno debba portare rispetto ed essere obbediente nelle cose che riguardano la Compagnia, siano governatori e amministratori di tutti i luoghi e delle robe della Compagnia, procurino che i beni e le robe di essa siano fedelmente amministrate e distribuite in conformità degli obblighi e delle antiche istituzioni della Compagnia affinchè non vengano defraudate le intenzioni e le disposizioni dei benefattori, provvedendo che gli stabili non si usurpino né si alienino. I Priori, all'inizio del loro mandato, siano obbligati ad intervenire ai controlli degli inventari, che si faranno tra gli ufficiali vecchi e nuovi, e ad assistere con i Sindaci alla resa dei conti, avvertendo di non ingerirsi in cosa alcuna prima che siano stati resi i conti dagli ufficiali passati. Procurino, prima che finisca il loro ufficio, di far riscuotere tutti i crediti, pagare tutti i debiti, fare saldo con tutti per non lasciare confusione ai nuovi successori, forse con danno della Compagnia. I Priori siano obbligati, insieme con il Camerlengo, almeno una volta durante il loro ufficio a visitare tutti i beni stabili della Compagnia, faranno convocare tutte le assemblee sia generali sia segrete e assistervi. Provvedano poi affinché nei tempi dovuti siano soddisfatti tutti gli obblighi e carichi della Compagnia. Non possano di loro propria autorità spendere più di uno scudo in cose che non siano ordinarie e solite. Ordineranno tutti i mandati dei pagamenti e spese ordinarie e straordinarie, sottoscrivendoli e timbrandoli col sigillo della Compagnia. Uno di essi dovrà sottoscrivere le lettere missive che occorreranno durante il giorno, in questo modo (I Priori) e l'altro vi metterà il sigillo, il quale dovrà stare in mano di uno solo; il medesimo procedimento potrà essere osservato nel sottoscrivere i mandati. I Priori procurino che si mettano a libro dei ricordi tutte le memorie di atti pubblici e altre scritture pertinenti alla Compagnia, insomma facciano in modo che tutti gli ufficiali e i ministri compiano diligentemente i loro doveri. Terranno una chiave del granaio e della cantina e l'altra il Camerlengo, né la daranno ad alcuno senza andarvi e ritrovarsi presenti, non perché crediamo che il Camerlengo non sia fedele e sincero, ma per togliere via i sospetti e le mormorazioni; per la stessa ragione, fatta la raccolta e finita la vendemmia, si aggiungeranno nell'inventario fatto all'inizio dell'ufficio, tutto il grano, le altre robe raccolte e anche il mosto alla presenza dei Sindaci revisori. Non possano per alcuna via ricevere denari di entrate ordinarie e straordinarie e, finito il loro ufficio si sottopongano al controllo dei sindaci in conformità del capitolo settimo. Procurino di essere più amati che temuti dagli ufficiali e, soprattutto, essendo i primi dei luoghi e degli onori, siano i primi ad osservare i presenti capitoli e, con le opere e il loro esempio, siano specchi, esempio di bene operare per tutti gli altri. Capitolo sesto Dell'ufficio del Camerlengo o Depositario Non ricercandosi minor diligenza nell'eleggere il Camerlengo della Compagnia di quella che si ricerca nel nominare i Priori, avendo egli in mano tutte le robe ed entrate dalle quali dipendono tutte le opere lodevoli che si fanno nella Compagnia, si avvertono gli insaccolatori di eleggere a tale ufficio persona idonea e non sospetta. Il Camerlengo, benché abbia facoltà di spendere per le piccole e consuete cose senza il consenso dei Priori, tuttavia non potrà pagare né spendere denari per qualsiasi causa da tre giulii in su senza il detto mandato, non dovendosi altrimenti ritenere buono dai Sindaci nel rendere i conti; alla fine di ciascun mese farà fare il riepilogo di tutte le spese minute occorse, e delle spese che farà per vigore di qualsiasi mandato, debba farne fare ricevuta a tergo. Userà diligenza nello scrivere nel suo registro, annotando e specificando il nome da chi sono date o prese le robe, il peso, la misura, il numero, il prezzo e il giorno. All'inizio del suo ufficio dovrà prendere in carico ogni cosa per inventario alla presenza dei Priori e dei Sindaci, aggiungendo nel registro, sempre alla presenza dei sopraddetti, il raccolto del grano, del mosto e delle altre cose. Dovrà tenere una chiave del grano, del vino e delle altre robe, mentre l'altra la terrà il Priore, il che si è ordinato solo per rimuovere i sospetti e le mormorazioni; non darà a nessuno la detta chiave senza ritrovarsi presente. Il Camerlengo dovrà ugualmente tenere una chiave delle cassette delle elemosine e l'altra il Priore. Sarà suo dovere riscuotere tutti i lasciti, crediti e altri denari della Compagnia, avvertendo di non lasciare indietro alcun debito o credito per non lasciare confusione ai nuovi ufficiali, forse con danno della chiesa [sic]. In mano sua dovranno pervenire tutti i denari che non si dovranno spendere se non per sua mano; non farà distrazione delle robe ed entrate della Compagnia per convertirle in denari senza la partecipazione dei Priori; finito il tempo dell'incarico consegnerà i suoi libri e l'inventario ai nuovi Sindaci alla presenza dei vecchi e nuovi Priori e si renderanno i conti conformemente al seguente capitolo. Capitolo settimo Dell'ufficio dei Sindaci Benché speriamo che ogni fratello, al quale toccherà qualche ufficio, debba fare il suo dovere diligentemente e con fedeltà, tuttavia, perché a ciascuno è noto quanto siano importanti il giudizio e l'esame degli ufficiali passati, affinché le opere di ognuno siano manifeste e la Compagnia sia servita concretamente, si ordina che i Sindaci che saranno votati nella palla dei nuovi ufficiali, con l'assistenza del vicario foraneo, debbano rendere i conti dell'amministrazione degli ufficiali passati che avranno maneggiato robe e denari della Compagnia; questo sia fatto rapidamente per sommi capi, vedendo solo la realtà del fatto; senza esprimere giudizi si faccia detto controllo entro il termine di dieci giorni, dando assicurazione scritta che verrà consegnata al Segretario affinché la legga in una assemblea generale; resa pubblica, verrà registrata dal Segretario nel registro dei decreti di detta Compagnia. I Sindaci procurino che i nuovi ufficiali piglino l'ufficio col fare l'inventario, dove si specifichi la qualità e quantità delle cose o robe che a quelli si consegneranno e altre circostanze necessarie con la presenza loro, al quale inventario faranno aggiungere, come di sopra tutte le entrate che a suo tempo si ricaveranno dai beni stabili della Compagnia, come grano, vino e biade. Terranno una chiave dell'armario cioè il primo Sindaco una e l'altra il primo Priore. Conformemente a quanto si dirà nel capitolo XIIII, i Sindaci concorreranno ad eleggere gli insaccolatori, conformemente al capitolo XI, interverranno alla assemblea segreta. Sarà cura particolare dei Sindaci "visitare" spesso i beni stabili della Compagnia e procurare che siano ben coltivati e, al possibile, bonificati. Capitolo ottavo Dei Priori dell'ospedale e loro ufficio Sarà carico dei deputati a questo ufficio il sopraintendere al governo dell'ospedale dei poveri e all'ospizio dei padri cappuccini col provvedere quel tanto che farà di bisogno per il servizio di detto ospizio, e di tutte le spese faranno fare mandato, facendolo sottoscrivere come di sopra, da pagarsi per mano del depositario, avvertendo di non comprare robe alle osterie, con maggior spesa della Compagnia, perché non dovrà considerarsi buona l'alterazione dei prezzi. Avvertiranno ancora di non servirsi delle stanze fuori dell'uso convenevole e anche loro siano obbligati a fare tutti gli altri esercizi soliti, dichiarando che nei presenti statuti, facendosi menzione dei Priori, non s'intendono questi dell'ospedale, se non sono specificatamente nominati tali. Capitolo nono Del Segretario e suo ufficio Affinché, tanto dei decreti e risoluzioni che si faranno nelle assemblee, quanto degli infrascritti statuti e di altre scritture pertinenti alla Compagnia, ci sia chi tenga conto del tutto, ordiniamo che ci sia un Segretario il quale dovrà sempre assistere a tutte le riunioni e annotare distintamente tutto quello che si tratterà. Scriverà ancora tutte le lettere missive che occorrono alla giornata, facendole sottoscrivere e sigillare e di quelle terrà copia. Terrà anche conto delle altre lettere che si riceveranno, "facendone filza" [ordinandole], per poterle a suo tempo porre nell'archivio. Noterà in un registro tutti i fratelli e sorelle della Compagnia per ordine alfabetico e se in alcune di dette riunioni il Segretario non fosse presente, qualche altro, su incarico dei Priori, scriverà in un foglio quello che occorrerà, da darsi poi in mano al Segretario affinchè lo riporti sul suo registro; interverrà al momento della resa dei conti e, occorrendo, scriverà gli inventari e altre scritture per la Compagnia. Capitolo decimo Dei Sagrestani e loro ufficio Sarà cura dei sagrestani che la chiesa, l'altare, l'oratorio e tutte le altre robe della sagrestia siano sempre pulite e monde. I sagrestani dovranno assistere la domenica e tutte le feste, alle messe che si celebreranno nella chiesa della Compagnia; saranno diligenti nel far osservare gli obblighi che ha la Compagnia in quanto a messe, funerali e simili e, a questo effetto, dovranno tenere una tabella affissa nella sagrestia, sarà loro cura addobbare con decenza la chiesa nelle feste solite della Compagnia e, per tale effetto, riceveranno dal Camerlengo in denari quel tanto che dai Priori sarà giudicato sufficiente per la spesa di detto apparato, avvertendoli che andrà a loro conto ogni spesa superflua che facessero di loro iniziativa. I Priori avvertiranno ancora detti Sagrestani di non fare, nei giorni di festa "spese straordinarie e indecenti in mangiamenti e refezioni", non dovendole accettare per buone nei conti; se vorranno fare qualche cosa a loro proprie spese sia fatta ancora con ogni temperanza e senza scandalo. I sagrestani renderanno fedele conto ai Priori dei denari e delle elemosine che entrano nella sagrestia ed i Priori dovranno condiscendere ai giusti desideri loro quando facessero istanza, se di dette elemosine e avanzi fatti per loro intervento se ne facesse qualche ornamento per la chiesa o sagrestia durante il loro ufficio. Terranno ancora conto della cera che entrerà nella sagrestia per funerali e altre occasioni. Riceveranno e renderanno per inventario alla presenza dei Priori le robe pertinenti alla sagrestia. Capitolo undicesimo Dell'assemblea segreta Essendo necessario, per la speditezza degli affari della Compagnia, riunirsi spesse volte insieme, e perché sarebbe molto difficile, per ogni circostanza che durante la giornata si presenta, riunire tutti i fratelli, perciò si ordina che una volta al mese, e più o meno secondo che parrà ai Priori, si faccia una riunione segreta, alla quale dovranno intervenire i due Priori, il Camerlengo, i Sindaci, il Segretario e, possibilmente i due Priori vecchi dell'anno precedente, i quali tutti vogliamo che rappresentino la Congregazione [l'Assemblea] segreta, nella quale si possano trattare tutti gli argomenti necessari, proponendo i Priori e rispondendo successivamente gli altri puntualmente; se nel trattare vi sarà controversia, si metterà a votazione e non si potrà prendere decisione in detta riunione se non sono presenti almeno un Priore e cinque altri deputati. Non si possa discutere il problema o prendere una decisione finché non sarà uscito fuori quello (ancorché difficile) che avesse proposto qualche cosa tanto per interesse suo quanto dei suoi sino al terzo grado incluso. La stessa regola si osservi nell'assemblea generale. Detta assemblea segreta avrà facoltà di permettere qualche spesa insolita, però utile per la Compagnia, fino alla somma di tre scudi; alla medesima riunione segreta spetterà di nominare ufficiali nei luoghi che saranno restati vacanti per qualsivoglia accidente, i quali ufficiali saranno nello stesso grado, dignità e ordine che erano quelli insaccolati. Tutto quello che da detta assemblea segreta sarà decretato sia valido come se fosse fatto dall'assemblea generale, ad eccezione però dei casi riservati a detta assemblea generale. Capitolo dodicesimo Della assemblea generale Siccome nella Confraternita tutti i fratelli sono uguali, così la partecipazione ai suoi affari deve essere comune e, presentandosi problemi gravi, si devono risolvere e determinare con il consenso comune; perciò ordiniamo che, oltre la riunione segreta, si devono convocare e riunire tutti i fratelli, tutte quelle volte che ai Priori sembrerà accorgimento utile, in assemblea generale, la quale abbia facoltà di trattare, decidere e risolvere tutti i problemi occorrenti alla Compagnia, proponendo i Priori e rispondendo gli altri puntualmente, dichiarando (per evitare la confusione e il danno della Compagnia) che siano privi di voce attiva e passiva quelli che parleranno quando non tocca loro per ordine in detta assemblea senza avere ottenuto il permesso da uno dei due Priori; questa condizione privatamente duri solamente durante il consiglio o assemblea di quel giorno. Intesi i pareri dei diversi deputati, si metteranno ai voti quelli più "laudabili", e quello che sarà più favorevole rispetto ai voti ottenuti si intenderà approvato. Risolti i problemi e fatti i decreti si rendano pubblici dal segretario con voce intelliggibile; il medesimo si farà nelle riunioni segrete, alle quali assemblee non assisterà alcuno che non sia della Compagnia o che vesta di altre Compagnie e che si presenti armato. Prima che abbiano inizio le riunioni, sia generali sia segrete, si dovrà recitare "Veni Sante Spiritus", come nell'ufficio della Beata Vergine; finita la riunione si reciteranno le preghiere "Post congregatione" come nel medesimo luogo è notato. Capitolo tredicesimo Del modo di mettere i partiti [ai voti] Tutte le votazioni che si andranno a proporre nelle assemblee si devono effettuare per voti segreti, in tutte le riunioni sia generali che segrete e non si intendano valide se i voti non sono più della metà dei fratelli presenti riuniti atti a dare il voto e se non sono i due terzi dei voti favorevoli, come è stato usato sempre in questa Compagnia. Dovendo predisporre per la votazione, si ponga il bossolo davanti ai Priori, dove ordinatamente ciascuno andrà a dare il suo voto; nessuno possa dare voto se non ha almeno quindici anni finiti. Si aprirà poi dal segretario il bossolo davanti a Priori, pubblicamente, e si pubblicheranno e mostreranno i voti a tutta l'assemblea. Capitolo quattordicesimo Del modo di accettare i fratelli Per evitare l'associazione di uomini di cattiva fama e vita scandalosa, al che facilmente da principio si provvede e, successivamente, con difficoltà si rimedia, onde spesse volte succedono scandali e discordie, ordiniamo che, volendo qualcuno entrare a far parte della Compagnia, debba presentare un memoriale ai Priori, i quali, nella prima assemblea generale lo proporranno a votazione ed essendo accettato gli si darà avviso, affinché possa provvedere la veste, o sacco, che farà benedire da qualche sacerdote; sarà poi vestito dal proprio Priore con le solite cerimonie e ammonizioni e allora, non prima, sarà scritto dal segretario nel registro dei fratelli e posto nella tavola pubblica, avvertendolo che per l'avvenire non verranno ammessi nella Compagnia quelli che sono soliti vestire il sacco o la veste di altre compagnie dello stesso luogo. Capitolo quindicesimo Del modo di cancellare i fratelli Occorrendo cancellare qualcuno dei fratelli della Compagnia per qualche giusta causa, questo tale si faccia chiamare davanti ai Priori per sentire se ha qualche legittima difesa; dopo che sarà ascoltato, o non comparendo, il segretario nell'assemblea generale, a nome dei Priori, esporrà la causa. L'assemblea giudicherà a voti segreti e, se il caso proposto meriterà tale punizione, il nome di questo tale si scriverà in un bollettino che verrà stracciato dal Priore; il segretario lo cancellerà nello stesso tempo dal registro e farà nota dei fratelli, in modo tale che se ne faccia perpetua memoria, senza possibilità di essere mai più riammesso. Capitolo sedicesimo Dell'archivio o armario Per conservare i libri e le altre scritture pertinenti alla Compagnia, ove sarà anche l'inventario di detti registri, l'originale dell'inventario delle robe che si consegnano annualmente agli ufficiali, con il quale si confronteranno gli inventari particolari di qualsiasi ufficio, si ordina che vi sia un armario o cassa, dove si conservino tutti i registri, contratti, memorie e altre scritture riguardanti la Compagnia. Il primo Priore terrà una chiave di detto armario o cassa, l'altra la terrà il primo Sindaco. Capitolo diciassettesimo Che non si alienino i beni della Compagnia Desiderando provvedere nei confronti di chi posponesse l'utilità della Compagnia al proprio particolare interesse, stabiliamo che i beni stabili non si possano locare per più di tre anni, e questo con il consenso dell'assemblea generale, né si possano locare a persone, le quali abbiano casa, possessi e altri beni vicini a quelli della Compagnia, affinché non siano usurpati in tutto o in parte e i confini non si sconvolgano. Similmente non si possa locare, vendere o alienare o in qualsiasi modo concedere beni stabili o altre cose ai Priori, al Camerlengo o ad altri ufficiali della Compagnia, né ai loro parenti durante il loro ufficio. Le alienazioni in vita, terze generazioni o perpetue non siano permesse se non quando riguardassero cose dannose, sterili e in caso di grandissima necessità e di evidente utilità della Compagnia, né questo si deliberi senza il consenso dell'assemblea generale, oltre all'approvazione che se ne dovrà ottenere da Monsignor Reverendissimo Vescovo, quando si effettuerà tale alienazione sia fatta a spese del compratore come quando occorresse il sì di qualunque genere. Capitolo diciottesimo Dei prestiti delle robe Poiché prestare le robe della Compagnia è causa di smarrimenti, molte volte per negligenza, oppure di guasti per poca attenzione, con non poco danno di essa, ordiniamo che nessuno possa in qualsiasi modo prestare beni mobili di qualsiasi genere, di proprietà della Compagnia, senza un documento sottoscritto almeno da uno dei Priori, e prestandosi qualche cosa si faccia notare nel registro ciò che è stato prestato e a chi; e quando la riporterà si cancelli. In caso contrario, se le cose prestate perissero o si deteriorassero notevolmente siano a carico di chi le presta. Capitolo diciannovesimo Delle donne che entreranno nella Compagnia Per dare possibilità alle donne che lo vorranno di entrare a far parte della Compagnia ordiniamo che i sagrestani e altri ufficiali che saranno "pro tempore" piglino in nota il nome di quella donna che vorrà entrare nella Compagnia e lo presentino ad uno dei Priori affinché se ne possa prendere debita informazione; dopo aver assunto informazioni e averle trovate idonee, almeno un Priore sottoscriverà quel bollettino, il quale sarà consegnato al segretario affinché lo trascriva nel libro grosso dei fratelli e sorelle della Compagnia delle quali ogni anno gli insaccolatori ne eleggeranno quattro, le quali, con il titolo di Priore, saranno capo e guida di tutte le altre sorelle della Compagnia. Capitolo ventesimo Delle qualità e costumi dei fratelli e sorelle della Compagnia Per ammonire ed avvertire i fratelli e le sorelle di questa Compagnia di incamminarsi ed esercitarsi per la via delle virtù e dei buoni costumi, ci possiamo servire delle ammonizioni ed esortazioni che fa San Paolo nel capitolo quarto delle Epistole che scrive ai Filippesi, ove, dopo molte altre esortazioni vi aggiunge questa: "De cetero, fratres, quaecumque sunt vera, quaecumque onesta, quaecumque sancta, quaecumque amabilia, quaecumque honestae famae, si qua virtus, si qua laus disciplinae, haec cogitate". [Del resto, fratelli, tutto ciò che è vero, tutto ciò che è onesto, tutto ciò che è santo, tutto quello che è amabile, tutto ciò che è rinomato, tutto ciò che è virtuoso e merita lode, sia oggetto del vostro pensiero]. Dovendo riportare da tutto ciò un frutto particolare, questo non sarà altro che quello che lo stesso San Paolo aggiunge: "Deus pacis erit vobiscum". [il Dio della pace sarà con voi] . Se questo riguarda tutti i cristiani, molto di più deve riguardare quelli che, oltre all'obbligo universale della legge cristiana, scegliendo quasi una vita più severa in questa Compagnia, si sono spontaneamente obbligati alle opere di pietà e devozione; per questo vogliamo, dunque, che i fratelli e le sorelle della Compagnia, prima di ogni altra cosa osservino tutti i comandamenti di Dio e della Chiesa, ascoltino ogni giorno la Messa o almeno visitino il Santissimo Sacramento, frequentino i Sacramenti della Confessione e della Comunione, se non una volta al mese, almeno nelle feste principali del Signore e della Madonna, e in particolare per la festa di Santa Croce di maggio e della Madonna di novembre, feste principali della Compagnia, nella propria chiesa tutti insieme. Si esercitino nelle opere di pietà e di misericordia con tutti e in particolare con quelli della Compagnia, soccorrendo i bisognosi, visitando gli infermi di essa, seppellendo i morti, per i quali dovranno far celebrare un ufficio tanto per i fratelli quanto per le sorelle della Compagnia dopo la morte di ciascuno, e fare una particolare orazione per essi. Abbiano qualche devozione particolare e siano riverenti e obbedienti ai superiori, siano solleciti alla frequenza della Compagnia nelle attività e processioni pubbliche, alle quali intervengano sempre con l'abito della Compagnia e con quella modestia pietà e devozione che sono dovute a tale abito, sempre con la faccia coperta e senza cappello in testa. Abbiano sempre davanti agli occhi l'onore e il timore di Dio, perché con tali mezzi verranno ad essere più disposti a conseguire le grazie, e privilegi e le indulgenze concessi a questa Compagnia in conformità di quanto è contenuto più espressamente nelle bolle dell'aggregazione, con l'avvertenza di non lasciare vestire il sacco né di intervenire ad alcune attività a quelli che non sono iscritti alla Compagnia, se non per necessità o convenienza e in questi casi con il permesso degli stessi Priori della Compagnia. Tutti i sopraddetti singoli capitoli, intimati dal Mandatario dell'assemblea generale e quella riunita, furono letti ad alta ed intelliggibile voce da me cancelliere infrascritto, e di nuovo furono accettati ed approvati per voto segreto, nessuno intimamente contrario e il decreto dovrà essere osservato inviolabilmente, riservati il consenso e l'approvazione dell'Illustrissimo e Reverendissimo Signore Alessandro del Monte vescovo eugubino per grazia di Dio e della Sede Apostolica dal giorno 23 ottobre 1622. In fede, scrissi e sottoscrissi di mia propria mano Paolo Cibo notaio e cancelliere I capitoli sopraddetti confermati ed approvati dal vescovo eugubino. Capitoli sopra le doti da vincolarsi per le zitelle Per eliminare molti abusi e dare qualche forma al costituire, al distribuire le doti per elemosina alle zitelle e apportare maggior utile ai poveri, onore e decoro alla Compagnia, si stabilisce e determina che per l'avvenire l'assemblea generale pubblica possa vincolare e assegnare una dote o due al più l'anno, secondo che lo consentiranno le entrate e i bisogni della Compagnia, e non più; e ciascuna delle dette doti possa ammontare alla somma di venticinque fiorini e questi non superare. Parimente si ordina e stabilisce che non si possano proporre per tale effetto se non zitelle povere onorate, di buoni costumi, residenti nella Terra di Fratta o nei suoi borghi, e che dei parenti di quelle almeno il padre sia nativo del detto luogo. Nello sborsare le dette doti se ne debba fare atto pubblico per mano del cancelliere della Compagnia, e si debbano dare con patto o condizione, purchè, per tutto il tempo che, e fino a quando avrà conservato una vita casta ed onesta; e anche con patto che, morendo la donna senza figlioli legittimi e naturali, la dote consegnatale debba ritornare ed essere restituita alla Compagnia nel modo migliore, senza la detrazione del terzo o di altro; e a questo effetto si farà mettere in beni stabili la detta dote, o dare sicurtà idonea di restituirla nei sopraddetti casi, non altrimenti. Si determina ancora che le sopraddette doti non si possano assegnare se non nei giorni delle feste principali della Compagnia cioè nella festività di Santa Croce il 3 di maggio, e nella festività della Presentazione della Madonna il 21 di novembre, una però per ciascuna festa, nel caso che piacesse assegnarne una o due, come si è detto di sopra, e nell'assegnarle si leggeranno i memoriali di ciascuna zitella da proporre all'assemblea pubblica e per ciascuna si metterà la decisione a voto segreto e quella che avrà più voti favorevoli si intenderà assegnata, avendo avuto però più dei due terzi dei voti favorevoli, in modo conforme alle disposizioni della Compagnia; e se eventualmente due o più zitelle riportassero un numero uguale di voti, si scriveranno i nomi in due o più schede "conformi" e da quelle si estrarrà a sorte, intendendo per assegnata quella che verrà estratta, dichiarando che i sopraddetti capitoli, tutti e ciascuno di essi in tutto e per tutto si debbano osservare "inviolabilmente" e contravvenendovi, in tutto o in parte sia nullo e di nessuna importanza ogni atto e la dote si consideri non assegnata, né si debba rimborsare la somma a chi la pagasse. Tutti i sopraddetti singoli capitoli, intimati dal Mandatario dell'assemblea generale, e quella riunita, furono letti ad alta ed intelliggibile voce da me cancelliere infrascritto, e furono accettati ed approvati con voto segreto, nessuno intimamente contrario, e il decreto dovrà essere inviolabilmente osservato, riservati il consenso e l'approvazione dell'illustrissimo e Reverendissimo Signore Alessandro del Monte, vescovo eugubino per grazia di Dio e della Sede Apostolica, dal giorno 23 ottobre 1622. Paolo Cibo notaio e cancelliere I Capitoli sopraddetti confermati ed approvati dal Vescovo eugubino Decreto del 16 giugno 1730 Decreto dell'Illustrissimo e Reverendissimo Signore Sostegno Maria Cavalli vescovo eugubino, emanato il 16 giugno 1730 in occasione della Sacra visita a questa chiesa della venerabile Confraternita di Santa Croce, e trascritto tra gli altri decreti. Ordiniamo che in futuro nessun fratello eletto della medesima società possa prendere il sacco o la veste e indossarli se non per mano del Priore che amministra al momento, fatti salvi i riti e le cerimonie prescritte nei capitoli della Società e inoltre [ordiniamo] che nessun confratello possa essere accolto, eletto o ammesso oltre il numero di quaranta confratelli, altrimenti l'elezione o l'ammissione sia, in ambedue i casi, nulla immediatamente. Pietro Nalducci segretario Decreto del 6 giugno 1741 L'Illustrissimo e Reverendissimo Signore Sostegno Maria Cavalli vescovo eugubino, in occasione della sacra visita effettuata nella chiesa di Santa Croce di questa Terra di Fratta, essendo il suo animo mosso da giusta causa, derogando in quella parte del capitolo XIV ordinò che in futuro la Confraternita non accolga nuovi confratelli se non mediante il consiglio segreto. Così è il 6 giugno 1741. Fratta, in occasione della sacra visita, come sopra Firmato S. M. Cavalli (aggiunta postuma) C. Leandro de Bonfatti Cancelliere vescovile generale

GENERALE ALBERTO BRIGANTI UN PIONIERE DELL’AVIAZIONE GENERAL ALBERTO BRIGANTI AN AVIATION PIONEER curated by Fabio Mariotti by Alvaro Gragnoli The Frecce Tricolori for the 100th anniversary of the General August 31, 1996. The roar of the engines of the PAN MB339s, Aerobatic Team Nazionale Frecce Tricolori, is felt throughout Umbertide making the windows tremble houses. It forces citizens to roll their eyes to admire those planes so low, with the tricolor painted under the wings and on the fuselage, that in an instant disappear from sight. But after a few minutes here they appear again leaving a long trail of white, red and green smoke, and waving its wings in greeting up to disappear in the distance. Enthusiasm and surprise mix because not everyone knows that in the council chamber municipal, with a simple ceremony, wishes are being given to the general of the Alberto Briganti Air Force. He has just turned one hundred and the Frecce Tricolori they came to pay homage to the soldier and the man who had so much importance in the history of national aviation. But the Air Force Band also wanted to be present on this unrepeatable occasion and, in the evening, held a very popular concert at the Teatro del Parco Ranieri. The birth in Umbertide in 1896 If Umbertide has given valuable pilots, some of which are highly decorated (1), and if many young people continue to enlist in aviation, it is also due to the story of Briganti. Which curiously begins as a sailor. Born in Umbertide on December 22, 1896, he was orphaned by his mother at the age of two and was raised by his grandmother, who managed to get him to study until he graduated from secondary school. Perhaps we would have had one more teacher or accountant, and one less general if, during the holidays of the year of middle school, two Umbertidesi had not returned to the city and they would push him to the choice of life. One is long-time captain Armando Bettoni, who is he will thrill with stories about his life as a sailor, and the other is Count Balilla Grilli, director of the “Vittorio Emanuele” marine college in Livorno, who invites him to enroll in his school. And the young Alberto leaves for Livorno, where in 1915 he will obtain his nautical diploma and, at the beginning of 1916, having not yet called up the draft of 1896, he embarks on the steamship “Assiria”. He begins to navigate between the various ports of the Tyrrhenian Sea, but as soon as the course for additional officer cadets at the Naval Academy is announced, he applies and is ranked eleventh out of 120 participants. From the Navy to the Aviation It is during the exams that the admiral commanding the school informs them that the Navy needs airmen and invites them to apply. Sixteen of them decide in this sense and so the young Alberto who, his comment, "I went to the Nautical Institute without having seen the sea and without knowing how to swim, I went to aviation without ever having seen an airplane up close" (2), is envoy at the Flight School of Taranto, where he follows the course held by ten. of ship Mario Calderara, Italian pilot's license n.1 and pupil of Wilbur Wright. In May 1917 he obtained the seaplane pilot license and was assigned to the Venice office. We are in the middle of the war and the bombing and reconnaissance actions carried out at the controls of an L3 aircraft built by Macchi are daily. The objectives are mainly the port of Pula, the base of the navy Austrian, and the area around the Piave river. It is in the course of one of these actions that he is injured the thigh while still managing to return to the base even with the plane riddled with shots. In the Great War he was decorated with two medals bronze for the following reasons: “Bold seaplane pilot, after having strafed at low altitude stalking of enemy machine gunners, although wounded, seen his squadron leader descend into the swamp, he lingered on the spot until he made sure it was rescue from another seaplane and, despite the suffering, he then brought the aircraft back to the departure station demonstrating great fortitude. Basso Piave December 16, 1917 ". "Seaplane pilot was performing numerous bombings […] in enemy territory demonstrating always zeal and in various critical circumstances, admirable courage and calm. Upper Adriatic July-December 1918 "(3). The end of the war found him in Ancona from where he was transferred in May 1919, at the headquarters in Fiume. There he lives with D'Annunzio the whole dramatic history of that city. Returning to civilian life, he founds an airline, which however has a short life troubled. He then presents himself to the competition announced by the Regia Marina for officers in SPE, he brilliantly overtakes it and is embarked on the battleship “Vittorio Emanuele ”with the rank of lieutenant. But it is clear that his fate it is not facing the sea because, when it was founded in October 1923 the Air Force as an independent body, the decision to change the uniform of the Navy with that of the Air Force is taken without any second thoughts. “I had to choose my fate. I had been an aviator for five years […] I was slipped twice into the sea, I had been wounded in the air, faced storms and grazed death many times, but I had never had a moment of perplexity for having chosen to be a pilot " . (A. Briganti. "Op. Quoted) Thus he met Italo Balbo who had been entrusted with the task of organizing the new weapon, became his instructor for the pilot's license on seaplanes and in 1927 he was his flight assistant. In this new role she organizes and participates in various air cruises in the Mediterranean and in Europe. The one that sees him most committed at an organizational level and in which he should have participated as a driver, is the Atlantic crossing on the Savoia-Marchetti S.55A seaplanes from Rome to Brazil, which made Balbo and the Italian Air Force famous all over the world. But comes the appointment as aide-de-camp to the King, to which he cannot say no and must necessarily renounce. He will leave this post in 1933 to take command of the seaplane base of Orbetello. In this capacity, when his subject, the pilot lieutenant Roberto Federici asks him to be a witness at his wedding willingly accepts. The bride is a certain Claretta Petacci, who sadly ended her life alongside the Duce in Dongo. In 1936, at the age of forty, he was promoted to general. Duke Amedeo d'Aosta, commander of the first air division L'Aquila, communicates this to him. From that moment on, he would have been employed by him, having managed "to snatch him from Italo Balbo who wanted him with him" (4). He will remain with the duke for a little less than two years when, after a short period in the ministry as head of the training and operations department of the General Staff, he is assigned to Tripoli as commander of the Libyan Air Force. He thus returned to the employ of Balbo, who at that moment was the Governor of the Italian colony. In 1938 he was at his side in Germany in the meeting he had with Goering and Hitler, and with him he remained in Libya until the end of May 1940, when he was assigned to command the Milan Air Zone. On June 10, Italy also enters the war. On the 28th of the same month Italo Balbo will be shot down by our anti-aircraft in the skies of Tobruch (5). Thus closes a cycle of Briganti's life that had been full of satisfaction and interest. War, imprisonment and escape In March 1943, after spending about a year as commander-in-chief of the Navy Aviation (Italy was preparing an aircraft carrier, "L'Aquila", which was damaged by British bombing and the project was abandoned), destined for the command of the Air Force of the Aegean based in Rhodes. Here is the 8th of September and when the Germans invite all the military Italians to enlist in their army, the gen. Briganti refuses and sends a letter to the German command, of which we report a passage: “Today the King of Italy has ordered the suspension of hostilities towards the Anglo-American armed forces. Having taken an oath of loyalty to the King, the Departments of the Aegean Air Force feel the obligation to obey his orders and therefore declare, through me, to refrain from hostile acts both against the Anglo-Americans and against the Germanic troops: not therefore they can enlist in any army other than the Italian one ”. The consequence of this letter is the arrest and the transfer to Lager 64 / Z of Schokken in Poland, where he arrives after a long transfer first by plane and then by train. Lager 64 / Z is a camp intended for senior officers and the life of the prisoners takes place in an acceptable way if compared to other camps, albeit with many privations. Several times the commander of the camp invites the officers to enlist in the army of the Republic of Salò, but they only accept General Biseo, who was Mussolini's personal pilot, and a few others. Thus we arrive at January 20, 1945 when, to escape the advance of the Russian army, the Germans begin the transfer from the camp. It is a very hard march on frozen snow, with the temperature even dropping to 20 degrees below zero, but after five days of suffering, during a stop in the village of Rosko, near the city of Wielen, then the border with Germany, comes the opportunity to escape. It is a local farmer, a certain Domina, who proposes it to the prisoners to whom he is distributing milk and bread, telling them that he would help them. What to do? Go ahead and face the SS who see them as traitors or take risks with the Soviet soldiers instead? The gen. Briganti, the gen. Francesco Arena and ten. with the. of the air force Carlo Unia decide to try. Helped by the farmer who hides them from the sight of the guards, they slip into the door of a house. The column of prisoners passes in front of their hiding place and when it has disappeared in the distance, the three fugitives, accompanied by the Pole, head towards his home. Here they are refreshed and can finally sleep in shelter and warmth. Three days after the escape, on the evening of January 28, Domina and ten. with the. Unia have been out for a while to listen to a clandestine radio, when the door opens violently and two Soviet soldiers appear. Domina's sister tries to explain that the two are Italian prisoners who escaped from the Germans, but the two Soviets, shouting "Italianski, fascisti", violently push her away and they push Briganti and Arena out of the door threatening them with rifles. In the courtyard, while one of them keeps his rifle pointed, the other searches them and appropriates the little they have. The gen. Arena addresses Briganti with the words "here they kill us like dogs", to which Briganti replies: "Dear Arena, we thought we had guessed, but we were wrong". He does not hear the shot, but only a violent blow to the head that makes him fall to the ground unconscious. He will find out only several days later but, when he is lifeless on the ground, the soldier fires a second shot at him which wounds him in the neck. When he wakes up, he tries to understand what happened and only realizes the wound in his left ear that has torn part of the scalp. He sheds a lot of blood and can't stand, but he's alive, even if the pain in the head is excruciating. Look for gen. Arena and sees it a stone's throw from him poured in his blood. He did not have the same luck (6). With much suffering he drags himself home, the blow to the ear has upset the sense of balance and only with great pain does he manage to enter. All fours approaches the bed and, sitting on the ground, leans on it exhausted. A little later he hears one patter outside the door and thinks it is Unia and Domina returning. He calls them, but sees the two Soviet soldiers from just before entering. Then he lets himself slide to the ground, his right hand under his head, hoping that they think he is dead. It is not so. One shot and the bullet hits the thumb and touches the head. He closes his eyes thinking that this time he will not have the same luck and when he feels a contact in his chest, he thinks it is the barrel of the gun for the last shot. But it is the soldier's hand that tears off the insignia of his uniform and then he goes away. The next morning Domina, together with col. Unia finds him lying on the bed, with the blood he has crossed the pillow and spilled onto the floor. He gives him first aid but only after a fortnight does he partially regain his sense of balance and can be transported to the hospital in Scharnikow about twenty kilometers away. It is here that he discovers that there are two head injuries that, however, are fortunately healing. The wound on the thumb is infected, the finger is very sore and swollen to the point that it needs to be cut. There are no surgical instruments and a sharpener disinfected by the flame of a lighter is used. In the absence of medicines, the wound is treated in an "artisanal" way, with the methods used by local farmers; the effects are still very effective and it will heal perfectly, while it will take several months to recover the balance. Meanwhile, the situation is slowly, albeit chaotically, normalizing and the Soviets organize the grouping of ex-prisoners of the Germans, Italians and allies, for repatriation. The lack of means, the interrupted lines and the resulting chaos will make the return journey long and difficult, albeit alleviated by the availability and help of the populations of the various countries crossed. The first days of September 1945 Alberto Briganti is in Ukraine from where he finally manages to continue with a certain regularity through half of Europe and to reach Italy. On 5 October 1945 he reunites with his family. The two head wounds, now healed, are the silent testimony of how much luck has helped him. The postwar period After the hostilities, we proceed with the reorganization of the Ministry of Aeronautics. Chief of Staff is appointed gen. of air squad Mario Ajmone-Cat, who wants the gen. Brigands in the commission charged with studying the new system. For the laws on the matter, Briganti is submitted to the judgment of the 1st degree commission for the purge of military personnel, accused of "having carried out undoubted fascist political activity by participating in action squads". But he was acquitted "for not having given manifestations of serious bias and having already for many years detached himself from the fascist ideology and abstained from further and specific political activities". In August 1946 he was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff to replace gen. Ajmone-Cat, sent to Paris for peace negotiations. In a speech to the Chamber, the Hon. Cingolani, Minister of the Air Force, to silence concerns that there were generals with fascist and monarchist backgrounds at the top, declares: "If these officers, who yesterday were monarchists in good faith, in good faith today they accept to serve the Republic, and it is the case of the new Chief of Staff (Briganti, ed.), there is no reason not to believe that faith and that word "(7). In the six months that he held the post, Briganti managed to establish excellent personal relationships with his American allies, which gave him the opportunity to reconstitute a first military aviation unit using aircraft decommissioned by the allies. At the same time, he obtained the authorization to set up a civil aviation company. Thus was born the LAI (Italian Airlines) associated with the US TWA, immediately followed by another company, Alitalia, associated with British Airways. Subsequently, the two companies will merge into one, with the name Alitalia. In the years 1948-1949 Briganti was secretary general of the Air Force and in this capacity he was responsible for the design of the new Rome airport, which became necessary because that of Ciampino, due to the increased commercial traffic, is becoming insufficient. The choice falls on the Fiumicino area. Briganti presents a project that, at the Paris Air Show in 1949, collects the admiration of all experts; they call it "the most rational airport in the world". But in 1951, when he was general manager of Civil Aviation, he was unable to oppose a series of changes that would completely upset the project and lead to what is now the “Leonardo da Vinci” airport. Briganti will also hold the positions of president of the superior council of the Air Force and president of the superior council of the Armed Forces. He retired in 1954, having reached the age limit, with the rank of "four-star air squad general". At the time of his leave, the then President of the Republic Giovanni Gronchi, addressed this letter to the general: Dear General, when you leave the permanent service for having reached the age limit, I am pleased to send you the expression of gratitude that the Country and the Air Force owe you for what you have done for both as Navy and Air Force Officer. Bold pilot in peace and war, Commander of large mobilized air units, heroic defender of the island of Rhodes on 8 September 1943, reorganizer of the Italian military and civil Air Force as Chief of Staff and Secretary General of the Air Force, President of the Superior Council of the Armed Forces; these are the brilliant stages of your service, which make you a high example of soldier, organizer and leader. The firmness and pride of mind demonstrated during the internment in Poland, which left marks in His spirit and in His body still visible today, add a note of moral value which, together with the daring and high sense of duty, make it for the Air Force and for the country well worthy of esteem and memory. Please, dear General, my best wishes and many cordial greetings. Giovanni Gronchi. Rome June 16, 1955 (8). Among the many Italian and foreign decorations of which gen. Briganti was awarded the very high honor of "Knight of the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Italy", with the following motivation: "General Officer of high military qualities [...] Commander of the Air Force of the Aegean, at the time of the armistice he kept an exemplary demeanor as a man and as a Commander, personally following and pointing out to his employees the way of honor and duty. Aegean 1943 "(9). The monument at the Umbertide cemetery Briganti died in Rome on 2 July 1997 and was buried in the cemetery of "his" Umbertide. The story could end here, but we want to tell one last episode, indicative of how hard it is to die a mentality anchored in a distant past. In the early 2000s, the Umbertide Airmen Association, led by the colonel pilot Giuseppe Cozzari (silver medal and war cross for military valor), who with gen. Briganti collaborated after the war, he would like to honor with a monument the fellow citizen who gave so much prestige to his hometown. All the associates, but in particular the col. Cozzari and Marshal Muzio Venti , will work body and soul to achieve the target. The task of designing it is entrusted to Adriano Bottaccioli , painter, graphic, historical, much appreciated not only in Umbertide. The local Lions supports the initiative providing all possible help, including financial. The Cassa foundations also contribute di Risparmio di Perugia and Città di Castello. The municipal administration, to which it comes requested a space for the placement of the monument, he prevaricates for a long time until he gives his own decided "no". The reasons, even if not explicitly stated, seem obvious: yes it can honor those who have had a fascist past, albeit subordinated to a high sense of State, even if he acquired considerable merit in the activities to which he was called by Italian republic. We forget that in the much warmer years immediately after the war, with a very different spirit, a municipal administration of the same political color, had even organized the funeral - it was later learned that it was fake because the body was not been found again - to honor the driver Fausto Fornaci, who fell fighting for the Italian Social Republic. Meanwhile the years pass, the col. Cozzari and Marshal Venti and the stalemate does not seem to be unblocked. Finally, in 2008, a compromise was proposed: the monument could have its place inside the city cemetery. If, as Foscolo says, "the strong soul ignites the urn of the strong for excellent things", this is certainly not the ideal place, far from the gaze of anyone. But no alternatives are allowed. The solution is accepted, obtorto collo, and the monument is placed in the area of the new cemetery. A wonderful example to our dear departed ones. NOTE: 1. as Fausto Fornaci (Altotiberine Pages n.50), Gen. EMPucci (2 silver medals and War Cross at VM, Gen. A. Contini (3 silver medals at VM). two wars, there were 18 silver medals in the VM, 4 war crosses, 6 bronze medals, numerous commendations. (Luciana Ranieri Honorati. "The Umbrians in the history of flight" - Perugia 1984 - San Paolo di Tivoli. ) 2. A. Briganti, “Beyond the clouds the serene” Nuovo Studio Tecna - Rome - 2nd ed. Sept. 1994 3. Luciana Ranieri Honorati "The Umbrians in the history of flight - Perugia 1984‐ 4. Duke Amedeo d'Aosta defined Briganti's military and professional qualities in this way: “The complex of his moral skills, his culture and serenity of character, make it easy for him to work as an educator. Employees immediately feel confident in him and carry out their duties with keen enthusiasm. A very skilled pilot, he demonstrates in navigation that he possesses uncommon qualities for safety, expertise and in-depth knowledge of all the most modern systems. Excellent bombing pilot with 20/20. Excellent general of the Air Bombardment Brigade. May 1937 ". (Lucia R.Honorati. Op. Cited) 5. The next day an RAF plane parachuted a laurel wreath on the Italian field with the following note: "The British air forces express their sincere regret for the death of Marshal Balbo, a great leader and a valiant aviator who fate posed in the adverse field ". Today the body of Italo Balbo rests among those of the Atlantic flyers in a sector of the Orbetello cemetery reserved for them. 6. He will be buried in the small cemetery of the town and the grave will always be cared for by some inhabitants, until his return to Italy about fifteen years later. (A. Briganti. Op. Cited) 7. A. Briganti. Op. Cited 8. A. Briganti. Op. Cited 9. Luciana Ranieri Honorati. (Op cited) The photos, and the quotations in italics of the text, are taken from the book " Beyond the clouds the serene " by A. Briganti, and from the internet. The photos of the ceremonies are by Fabio Mariotti. Sources: Alberto Briganti “ Beyond the clouds, the serene ” 2nd edition ‐ September 1994 - Nuovo Studio Tecna ‐ Rome Luciana Ranieri Honorati. “ The Umbrians in the history of flight ” - Perugia 1984 - San Paolo di Tivoli printing press. This essay was published in nr. 53 - 2014 by Pagine Altotiberine published by the "Historical Association of the Upper Tiber Valley" on p. 127 It has also been published on the website “umbertideturismo.it” - Municipality of Umbertide The Frecce Tricolori above the Collegiate Church The religious ceremony in the Collegiate Church On the right, the General accompanied by Marshal Muzio Venti The Macchi L3 plane 1955. The General with the mayor Faloci after his leave The cover of the autobiographical book The Lt. Col. Pilot dr. Giuseppe Cozzari The project of the monument by Adriano Bottaccioli The monument at the Umbertide cemetery (Photo by Alvaro Gragnoli) The monument during the inauguration The deposition of a crown by the military authorities

Arboreal archeology: the "married vine" Le viti maritate di Sagraia (video) La "vite maritata" nella storia La persistenza nel tempo Il perché della durata La "vite maritata" ad Umbertide La "vite maritata" negli archivi Approfondimento viticultura da Ottavi Ottavio - 1885 Aggiornamento presenza vite maritata nel 1920 Le viti maritate di Sagraia (video) La "vite maritata" nella storia La persistenza nel tempo Il perché della durata La "vite maritata" ad Umbertide La "vite maritata" negli archivi Approfondimento viticultura da Ottavi Ottavio - 1885 (edited by Francesco Deplanu) In the hilly area where the Etruscan tomb of Sagraia is located, between Preggio and Umbertide, there are still some examples of " Married vine" . Cultivation that for a very long time characterized the method of cultivation of the vine and determined the appearance of the landscape of our areas. Video : last married vines in Contini, San Bartolomeo dei Fossi (Umbertide). The married vine has a history of about 3000 years; the use of the vine with the field maple as a living tutor was functional to a subsistence economy, the only one possible in the pre-Roman world, but which in our areas continued to substantially dominate and merged, starting from the sixteenth century, with the system from indirect management of the land, later structured in sharecropping. The maple with the vine "married" to it was often arranged in series within the cultivated fields to constitute the "tree-lined", characterizing our rural world until after the Second World War. Agricultural system functional to an agriculture that was aimed more at self-consumption than at the market, for this reason the mixed use of fields, vines and arable land, and polyculture. Since the post-war period, the use of the hubby vine has disappeared and with it that characteristic ordered landscape of our rural landscape has vanished. The vine ( Vitis Vinifera L. ) Is a liana shrub which, to better cultivate it, was grown on a live support, has a very long history of use, therefore, which was interrupted only in the century. XX, in the face of a more profitable vision of economic exploitation of the land. In fact in Umbertide and in northern Umbria there were not even the arrival of the specific diseases of the vineyards of the '900, such as "phylloxera", or those of their supports, as for the elms of northern Italy, which managed to "eradicate" this type of cultivation. Most likely, in fact, the distance between the plants in the typical promiscuous culture also favored their protection from diseases or pests. Fig. 1: first married life identified in Contini locality, San Bartolomeo dei Fossi (Umbertide). Photo by Francesco Deplanu To lead to their removal or replacement with vineyards, or systems of other structures, were the needs, already visible at the beginning of the 1900s, for an improvement in production and use of agricultural land increasingly aimed at the market. The end of sharecropping, then, led to the definitive loss of this type of cultivation and almost of the very memory of the very long presence of the "married vine". Fig. 2: second located married life in Contini locality, San Bartolomeo dei Fossi (Umbertide). Photo by Francesco Deplanu There "married life" in history This type of cultivation concerned the territories formerly inhabited by the Etruscans or, further north, by the Celts. For this reason this method of cultivation, and culture, is also called "Etruscan vine" or "Etruscan-Celtic vine". It was found mainly in Liguria (where it seems to have started), Tuscany, Umbria, part of Campania, Emilia, Veneto; examples of similar cultivation, moreover, due to trying to give a solution to the same problem of grape ripeness and to the better resistance of the vine, are found in some parts of Europe. Over time, the association of the vine with a tree-lined support was named differently. In the Etruscan language it was called "àitason", "arbustum" in Latin, which was then distinguished in "arbustum gallicum" term to designate a connected series of married plants, later defined as "planted", and “Arbustum italicum” to indicate the isolated plant with the vine, an agricultural use subsequently defined by us as “tree-lined”. The terms "alberata" and "Piantata" came into vogue, however, in the mid-seventeenth century. with Vincenzo Tanara in the work " Economy of the citizen in the villa " of 1644. Fig. 3: third located married life in Contini locality, San Bartolomeo dei Fossi (Umbertide). Photo by Francesco Deplanu Starting from the 1st cent. Finally, also thanks to the poets Catullus and Ovid, the metaphor of love began using the image of the vine and its support, which led to the current definition of "married vine". Persistence over time Certainly in the Etruscan era the possibilities of agricultural techniques did not recommend a different method of cultivation in colder and humid climates compared to those further south, areas where the Greeks, on the other hand, had brought the method of cultivation of the vine to the ground. Emilio Sereni, in "History of the Italian agricultural landscape" (1961), was the first to explain, thanks also to the etymology, how it was the Etruscans who introduced the married vine into the Po valley and how the "roosters" learned its cultivation. Consistently with his hypothesis, the persistence of lives married to tall trees up to the Etruscan domination, that is to say in Campania, is also explained. The persistence of cultivation, however, continued for a long time over the centuries in many areas. In fact, this type of production continued both in the Roman period, although other techniques for viticulture reached a considerable evolution, and in the long medieval period, as well as in the period of sharecropping production. Marrying the vine to a living support, however, at a certain point, after tens of centuries, became not convenient. With a management of agriculture that was abandoning the sharecropping system, economically subsistence, to move to a market one, there was also the transition to methods of cultivation with fixed (or "dead") support, or to specialized crops, such as the vineyard, and no longer promiscuous. In addition to the production reason linked to the economic element, which led to the exit from subsistence agriculture, it should be pointed out that the married vine in modern times certainly had some disadvantages: you had to work much more for pruning than what could be done on the row system; the foliage of the brace made the grapes ripen later; finally, the inconvenience during harvesting was certainly greater, considering the height of the live brace. Fig. 4: fourth located married life in Contini locality, San Bartolomeo dei Fossi (Umbertide). Photo by Francesco Deplanu But why did this type of cultivation last so long? It should be remembered that although the crown of the stanchion tree slowed down ripening, at the same time it protected the fruits of the vine from bad weather. Its leaves served as fodder. On the branches of the maple, often pruned to "candlestick", to facilitate the subsequent harvest, it was also possible to preserve the material cut during pruning (see in this regard the photos of the "Museum of Wine" of the Lungarotti Foundation, cited in the sources ). In short, it was an example of a productive association. In addition to producing grapes, leaves were obtained to be used as fodder, firewood, material for tying vines and also for weaving baskets and then… bottles and demijohns. In fact, a survival crop, which characterized our areas for a very long time, preferred a mixed use of the land. Furthermore, it should be considered that once the “marriage” was built, for decades the aspect of caring for the vine and the guardian could be left in second order; this was precisely a characteristic favorable to the management of works in polyculture linked to sharecropping. With a suitable stake, such as our "field maple", this cultivation seemed the best, especially for hilly and low soil. The maple has a slow growth, and also has shallow roots and thus did not enter into competition with those of the vine. These elements allowed the success of this cultivation system. Fig. 5: Maples in Contini locality, San Bartolomeo dei Fossi (Umbertide). Photo by Francesco Deplanu In 1885 in a text on "viticulture" Ottavi Ottavi, professor of agricultural sciences, analyzed from a technical point of view how the "married vine" was still cultivated, indicating, however, at the same time the reason for its future disappearance. Ottavi was careful to specify how he, compared to the agronomists of his time who pushed for an exclusively specialized production of the vine, had "granted" a space in his "technical-practical" manual to this type of cultivation. This is because he recognized the numerous advantages of this method for certain types of areas: “ unlike other authors of viticulture, we dedicate a chapter to the cultivation of vines married to trees. We condemn the principle as they do; we admit, however, that in certain plains it can be tolerated, that in some cases the vines cannot be protected differently from freezing temperatures, and that there are some vines that do not tolerate the pruning of low-vine systems, [...] we finally admit that many for now they cannot or do not want to transform. Here are sufficient reasons why we have to deal with this theme, and to study ways of making the product of vines married to trees less intermittent, more abundant and more chosen. " Thus we learn, among the various live supports used, of the advantages of our “field maple”: “ We therefore think that those trees whose root system is very little extended and which can hardly exploit the soil seem rather advisable. In this condition we find the wild cherry and the maple which Gasparin called a living stake. The field maple (acer campestre) is much less developed in height than the others (acer pseudoplatanus and acer platanoides), has slow growth, is satisfied with arid soils and also comes up from the seed. With the exception of tuffaceous soils it thrives everywhere. The seedlings they are suitable to be planted after 4 or 5 years. The maple has short and shallow roots and easily lends itself to being pruned into different shapes. ". For those who are interested, we report an appendix at the bottom of the text which is more extensive than Ottavi's reflections and explanations relating to his chapter XXIV: “ The married lives and the pergolas ”. The " married vine " in Umbertide before his disappearance As mentioned, the last great examples of "Etruscan vine", or "married" remain visible in the hill above the tomb of Sagraia, but if you look carefully at the images that have come down to us from the 1900s of our city, you can see the Umbertide countryside with the dominant "tree-lined" structure right up to the houses. Image 4: Detail of an image from the Municipal Archive of Umbertide. Panorama of Umbertide in the 1930s from the former Convent. In the foreground there are plants arranged in an "alberata" manner, most likely field maples alternating with arable land. This cultivation is also visible in the images of the darkest period of our history, the bombing of 1944, where in the photos, which show the cloud of explosions in the center of the city, you can see both the trees and some festoons of connections between guardian trees as happened in the more structured "plantation", often present with trees but along the edges of the road so as not to hinder agricultural work in the fields. Image 5: Detail of an image taken immediately after the bombing of 25 April 1944, from “Mario Tosti:“ Our ordeal ”- Ed. Petruzzi - Città di Castello, 2005, p. 213. As you can see in the following shot, while the cloud moves carried by the wind, the dominant type of cultivation was still the vine married to the maple, but times had already changed and you can also see the coexistence of vines in linked rows to fixed and non-live supports. Image 6: Detail of an image taken immediately after the bombing of 25 April 1944, from “Mario Tosti:“ Our ordeal ”- Ed. Petruzzi - Città di Castello, 2005, p. 213. The photo was taken in the area of the current via Fratta at the intersection with via Martiri dei Lager. In the map of the Military Geographical Institute (IGM), made on the 1941 relief, Tablet of "Umbertide" (here linked to that of "Niccone", because the city was divided into two different "tablets", scale 1: 25,000) we have marked with an "X" the probable place of the shots, with the red arrow we have indicated the area of the San Giovanni district, which can still be seen in its entirety before the destruction due to the bombing; with the red circle, finally, we have highlighted the symbol of the cultivation of the vine, which when presented alternating with the symbol of the "circles" indicates the "promiscuous culture of the vine". Image 7: Extract of "Tablets" 1: 25.000 joined to present the city that was "cut" in two. 1) "Niccone", Sheet 122 I, NE 2) "Umbertide": Sheet 122 I, NE of the Italian Map (relief of 1941). The overlap was discarded, preferring to leave both representations in the margin area of the two "tablets". Also from the book by Mario Tosti, "Our ordeal" p. 260, you can see some details by enlarging the photos like this one in Coldipozzo where you can see the maple and the tied vine before the apparatus of the branches made to grow with the "candlestick" pruning. In the following photo shown in the book you can see the landscape of the trees in the background of a souvenir photo. In the same period of the photograph the promiscuous culture of the vine alternating with fields cultivated, is clearly visible in the locality of "Col di Pozzo": it is in fact reported in Tablet 1: 25.000 Sheet 122 I, NE of the Map of Italy, and is visible in the excerpt shown below (see image n. 10) in the upper right corner, even if in the excerpt shown the toponym “col di Poz…” is partially cut. Image 8: Detail in the background of a photo taken in Coldipozzo in 1944, from “Mario Tosti:“ Our ordeal ”- Ed. Petruzzi - Città di Castello, 2005, p. 260. The symbols of the mixed cultivation of the vine completely “embraced” the city, like all the plains of Umbria. Still in the 60s in the area north of Umbertide, under the current cemetery of the city, one could very well see an expanse of field maples, arranged in an "tree-lined" manner, characterizing the landscape. Image 9: Photo from the Guardabassi archive. March 1960. Even if it is not possible to see, due to the quality of the photo, the presence of the vine connected to the field maples, this can always be seen from the "tablets" of the IGM shown below, again relief 1941, which indicate the entire area below the cemetery ("Petrella above", "Petrella below", "Lame", "Fornace", "Molinello" and "CS Croce") cultivated with "mixed cultivation" of the vine. Finally, even admitting the possibility that at that moment, 20 years after the IGM survey, the cultivation of vines was no longer carried out, the field maples, arranged in a row, continued to completely characterize the agricultural landscape. In 1964 the “economic” end of sharecropping was sanctioned (here we can learn more) , the trees quickly disappeared even in the Umbertidese area, increasingly relegated to marginal, hilly and sloping areas. Image 10: Extract of "Tablets" 1: 25.000 joined to present the city that was "cut" in two. 1) "Niccone", Sheet 122 I, NE 2) "Umbertide": Sheet 122 I, NE of the Italian Map (relief of 1941). The overlap was discarded, preferring to leave both representations in the margin area of the two "tablets". Searching for news on the "married life" in the modern and contemporary age. Following the spread of the cultivation of the vine married to live supports in pre-Roman cultures, during the Roman period a specialization of the cultivation of the greater vine was added, in accordance with the mass use of the use of the drink. In the period following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, the cultivation of the vine certainly retreated in quantity of cultivated land but remained very present, because it was the cornerstone of the Christian religious ritual. In the centuries following the fourteenth-century plague, with the increase of the population and the resumption of trade, a slow recovery of the production of the vine began which, above all for the mixed cultivation, "married" with the indirect management of the land, what became our "sharecropping". We know for the long period up to the modern age of its existence from archaeological remains of the arboreal type (seeds etc….) And above all from the literary and iconographic sources of Italian art that the “married vine” cultivation was recurrent in our peninsula. For example, already in the modern age, the vine is clearly visible in Jacopo Clementi's "Drunk Moses" made in the early 1600s. Here we can see the presence of the vine "clinging" to the living tutor in the background of the central theme. iconographic representations that can serve as historical sources, but if the information is sought more accurately, both for the quantity and for the place of use of this type of cultivation, various problems arise. Image 11: “Drunk Moses" by Jacopo Clementi. Image from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Drunkness_of_Noah_by_Jacopo_Chimenti.jpg In fact, how extensive was the cultivation of vines in promiscuous form in our areas? As for the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the written, archival sources known for our territory seem truly non-existent. Perhaps the problem, however, is only to return to the archives in search of specific indications, or to re-read the sources available for the Umbertide area in search of terms relating to the cultivation of the vine, paying attention to the 16th and 17th centuries, for example, rather than looking for the term "vinea", which indicates a vineyard, to those of "pergulae" or "pergola". These last terms certainly indicate the arable alternating with the cultivation of the vine. In fact, reading Anna Boldrini's thesis " Rural architecture in the Upper Tiber Valley: Umbertide XVI century " of 1991, it is found in an inventory of 1572 of the "Book where all the stable assets of the Abbey of San Salvatore are described and of the churches close to them "(note. 13, page 51) the reference to the mixed cultivation (" pergola ") of the vine appears in reference to two dovecote towers of particular shape, round, one of which in the locality of Colle San Savino, characterized as “a piece of land… working pergola with fruit trees serque and elms with a round diver… voc. the diving camp ". We also underline that the "vulgata" on the typology of dovecote towers in Umbria, relegated only the round-shaped dovecote towers to the Spoleto area. This reinforces our belief that studies on our territory in this vast area of the rural world are insufficient. At the end of the eighteenth century the terms to search for in search of the "married vine" are different. They can be found in what are the documents of the agricultural "companies" of the time, often of noble possessions, such as the "country brogliacci". Here it is " arativo pergola ", for example, which indicates a land with mixed cultivation of the vine alternating with arable land, which must be sought. Examples of how it is possible to find similar information on the culture of the vine can be found "looking" along the territory of one of the tributaries of the Tiber, on the left this time, just above Umbertide, or in the narrow valleys of the Carpina catchment area (Carpina and Carpinella). Precisely in the documents of the County of the Della Porta, a County that extended from the foot of Montone to Pietralunga. Here in the " Brogliardo di Campagna della Contea delle Carpine ", of 1782, it is often found, despite the increasing average altitude and the " gengato " soil ("genga" kept washed away from the ground where the underlying "marl and sandstone" emerge) the wording of the “ arativo pergola ” is not favorable to agriculture. Term that we can identify with the presence of married vine with live support. Note in the image the land (n.14 and following) near the famous "Tre ponti", under Montone, precisely in the Molinaccio area and nearby owned by Mr. Natal Migliorati: " arativo pergola " ... "a rative with pergolas "," Plowed part pergola ". Image 13: Details from “.SG, Fondo Della Porta, Title II, G 27/15. "Il Brogliardo di Campagna della Contea delle Carpine", 1782, in an unpublished degree thesis by F. Deplanu, "Evolution of a high hilly landscape of northern Umbria: the importance of the Della Porta company in the territory of the Carpini County since '700 to date ”, ay 2002/2003. At the beginning of the nineteenth century the sources began to become more structured and fortunately for us, too, more usable. In the Gregorian Cadastre of Fratta, present online, this time you can search for the term " arable land ", which differs from " arable land ", but also from the real vineyard which, most likely, is indicated with " vineyard " or " bushy vineyard "... with the addition of a characteristic of the cultivated variety:" sweet ". The Land Registry, built between 1815 and 1835, was equipped with a " Brogliardo " with indications of the owner, the place, the main characteristic and the extent and value of the land or property. Image 14: “Brogliardo di Fratta” of the “Gregorian Cadastre”: Fratta, 1915-35. Imago project: http://www.cflr.beniculturali.it/Gregoriano/mappe.php?fbclid=IwAR3SPsbhE0yDSOzPk5MrT3LVf77oKvYwwqFhUhZzDbdA4DHi4DWrz-9JHdA Here, for example, in parcels no. 700 and 701, 704, 705, 706, 708, 709, almost all owned by Domenico Bruni in “Pian di Bottine”, we have the news and, thanks to the Cadastre map, the "geometric-particle" representation of the real crops. The largest parcels were cultivated with "mixed cultivation", that is, with " arable land " and those closest to the banks of the Tiber, more productive but small and narrow, cultivated in a more specialized way with " sweet bushy vineyard ". Image 15: excerpt from the “Gregorian Cadastre”: Fratta, 1915-35. Imago project: http://www.cflr.beniculturali.it/Gregoriano/mappe.php?fbclid=IwAR3SPsbhE0yDSOzPk5MrT3LVf77oKvYwwqFhUhZzDbdA4DHi4DWrz-9JHdA Certainly the cultivation of "married vine" in the rest of our Umbria was already considerable. In various and precise studies of the agricultural world in the nearby Marche, a term often recurs to indicate a '"alberata" with the trees arranged in a checkerboard pattern in the field between the arable areas, or " alberata Folignata " to attest to the typical existence of this type of use of agricultural land in southern Umbria. We hope that this initial attempt at reconstruction that we have presented, may be useful to focus attention on the need for more in-depth research for all aspects of arboreal archeology or history of the productive structures of our territory. Aspects that have profoundly characterized ways of life and still the landscape that surrounds us. For this reason we add below, after the "Sources", a "chosen study" from the text by Ottavi Ottavio, "THEORETICAL-PRACTICAL VITICULTURE", CASALE, TIPOGRAFIA DI CARLO CASSONE, 1885 (pp. 750-760) on the specific mixed cultivation of the vine with that “living pole” which was the field maple, also typical of the Umbertidese area. Sources: Texts: - Carlo Vernelli, " The cultivation of vines in a sharecropping area" , in the magazine “Proposte e Ricerche”, nr. 60, 2008, pp. 153-174. - Unpublished degree thesis " Evolution of a high hilly landscape of northern Umbria: the importance of the Della Porta company in the territory of the Carpini County from the 1700s to today ", by Francesco Deplanu, Academic Year 2002/2003, University of Perugia. - Unpublished degree thesis " Rural architecture in the upper Tiber Valley: Umbertide in the XVI century " by Anna Maria Boldrini, Academic year 1990-91, University of Perugia. - Ottavi Ottavio, " THEORETICAL-PRACTICAL VITICULTURE ", CASALE, TYPOGRAPHY BY CARLO CASSONE, 1885. Cadastre and Brogliardi: - Gregorian Cadastre: "Fratta", in "Perugia" visible online: http://www.cflr.beniculturali.it/Gregoriano/mappe.php?fbclid=IwAR3SPsbhE0yDSOzPk5MrT3LVf77oKvYwwqFhUhZzDbdA4DHi4DWrz-9 - "Fratta", in "Perugia" visible online: http://www.cflr.beniculturali.it/Gregoriano/mappe.php?fbclid=IwAR3SPsbhE0yDSOzPk5MrT3LVf77oKvYwwqFhUhZzDbdA4DHi4DWrz-9JHdA - “ The Country Brogliardo of the County of the Carpine ”, 1782, ASG, Fondo Della Porta, Title II, G 27/15. Web Resources: - Maria Antonietta Aceto, “The representation of the married vine. Some recent identification ", in" Terra di Lavoro magazine ", year XI, n ° 1, April 2016 (also visible in: https://www.ascaserta.beniculturali.it/rivista-di-terra-di-lavoro/numeri -published / year-xi / year-xi-n1-April-2016 ) - https://www.beni-culturali.eu/opere_d_arte/scheda/-ebbrezza-di-noe-chimenti-jacopo-detto-empoli-1551-1640-09-00021770/400252 - http://www.biologiavegetale.unina.it/delpinoa_files/48_71-92.pdf - http://www.biologiavegetale.unina.it/delpinoa_files/44_53-63.pdf - https://www.guadoalmelo.it/il-vino-e-gli-etruschi-ii-la-vite-marita-tremila-e-piu-anni-di-viticoltura-ed-arte/ - http://www.rmoa.unina.it/2697/1/Gambari.pdf - https://ilvinoracconta.net/2017/01/08/la-vitivinicoltura-umbra-una-storia-appena-iniziata/ Images : - Details of images taken by Mario Tosti: “ Our ordeal ” - Ed. Petruzzi - Città di Castello, 2005 (pp. 213 and 260). - "Tablet" 1: 25.000 IGM, relief 1941, "Niccone", Sheet 122 I, NE of the Italian Charter - "Tavoletta" 1: 25.000, IGM, relief 1941, "Umbertide": Sheet 122 I, NE of the Charter of Italy - Historical photo images of Umbertide from a former convent: Historical Photographic Archive of the Municipality of Umbertide - Image "Drunk Moses": https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Drunkness_of_Noah_by_Jacopo_Chimenti.jpg - Video, photos not indicated otherwise and editing : Francesco Deplanu. Recommended insights of museum pages of the "rural" world in Umbria : - https://archeologiaarborea.com/ - https://www.muvit.it/viticoltura/ DEEPENING In-depth study taken from Ottavi Ottavio, " THEORETICAL-PRACTICAL VITICULTURE ", CASALE, TYPOGRAPHY BY CARLO CASSONE, 1885 (pp. 750-760). […] “ VINES MARITED TO TREES AND PERGOLATES There are therefore many inflexible supporters of specialization, who at any cost would like to separate the vine from every crop: on the contrary, there are others, which Marconi (2) calls opportunists, who they fight to the bitter end so that the union or consociation is maintained and extended. Among these we, although we feel that our sympathies are for specialists, we want to be conciliatory. For this purpose, unlike other authors of viticulture, we dedicate a chapter to the cultivation of the vine married to trees. We condemn the principle as they do; we admit, however, that in certain plains it can be tolerated, that in some cases the vines cannot be protected differently from freezing temperatures, and that there are some vines that do not tolerate the pruning of low-vine systems, as we have already warned on page. 616; finally, we admit that for now many cannot or do not want to transform. Here are sufficient reasons why we have to deal with this theme, and to study ways of making the product of vines married to trees less intermittent, more abundant and more chosen. CHAPTER XXIV The vines married to trees and pergolas, § 1. Choice of tree. - The trees that are used as living support for the vines are maple, walnut, cherry, ash, mulberry, poplar, olive and many others, fruit-bearing or not. Among these the least convenient are: walnut, because it casts too much shade, and in fact in the Veneto it is gradually being abandoned, whereas before it was very common; the elm which in compact, clayey lands replaces the poplar: but it has a root system that is too developed; ash and oak for the same reason. The olive tree has a wide branching, numerous and persistent leaves, and then requires care and nourishment, so while it would damage the vine it would suffer a lot on its part. In marshy soils some marry the vine to the poplar, the willow, the which plants can withstand moist soil; however, the vine cannot do this, and it soon saddens you. Fruit trees do not seem convenient to us, although recommended by the great Ridolfi in his Oral Lectures, because "they will produce little, he said, but it will be something, while the infertile supports do nothing but exhaust the earth uselessly. »Except that, with the exception of respect for the great master, we observe that our common fruit trees, pear, apple, plum and almond trees exhaust the soil too much, and being too leafy they would need strong and dangerous pruning. pp. 750-752 [...] Therefore, those trees whose root system is very little extended and which can hardly exploit the soil seem to us to be quite advisable. In this condition we find the wild cherry and the maple that was called by Gasparin a living stake. The field maple (acer campestre) is much less developed in height than the others (acer pseudoplatanus and acer platanoides), has slow growth, is satisfied with arid soils and also comes up from the seed. With the exception of tuffaceous soils it thrives everywhere. The seedlings are suitable to be planted after 4 or 5 years. The maple has short and shallow roots and easily lends itself to being pruned into different shapes. The field maple receives different names, according to the provinces in which it is grown as a live support for the vines: loppo, chioppo, fìstucchio, testucchio, stucchio and even poplar. The poplar of the Tuscan peasants is therefore not the common Populus, on the contrary it is known that in various parts of Tuscany the peasants usually give the name of poplar or chioppo to any living support of the vines. pp. 755 [...] § 4. Care in the early years. - We replace the trees and vines that the drought had already caused to succumb, we put some poles or branches around the vines themselves so that the new shoots can climb. If the planting was done with cuttings they, as soon as planted, are cut to 2 buds above the ground to have beautiful jets, and you must immediately begin to hoe the earth around them at least 2 times during the state. The trees are cleaned from the suckers that sprout on the trunk. This has been done since the 1st year. On the third the vines are pruned to two buds and the inter-row is spade and hoe, thus making the war against weeds. This inter-row, which in the Veneto region is called bina, wants to be absolutely clear so as not to bring a serious blow to the vitality of the vine from the early years. Leaving clear those two or three meters that form the inter-row you can have al fourth year the vines are already so robust that they can be propagated and pruned with a bud at least above ground, at a distance of half a meter from the tree. And so to the fifth one can come to possess branches of a decent length which are secured to the trunk of the tree (figure 280). In the meantime, the tree also needs care, as would be pruning, the peeling of the thin twigs, shortening even the gluttons, it is finally necessary to try to give all the branches the shape of a regular vase. The shape of a vase or glass, or basket as it is called in Tuscany, very open in the middle, is reached towards the sixth or seventh year. The trees must be cleaned annually from small useless jets, and since this rigorous cleaning causes the branches to acquire a lumpy shape, this is remedied "by leaving at the apex of each branch a couple of shoots, which attracting the activity of life towards them of the plant, in a certain way avoid the release of a greater number of buds on the branches, and maintain in milder proportions those lumpy forms on the branches themselves (1). " The vines are always pruned to two or three buds until they show that they have acquired a certain vigor, and give shoots at least one meter long. Don't be too quick to cut off all the side suckers that sprout on the vine over the course of the year. It is necessary that the juice of the vine does not go all to lengthen the shaft, but also reinforces it so that these suckers either respect each other or only sprout at four or five leaves. Once the vine has reached the height of the tree, it is arranged and arranged in the 1 'Emilia, 1' Umbria, the Terra di lavoro and the others that adopt this system of educating the vines. " Pp. 760 [...] § 7. Economy in the supports. - We must now mention to some economies that could be made in the various systems of educating the tall vine. It is well known that many also have willow, acacia and poplar poles as a subsidiary to living trees, to which the braids or garlands of the fruiting shoots are placed. In some systems (Mantovano, Bolognese) the rational distribution of these braids requires five, six often more than ten poles for each tree. Couldn't we now replace the very expensive poles with iron wire? Mr. YOU. freedmen in the Giornale d'Agricoltura, Industria e Commercio, declares from his own experience and following easy economic calculations that he is very much in favor of this modification. In addition to being cheaper, this gives rise to a perfect distribution of shoots, being able to tie along the wire all the isolated shoots and not wrapped in braids as is done in the case of the pole production. Finally, a more abundant vegetation would be obtained, because it is freer, more airy, more exposed to light and heat. Another modification is proposed by Prof. Viglietto, who hardly admits the vine married to trees and even in the conditions in which it is necessary to keep the vine very high he would like the number of living trees to be as small as possible. «A luxuriant fruit-bearing tree - he says - every 8 or 10 meters, and in between low-cost poles, linked by three or more iron wires longitudinally to the row, can generally replace the exorbitant number of living people with whom we afforest our vineyards. »And he concludes:« We therefore understand: exclusive vineyard and dry farming, or at least preponderance of this means of support. " Sources: Images from the original work (p. 755 and 757): https://archive.org/details/viticolturateori00unse/page/n3/mode/2up Full text, available online from the following address https://archive.org/stream/viticolturateori00unse/viticolturateori00unse_djvu.txt Aggiornamento agosto 2022 La vite maritata a Sagraia: nuove indicazioni di presenza nel tempo Come avviene nella ricerca storica, un approfondimento di diverso tipo può mettere in luce indicazioni per altri argomenti. E' il caso della presenza nel tempo della vite maritata a sostegno vivo nella zona della tomba di Sagraia. Sistemando il materiale edito per l'articolo "Amerigo Contini: l’aviazione nelle guerre mondiali e la scoperta della Tomba di Sagraia ", ci si è presentata una fonte iconografica significativa realizzata dallo stesso scopritore della tomba, un anno dopo, ovvero nel 1920, che ci indica la presenza della vite in loco (dove persiste tutt'ora anche se con esemplari abbandonati come si può vedere nel video iniziale): lo schizzo estratto da “Atti delle Reale Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. Anno 1922, Serie V, Notizie degli scavi di antichità, Vol XIX, Roma, 1922. ". L'allora aviatore ed architetto (poi generale) Amerigo Contini disegna sopra la tomba una parte di terreno rappresentata con la coltura promiscua della vite, precisamente si vede bene l'inizio di quattro "filari" di vite maritata a supporto vivo. Immagine estratta da “Atti delle Reale Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. Anno 1922, Serie V, Notizie degli scavi di antichità, Vol XIX, Roma, 1922. Pagina 110-116/532. La precisione e la cura di Amerigo Contini, proprietario dei terreni, mette in evidenza la presenza di questo tipo di coltivazione Fonti: “Atti delle Reale Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. Anno 1922, Serie V, Notizie degli scavi di antichità, Vol XIX, Roma, 1922. Pagina 110-116/532 Aggiornamento presenza vite maritata nel 1920

REPORT OF MAYOR GIUSEPPE MIGLIORATI IN 1944 on the general situation of the Municipality which he sent to the Prefect of Perugia on 19 September 1944 with a letter bearing the Protocol number 999. It is of the utmost importance because it allows us to know the disastrous state in which the entire territory of the Municipality was immediately after the Liberation. Appointed on 15.8.1944 (1) Mayor of this Municipality by the Governor of the Allied Military Command, I fulfill the duty to submit to the EV this report on the general situation of the Municipality determined after the aerial bombardments suffered by this city, the withdrawal of the troops Germans and the consequent liberation by the allied troops. I state that the situation of the Municipality, as will be demonstrated below, is one of the most critical and consequently I am interested in the EV to be pleased to resolve, in the best way, what is possible. I begin with the municipal offices. MUNICIPAL OFFICES The municipal offices, immediately after the bombing of 25 April in which 88 (2) people were killed and 20 wounded, were transported to the countryside and precisely in the word Brecce. Here they remained until 12 June, until the German troops ordered a subsequent move, which was carried out by transporting what was possible to save from the devastation of the German troops themselves, in the locality of Fontanelle and precisely in the Rinaldi house. After the war operations, all the employees abandoned the offices, the deeds and the furnishings they had been given. The German troops therefore carried out even better the removal of all that they considered useful and the destruction of all that their vandalism advised. From a summary investigation in the process of greater investigations, it is removed or destroyed: 1. The ten typewriters and the calculator supplied to the offices. Now the municipality has no typewriter of its own. 2. The complete furnishings of the Mayor's Cabinet, the Secretary and other offices. 3. The technical tools of the Technical Office. 4. All prints, stationery, etc. supplied to the Offices. 5. Many documents of the Secretariat including all municipal regulations, tariffs, some volume of contract, etc. 6. Almost all the documents of the Bursar. 7. The following acts of the Civil Status: • Much of the personal data (family statuses and personal data sheets); • Migration practices defined relating to the years from 1937 to 1941; • Various procedures defined and being defined relating to the current year; • Files of marriage, birth and death certificates; • The register of list of the poor with the relative file; • Monthly statistics on the natural and migratory movement of the population; • The register of collection of civil status rights, secretariat and urgency; • 24 wooden boxes with automatic closing for the conservation of family statuses; • Lists of the military conscription of the classes from 1913 to 1920. 8. All the existing material in the warehouses, consisting of wood of various kinds and species, pipes for aqueducts, water meters, wheelbarrows, shovels, picks, etc. for a significant value. 9. Two "Beretta" 7.65 caliber automatic pistols supplied with the guards. 10. Motterl rifles also supplied to the guards. 11. The sum of Lire 10,000 located in part at the Treasury Office (approximately Lire 2,500), partly at the Police Office and Lire 5,000 at the milk shop. Much has been done in order to restore the offices to full efficiency, but much more needs to be done. It is necessary to equip them with the essential furniture, for which reason a contribution of at least 500,000 lire is requested from this Prefecture, with which they can buy the essential typewriters, a calculator, the tools for the Technical Office, the furniture for the decor of one room at least. Many deficiencies were found in the internal functioning of the Offices. Among the main notes, the failure to review municipal taxes annually, the failure to collect the fee for drinking water granted to individuals, the regular and complete collection of the amount of the niches and cemetery areas, the failure to stipulate contracts for concessions the aforementioned, the failure to recover the hospitals by the wealthy, the total failure to collect the assets, the neglect in requesting the repayment of the sums advanced on behalf of the State, etc., shortcomings to which he attributes the disastrous financial situation of the Municipality and which currently it is summed up by a cash deficit of over 2,000,000. I have already made provisions for the elimination of these serious drawbacks. Of course, the resolution of the same is subject to the needs of the reconstruction service based on the healthiest principles of almost all services. STAFF A first purge of staff was carried out and 16 elements were suspended among employees, salaried workers and health workers. The seats have been replaced with temporary staff, new to the services to which they have been entrusted. However, after the first period of adjustment, now almost everyone is doing quite well in the tasks entrusted to them. However, I would add that the purge has not finished and that investigations are being undertaken for other elements to ascertain their responsibilities. HOUSES The damage caused to civilian buildings by air raids and war actions are significant. A survey carried out shows that about 50 per cent of the homes have been destroyed or reduced to a condition to be demolished. Two hundred and fifty families were damaged and 900 people left homeless. To regulate the return of the population to the capital, which after the air raids had spread a little everywhere, I set up a special office and a special commission that oversees the relevant services. Despite all the provisions adopted by the Municipality such as those of placing at least two people per room and requisitioning all possible premises, not excluding the placement of families with other families (as many as 2,000 people are currently accommodated in this way, as many as 250 people are now homeless and still provisionally placed in the countryside, in barns, huts and similar premises. Twenty-five percent of homes inhabited and crammed by people need roof repairs before the winter season and window and window repairs. Such a situation cannot last long and this is also to avoid the occurrence of any epidemic diseases. It is therefore necessary to address the resolution of the important problem for which I take the liberty of proposing: 1. to promote, favor and encourage the private initiative of the reconstruction of the destroyed houses, under the control of the Civil Engineers who will have to establish the amount of the damages suffered and which will have to be reimbursed by the State; 2. that the following materials be assigned to this Municipality: a) at least 200,000 tiles; b) a suitable quantity of cement and other binders; c) at least 5,000 square meters of glass; d) timber for reinforcements and fixtures; e) that the necessary investigations to establish which buildings must be demolished and which can be restored are ordered to the Civil Engineering Office. SUPPORT Assistance was very neglected. In fact, only at the beginning of September it was possible to order the continuation of the displacement subsidy which had been suspended since 15 June 1944. However, all services are now being normalized. However, it is necessary that an assignment of clothing, clothing, footwear, blankets, sheets, mattresses, etc. be made. to be distributed to the victims and who cannot be left in such conditions in the approaching winter. POWER SUPPLY Apart from the ration of bread and pasta, given in grain, this population had only 100 grams of sugar per person and 150 grams of salt. Contrary to what was practiced for the other municipalities, this population was not distributed the ration of pig fats for the entire year. These greases were in fact removed by the German troops from the local warehouses of the Municipality where they were still stored. In consideration of this, the population of this Municipality, which following the bombings and the looting of the German troops has seen all the minimum stocks that any provident family could have had destroyed and removed, is in a state of real hardship. The EV is therefore interested in order for the distribution of the following genres to be urgently arranged in favor of this population: • oil (he hasn't had any since January); • pig fat (has not had any more since March); • sugar; • salt; • pasta as a replacement for the flour it has been receiving in wheat for a few months. Furthermore, given that the Municipality has no means of transport, it is necessary that a vehicle be assigned to transport the rationed goods. Cade acconcio that you are speaking here of an initiative taken by the Municipality for the sale of rationed and quoted goods, an initiative that was imposed following the destruction of many shops in the capital and the failure to reopen the others by the owners, who are proving of complete absenteeism. A Bottegone Comunale del Popolo has been established on which the distribution of rationed products, milk is made, which by the Municipality itself is collected from the collection centers where the various producers meet, and what else it is possible to have, to search on the site. This Bottegone will continue to function until normal commercial activity is resumed, unless the opportunity to transform it into a consumer cooperative appears. The Bottegone is currently managed by the members of the Board: Rometti Aspromonte for the technical-commercial part and Cerrini Tramaglino for the accounting part, who have taken care of its organization and operation. Bottegone himself does not affect the municipal budget in any way. MILLS Currently, given the lack of electricity, the grain is milled by means of the eleven mills operated partly by hydraulic power and partly by internal combustion engines. To ensure the functioning of the important service, however, it is necessary to ensure regular refueling. PUBLIC HEALTH Many cases of typhus have occurred and many are still ongoing among the population of this municipality. It is necessary for the EV to be assigned suitable medicines and disinfectants to prevent and fight such diseases. Two of the five doctors are in possession of a permit to circulate; however, it is necessary that the Municipality be made a monthly allocation of petrol to be allocated for this use. ROADS A total of 16 bridges were destroyed by the German troops. The damages suffered for those on municipal roads exceed 5,000,000 lire. Practices have begun for the construction of a voluntary consortium between the interested parties for the construction of footbridges to replace said bridges, in order to ensure in some way the restoration of the viability. The financing of the expenditure, while waiting for the State to do so, will be done by the interested parties through the Municipality. AQUEDUCTS In addition to the aqueduct of the capital, those in the hamlets of Pierantonio, Preggio, Niccone, Cioccolanti, Santa Giuliana and Palazzetto Nese were also damaged, for the repair and efficiency of which is expected to cost around 400,000 lire. PUBLIC BUILDINGS Almost all public buildings have suffered significant damage. These buildings are: Town Hall damages suffered approximately 200,000 lire Center school buildings damages suffered approximately 225,000 lire Rural school buildings damage suffered about lire 80,000 Start-up building damages suffered approximately 225,000 lire Kindergarten damage suffered about lire 45,000 Municipal warehouses damage suffered about lire 35,000 Slaughterhouse damage suffered about lire 28,000 Washhouse damage suffered about lire 30,000 Public latrines damage suffered about lire 21,000 Public hospital damages suffered approximately 100,000 lire Unable to work hospitalizations damage suffered about lire 30,000 Total 1,019,000 lire For the removal of the rubble of the streets and squares of the capital, for the reactivation of the aqueducts, for the clearing of the rubble from the bridges, from the riverbeds, an estimate was compiled by the Technical Office which rises to 1,141,000 lire. This estimate has already been sent to the Civil Engineering Office for approval and to give the authorization to continue the work and the assurance that the same Office will reimburse the expenses that this Municipality will sustain for this reason. UNEMPLOYMENT It is essential that the Civil Engineers assign the aforementioned sum not only for the execution of the urgent and deferrable works for the recovery, albeit minimal, of the normality of the Municipality, also to eliminate the unemployment that is currently relevant. No less than three hundred workers and over fifty employees of different categories (potters, railway workers, etc.) are unemployed. As for the materials necessary for the aforementioned works, since there are two brick kilns in the Municipality, this could ensure the needs if they are assigned the necessary fuel, which is being partially provided with the help of the Allied Military Governor. In order to guarantee the supply of the indispensable materials, this Municipality blocked all the production of the aforementioned two furnaces. The materials themselves are assigned to the owners of buildings following the division of the Technical Office, which in advance checks the requests one by one. I therefore strongly interest the EV because it wants to arrange for the Civil Engineers to assign the requested sum of 1,141,000 lire to the Municipality. PUBLIC SERVICES Currently no public service works. Only the postal service works partially. This Municipality is proceeding so that it can have the premises necessary for the disengagement of the services, but it is not easy to solve the problem given that the Umbrian Central Management, the only owner of suitable premises, puts forward many reasons not to sell them. The electric light doesn't work either. The Unione Esercizi Elettrici has been assured that in a month it will be able to reactivate the supply of electricity to a limited extent and in turn. SCHOOLS Almost all the furniture of the schools, both elementary and secondary, has been removed and destroyed. In order for them to resume their activities, it is necessary that the Municipality be assigned a suitable sum that cannot be less than 1,000,000 lire. It is also essential that all schools be reopened. In this regard, given the serious housing situation and therefore in consideration of the housing difficulties of the teachers who are not resident here, the opportunity arises that professors and teachers resident in this municipality are in charge of teaching, who, both in terms of number and by capacity, they are able to ensure smooth operation. AGRICULTURE The harvest of wheat, maize and secondary products was good and there was no significant damage from the war events. The wine, although promising very well, has recently been very damaged by iodine and therefore will be scarce and of poor quality. The olive harvest, on the other hand, promises very well. The placing of the grain in storage was very satisfactory. Over 30,000 quintals are already piled up. It is essential that provision is made for the assignment of carbon sulphide in order to prevent both the stored grain and that stored in their warehouses by the producers from going bad. It is also essential, given the approach of the sowing season, that both nitrogen fertilizers and fungicides are assigned. It is also necessary that it be arranged for the concession of electricity for oil mills in consideration of the approaching period of processing. CONCLUSION I conclude this report by insisting on the following essential points: 1. that at least the sum of 500,000 lire is assigned for the arrangement and reorganization of the Offices; 2. that the sum of 1,141,000 necessary for the removal of the rubble be assigned; 3. that the sum of 1,000,000 lire be assigned for the construction of school furnishings; 4. that the building materials are assigned: • 200,000 tiles; • cement and binding materials; • timber for reinforcement and window frames; • at least sqm. 5,000 glasses; 5. that fuel be assigned for the grain mills, brick kilns and municipal health services; 6. that carbide and oil are assigned for lighting; 7. that fats and oil are assigned for the population. I trust in the interest of the EV and I am sure that with this valid help I will be able to do some good to this population so tried by the pains of war. MAYOR G. Improve Note: 1. There is an inaccuracy in the date. The post of mayor was formally assumed on 3 September. Perhaps Migliorati refers to the interview with the Allied Military Governor who communicated the purpose of the appointment and which may have occurred on August 15, 1944. 2. Here, too, Migliorati runs into an easily explainable inaccuracy. The dead were 70, but another 14 people had fled the country without reporting it and it was feared that they were buried under the rubble still to be cleared. Sources: "Umbertide in the XX Century 1900 - 1946" by Roberto Sciurpa - Municipality of Umbertide, Gesp - January 2006 THE CITY AFTER LIBERATION 1944 - 1952 Rendiconto Giunta 1946 - 1952 Relazione del Sindaco Giuseppe Migliorati nel 1944 Relazione del Sindaco Giuseppe Migliorati nel 1944 Rendiconto Giunta 1946 - 1952 RELATION SOCIAL-COMMUNIST MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATION ON THE ACTIVITY CARRIED OUT FROM 1946 TO 1952 curated by Fabio Mariotti We feel the duty to give an account to the population of the activity carried out in our municipality in the period from the elections of 1946 to today. We do not want to judge our work, since it is not up to us to judge; however, we feel we have the right to affirm that we have made an effort to do everything in our power to meet the needs of citizens and to honestly fulfill the mandate they have entrusted to us. PUBLIC WORKS In order to be able to judge our work serenely, it is first of all necessary to recall the disastrous conditions in which we found our country due to the war: the capital, in particular, was reduced to a heap of rubble, so it was dedicated to it. more attention than to fractions. The transitory period of municipal administration, which took place under the aegis of the Allied Military Government and controlled by the latter with the Mayors of the then Liberation Committee, made it possible to begin the reorganization of the administrative offices as soon as possible. Citizens suffered severely from the hardships caused by the war. Almost all the families lacked the essentials: house, food, medicines, electricity, water, household goods, etc. Everything had been destroyed by bombing or removed by the retreating Germans. The city was littered with rubble; traffic was difficult due to the numerous road works that had been destroyed (as many as 27 bridges had been destroyed in our municipality). The lack of housing considerably aggravated the tragic situation of the moment: half of Umbertide's houses were destroyed or seriously damaged. It was an imperative duty of the municipal administration to face all these problems; and faithful to our general program, set out during the electoral campaign, we promptly set them out for a solution. Priority was given to the sanitation and welfare problem, having all the rubble removed; which, in addition to removing the sad vision of the ruins, averted the danger of spreading infectious diseases; Supplementary rations of bread, meat, wine, firewood were distributed. The prompt reactivation of the aqueducts both in the center and in the hamlets was provided. The schools, despite the damage suffered, were repaired and returned to their important function. Only the perimeter walls remained of our hospital; in a short time it was put back into efficiency and thus it was possible to meet those who needed hospital care. Today our hospital has very modern equipment, and it would have perfected its systems again if the Prefecture, without any reason, had not sent a Commissioner to manage the institution. The rapid rehabilitation of the hospital is due to the intelligent activity of its President, comrade Rometti Aspromonte and of the Board of Directors who dedicated so much diligence and passion to this humanitarian work, always supported in their work by the municipal administration and by the esteem of the entire population. The war had completely destroyed the Umbertide-Terni railway and the Fossato-Arezzo railway. Following our concern it was possible to reactivate the Terni-Umbertide section and the reconstruction of its warehouse-workshop in Umbertide. This work could be carried out with the help of the Minister of Transport Hon. Ferrari of the PCI and the Communist and Socialist Deputies of the district, who met in Umbertide at our invitation, to give instructions to the managers of the Mediterranea. The serious problem of the workforce has been tackled by overcoming all our budget possibilities many times, but the scourge of unemployment persists and certainly cannot be resolved with local interventions. This problem will find its complete solution only when it is possible for a truly democratic government to come to power which dedicates its national wealth to works of peace and which translates into action what is enshrined in the constitution. The workforce employed by the Municipality has always been significant and has had a strong impact on the budget. The severe shortage of housing that existed before the war, aggravated by the destruction, raised the urgent problem of building reconstruction and the Administration directed all energy to this. Sixty residential neighborhoods have already been built and occupied (public housing and homes for the victims) and ten neighborhoods have been built by INA-Casa; public housing is now being built in Preggio for 10,000,000 Lire. With all this we are still a long way off to be able to say that all citizens have a modest home. Dozens of families still live in attics, woodsheds, and in places that offend human dignity. The main cause of this was the ministerial provision which suppressed the Prefectural Housing Commissioner; This suppression has led to this inequality: the owners of buildings occupy fifteen rooms in four or five people, while large families live in unhealthy and unsafe hovels (this is certainly not Christian charity!) The streets in the center of Umbertide have been reactivated and asphalted. The damage of the war and the neglect of the past administrations had reduced the eighteenth-century Palazzo del Comune in bad conditions. This Administration has provided for the repair of all the rooms and on the first floor has particularly taken care of the restoration of the frescoed vaults, with a total cost of L. 1,520,000. The work must be continued, as it is a building that due to its style deserves to be preserved and restored to its primitive beauty. The restoration work on the façade has already been contracted for 1,500,000 Lire. The avenues have been enriched with hundreds of ornamental plants; a small garden has also been arranged in Largo Antonio Gramsci, as well as another in a corner of Piazza Mazzini. A small park was built between the council houses and those of the victims; another park was built in Largo Vittorio Veneto. The post office building has been rebuilt and enlarged, which will soon give back to the public a very modern post office. In the space behind the post office building, the reconstruction of old huts was prevented, giving air and sun to buildings that did not have them and creating the vast Piazza 25 Aprile. In addition to the paving of via Petrogalli, works for the pavement with asphalt tiles of the pavements of Via Garibaldi for L. 3,000,000 have already been contracted out. In the streets of our territory they have been 26 bridges rebuilt. It was in Ascagnano rebuilt the footbridge over the Tiber and it is proceeded at the same time to the arrangement of the road that leads to Palazzetto Nese. A stretch of road from Serra was also built Partucci in Campaola. Every possible cure has been dedicated to school problems, element indispensable for creating a better tomorrow. All the buildings have been restored municipally owned school, it was partly renewed the teaching material and furniture; 250 new ones are now under construction desks and 20 professorships in the amount of L. 2,000,000. Not being able to deal with means financial problems of the City the serious problem of school building, we asked insistently the intervention of the state. Three projects to build school buildings in Civitella, Niccone and Montecastelli are al Ministry of Public Works for a total cost of L. 28,000,000. They are complete in each their part and approved in technical and administrative terms; for over two years, however, they have been piled up and forgotten, because unfortunately at this moment the Christian Democratic regime has to satisfy other customers and therefore cannot satisfy the needs of the municipalities governed by popular administrations. A project for a school building site for the construction of the Pian di Nese-Racchiusole road has been at the Ministry of Labor for several years; despite our pressure on the Ministry and the Prefecture, the funding has not yet been granted. The local population insistently claims it as an area devoid of any trace of road; in the winter season it is really a problem to move from the houses scattered in that area. There are still fractions without light. The Municipality has expanded and built plants in Cioccolanti and Montecastelli; a new plant was built in the hamlets of Buzzacchero and Pian d'Assino, for an amount of L. 1,800,000; the lighting in the capital and in the hamlets was improved for a cost of L. 1,000,000. The possibility of giving electric light to the areas of San Benedetto, Petrella, Ospedalicchio, Mita and Banchetti is being studied. Substantial repairs were made to the Cemeteries of Racchiusole, Santa Giuliana, Polgeto, San Bartolomeo, Migianella, San Paolo, Comunaglia, Verna, Leoncini, with a total cost of L. 4,500,000. Modern public urinals have been installed in the center and in the hamlets. New sewers were built in the capital, in Preggio and in Niccone. The lower butcher's shop has been completely transformed according to hygiene requirements; now the restoration works of the municipal slaughterhouse are in progress; for these two works an expense of L. 1,000,000 is required. Taking into account the serious conditions in which many farmhouses are found, especially in the high hills, a municipal commission has been set up for the application of the health law, art. 223 of 27 July 1934, which forces the owners to carry out the necessary repairs: n. 69 farmhouses; the related practices are in progress, with the result that some owners have already had to carry out the required work. The problem of greatest concern is that of aqueducts, also because our area is very poor in second-layer water to feed them. To improve the existing plants in Cioccolanti, Preggio, Montecastelli and in the provincial capital, Lire 2,600,000 was spent, but more remains to be done, especially in the capital. For this reason, after having carried out all the necessary technical and bureaucratic procedures, last year the survey was carried out for the research of underground waters; the outcome was negative due to insufficient means available (Lire 1,000,000 was used). In our opinion it is necessary to insist on drilling, and this is also the suggestion of the technicians in the field of hydraulics, hoping to find sufficient water for the needs of the population, and then get to the financing of the work. However, at present to make up for this deficiency wells and cisterns have been built, subsidiary works that have reduced the serious shortage of water that has worried citizens for over 30 years in the peak months. The sewer system is linked to the problem of the aqueduct; those already existing have been built with antiquated and unsanitary criteria; in the summer they constitute a serious danger to public health. The problem is urgent and must be addressed with an adequate financial plan. The construction of a well-equipped sports field and a theater capable of satisfying the increased needs of the population also remains to be tackled. SUPPORT Assistance has never been neglected within the maximum limits allowed by the budget, especially with regard to hospital admissions for needy citizens, the distribution of medicines, school meals, marine and mountain colonies. But what the Municipality can do in today's society is very little in the face of the real problem of assistance and the great need of most. The state has the duty to provide for the complete solution of the problem, but a bourgeois government will never be able to allocate billions for relief works. The Municipality spent 11 million Lire on assistance to the poor in the financial year 1951 alone. FINANCIAL PROBLEM The current tax system still regulated by the local finance law of 1931 is now outdated by the times, does not allow the Municipalities any autonomy in this matter and is not suitable for ensuring the indispensable means for the financing of institutional services; moreover, it unjustly distributes the tax burden. The needs of the times, made more acute by the backwardness found in all the most elementary collective services, therefore make it extremely difficult for the municipal administrations to carry out their tasks. These difficulties are noted to a greater extent in the administrations run by Social Communists because they, as far as possible, try to relieve the workers from the tax burden, however they reduce budget revenues, since with the system in place, it is difficult for them to find an adequate counterpart by increasing the taxes to the employer class as appropriate, which by resorting to the GPA escapes its duty towards the community. This state of affairs also forced our Administration to have to apply taxes, albeit to the most limited extent, even to the working class, while its intention was substantially the opposite. On the other hand, in order to ensure a minimum of administrative functioning and to resolve, even partially, the serious problems arising from the war and described above, the municipal administration in the current state of affairs cannot dispose of other resources. State funding is almost nil, all engaged in rearmament. We have always granted municipal employees all increases in allowances to the maximum extent permitted by law. The staff of permanent staff has been expanded. ADMINISTRATION AND POLITICAL LIFE This Administration has not failed to give, within the limits of the right, its support to the initiatives taken by the various city organizations in defense of peace and workers' rights. However, this was not to the satisfaction of the higher Authorities, inspired by an antisocial and intolerant mentality, and the Mayor suffered the consequences: he was repeatedly suspended from office and reported to the Judicial Authority for having authorized the posting of posters in the who criticized the work of the Government, for having spoken in a public rally in favor of peace against the threat of war deriving from the well-known adhesion of our Government to the Atlantic Pact. Some might argue that those provisions were just, since the Mayor must be concerned exclusively with administrative problems; but such an objection appears naive if we consider that administrative problems are always closely linked to political problems, that the inhabitants of a city are not abstract numerical entities, but men animated by demands and needs, moved by hopes and ideals. The problems of the municipal administration are closely linked to the struggles that its citizens wage throughout the country for their emancipation. We could not remain insensitive to the events taking place in Italy and in the world; we knew that by fighting against the war, at the same time we were fighting so that the millions allocated for weapons were again converted into civilian expenses, for our homes, for our aqueduct, for our hospital, for our schools, for our streets. When we fought for peace we felt the duty to do so; in memory of the dead of the sad bombings of 1944, worried about the future of the entire citizenry. THE COUNCIL MINORITY Our work as administrators has lacked the contribution of the Christian Democratic minority, which has deserted almost all the meetings of the Council. It, while remaining in the opposition, could have benefited the country if it had limited itself to a serene criticism and had at least supported us in asking for the intervention of its government friends to finance the public works of greatest interest. When, after the liberation, our representatives also sat in the government, Umbertide was able to quickly carry out public works for several hundreds of millions (2 bridges, railway, warehouse-workshop, public houses, etc.). Since the leftist parties have been expelled from the government, the latter has given priority to the expenses of rearmament and has become deaf to the requests of the populations who want to see at least their most urgent problems solved (the construction of school buildings and the school sites for the construction of rural roads has been waiting for funding from the Ministries for years). Leaving the Administration of the Municipality, due to the expiry of the mandate received, we express our gratitude to the employees, to the Bodies, Associations and individuals who have given us their precious collaboration, we thank the working people who have supported us in our efforts, we wish the Directors who will be elected, to be able to continue our work even more profitably for the good of our country. To this end, we make votes so that the future Municipal Administration can carry out its work with the help of a better Government, which instead of hindering the initiatives of the Municipality through the Prefectural Bodies, understands their needs and gives its concrete support to meet them. . We wish peace and freedom to the hard-working population of our municipality for an ever better tomorrow. and social justice. P. THE MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATION A. BELLAROSA - Mayor A. RENZINI - V. Mayor C. PALAZZETTI - Councilor G. RONDONI - " B. BOLDRINI - " M. BELARDINELLI - “Suppl. A. ROSSETTI " Part of the Palazzo delle Poste and via Petrogalli (destroyed by the war) Casa Borgarelli (from Piazza XXV Aprile, demolished by the air raid Building reconstruction in via Andreani (homes for the victims) The back of the Palazzo delle Poste

THE CERAMIC ART IN UMBERTIDE curated by Fabio Mariotti The potters of Fratta from 1400 to 1800 The working of ceramics in our city, which was then called Fratta, dates back to 1400 as reported by Filippo Natali in his essay "News and memories on the figuline and the art of the potter in FRATTA (Umbertide)" published by the Tipografia Tiberina in 1890. “News that the Magi, Cristiani and Pellicciari left handwritten, village historians who lived between the first half of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and which are preserved in the Communal of Perugia. But what better than anything else attests to the existence of ceramic factories in Fratta, are the works themselves, as can be seen from the objects scattered around the various museums and private collections, not only in Italy, but in Europe. also, manufactured in this place ". Natali reports what was written by the Magi on the so-called "War of the Grand Duke of Tuscany" and the siege of Fratta in 1643: "The Florentine army after having given free passage and walk to the prey and luggage, he made high, part beyond the Nicone, part of this river, and waited for the slope of the waters (sic) in order to cross the Tiber and attack the Earth from the weakest side; also the Pallavicino to have its people more united, and to take away from the Every advantage of the Florentines caused all the houses and shops to be set on fire of the village and the market square, where the Vasari business in that time, to the great benefit of the public and private sectors, it flourished. Fire lit in the church of S. Erasmo, it was secretly pitiful by some extinct soldiers. The rest was completely incinerated. It was all done with such speed, that the owners of the shops and houses did not have time to save anything ". "The furnaces and the shops of the potters of Fratta, burned and destroyed in 1643, arose further north of the country, no trace of the former can be traced, for the houses that today were built on those rubble make up the Largo di via Cavour (the current area of Piazza Marconi, Ed.) at most it could be found in Campo Mavarelli near the road limited by the wall. The new furnaces were raised near the mill, where still today there are three, those of Martinelli, whose family for a series of uninterrupted generations, he has practiced and still exercises the art of the potter; and I am not mistaken to say that the scratch works that can be seen in some collections, of the 17th and 18th centuries have come out of the Martinelli factory… .. ”. This centuries-old tradition has been revived since the first half of the twentieth century by courageous and innovative entrepreneurial initiatives that have been able, despite a thousand difficulties, to establish themselves on a national level, starting with that of Ceramiche Rometti . The rediscovery of this artistic and high-quality entrepreneurial activity is due, in my opinion, to the great exhibition that the municipal administration of Umbertide dedicated in 1986, in the new exhibition space "Center for contemporary art" recently created at the restored Rocca, to the works created by Cagli and Leoncillo in the period in which they worked within the Umbertidese manufacture. It is no coincidence that the exhibition had this title: “Cagli and Leoncillo at Umbertide's Ceramiche Rometti”. Inaugurated on 13 September, it ended on 30 November 1986 with a great success with the public, testified by the presence of over two thousand people from all over Italy. There could not have been a better start for the Rocca's exhibition space which, in its 35 years of activity, has hosted the works of the best Italian interpreters of contemporary art and which continues to do so even today. After Rometti, from one of its ribs, Ceramiche Pucci was born in 1947 on the initiative of Eng. Domenico Pucci whose business ceased in 1962, after he changed his company name to Maioliche Pucci in 1958. Despite the short period of time in which the Ceramiche Pucci operated, they showed "the significant expression of an artistic path that has left an indelible mark on each of its specimens", as stated by Angelica Pucci at the end of her essay, dedicated to the history of this manufacture, published in the catalog of the exhibition held at the Rocca in 2006. CERAMICHE ROMETTI - History of a manufacture by Marinella Caputo (From the catalog of the exhibition "Le Ceramiche Rometti" - Rocca di Umbertide "Center for contemporary art" - June / November 2005) It is possible to say that the Rometti brand entered the history of Italian ceramics of the twentieth century, thanks to a happy combination of events. The cultural climate of the twenties, of enthusiastic experimentation, but also of functional rigor and technological momentum, must have undoubtedly favored the birth of an entrepreneurial project that was also a creative adventure, with difficulties and dark periods, but also unquestionable successes. In the fervor and inventiveness that characterized the applied arts in those years, ceramics played a central role. Already in the nineteenth century ceramic production was increased, thanks to the influence of the Arts and Grafts movement which rediscovered and valued artistic craftsmanship, together with the expertise and secrets of ancient traditions. In the twentieth century a new social configuration, in which the middle classes are emerging, is at the basis of the great development of the production of decorative and functional objects destined for a wide diffusion. There are many Italian centers in which new activities are started, just think that Richard Ginori was born in 1923, under the artistic direction of Giò Ponti, and the Italian Ceramic Society of Laveno in the same year began to make use of the collaboration of Guido Andlovitz. The versatile research of the two designers will lead to the affirmation of a trend that will soon spread very widely, stimulating the emergence of a taste that was certainly perceived as modern. At a local level it is worth mentioning La Salamandra di Perugia (founded in 1923) which inaugurates a modern decorative line in the field of Umbrian ceramics. The 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris, which became so famous as the starting point of a new style, called déco, in fact sanctions a trend already underway, giving it peremptory visibility. Design applied to industry in the third decade of the twentieth century has, despite its inevitably pragmatic aspects, a flavor of utopia, nourished by the experience of the Bauhaus, or inspired by the various constructivist movements present in Europe. In the Italian context, the theoretical source may perhaps be found in the manifesto of the Futurist Reconstruction of the Universe, published in 1915, with the signatures of Balla and Depero. The idea of "rebuilding the universe, cheering it up" must have seemed an electrifying prospect to many, in those roaring years, of heroic or sinister roars. The need for a new taste, the urgency of a modern lifestyle, were no longer claimed by a privileged and blasée elite, but penetrated very deeply into society, becoming, as they say, a mass phenomenon. This was the heated climate, on the creative and productive side, in which the Ceramiche Rometti di Umbertide saw the light. “Ars Umbra” is born, the first embryo of Ceramiche Rometti Settimio Rometti founded the de facto company Ars Umbra in October 1927 together with his nephew Aspromonte Rometti. Both are owners of the company, registered with the 1st Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Foligno, with a capital of L. 40,000 (1). This is the official beginning of the Rometti Artistic Ceramics, even if for some years now, Settimio Rometti, who was an adult man well integrated in public life, had shown interest in ceramic production. His first contacts took place at the Pasquali Furnace (formerly Pasquali & Cerrini) in Umbertide. In 1920 the firm had founded a School of Art applied to Industries, where Rometti worked as a technical teacher. It is therefore to be assumed that he already had significant experience. The school represented a production reality for artistic majolica, glazed tiles and ceramics. The works were marked La Frattigiana-Umbertide, and it is assumed that Rometti's contribution in this type of activity was decisive. The Frattigiana becomes an independent factory, within the Pasquali Furnace (owned by Roberto Cerrini) and the collaboration of Settimio Rometti, in a role that we could define as artistic direction, constitutes the indispensable premise for the start of his own business. Soon, the production of the Pasquali furnace and consequently of the Frattigiana, went through a crisis that culminated in the failure of 1923. Settimio Rometti, from this date until 1927, will certainly have designed his own factory, leading to the creation of Ars Umbra. It is possible that in those years he had carried out a type of reduced production, with provisional means, dealing with practical problems, but also updating himself from an aesthetic and formal point of view. His training in the field of drawing and applied art can be traced back to the Municipal Technical School, directed, from 1913 to 1926, by Decio Scuppa. We know that in 1910 Septimius and his brother Barbato were among the best pupils of Scuppa, who in that year was a teacher of drawing. The graphic ability of Septimius is confirmed by drawings and canvases made at an older age, as there is no documentation of his youthful years. In any case, his taste in the decorative field will certainly have refined in the early twenties, moving towards secessionist trends that still showed considerable vitality at European level. The experience of the Roman secession, at the end of the second decade of the twentieth century, had created a beneficial opening towards the climate of the avant-gardes, helping to promote a new creative path, more meditated and certainly moderate, compared to the radical proposals. and traumatic, of futurism. In his entrepreneurial project, Settimio welcomes the contribution of young people, in the figures of his nephews, Aspromonte, known as Riego, son of his brother Paolo and Dante Baldelli, son of his sister Stamura. His intention to give life to a new and quality creative proposal is clearly delineated from the very beginning. Since Umbertide did not have a prestigious ceramic tradition, such as Deruta, Gubbio or Gualdo Tadino, he sought his collaborators elsewhere. From Gubbio comes the turner Crescentino Monarchi, from Gualdo Tadino come the Angeli brothers, one a turner, the other a painter. From Rome, where he had gone to attend courses at the Academy of Fine Arts, his nephew Dante Baldelli arrived in 1928 and at this moment he would begin his fruitful collaboration with Ceramiche Rometti, which lasted a whole decade. His friends Corrado Cagli and Mario Di Giacomo will soon join him. Corrado Cagli and Mario Di Giacomo arrive in Umbertide This is the most experimental and innovative period of Rometti, a true golden age, perhaps evoked in many of the subjects that appear on the vases of those years. These are allegorical figures or scenes marked by an Edenic vision, expressed with youthful optimism and purity. There is, of course, a didactic intention that seems to escape the celebratory momentum so widespread at the time. However, it must be attested that most of the forms, the decorative repertoire and the figurations, which emerged in the first years of Rometti's life, will last for a long time, constituting the distinctive character of the manufacture. It is an experimental and extremely productive era on the creative side. The sculptures produced by Cagli and Di Giacomo between 1928 and 1930 represent artistic results of indisputable value and are configured as exclusive sculpture experiences. In fact, Cagli will subsequently develop his research especially in the field of painting and Di Giacomo will commit suicide in 1934. At that moment the "black fratta" (NF) appears, as it is called in the commercial catalogs of Rometti. Sometimes the acronym NF is also found in the brand. Obtaining this enamel took on legendary tones that refer to a fortuitous circumstance. According to oral testimonies, collected by Codovini, the composition derived from an error in the color formula. The result of the wrong dosage was placed in a two-quintal barrel and it was discovered by chance that it produced a metallic black of notable effect. The enamel owes its reverberant quality to the presence of lead crystalline, manganese and copper, with a prevalence of crystalline. This technical innovation, developed between 1927 and 1928, must undoubtedly have increased the plastic research of the artists, since it is a color particularly suitable for sculpture. Cagli created some of the most significant works of his debut in NF, such as Santone, Icaro, Eolo. Di Giacomo gave life to his figures as supple as arabesques, exploiting the evocative elegance of black and the surface, made mobile by iridescent reflections. The euphoric climate that developed in Rometti's early years fed on many different components. The late echoes of the secession are welcomed above all by Settimio Rometti who crystallizes the organic element in stylized motifs in his plate with the Madonna of the grain (probably from 1927), organized in a dense two-dimensional texture. Even the tableware or services belonging to the early days of the manufacture have floral decorations, resolved in fluid cascades of emulsified colors. On a similar level, of symbolist inspiration, are the Salome and other similar sculptures by Di Giacomo, while his Battitore belongs to a twentieth century tradition, for the synthesis of the volumes and futurist for the dynamism of the subject. The fundamental contribution of Cagli with his NF sculptures, plates and vases, has a rather eclectic connotation that will be analyzed more extensively in the course of the text. For the moment it is sufficient to state that the young artist looks in various directions, undergoes the fascination of a futurism that has become pragmatic and applicative, looks in the direction of Valori Plastici (see respectively Icaro and Santone) and at the same time opens up to international experiences. How can we not think, looking at the plate with the figure of a Reaper, a bacchant running with ear and scythe, of the Picasso of the famous Two women running on the beach (Paris, Picasso Museum) of 1922? As for Dante Baldelli, who soon took over the technical and artistic direction together with Settimio and Aspromonte (3), his stylistic orientation certainly goes in the direction of deco and futurist graphics and design and many of his works find comparisons in ceramics. by Andlovitz, by Ivos Pacetti (Ilsa and Spica, Albisola), by GB De Salvo (Casa dell'Arte, Albisola Capo), by Tullio d'Albisola in the production of the Faci of Civita Castellana or of the Galvani of Pordenone. He is an artist of remarkable graphic skills, updated on the most innovative orientations of Italian and international design. The collaboration of Cagli and Baldelli. in the two-year period 1938-1939 it was undoubtedly very narrow, so much so that at times individual attribution is difficult. Both shared an interest in simple vascular shapes, emphasized by geometric motifs. among which concentric circles predominate, with graphite and painted linear figures, in which the hand of the single artist is more evident. During his stay in Umbertide, Cagli often returned to Rome. At the end of 1929 he took part in an exhibition at the Società Amatori e Cultori di Belle Arti together with Balla, Dottori, Fillia, Prampolini and other futurists. The work he exhibits, Il Vasaio, seems a clear allusion to his current activity. Mascelloni attributes the NF sculptures to the period preceding the 1929 exhibition, while most of the vases should be ascribed to his second stay in Umbertide (1929-1930). This is a problematic dating, where brand analysis or stylistic definition rarely helps. The head of Icarus, however, with its highly aerodynamic character, is perhaps more directly connected than other works to the Futurist experience, and could be dated just after the exhibition, perhaps at the beginning of 1930. Cagli definitively left Rometti at the end of 1930 to settle in Rome. Before leaving, he painted the wall paintings of the Mavarelli-Reggiani house, with agricultural scenes, commonly identified with the title Battle of the grain, the name of the project implemented by the fascist regime in 1925 to increase the production of wheat. The language of these paintings finds compelling comparisons in many of the motifs found on the ceramics. At this point Baldelli and Aspromonte (Settimio remains more concentrated on the administrative sector) become the dominant figures of Rometti, but Cagli's legacy remains, unequivocally, at least for the entire first half of the thirties. Rometti launches on the national market From 1931 the company began a greater presence on the market and a more intense advertising campaign (4). The first recognitions also arrive, such as the two gold medals obtained in that year, at the Nice Fair and at the Bologna Littoriale Fair. Participation in the Florence Handicraft Fair was also appreciated by the press, and so was the participation in the Permanent Umbrian Handicraft Exhibition in Perugia. The following year is characterized by the renewed presence at the Craft Fair in Florence and at the Fiera del Levante in Bari. In relation to the latter, a sales and exit voucher was found with the heading Ceramiche 'Rometti Fonda "Ars Umbra Umbertide (Umbria). Among the cuttings of the typography Barbagianni di Umbertide, packaging labels were found with the words Icafa Industria" Ceramica Argento "Fonda Amedeo. It is a commercial collaboration, in view of the creation of a company that did not see the light due to the death of Fonda in an accident, which occurred during the journey to Umbertide to stipulate the company. 1932 is also the year of Mussolini's visit to Rometti. At this date the factory is in full working order. Fifteen workers work there, with a daily wage of L. 5-6 and six or seven women with a wage of L. 2-2.50. It is interesting to consider that the Santone head, the most expensive object for sale, cost L. 600 (Catalog Rometti 1931-1933). In October 1932, Gerardo Dottori wrote an article on the "Empire", in which he talks about the success of some vases with subjects inspired by fascism and states: "Reading the news in the newspapers and seeing the photographs of the Rometti ceramics, we were amazed not to see the name of Corrado Cagli, who we knew was the creator, designer and often performer of these ceramics ". This is an important testimony that ascribes to Cagli vases and plates with subjects such as The March on Rome, I Ritardatari, L'Ascesa, however attributable to the artist on a stylistic basis and, in some cases, signed. Thus we have further confirmation of the duration of the creations of the two-year period 1928-1930. The years between the third and fourth decade of the twentieth century, despite their creative verve, correspond, in Europe and the United States, to a period of profound economic crisis, in which exports undergo a significant decrease and objects luxury goods are increasingly exclusive and inaccessible to a large number of consumers, contrary to what had happened in the previous decade. Even the Ceramiche Rometti, which had established themselves as an example of an original and poetic design, are suffering the effects of the economic crisis and Settimio, the company's dean, tries to run for cover. We have already talked about the search for partnerships with the Fonda company in Pola, an attempt to inject new capital into the company. The data would lead to affirm that everything happened in 1932, rather than in 1934, because the documents that mention the Amedeo Fonda company date back to 1932, but it is possible that the negotiations went on until 1934, the year of the sudden death of Amedeo Fonda according to the testimonials. According to the story of Rolando Fiorucci, the Fonda company supplied the material for a line of cups with a silver ring at the base, too expensive to establish itself in a period of economic depression. In any case, Septimius was very upset by the event, seeing the possibility of saving Rometti vanish. Also among the clippings of the typographical printed matter, a Program for the newly established "Ceramiche Rometti" Umbertide Limited Company, dated 1933, emerged. At that date, therefore, the Anonymous Company was in the process of being established and the heading Ceramiche Rometti Ars Umbra continued to be used. which also appears in the brands of the time. Speaking of brands, the time has come to say a few words on a rather delicate issue. From 1927 to 1935 both "Ceramiche Rometti" and "Ars Umbra" (composed in a triangular graphic solution) were used with great ease, sometimes accompanied by "Umbertide" or "Made in Italy". sometimes a triangular graphic sign made up of three lines with the letters RCB at the vertices that certainly make us think of Rometti, Cagli, Baldelli. Between 1933 and 1935 we sometimes find the inscription SACRU of the Società Anonima Ceramiche Rometti Umbertide. It may be interesting , in this regard, to cite two articles on the V Triennale di Milano, both of 1933, one on the "Illustrated Magazine of the People of Italy", the other on "Lidel. The first talks about Sacru, the second by Ceramiche Rometti. It is therefore possible that the SACRU brand appeared sporadically even before SACU, perhaps on the initiative of Settimio who may have proposed it to the members of the manufacturer that will take that name by omitting the R of Rometti. The variety in the trademark heading was explained by some former workers of the firm, who argue that beginners were required to practice signing before moving on to more demanding jobs. It can be assumed that there were signature models that the most inexperienced people imitated, choosing from the various headings. It is an image that gives a taste of lived to the typical Rometti italics. Returning to the events of the manufacture, 1934 was the year of the establishment of the Società Anonima Ceramiche Umbertide, made up of twenty-five local shareholders, with shares of L. 50 each, (in number from 2 to 6). In April 1935 the bankruptcy of the de facto company Ceramiche Rometti was registered with the Royal Civil Court of Perugia. Neither Settimio nor Aspromonte were among the founding partners of Sacu and this is connected to the absence of the name Rometti in the new company name. It is known from oral evidence that Septimius did not take the decision well at all and left his city for some time, going to Rimini, to a local ceramic factory. A few months later he worked as a technician at La Salamandra in Perugia and, according to the oral testimony of Rolando Fiorucci, he subsequently went to France, to Nice, to work in the construction company of his brother Clotide. Fiorucci recalls that Septimius used to say: "I'm saving lira for lira, in order to be able to return to Rometti as an owner and not as a worker". And he returned there, recalled by the Sacu partners who felt a deterioration in business after the departure of Settimio and his nephews Riego (or Smucchia) and Dante Baldelli, both outside Umbertide, Riego in Milan and Baldelli in Città di Castello. In March 1937 the change of the company name to Sacru (Società Anonima Ceramiche Rometti Umbertide) was communicated to the Provincial Council of Corporate Economy. The production of these years includes research on the shapes and color combinations of the glazes. Essential silhouettes, geometric decorations, the subjects are increasingly stylized. Black enamel is associated with coral red and in the polychrome, synthetic and fluid figurines, the combination of colors is rather lively. The war years marked a period of sharp decline and, it seems, for about a year, of interruption, in the production of Rometti. In 1942 Settimio decides to leave Sacru and establishes the Rometti Settimio company, Artistic Ceramics Manufacturing. In the meantime, Domenico Pucci had already become a majority shareholder in Sacru for some time and in 1943 he transformed the company from a limited liability company into a limited liability company, continuing to use the Ceramiche Rometti brand. From 1942 to 1947 there are two Rometti companies We are faced with two Rometti companies, one located in via Spalato (today via Spoletini - Ed), managed by Domenico Pucci, the other in via Garibaldi, managed by Settimio Rometti. The production is quite similar, but Settimio's Rometti gives more space to small sculptures, reliefs, plastic vases, while that of Pucci is more concentrated on services, boxes and small objects of use. Settimio Rometti, in the new headquarters which is the same as the current Ceramiche Rometti (before moving to the new factory in the middle of the straight - Ed), can finally manage the new company by himself. The grandchildren took different paths, Dante Baldelli has his own ceramic factory in Città di Castello and Riego works in Milan, achieving some success as a window dresser. Next to the factory there was (and still is partly) a pine forest, where Septimius led the workers to do gymnastic exercises before starting work. In the vicinity, then, stallions were allocated seasonally who inspired the Rometti logo with the prancing horse that is found starting from 1942. There are also sculptures of the Rometti horse made in fratta black - which re-emerged after the early thirties - in shaded gray or in red. The overlap of the two companies lasted five years, until the establishment of the Ditta Pucci in 1947. The following year, the Rometti company also changed its name from Rometti Settimio to Ceramiche Rometti di Rometti Settimio and in 1952 it became a Limited Liability Company. A series of sketches for the Four Seasons and the larger-scale realization of Primavera at the end of the 1940s give us an idea of Settimio's orientation, towards a lively and popular taste, perhaps to evoke freshness and vitality, after a period darkness of dictatorship and war. The creation in the 1950s of functional or decorative objects, such as liquor and smoking sets, boxes in the shape of a house, baskets, candelabra, vases with relief elements, tiles and ornaments follows the trends of the era of a calm stylization and a picturesque, sometimes naive taste. In this phase, the company increased its exports and participated in exhibitions and fairs, such as the one in Milan, taking advantage of the climate of economic rebirth, widespread internationally. Even the Pucci firm, oriented towards a production that favors tea or coffee services and other tableware, is experiencing a phase of economic stability that lasts throughout the 1950s. The Pucci Ceramics Company was liquidated in 1960. Pietro Finocchi takes over from Settimo Rometti Settimio Rometti retired from the scene two years later, leaving the company, which still exists today, to the partner Pietro Finocchi who had followed the events of the company since 1934 and had joined the company - since 1959 a general partnership - together with Manlio Banelli (who died in 1962). We can therefore fix at the dawn of the sixties the epilogue of the historical period of the Rometti manufacturing, a disruptive project that tended to shape the taste, rather than follow it, but also a fascinating example of micro-history that involves the small center of Umbertide in a great creative experience. * * * * * * * * * * In the sixties the historical period of Ceramiche Rometti ended, however they continued their activity by orienting themselves towards a more commercial and less artistic production. Pietro Finocchi was replaced by Dino Finocchi who carried out the business with great commitment, also going through difficult phases linked to the crisis in the reference market. With the arrival of Massimo Monin I, patron and entrepreneur of art, and Jean-Christophe Clair , multifaceted and visionary artistic director, Rometti begins in 2012 a new and prosperous phase, still ongoing. The extraordinary ability of the two manager-artists lies in finding a perfect balance between a contemporary vision and the enhancement of the Rometti heritage. The Manufacture boasts prestigious collaborations with brands and artists who have chosen its uniqueness to produce exclusive pieces and collections. B&B, Roche Bobois, Cartier, Borbonese, Fresh and many other big brands, international design names such as Ambrogio Pozzi, Liliane Lijn, Sergio Fiorentino, Chantal Thomass, Studio MAMO, Christian Tortu, Ugo La Pietra and Kenzo Takada: a constellation that shapes the past and present history of the iconic Rometti brand, fueling the race to collect pieces that have embellished almost a century of art. The Rometti Ceramics Gallery In 2011 the permanent art gallery of Ceramiche Rometti objects was inaugurated at the "Modern Factory", in Piazza C. Marx, the collection of works created by the artists who have worked in the prestigious Umbertidese factory in almost 100 years of history. . Corrado Cagli was one of the most important Italian artists of the twentieth century and at the beginning of his career he constantly worked on Ceramiche Rometti. The Cagli Archive therefore made an important contribution to the creation of the exhibition space. The collection consists of about 200 works recovered by the current owner in over 40 years from antique dealers, markets and private individuals that allow you to retrace the history of the company but also the history of Umbertide who is internationally recognized with this manufacture. The opening of this exhibition space, as well as the due recognition of the many people from Umbertide who have worked in the company in almost a century of history, also constitutes a new opportunity for the many art lovers and tourists who will visit Umbertide. You can admire objects made with the famous and unique "Nero Fratta" (metallic color with iridescent reflections) or with engravings on "bianchetto", another innovative technique by Rometti since the 1930s and finally decorations that marked a revolutionary phase for the tradition Italian ceramics. The Rometti Prize To relaunch its artistic production, re-engaging with the historical tradition, the Rometti Ceramics launched in 2013 the “Rometti Prize”, a special recognition that aims to reward projects and artists who offer an original contribution to the art of ceramics. Intended for students enrolled in academies and art and design institutes from all over the world who embrace the initiative, the Rometti Prize gives the finalists an internship in manufacturing where they will concretely carry out their project and a cash prize. Sources: - “Le Ceramiche Rometti” - Ed. Skira, 2005 - Catalog of the exhibition at the Rocca from 25 June to 6 November 2005; - "Cagli and Leoncillo at the Ceramiche Rometti di Umbertide" - Ed. Mazzotta, 1986 - Catalog of the Exhibition at the Rocca from 13 September to 30 November 1986; - "Amabili presenze - Ceramiche Rometti from Art Déco to Design 1927 - 2012 "- Catalog of the Exhibition in Rome from 3 October to 3 February 2013. The photos were taken from the catalogs. I vasari di Fratta dal 1400 al 1800 Ceramiche Rometti - Storia di una manifattura Ceramiche Pucci - La storia Ceramiche Rometti - Storia di una manifattura I vasari di Fratta dal 1400 al 1800 CERAMICHE PUCCI - The history by Angelica Pucci (From the catalog of the exhibition "Le Ceramiche Pucci" - Rocca di Umbertide "Center for contemporary art" - June / October 2006) 1947, the Ceramiche Pucci Umbertide are born It was May 1, 1947 when Ceramiche Pucci Umbertide was officially born: "[...] in recognition of the effective and competent work carried out by the Sole Director Dr. Eng. Domenico Pucci in the ten years that have passed since he took over the administration of the company [...] "-, SACRU (Società Anonima Ceramiche Rometti Umbertide) considers it appropriate to change the company name to" Ceramiche Pucci Umbertide ", a limited liability company whose object is the production and trade of artistic ceramics of family and industrial use. The presence of Domenico Pucci in the factory dates back. therefore, far back in time: former shareholder of Ceramiche Rometti Umbertide, managing director and then chairman of the company's board of directors from December 1936, starting from March 28, 1943 he became majority shareholder and sole director and without board of statutory auditors of the Ceramiche company Rometti Umbertide, which on that very date was transformed from a limited liability company to a limited liability company. In fact, it is therefore he who personally directs the new company, although this will still retain the "Ceramiche Rometti Umbertide" brand until May 1, 1947. With perfect management continuity, of workers, systems and products, the Ceramiche Rometti brand therefore gave way to the Ceramiche Pucci brand in the middle of the post-war period. In the post-war reorganization, although much more attention was paid to the reasons of the market, the social principles that had always characterized the profile of the company were not evaded, accompanying its transformations and witnessing - with the presence among the shareholders of citizens of all social extraction and any economic power - how the artistic ceramics factory was felt by Umbertide not only as an economic force, but above all as the expression of a village community proud of being able to boast a quality product, the result of the skill of workers competent and specialized in the various sectors of the supply chain. The management not only maintained this priority, but also worked to ensure that the social objectives could be satisfied in the best possible way, allowing the expansion of the activity, which even in the midst of the difficulties experienced by craftsmanship in general, saw the number of fifty-two employees. Domenico Pucci was not an "artist", but an "entrepreneur" and as such he had long ago brought his managerial skills to the service of the business with a remarkable foresight for the time. The character qualities, the propensity to always look forward with optimism even in times of difficulty and, above all, the experience gained through personal contacts with the Milanese environment, receptive to innovations and dynamic in the most disparate sectors of the economy, had always solicited great attention towards the production chain and the diversification of the product with the intention of marketing it not only on the Italian market, which was then in severe crisis, but also towards those foreign markets which, like the American one, showed interesting signs of vitality . The economic marginality of the Umbrian region and of the town of Umbertide were therefore not an obstacle to the desire to project itself decisively on the national and international market with the awareness of the exquisite shapes and decorations, which still make today, of the remaining specimens, objects sought by the collectors from all over the world. The birth of Ceramiche Pucci, however, takes place in a particularly difficult historical and economic moment, because, to the difficulties generated by the war, are added the no less serious ones of the post-war period when the urgency to rebuild what is necessary inevitably made the desire to look with interest at an asset that could be considered luxury. The minutes of the assembly, already during the conflict, complained about the difficulties in supplying raw materials, the need to make up for the absence of male workers called up to arms with female personnel, the limitations or even the suspension, by government decree, of the production of an asset not compatible with the state of war, the almost total closure of international markets, energy costs in continuous rise. Difficulties begin after the war Despite this, with the exception of 1944, the year of the bombing of Umbertide, the financial statements manage to close in the black, albeit with extremely low margins. The real difficulties emerge after the war, just at the moment in which the transformation takes place and the Ceramiche Pucci brand is born. When in Italy the reconstruction begins, in fact. the artisanal sector does not find substantial support in the choices of governments, which instead goes to support large companies, as if only the latter had to support the economy of a country that was trying to recover. However, it should be noted that craftsmanship, by its very nature. it could not collect the breadth of consensus typical of large industry and agriculture. Disappointment and regret constantly emerge in the minutes of the post-war assembly which see the lack of government support as a serious aggravating factor in a situation that is already very difficult in itself, an inevitable consequence of the precariousness of the moment: the costs of raw materials undergo significant increases, electricity in 1949 it rose by about 50 per cent compared to 1947, the social and insured contributions paid by the employer increased by 40 per cent in 1948 alone, the percentages in banking transactions became ever higher. Competition on the international manufacturing market of other countries that have resumed their activity becomes tighter, the internal market of the sector is in crisis, because that middle class, which constituted a large part of the clientele, is forced to turn its interest towards basic necessities. All these difficulties hardly make it possible to maintain a balanced budget and jobs, but do not produce profits that can be reinvested to expand an activity which, in any case, in the small town, plays an economic role of fundamental importance. To overcome the difficulties, action is taken on several fronts The rather complicated entrepreneurial choices are faced by Domenico Pucci with immediate interventions on several fronts, with the primary objective of consolidating the presence in the market both in defense of jobs and of that "made in Italy" which, for his awareness and conviction, receives appreciation for the originality and quality of the product. The key issues on which he decides to operate are many and simultaneously affect both the structural elements of the production process and distribution in the markets: - reorganization of the supply chain; - maintaining the old prices in order not to reduce sales beyond a certain limit and to safeguard production; - diversification and upgrading of the product aimed at conquering foreign markets still sensitive to the taste and refinement of Italian artistic ceramics. The modernization of the supply chain, which had already started between 1943 and 1944 when the factory was moved from via XII Settembre to via Spalato (now via Spoletini), is completed in the large, newly built premises which facilitate its reorganization in all aspects. The geographical location, the lines of communication, the means of transport and the difficulties inherent in the historical period had led to choices that favored functionality and autonomy as much as possible. The latter went so far as to equip the company with functional appendages such as a sawmill for the production of packing cases and shavings, essential for the safe transfer of such delicate goods on long road, railway or even transoceanic sections. The processing residues were used, in winter, to heat the compartments, such as the warehouse, which were not reached by the heat produced by the ovens. The organization of the company spaces was conceived by favoring a serial layout which required to incorporate the schemes of industrialized work without going to the highest levels of the production chain, not properly suited to an exquisitely and unequivocally "artistic" production. The location of the departments highlighted a specific attention to minimizing the travel spaces since the material, very delicate, in its various processing phases was transported without automated systems; the "dirty" areas were kept separate from the "clean" areas, and moreover, areas with a "naturally" controlled temperature were located, to allow a correct drying phase of the worked clays. The earth was pre-worked in an external pavilion, where, from the material first taken from the fields, by means of chalking and passing through the sedimentation tanks and filtering phases, clay loaves were obtained; these entered the real "factory" in which it was possible to identify the two "lungs" of the layout: the processing of clay and terracotta decoration, separated from each other by the area reserved for the cooking ovens, which served both departments. Being able to count on a stable supply of electricity, the wood-burning ovens used during the war had been replaced by electric ovens which, with a more stable and controlled cycle, the quality of the product increased. There were always two stages of cooking (clay-bistugio, bistugio-decorated product), sometimes three when the artifact was finished in pure gold or with special enamels. The intermediate location of the ovens area favored a balanced distribution of heat, which in winter kept the work spaces at temperature and in summer allowed the dissipation of excess heat to the outside, through suitable ventilation of the central area, without the other two departments were disturbed. The warehouse for the storage of the finished product, packaging and shipping was a body adjacent to the production area and saw, for most of the time, the shipping area located in a strategic position towards the railway station, located in the immediate vicinity, since the delivery took place almost entirely by rail. From the warehouse the crates were transferred, on hand-pushed carts along a very short path, directly to the freight cars, through a reserved access at the rear of the station. The exclusively commercial and accounting sector had a reserved area, but always and in any case contiguous to the production area, and was equipped with an exhibition room, which was nothing more than the historical archive of the objects produced, systematically marked with the number of catalog or often, as happened with the most commercially successful products, with a name that recalled the most evident characteristics of the decorative element. Participation in fairs and exhibitions in Italy and abroad Outside the factory, the company organization expressed itself with the marketing of the product through multiple initiatives aimed at developing the ability to enter the markets, first of all the representation system and participation in events of national and international interest such as trade fairs and permanent exhibitions. The more or less fixed presence of highly skilled representatives in strategic positions on the national and international territory (Europe, Central and North America, Japan) reveals choices sensitive to the reopening of markets after the war. The goal is to support competition from manufacturers from other European countries, such as France and Germany, or from outside Europe, such as Japan, which among other things benefit from the support given to the sector by national governments, that support which, as underlined previously, it lacked the productive vivacity and artistic originality of the Italian artisan enterprise. It is always with a view to the market that Ceramiche Pucci are systematically among the exhibitors of the Fiera Campionaria di Milano, sporadically also among those of the Fiera del Levante in Bari and occasionally also among those present at the Toronto, Casablanca and Barcelona fairs, with costs often consistent, but still justified by the hope of rising turnover. Upstream of these interventions there is an incessant and careful preparation of the samples that every year see renewed shapes and decorations by extremely qualified and competent workers, as well as sensitive to the needs of customers and to the orientations of taste. In this regard, it is enough to recall the decorations in pure gold and special enamels that characterize the early fifties, when the taste is oriented towards greater richness and lively and brilliant colors, expression of a vision of reality now far from the austerity of the war period. It is a very specific phase which, during the fifties, promoted particular decorative choices on the artistic level - which best characterize the originality of Ceramiche Pucci - and, on the commercial level, contributed to a valid affirmation of the product on the markets, positively influenced by the economic revival now underway. However, artistic innovation never lost sight of the two fundamental needs of customers, to be identified in the double diversification of the product and prices, two fronts on which precise choices are made aimed at creating very varied objects; that from the object of pure and simple decorative furniture (vases, centerpieces, decorative tiles, etc.) goes up to the always very refined but functional artifact (tableware, tea, coffee, dessert, ice cream, smoking, for children etc.), or even the prestigious article that large confectionery industries, such as Perugina, Motta or Pernigotti, choose for the luxury packaging of their products. The decoration, to adapt to a wide range of prices, differs while maintaining the same shapes to the object. Double-variant decorations are proposed, with gold and special enamels and, consequently, at a higher price due to the further firing phase; or without gold and special enamels, and therefore at lower prices, accessible to a wider clientele. This phase of intense research for artistic and market innovation sees Domenico Pucci present in the United States for a long time. where assisted by the capable collaboration of qualified representatives, he manages to place heterogeneous and rich samples which, at the time, allowed the foreign turnover to compensate for the stagnation of the internal market and which, today, find examples of products signed "Ceramiche Pucci Umbertide - made in Italy "jealously guarded by overseas collectors. Since the shapes and the decoration are linked to the originality and inspiration of truly capable workers, it is not possible to forget the skill of the staff involved in the final realization of the product. The decoration entrusted to an almost exclusively female staff reveals the acquisition of exceptional abilities, of mastery of different painting techniques, in which already expert workers taught those young people who entered the world of work without the slightest experience. Beyond, in fact, the apprenticeship courses that the company was able to organize in collaboration with the Professional Training School, the real school was the factory. where day after day the new generation learned and experimented the techniques of each production sector in order to become skilled workers and then carry out, in the first person, the dual role of "workers" and "masters. This approach to work played a role socializing of fundamental importance. The factory also as a place for socializing Inside the factory, in fact, a family atmosphere prevailed that excluded any strongly individualizing element, allowing different generations to relate with a spirit of collaboration and, something not to be underestimated at the time, it gave women ample space to achieve themselves thanks to constant and patient commitment required, which allowed them to acquire extraordinary skills, especially, as already mentioned, in the decoration sector. There were many moments of socialization experienced outside working hours in the same spaces of the factory, spaces which, on special occasions, were decorated by the workers themselves to provide a pleasant background for playful moments also open to the participation of family members. The aggregation was also favored by a village reality, at the time still contained within the limits of a community and by the same size of the factory; not so big as to contribute to the dispersion of interpersonal relationships, nor small enough to restrict them to a family level. A reality that has determined a particular way of conceiving the work experience and has significantly affected the aggregation process. In the fifties this is the physiognomy that characterizes Ceramiche Pucci and which, towards the end of the decade, begins to take on different connotations, strictly dependent on changes in taste and relations with an increasingly competitive market where new materials are imposed that allow obtain innovative products, with a satisfying aesthetic appearance, functional, resistant and less expensive. In 1958 the Pucci ceramics are transformed into Pucci majolica and new modernization needs asked to be satisfied: the taste is oriented towards different shapes and decorations that are realized in a production of profound break compared to that of the past. In this period the company is enriched by the precious contribution of Orfei, thanks to which the shape and the decoration evolve towards a greater geometricism and stylization which - although an artistic expression of value - distance the new production from those elements that characterize the Ceramiche Pucci in their truest expression. This is a moment of different experiments also on the type of product, which is enriched by the coatings sector (floor and wall tiles), in which the taste of free and loose hand brushstrokes is revived. The production of Pucci Majolica ceases in 1962 A choice was then required: to lower the level of manufacturing by moving towards a more commercial and less refined product or to raise the level towards an even more niche production that is less and less serial and essentially aimed at the collector's item. Neither line was found to be prosecutable. The first would have denied the history of Ceramiche Pucci, which had made quality products its flag, and found even more fierce competition; the second would have to find in subsequent generations a vital spirit, which it did not find: different choices had already been made. The decision made, even if it was painful. if it has not completely satisfied, it has at least complied with all the needs, especially in light of the fact that in the early sixties the economic boom was also reflected in Umbertide in a growth in production activities both within the same sector and in other quality manufacturers . What remains today is, however. the significant expression of an artistic path that has left an indelible mark on each of its specimens. Sources: - "Le Ceramiche Pucci" - Ed. Skira, 2006 - Catalog of the exhibition at the Rocca from 10 June to 22 October 2006 The photos were taken from the catalog (excluded those of the carnival ball that they are from the historical photographic archive of Corradi and those of the exhibition at the Rocca and of the pages of Umbertide Chronicles that are by Fabio Mariotti) Ceramiche Pucci - La storia

Filippo Bottaccioli and the "great war" Curated by Francesco Deplanu and Isotta Bottaccioli Filippo Da Bologna a Doberdò La ferita e l'ospedale La Prigionia da Udine alla Polonia Dal Parisgeschutz alle bastonate Lamberto ed il padre ufficiale Lamberto e le lettere alla nonna Anna Filippo e la reazione all'ingiustizia Filippo racconta la Fame La stanza di Filippo Filippo Bottaccioli was born in 1895 into a very poor family, sharecroppers in San Benedetto. Last alive of 7 brothers and 3 others died shortly after birth. He went to France in 1914 in search of work but returned in 1915 for the call to arms. He was included in the Royal Army in the 15th Bersaglieri, 8th company. From there he wrote to his future wife Elvira Floridi. The postcards he sent from the front had a space to write a message, while those of the Habsburg Empire, multi-ethnic and multilingual, only had space for the name and surname with writings printed in more than 10 languages to greet loved ones. Elvira Floridi and some postcards sent by Filippo. Filippo wrote to Elvira in the space subjected to "military censorship", and then in agreement with her, words of love in the space under the stamp. Stamps that have all been detached. A form of communication to overcome the "moral censorship" of the time. In a rediscovered audio, recorded on an old cassette, Filippo, known as Pippo, told his story participation to the "great war" and his imprisonment. The audio was recorded in 1983 by Lamberto Beatini , Filippo's son-in-law having married his daughter, Isotta. In the recording, in addition to Isotta, also his consu-in-law Giannina, married to Orlando (Guido) Medici , one of Niccone's "stonecutters". Giannina used "you" to refer to Philip. During the first part of the conflict his health conditions made him unable to military activities for 13 months, he remained in the rear in Bologna due to the famous "flat feet", a feature that prevented him from being able to march quickly. With the continuation of the difficult conflict, however, he was judged completely skilled and sent to the trenches. It was the moment of the effort for the conquest of Gorizia, the sixth battle of the Isonzo. He was wounded in the foot in Doberdò on 08/16/1916. Da Bologna al ferimento a Doberdò 00:00 / 02:30 I remain little, therefore, in trench warfare; he was hospitalized and operated on with a 45-day convalescence. The story then becomes confused, subsequently he was captured near Udine and we are convinced that it was in the period of the defeat of Caporetto, in fact in the recording we hear "that arrived revolution ”which certainly alludes to the defeat and the chaos that followed, subsequently defines it as a“ great encirclement ”. Dalla ferita all'ospedale 45 giorni 00:00 / 02:55 This was followed by imprisonment in Austria, Poland, Germany, between France and Belgium at the time of the "Spanish", then between March / August 1918, and then again in Poland with the worsening of the conflict for the central empires. Da Udine alla Polonia 00:00 / 01:49 What we do know is that he was employed at one point as a railway worker on the line from where he fired the great German cannon at Paris. In fact, the prisoners were taken to concentration and labor camps both in the areas of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in the areas of the front in the hands of the central empires, such as between northern France and Belgium as happened to Philip. This is due to the forced labor of prisoners functional to war strategies. In the case of Bottaccioli he was taken to the north of France or south of Belgium to work on the railway that allowed the cannonade of Paris: the “Parisgeschütz” . From Wikipedia in French a representation of the effectiveness of Parisgeschütz. The Kaiser Wilhelm Geschütz, or the Kaiser Wilhelm cannon was a weapon that was used for mainly psychological purposes, to hit the enemy's capital. It fired from a great distance, at night, from the St. Gobain forest area. Dal cannone alle bastonate 00:00 / 02:19 Lamberto tried to help the story of Philip, who was suffering and was 89 years old, but also fits in with his memories. He told some facts about his father, Antonio Beatini, always involved in the "great war": war and personal stories. The hunger he suffered only once, when as sergeant major he captured 12 "Austrian" prisoners and gave them the Italian lunch to feed them; but also a memory that became familiar: his father, in fact, was writing correspondence for a friend of the same department, whose name we do not know, who could not write. Lamberto racconta la "fame" del padre An 00:00 / 00:30 He was in love with Anna Gregori and Antonio wrote letters to this girl for him. They were hit by an avalanche and the other died. Back after the war Antonio Beatini married in second marriage, Anna Gregori ... the mother of Lamberto; there his first wife, in fact, had died away from him during the conflict. Anna Gregori Lamberto racconta della nonna Anna 00:00 / 00:42 Returning to Philip of the imprisonment he told the hunger, which we will talk about below, and the severity of the jailers, the better the "Bulgarians" the worse the "Germans" even if for one of them who hit him with sticks, and Philip reacted by hitting him with a mess tin, reports in dialect an illuminating phrase "he was more nervous than cativo". La prigionia, la reazione... la tazza di 00:00 / 02:43 They weren't the extermination camps that will be seen 30 years later, here people were actually dying of hunger and disease. It is thought that of the 600,000 Italian prisoners, 1 out of 6 died in that period in various concentration camps and while traveling. The difficulties of a conflict that became "total war" and economic not only changed the battlefield and gave birth to the "trenches" but subjects the economies of the countries involved to an exceptional effort. Germany and the Austrian Empire did not even manage to feed their own population in the continuation of the war. For prisoners, hunger is therefore a daily reality. Thus the Central Empires will ask the Countries of the Entente to contribute to the survival of their military with military aid. France and England will accept while the Kingdom of Italy will refuse. In fact, for Cadorna those who had already been captured were guilty of having been not very combative, and also, then, to avoid that the rumors of a "good" treatment of the enemy could influence those who were still fighting. A hundred thousand died ... A story of cowardice was also propagated which gave rise to a hostility towards these "cowards". The "hunger" was recurrent in the memories that Filippo even after a long time: elaborazione audio nonno pippo fame 00:00 / 00:20 His daughter Isotta wrote other memories on paper: “ And you told of your imprisonment, when hunger was daily bread. One day, a prisoner in Germany, when your stomach was being torn apart by excruciating bites, you set out in search of something to eat. You happened upon a compost heap and saw potato skins among the garbage. Regardless of the smell and the place, you collected them, washed them and after a quick boiling in a rusty jar, you devoured them and the hunger subsided for a while ". And again “You told us again, and always with great emotion, that freed from captivity, with one of your companions, you came across a tub full of barley. You had a backward hunger and you considered this a blessing. With your head bowed, you began to eat handfuls, filling your long-empty stomach. At some point your common sense told you to stop, because you knew that the cereal, softened by the gastric juices, would increase its volume and the stomach would suffer. You also advised his friend to stop but the poor man did not have the strength and during the night his stomach "cracked" and he died in excruciating pain ". Eventually he returned home albeit with frozen feet. Philip, known as "Pippo" was a simple man, but rational and intolerant of injustices. In 1966, by now in his seventies, he briefly wrote down his life in a diary that his daughter Isotta wrote down; here is a passage: “ Having some free time, I am going to tell you about my life. You will pity my ignorance because my school stopped in the first grade and a few months from the second evening. I was born in 1895 in S. Martino, near San Benedetto. I try to describe my home where I was born. A kitchen all black with soot. A large fire, a chamber. A grain-free barn. The Furniture: a small table, a very thick wooden table. No chairs at all, but two long oak benches instead of chairs. The room: two trestles with relative tables on which there were the mattresses. On the ground a tablet with a trap to kill ... what can you imagine. We had straw mattresses. A good thing was the wool coltrone. In the mattresses besides the straw there were also the maize leaves. In the kitchen, pots, pans, a few plates and glasses, forks and spoons. There were two large caissons. One box belonged to my mother who is still here in the house, the other has been destroyed. There were two looms for making the canvas. Some shoemaker and carpenter tools. I could write a lot, but it would take a writer and I know so little about it . ". Pippo Bottaccioli outside his house at the "Fontanelle". Photo of Niccone from the 60s where he lived for a long time. Poverty and the inability to study were his concern, the importance of culture was a requirement that became a value and pushed all his children to graduate and many of his grandchildren to graduate. A pride for him. From being the son of a sharecropper in San Benedetto, after the Great War he became a barber in Niccone. The twenty years and the second world war arrived that saw him anti-fascist and communist. He opened a wool shop right in the historic center of Umbertide. He died on June 14, 1985. Pippo Bottaccioli came back, he was lucky ... but many boys did not come out alive from the collective experience that was the "great war". For years, the historian of Città di Castello Alvaro Tacchini has reconstructed the human losses that our area of the Upper Tiber Valley suffered on his personal website www.storiatifernate.it . He also took care of taking a census of the 268 fallen of Umbertide. Thus he writes: " The list of names of the 268 fallen of Umbertide. Of them, 63 died of disease, 17 in captivity, 20 are missing ". We highly recommend that you read it. Inside the page you can see the day of death, the reason and the place of burial of each individual deceased. At the end of the page you can download an attachment with the same data but with some images of documents related to Pupils Ernesto Tullini, Domenico Caldari, Ciocchetti Olinto and Spinalbelli Achille. http://www.storiatifernate.it/pubblicazioni.php?&cat=48&subcat=104&group=234&id=374 Alternatively, you can search individually or by municipality from the site https://www.cadutigrandeguerra.it on the page https://www.cadutigrandeguerra.it/CercaNome.aspx. To find all the members of the Municipality it is enough indicate in the box "Comune in Albo", for example, the term ... Umbertide . https://www.cadutigrandeguerra.it/CercaNome.aspx The young Umbrians who died in the "great war" were, however, really many more, about 11,000. To be exact 10,934, of these almost a thousand died in captivity, exactly 964 people. At this link you can have news on the complete list of the Umbrian dead in the war: http://www.gualdograndeguerra.com/images/stories/pdf/prigionieri-umbri.pdf Image of Italian prisoners in Germany during the second world war. Notice the jailer's staff. Image from: https://www.raicultura.it/storia/articoli/2019/01/Lodissea-dei-prigionieri-094ea220-5eba-4b49-af34-3a64c831649d.html (photo 8) Sources: - Oral and written sources Isotta Bottaccioli - Audio cassette from 1983, Isotta Bottaccioli / Beatini archive - https://www.raicultura.it/storia/articoli/2019/01/Lodissea-dei-prigionieri-094ea220-5eba-4b49-af34-3a64c831649d.html - https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parisgesch%C3%BCtz - http://www.storiatifernate.it/allegati_prod/02-caduti-umbertide.pdf -http: //www.gualdograndeguerra.com/images/stories/pdf/prigionieri-umbri.pdf - https://www.lagrandeguerra.net/Presentazioni/Isonzo/isonzob.html - http://www.esercito.difesa.it/storia/pagine/f6-offensiva-isonzo.aspx - http://www.deportati.it/static/pdf/TR/2001/marzo/14-01%20marzo.pdf Photos and postcards: Isotta Bottaccioli / Beatini Archive Help us remember umbertidestoria@gmail.com Da Bologna a Doberdò La ferita e l'ospedale Filippo La Prigionia da Udine alla Polonia Dal Parisgeschutz alle bastonate Lamberto ed il padre ufficiale Lamberto e le lettere alla nonna Anna Filippo e la reazione all'ingiustizia Filippo racconta la Fame La stanza di Filippo

Il massacro di Penetola 28 GIUGNO 1944 LE VITTIME / THE VICTIMS Avorio Antonio, anni 11; Avorio Carlo, anni 8; Avorio Renato, anni 14; Forni Canzio, anni 58; Forni Ezio, anni 21; Forni Edoardo, anni 16; Luchetti Guido, anni 18; Nencioni Conforto, anni 36; Nencioni Eufemia, anni 44; Nencioni Ferruccio, anni 36; Nencioni Renzini Erminia, anni 68. Il massacro di Penetola - voce di Paola Avorio 00:00 / 02:02 The massacre of Penetola - voice by Paola Avorio 00:00 / 02:24 28 GIUGNO 1944 Nella notte tra il 27 e il 28 giugno 1944, nel casolare denominato Penetola di Niccone, i cui ruderi potete scorgere davanti a voi, dodici persone sono state barbaramente uccise dai soldati appartenenti al 305° battaglione genieri dell’esercito tedesco, di stanza poco lontano da qui, in località La Mita, nota anche come La Dogana. Il casolare di Penetola era abitato dalle famiglie Avorio e Luchetti che nel giugno del 1944 ospitarono le famiglie Forni e Nencioni, sfollate dalle proprie case dell’abitato di Niccone, interamente occupato dalle truppe tedesche. Il comando tedesco era invece stanziato a Montalto, il castello che si trova in alto sulla collina di fronte a voi. Da li, il 26 giugno gli ufficiali tedeschi scesero a La Mita a dare ai propri soldati indicazioni su come raggiungere Penetola e il 28 giugno, dopo mezzanotte, 18 militari tedeschi armati bussarono alla porta del casolare e svegliarono tutti. Gli sfollati che dormivano nell’annesso, vennero derubati dei propri averi e.condotti dentro la casa con gli altri. Tutti vennero rinchiusi nella stanza rivolta verso il bosco. Gli animali furono fatti uscire dalle stalle. I soldati presero il fieno del pagliaio e il legname trovato sul posto, li accatastarono alle pareti della stanza dove erano state rinchiuse le 24 persone e alle mura della casa e, utilizzando della benzina, appiccarono un fuoco devastante. Solo dodici delle ventiquattro persone rinchiuse nel casolare sono sopravvissute: 11 superstiti appartengono alle famiglie dei mezzadri Avorio e Luchetti, nessun superstite tra le due famiglie degli sfollati Nencioni e Forni tranne la piccola Giovanna di 6 anni. 28 June 1944 On the night between 27 and 28 June 1944, in the farmhouse called Penetola di Niccone, whose ruins you can see before you, twelve people were killed by soldiers belonging to the 305th engineer battalion of the German army, stationed not far away from here, in La Mita, also known as La Dogana. The Penetola farmhouse was inhabited by the Avorio and Luchetti families who in June 1944 hosted the Forni and Nencioni families, displaced from their homes in the town of Niccone, entirely occupied by German troops. The German command was instead stationed in Montalto, the castle located high up on the hill in front of you. From there, on 26th June the German officers went down to La Mita to give their soldiers directions on how to reach Penetola and on 28th June, after midnight, 18 armed German soldiers knocked on the door of the farmhouse and woke everyone up. They robbed the evacuees who slept in the annex of their belongings and took them into the house with the others. Everyone was locked in the room facing the woods. The cattle was let out of the stables. The soldiers took the hay from the haystack and the wood found on the spot, piled them on the walls of the room where the 24 people had been locked up and on the walls of the house and, using petrol, set a devastating fire. Only twelve of the twenty-four people locked up in the farmhouse survived: 11 survivors belong to the families of the sharecroppers Avorio and Luchetti, no survivors from the two families of the Nencioni and Forni except little 6-year-old Giovanna. Testo tratto da: Paola Avorio, "Tre noci ," Petruzzi Editore, 2011 Immagine di sfondo: disegno di Antonio Renzini "Penetola" Un progetto a cura di Mario Tosti, Unitre di Umbertide, il Centro Culturale San Francesco, Umbertidestoria, con il Patrocinio del Comune di Umbertide; con la collaborazione di Pietro Taverniti, Massimo Pascolini, Sergio Bargelli, Corrado Baldoni, Francesco Deplanu, Sergio Magrini Alunno, Antonio Renzini, Luca Silvioni, Romano Vibi. Help us remember umbertidestoria@gmail.com EH Carr "Change is certain. Progress is not "

1915 - ELECTRICITY ARRIVES IN UMBERTIDE From candle to light bulb by Amedeo Massetti and Mario Tosti By the light of a flame In the nineteenth century, going around at night in Fratta was not at all easy, especially when there was no moon. Our ancestors took care to establish the rules in the Statute of Fratta. "We establish and order that no person should go to the castle at night from after the third sign of the bell rang by the town crier, to one hour after sunset for the time in which a miserere is recited, under penalty of 10 soldi per each person and each time. Those who bring lights or embers lit in the vicinity of the house or shop are excluded from the penalty; or doctors or others who brought medicines for the sick or who went to look for the midwife; or even the bakers or whoever brought or brought back the bread from the oven; or for other legitimate causes approved by the podestà. Anyone found by the podestà or by the secret guards with the light or the ember that has gone out against their will, by the wind or other accident, is also excluded from the penalty, provided they are under oath. " Since it was not very convenient for everyone to take their torch for a walk, after a few centuries it was agreed to install fixed night lamps in the most popular places in the historic center of Fratta. Only four or five oil lamps illuminated the darkness of the alleys in the early nineteenth century, as scrupulous and attentive guardians who watched the intimacy of the family and covered the profiles of the houses with soft and suffused light. But they too quickly went out and the faint lights of the few icons, embedded in the walls, which the piety of the faithful lit up every now and then, remained on. In the year 1845, the Frattisan nights were lit by only seven oil lamps. One of them, that of the Piazza dell'Orologio, was larger than the others, with a "more modern" crystal tube; it made more light and consumed more oil. According to the lighting man, it required more work than all the others put together ... The halo of faint light cast by the flames should have created a serene and romantic atmosphere. The maintenance work was less romantic, since the Contractor had to "prepare the street lamps, turn them on and dim them by climbing them by means of a ladder which, being contrary to sound police laws, was a burden to the Contractor himself ... All for 62 scudi a year. " At the end of the century there were 28 street lamps, but the town had also grown and the brightness remained very dim. They remained lit all night only on days of celebration or danger; at the first light of dawn, the man in charge of the street lamps made the rounds to turn them off in order to save the oil, which was at his expense. The arrival of electricity With Perugia, Sansepolcro and Città di Castello rejoicing in the light of the bulbs for some years, Umbertide could not afford to remain in the dark. We began to talk about this need in 1912: the soul of the initiative was Francesco Andreani , a lawyer of great value, elected mayor of Umbertide after the elections of 30 January 1910, which determined an epochal turning point in the Municipality. A preliminary study had been made, probably inspired by the 39 oil lamps currently in existence: perhaps due to the concern about the costs of the new light source, an attempt was made not to take a step longer than the leg, assuming the installation of 35 lamps. . Walking along the way, the appetite increased: the originally planned lamps increased to triple, as shown by the session of the City Council of 24 July 1912, which represented the first formal act towards the goal of electric lighting. Therefore the entire fee charged to the Municipality swelled to £ 4,000, considered by the administrators to be not too burdensome, compared to the great benefits for the country. After three years of ups and downs, on 21 December 1915, with the First World War in progress, the Società Anonima Elettricità Umbra brought electricity to Umbertide. The price of electricity for private individuals was that charged in the city of Perugia by the Concessionaire itself: 60 cents per kWh, when the average hourly earnings of a worker was 25 cents. In the end, 104 light points were called to illuminate the nights of our grandparents and great-grandparents. If, at first, the new form of energy was greeted with amazement and excitement, the shortcomings of the revolutionary service soon cooled the enthusiasm, which turned everywhere into lively protests from the public and the irony of the press. Even the people of Umbria unleashed strong complaints, so that on 9 August 1916 the mayor was forced to take a pen and paper to beat his fists on the manager's table, with almost poetic tones: "It has been noted, and the public expresses complaints, that some time the switching on of the public lighting is carried out in the evening when darkness is advanced and it is switched off before the light of dawn is manifested. Although the expression of the contract regarding the switch-on and switch-off times is a bit vague, please, however, SV Ill. to arrange that this expression is not interpreted in a strictly unilateral way by the employees of the Company but with a criterion of fair breadth. Trusting, thank you and respect. ". The Company, after a week, replied hastily that the hours were the same for all the other municipalities, including that of Perugia, and that no one had complained. However, he left a crack open, proposing a meeting with the Director. And the Mayor had to take the bait, to no avail. Electricity in every home In 1931 the Società Anonima Elettricità Umbra was absorbed by UNES, which took over the service in Umbertide, with the cabin operator Armando Settembre, helped by Romeo Guasticchi and Mariano Manuali. With the growing possibilities offered by electricity, the City developed the capabilities to build and operate new plants. In this task the engineer Egino Villarini played a fundamental role. In fact, for having been part, as secretary, of the National Liberation Committee, he was well known and appreciated in the Municipality; therefore it was natural that in the first years of the postwar period his collaboration was requested and obtained. The opportunity arose when the then manager of the maintenance sector, Mario Tacconi, asked him to examine some estimates for the modernization of the public lighting systems in Via Roma and Via Garibaldi. It was immediately evident how exaggerated the prices were; therefore it would have been much more advantageous to carry out the work economically, with the means and staff of the institution, avoiding tenders. Since then a collaboration relationship was born that would last until the end of the century and beyond. The engineer, having made the calculations, took care of the procurement of materials, obtaining favorable prices thanks to the contacts he already had with suppliers. But to make the connections, a collaborator was needed to take care of the manual work. The choice fell on Giuseppe Tarragoni, a former tailor, then employed in the Municipality of Umbertide as a roadster. From that moment the couple became inseparable. Arranged via Roma and via Garibaldi, via Cibo, via Soli, piazza Marconi, part of the historic center and more were also modernized. Giuseppe learned quickly and well, coming to be hired as an electrician. Electricity accelerated the transition from the old to the new: the symbol of the transition can be well represented by the electric pumps that the engineer Villarini mounted on the treks of a landowner, together with the wooden cabins for the electrical panels, so as to be able to make the shuttles from one point of the Tiber to the other to irrigate the fields. The collaboration of engineer Villarini with the Municipality, which lasted more than thirty years, ended with the lifting of the waters in Monte Acuto. Reached the maximum peak, the time has come for a well-deserved rest. CAINO, the ferryman from oil lamps to electric lights Giuseppe Bettoni, known as Caino , was a knife grinder. To round off he had accepted the task of the Municipality to turn the street lamps on and off. In order to carry out his function, early in the morning Cain wandered through the streets and, either because of that mocking spirit that animated him, or because he did not feel completely alone, he loved to call his acquaintances who lived in the streets where he passed. So he shouted: "Gigia! Stay in bed that nengue!" or "People, alzative 'ché there' l sole" , even if it was not true. In short, he was a precursor of the meteorological service, but with surprise. With the arrival of electricity, the role of dispenser of light by means of a lever, allowed him to gain undying notoriety in the village. In fact, when the light went out, at the same time everyone's thoughts went to him, the only one able to do the miracle: fiat lux! A few minutes of darkness were enough for the common plea to be intoned inside every house: "Cain, the light will burn!" . And if the time was prolonged, the comments spread from window to window: “What is Cain doing tonight! He is sleeping?" , "It is up to you to see, that if he plays with Martina (his wife)!" . The frequent miracle of the defeated darkness, thanks to his intervention on the main switch placed on the external wall of the Town Hall in Via Grilli, had made him deserve a popular refrain that imagined him wandering among the stars of the firmament competing with his street lamps to lighten the night: “I see the moon / I see the stars / I see Cain / making pancakes” . 'THE CUCCO Raffaele Bracalenti, known only as ' l Cucco , was built between the forge and the anvil in the dark cave of the municipal workshop in Via Soli. Particularly devoted to autarchy, perhaps due to unconscious plagiarism suffered during the dictatorship, he had even built, refusing to buy it in the shop, an umbrella with a metal hat shaped like a hammer and fixed at the top to a water pipe from three quarters of an inch. And woe to anyone who thought it uncomfortable! But what does a blacksmith have to do with electricity? The truth is that Cucco had a particular passion for light bulbs, especially for burned out ones, which he considered a precious brass mine, at zero kilometers. To exploit it, he had set up a rigorous procedure, based on a brass pact with the maintenance worker: do not throw away the broken bulbs, but return them to the workshop, an essential condition for having as many new ones in exchange. It is not known what happened to the glass; but inevitably each butt of the old lamps ended up in a basket which, having reached the optimal batch for casting, was emptied into the crucible above the forge. The molten mass was poured into a plaster mold in order to cool in the form of a tube, from which Raffaele, after a day's work, produced a tap for the water of the public fountains. Two birds with one stone: cremator of light bulbs and manufacturer of taps! ZUMBOLA The collection of bills could not fail to be entrusted to Gino Sonaglia, known as Zumbola , who had all the ideal requirements. In fact, with his resume as a collector of rabbit and lamb skins, he knew all the heads of families in the suburbs and in the countryside; with the people of the capital, being a friend of everyone, he knew their stories and residences; moreover, there was no dance party missing, a precious opportunity to get to know the youth. In 1953, UNES jumped at his candidacy as the ideal public relation. To the knowledge of the clientele and the ability to take it by the side of the hair, he added the natural gift of a smiling gaze, reinforced by an intriguing mustache: avant-garde of a jovial and expansive character that captured friendship. Zumbola was the best way to lightly face the thankless task of asking for money for something you don't eat, like light, even from those who didn't have a penny. Gino returned the trust with the utmost commitment. The collection procedure began in the family, where his wife Elvira and their children Luciana and Zumbolino jr fanned the bills on the kitchen table, to group them in order of street, hamlet, country words. With the bag on his shoulder, Gino tackled the tour, every month for companies, every two for families. To take the debtors with caution, preparing them for bloodletting, he did not ring the bell or the knocker of the door, but announced himself from a distance with his powerful voice, interspersed with whistles that broke the eardrums, singing their name with cheerful metrics. From the "Calendar of Umbertide 2015" Ed. Municipality of Umbertide - 2015 Concept and editorial project: Adriano Bottaccioli ; Texts: Adriano Bottaccioli , Mario Tosti , Amedeo Massetti , Fabio Mariotti. The texts on this page are excerpts from the book: "From the candle to the light bulb" by Amedeo Massetti and Mario Tosti, Local Publishing Group - Digital Editor srl - Umbertide (Pg), also containing ideas taken from the book "Umbertide in the nineteenth century" by Renato Codovini and Roberto Sciurpa - Gesp Editrice, Città di Castello, 2001.

THE HISTORY OF THE RIUNITI THEATER curated by Fabio Mariotti From the book "Project Recovery and Restoration of the Teatro dei Riuniti di Umbertide" The history of the Teatro dei Riuniti di Umbertide is linked not only to the theater as a building, but also to a literary and theatrical academy that existed in the city since the 16th century. For this reason we will report here parallel news regarding both topics. It must be said immediately that all the documentation produced by the Academy, to which certain "Books of academic acts" certainly belonged, has been lost; most of the news we have comes from the Municipal Archives of Umbertide, from an unpublished typescript by Renato Codovini on the history of Umbertide and from the memories of some citizens. Among the papers in the Municipal Archive there is a manuscript by a certain Filippo Natali (born in Umbertide in 1837, he was municipal secretary in Gualdo Todino where he died in 1922 (1), entitled: "News on the theater of Fratta (Umbertide) and on 'annexed academy of the Riuniti' and dated November 1883 which passes on valuable information to us. From it we know of an "investigation dated 7 March 1615 by deed of the Frattense notary Benedetto Santi" concerning our Academy (2). This is the oldest document we have (apart from an act of constitution, but not the first, of the Academy, dated 1614). The deed was drawn up in the presence of eight members of the "Congregation of the Unstable" (3) and of three people who asked to be part of it, to whom permission was granted "having done on their persons and virtues the colloquio et addunanza according to the style of the said Congregation ". At this date the Academy of the Inestables - as it was called until 1746 - already had its own statute and the prospect of "augmenting the said Congregation, so that with the people who are in it, and will enter it for the future, can make progress in virtuous acts as is appropriate ... ". At that time the Academies represented a very free place of exchange, and also rare in a culturally impoverished society. Unofficial poetic productions flourished in them such as satire, dithyrambic and didactic poetry and more generally the Theater; but they were also deputed to the education of the nobility who exercised their qualities here to govern. They had a strong local character which was rarely surpassed and in the long run the quantity of their products came at the expense of quality. Gradually the stage actions became the main purpose of the academic meetings so that the need arose to have a place to gather suitable for performances. We then moved from simple rooms to small theaters that were first used only by the members of the Academy, thus reflecting all their needs, then they became public places and the Academies themselves in most cases were the "managers". In Umbertide we know that, before the current theater rebuilt in 1808 in the place where it was the ancient one, the seat of the Academy was a room located on the first floor of a building owned by the Municipality, which was accessed by an external stone staircase. In the same building there were the Commissioner's house - of which the room itself was part -, the Archive on the ground floor, the public chancellery and the prison. Unfortunately we have no news on the activity of the Academy until 1746, but we can assume that it had been decreasing to resume only shortly before this date. In fact, again from Natali, which reports a note found at the beginning of the "First Book of Academic Acts", we learn "how they wanted to rebuild the association in 1746, asking not only the use but also the ownership of the theater from the Municipality , ... ". It was also decided to draw up the statute of the Academy (4) "establishing that the Academy should aim at honest and useful entertainment through acting, which consisted of a determined number of people chosen from the civil class who had to pay an annual fee "; arrangements were made for an "Academic Prince", a Depositary and a Secretary in charge of drafting the academic documents to be elected annually. Also on this date, the name of the Academy was finally changed from “Inestabili” to “Riuniti”, probably precisely to establish the desire for change. At that time the members of the Academy were eleven and among them were the most prominent characters of the town: Prospero and Annibale Mariotti (according to Lupattelli the latter was born in Umbertide and not in Perugia, Giulio Cesare Fracassini, the famous castrato Domenico Bruni who sang in the major theaters of Europe (5), Francesco Guardabassi, and some members of the most important families of Umbertide: Ranieri and Bourbon di Sorbello. The new academics Riuniti chose as their emblem the representation of a hand holding three gold cords tied together , and alongside the motto "Difficile solvitur." Regarding the theatrical activity, the Prince was required to stage one or more comedies during the carnival period with interludes of music and sometimes even dance, while in the other seasons the amateur dramatists of the 'Accademia performed in minor representations. From this period we have received the text of two "three-voice interludes": "The slave for love" and "Don Falc one ”,“ to be recited in the Fratta theater ”and published in 1772 (Figs. 1-2); most likely they were sung by the then fourteen year old Domenico Bruni. Finally, there is a sonnet by A. Mariotti from 1788, again for the theater of Fratta (6) (Fig. 3). A curious news also refers to this period we report from Natali: “By way of curiosity and to show how much religious spirit crept into the bosom of the young people who then did delighted in acting, we will notice how in 1754, on 1 February the Theater Academy, on the demand of amateur dramatics, grants them a free performance, in order to use the proceeds for to support the souls in Purgatory! Those were the times! How much unlike our incredulous young men! But to put a little of water on this boiling fervor, let the bigots know that the Academy in granting the permit, expressing itself as follows: “As long as do not pass in example such a protension! ". In 1748, for the first time, with a certain embarrassment of academics, once tour company of such "Giovanni Gazzola, histrion" asked to to be able to use the Teatro dei Riuniti. On the occasion they brought in scene the characters of Pulcinella, Balanzone and Brighella. From a list of performances held in the theater from 1759 to 1795 and reported by Natali (7), we mention two famous works: the drama of Metastasio "La clemenza di Tito" given in 1759 (the first takes place in 1741) and Voltaire's "Mohammed" given in 1787 (the first dates back to 1742). It was only in 1783 that the Municipality, having heard the opinion of the Sacra Consulta, granted "for perpetual use of the Accademia de 'Riuniti .... the house where its theater is, ... which house consists of a room which is the theater, and its stalls, and two adjoining rooms to said hall. "(8). From 1791 to 1798 Pius VI for security reasons forbade all events in which people could gather and therefore closed all the theaters of the Papal State. This of course was also the fate of Umbertide's theater. Moreover, as soon as it reopened, it was semi-destroyed on the occasion of a clash between the Pope's troops and a group of rioters from Arezzo who came to support the insurgents of the Tiberina valley, so that it remained closed for another four years, until 1802, when it suffered a first restoration. But at that time a much more important project for the construction of a real theater was already beginning to take shape. It should also be said that years followed in which the town planning of Fratta underwent many changes and innovations including the arrangement of the square, the clock tower, the bridge over the Royal Palace, etc. Also in 1802 the Academy decided to occupy the three rooms on the ground floor under the theater, and bought the timber for the rebuilding of the roof of the building. In 1805 it was decided to entrust Giovanni Cerrini (9) with the project for the construction of the new theater: this included three orders of 13 boxes each, the stalls, a large stage with adjoining dressing rooms and two rooms for the Academy (10 ). However, in order to reach the number of boxes and the measures established by Cerrini (11), it was necessary that the Municipality also granted a "scio" (passage) that ran between the walls and the building (12) in exchange for which the 'Accademia undertook to maintain the walls. To get an idea of the greatness of Fratta at that time, just think that in 1826 it had two parishes and 1300 inhabitants, while 8630 were the inhabitants of the whole territory of Umbertide in 1812 (unfortunately we only have these data, which in any case are indicative ). Between 1810 and 1812 the pictorial decorations were made by the Perugian Giovanni Monotti (13) and by Faina, the same that we see today brought to light and restored by the Guerri e Polidori firm. These are two bands of decoration along the second and third tier of boxes in which the heads of famous dramatic actors are depicted framed by laurel wreaths and interspersed with swans. The ceiling of the stalls was decorated with a painting, also by Faina, representing Talia, muse of comedy (14); today it no longer exists as the ceiling was first repainted and then completely redone. In 1810, Faina also painted the curtain with the story of “Alcide at the crossroads” which, according to those who remember him, was very beautiful. Unfortunately it has been lost in recent years. A letter preserved in the Municipal Archives (15) and written between 1822 and 1823 by the "heads of the families of artists" of Umbertide was addressed to the Apostolic Delegate of Perugia to intercede with the Academicians and the Municipality to finish the decoration of the theater and especially the scenarios, so as to finally make the theater accessible. From the tone of this letter it would seem that the Academicians delayed the completion of the works to not allow ordinary people to enter, however other documents testify that already since 1811 there were performances in the theater. According to Natali, who in this case entrusts himself to the memory of the elderly, the new theater was inaugurated in 1813 or 1814 with Mozart's Don Giovanni; if this were true - and it seems difficult to us - it must have been a truly exceptional performance, given that the same work was given for the first time in Italy in 1811 in Bergamo and Rome, then in 1812 in Naples and in 1814 in Milan (16) . But even before the inauguration the new theater had hosted the Mosso company which from mid-November 1811 to mid-January 1812 had represented 17 works in prose, including Voltaire and Goldoni (17). The staging of two works by a local historian and professor of rhetoric dates back to 1815: Don Antonio Guerrini (18): “The salt columns” and “ll Pizzarro”. In the same year Domenico Bruni held concerts in the churches of Umbertide. In 1823 the company directed by Luigi Salsilli arrived and staged 34 performances. In 1825 the impresario Gasparo Zannini applied to represent a show with ten dancers in the theater, and asked the Gonfaloniere for a hefty sum as compensation; but the latter, unable to grant it to him, offered him the income from the third-rate boxes and the coffee box office. The following year, however, the Gonfaloniere did not grant the theater to Filippo Troiani's "Compagnia d'opera in musica", composed of a prima donna and two buffi, citing the lack of interest of his fellow citizens for that kind of entertainment as a reason. In this century, in addition to evenings of prose and music, the theater was used for performances by comedians, acrobats and mimes, raffles were organized and dances were given. In 1857, after 45 years, they wanted to renew the pictorial decoration of the theater; the work was entrusted to a painter from Assisi, Augusto Malatesta. To evaluate the realization, we hear the opinion of Natali: "the theater as it was painted by Monotti and Faina, if it could not be said to be splendid, and well decorated, was moreover better than what we see today, reduced to such a poor state in 1857 , certainly self-styled painter Augusto Malatesta of Assisi who made up for the lack of talent with the recommendations of the friars and with the protection of the president of the time, and while I covered the vault of the stalls with a layer of lime, which also in the center contained a painting of some value, on which Talia, muse of comedy was painted, replaced some tracery worthy of appearing in a bedroom and four figures of an impossible anatomy, and of such daring and bizarre movements, as to make us wonder how they can also be painted up there 'plaster. It is true that the heavy swans, the grave crowns and the most grave medallions that framed the busts of great dramatic actors were removed from the bands of the boxes; but what was substituted for that painting I will not say beautiful but less baroque? A coat of white lead was given, which was called marble for derision, small wooden frames were stuck around the windowsills, badly, and a frieze was painted with a faded blue that clashes with the paintings (we will call them so) of the vault and with the heavy plinth featuring a marble, or rather colored cobblestone, neither described nor known by any geologist while above the pillars that separate the boxes he applied three leaves that look like as many butterflies of an unknown fauna. " In the photo of 1916 shown here (fig. 7) the decorations of Malatesta targeted by Natali are probably reproduced, while those we see today are the oldest ones by Monotti and Faina. In the nineteenth century he was director of the theater for 30 years, the distinguished Perugian historian Luigi Bonazzi, who was also an appreciated dramatic actor. If until 1867 the offer of music was small, between 1868 and 1881 several musical works were represented: in 1871 "La Traviata" by Giuseppe Verdi (18 years after the first Venetian), brought by one of the most famous entrepreneurs of the moment, Vincenzo Paoli of Florence, who undertook 12 performances, from 10 November to 10 December, with part of his orchestra and the entire company. In 1881 "La Sonnambula" by Vincenzo Bellini was on the bill. However, to stage these works, the theater always ended up going at a loss. For this reason, in 1886 there was a long discussion before deciding to raise the annual quota of the Academicians to 200 lire. A curious news is transmitted to us by the resolutions of the council of 1869. In fact, it was decided to illuminate the theater "with stearic wax" only for the evening of 6 June, "on the occasion of the statute party", the date on which great celebrations were organized in Thicket; on the other hand, the theater was generally gas-lit. From 1887 to 1890 the theater was closed to carry out works deemed necessary following the provisions on safety in theaters. In 1897 a new regulation came out and the commission in charge of inspecting Umbertide's theater established that it could hold a maximum of 450 people: 200 in the stalls, 200 in the boxes, 50 on the stage. He ordered the opening of two more doors to the outside and a fire extinguishing system with water outlets. The non-compliance of the theater with the new regulations, however, did not prevent the continuation of the activity until 1906, when it was again closed due to an injunction by the Public Security office. In 1910, 271 citizens signed a petition to urge the reopening of the theater, but we know that only in 1913 the restorations were completed. In the same year, a new statute of the Accademia dei Riuniti was drawn up in which it is reiterated that: "The headquarters of the Academy is in the same theater of the Riuniti, which it owns" (article 2), and that "The Society is made up of all the co-owners of the boxes ... "(article 5). In the years of Fascism, the theater was also called "only after-work cinema" because films were shown there, as well as the representation of operettas and plays by school pupils. But what most people remember are the parties and dances that took place there. This was how we arranged: we had the buffet come from a bar (in the theater there was not one until the sixties); for the lighting each carried one or two acetylene lamps which rested on the sills of the boxes; the audience was freed from the chairs and, to warm up, a demijohn was placed on the stage with a tap that allowed them to draw wine from the orchestra pit where at that point nothing was missing ... It was at this time that the internal structure of the theater was modified. In the years preceding the 1940s, this cinema destination was somehow made official in the new name of the Society and the Theater: “Teacine”. In the sixties, the Teacine, practically little more than accessible, was taken over by a company that restructured it as best as possible, enlarging the stage and reopening it to the public. Due to these changes, the acoustics of the hall worsened and the curtain of the Faina was lost. Despite the deterioration of the wall structure, however, the Accademia dei Riuniti has resumed its activity for 25 years and today is made up of a company of thirty amateurs, aged 15 to 60, which brings its varied repertoire to national reviews and participates in exchanges with other European nations. Not only that, but Umbertide has also become the site of an amateur theater festival, “Teatro in Umbria”, which after five years of life is now of international level. All this, at the conclusion of these pages of history, confirms the existence of a tradition and an interest in the theater that is alive and felt in the city which justify the restoration of the building and hope for an appropriate use of it. PHOTO GALLERY Note: 1) Filippo Natali, from Umberto I, attended the faculty of law in Perugia and enlisted in the retinue of Garibaldi. He wrote: an unpublished story of Umbertide, “Excursion around Lake Trasimeno”, “History of the Free State of Cospaia” and various things about Gualdo T. (dc: G. Briziarelli, 1959). The manuscript on the theater is found in the Municipal Archives of Umbertide, b.383, Various objects. 2) Umbertide Municipal Archive, Notarial Fund, protocol 482. 3) This kind of appellations were given to the Academies to underline their particular character ... 4) This statute underwent some changes in 1769 and again, under the influence of the new ideas propagated by the French Revolution, in 1808. 5) Domenico Bruni, 1758-1821. He was in Petersburg for three years at the court of Empress Catherine, then in Saxony, Poland, England and France. In 1797 he returned to Umbertide to take care of music schools. In his city he held public offices: Moire and Gonfaloniere. (from Don A. Guerrini, 1883). 6) These texts are kept at the Augusta Municipal Library in Perugia. 7) In 1759 "La clemenza di Tito"; in 1754 "The old disappointed" and "Demetrio"; in 1765 "Pulcinella power"; in 1768 "La letterata"; in 1769 "Sirce"; in 1770 "The punished miser"; in 1774 "Pulcinella fake gambler"; in 1776 "Pulcinella with the three wives" and "La finta malata"; in 1778 "The wife, despair of the husband and the guardian"; in 1783 "The Madonna ..."; in 1787 "La grotta delle mummie" and "Il Moometto" by Voltaire; in 1795 "The corsair in Marseille" and "The guilty woman". Almost all of these theatrical compositions were staged with interludes of music for four or more voices and often with dance. (see Natali manuscript). 8) Umbertide Municipal Archive, notary Vittorio Paolucci, prot. 862. 9) We know of Giovanni Cerrini that in Umbertide he also made the bridge over the Palace (designed in 1804 and finished in 1814), a project for a bell tower above the tower of the fortress and various other works. 10) Umbertide Municipal Archive, notary Tommaso Paolucci, prot. 923/4. 11) Cerrini had "compared them with the width of the boxes of the theater recently built in the land of Panicale". 12) In this regard, it should be remembered that the two buffered arches, but left in view by the current restoration, located under the stage on two walls that form a 90 degree angle, created a passage in the corner of the building that allowed the continuation of the " scito ”mentioned above (even the building adjacent to the theater, originally, did not reach up to the wall). 13) Giovanni Cerrini and Giovanni Monotti attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Perugia together and in 1791, as a drawing exam in the class of Prof. Baldassarre Orsini, they presented a project for a choir chapel in the Cathedral of Perugia with which they obtained the first prize. 14) The muse Talia is generally represented with a cartouche, a viola or other instrument and from the seventeenth century. even with a mask. 15) Umbertide Municipal Archive, b.28. 16) The following performances were: in Turin in 1815, in Florence and Bologna in 1817, in Parma in 1821, etc. 17) Here is the list of those works reported in Codovini's manuscript: November 14, 1811: The knight of honor, by Mr. Avelloni. 16 said: La Semiramide, by Mr. Voltaire, translated by Mr. Cesarotti. 17 said: The madman for love, unpublished. 17 said: Carlotta and Werter, by Mr. Sagrasti. 19 said: The Diogenes, by Mr. Chiari. 20 said: The Geneva of Scotland, tragedy of Mr. Miller, 21 said: Clementina and Dalmanzi, of Mr. Avelloni. 23 said: Justice reaches underground, an unprecedented drama. 24 said; The mirror of obstinacy, unprecedented. 25 said: The jealousies of Agapito and Silvestro, of Mr. Giraud. 26 said: The fraternal reconciliation, by Mr. Zozebue. 27 said: The Persian bride, by Mr. Goldoni. 28 said: repetition of "fraternal reconciliation". 30 said: Replica of Voltaire's “Semiramide”. December 1st: La Zaira, by Mr. Voltaire. 3 said: S. Francesco al campo di Corrodine, unpublished. 4 said: (illegible), by Mr. D'Armand. 8 said: The banquet of Baldassarre, by Mr. Dirghieri. 10 said: The conversion of St. Margaret of Cortona, unpublished. 11 said: replica of the aforementioned. 18) Don A. Guerrini (1780-1845) was a distinguished scholar, professor of rhetoric in Umbertide, he wrote "History of the land of Fratta" published, unfinished, after his death, in 1883. (See the biography that makes it Antonio Mezzanotte as an introduction to the aforementioned book). From the book "Project Recovery and Restoration of the Teatro dei Riuniti di Umbertide" - Publishing theme, 1990 - The history of the Teatro dei Riuniti, edited by Flavia di Serego Alighieri BIBLIOGRAPHY - Don A. Guerrini, History of the land of Fratta from its origin to the year 1845, Città di Castello, tip. Tiberina, 1883. - G. Brizziarelli, Umbertide and umbertidesi in history, Città di Castello, 1959. R. Sabatini, Umbrian theaters, Perugia, 1981. - B. Porrozzi, Umbertide and its territory, Città di Castello, sd. Theaters, entertainment venues and academies in Montepulciano and Valdichiana, Exhibition catalog, Montepulciano, 1984. SOURCES - Municipal Archive of Umbertide - Renato Codovini, History of Umbertide - sec. XIX, unpublished typescript. LA DOCUMENTAZIONE RELATIVA ALL’ACQUISTO DEI LOCALI DEL TEATRO DA PARTE DELL’ACCADEMIA DEI SIGNORI RIUNITI Si tratta di documenti che abbracciano il periodo che va dal 1783 al 1788 e sono interessanti, oltre che per l’oggetto in discussione, anche per conoscere la lingua italiana che si usava allora per le trascrizioni notarili. Si può pure notare che, a livello ecclesiastico, veniva usato ancora il latino. Riunione del 24 gennaio 1783 In nomine Dei amen. Anno Domini millesimo septingentesimo octuagesimo tertio [1783] die vero vigesimo quarto januarii [24 gennaio]... Personalmente costituiti avanti di me notaio i testimoni infrascritti gli Ill.mi signori Domenico Gioacchino del fu signor Mariano Savelli al presente Governatore di Otricoli per la Sagra Consulta, il sig. dott. Bonaventura del fu dott. Giambattista Spinetti, il signor dott. Giuseppe del fu signor Giantommaso capitano Paolucci, il dott. Giuseppe figlio del signor dott. Benedetto Bertanzi, il tenente Filippo del fu sig. Ruggero Burelli, il sig. Giambattista del fu sig. dott. Fabrizio Mazzaforti per il signor Paolo suo fratello, il signor Giambattista del fu signor Ludovico Criacci, e i signori Domenico del quondam [fu] signor Sante Cerboncelli e il signor Stefano del quondam signor Carlo Vibi per il signor dott. Lorenzo suo fratello, individui dell'Accademia dei Riuniti di questa Terra della Fratta da me tutti cogniti, i quali a fine di avere da questa Comunità l'uso perpetuo della sala ove sta il teatro e le stanze annesse per esercitare la gioventù in decorose rappresentazioni ed onesti divertimenti e così mantenere sempre più l'unione di tutto il paese specialmente ed in ogni modo migliore, tutti li suddetti signori ed il suddetto Giuseppe Bertanzi colla rinunzia al beneficio della patria potestà e alla L. I.2... Tit... Cod... quod cum eo, ed a tute le altre leggi, statuti e privilegi a favore dei figli di famiglia disponenti mediante il suo giuramento toccate le scritture delle quali specialmente ed in ogni [è una formula di giuramento], promettono, convengono si obbligano di pagare e sborsare la somma e quantità di uno scudo per cadauno all'anno per lo spazio di anni sei da oggi prossimi, e come siegue fenire entro il mese di gennaio incominciando dal mese presente perfinché saranno compiti li predetti anni sei ed in caso di ritardato pagamento, a contumacia li medesimi signori Accademici acconsentono di essere convenuti giuridicamente dal corpo delli Accademici colla spedizione del mandato esecutivo con la semplice intimazione avanti qualunque giudice, con questo patto però, che detto annuo pagamento non debba convertirsi in altr'uso, se non che nel formare un capitale fruttifero stabile e siguro, il di cui annuo fruttato debba impiegarsi in mantenimento e rifacimento della casa ov'è il teatro, stanze, e ditta, scale ed altro che occorrerà e ciò in vigore degli ordini della Sagra Congregazione del Buon Governo, ad effetto di ottenere la cessione, che si farà dalla Comunità a questa nostra Accademia dell'uso perpetuo di detta fabbrica per l'effetto suddetto. E promettono li detti signori Accademici di fare un tal annuo pagamento per questo primo anno in mani del signor Stefano Vibi esattore eletto dalla Congregazione oggi venuta di detta Accademia, dal quale dovrà poi consegnarsi la somma esatta in mano del signor Domenico Cerboncelli Depositario della suddetta Accademia ad effetto di farne il rinvestimento annuo accenato, e negli anni susseguenti in mano dell'altro esattore che verrà eletto, e così di anno in anno col peso sempre di farli pervenire in mano di detto signor Cerboncelli, il quale radunato che avrà una somma sufficiente dovrà avere il peso di rinvestirla coll'intelligenza sempre però della suddetta Accademia in uno o più investimenti siguri secondo le somme che esigerà di mano in mano, a secondo le occasioni che si presenteranno sigure e fruttifere, ed il fruttato di questi rinvestimenti debba esigersi ogn'anno dal detto signor Cerboncelli Depositario, detto sopra eletto, senza che gli altri signori Accademici o Principe pro tempore abbia avere il pensiero di fare simili riscossioni e questi frutti debbono impiegarsi in risarcimento delle case come sopra da cedersi all'Accademia, né convertirsi in altr'uso senza licenza della medesima, ed in caso in qualch'anno non abbisognassero tali risarcimenti per il mantenimento della casa suddetta, si debbano riservare per altre occasioni di detti risarcimenti. E promettono li suddetti signori Accademici, come sopra presenti, il presente obbligo sempre attendere ed osservare colle suddette condizioni, mai contro di esse fare, dire o venire, anzi farvi acconsentire ogni o qualunque persona e che a loro è lecito di farla volendo essere sempre tenuti alla perpetua oservanza [sic] del medesimo colle suddette condizioni non solo in questo ma anche in ogni modo migliore. [Notaio Vittorio Paolucci. Archivio Notarile Umbertide. Registro n. 866]. Contratto di cessione della sala del teatro In Dei nomine amen. Anno Domini millesimo septingentesimo octuagesimo terbio [1783] - In prima die vero prima mensis februarii [1 febbraio]... Personalmente costituiti avanti di me notaro e testimoni infrascritti l'Eccellentissimo Signor Dottore Giuseppe figlio della beata memoria del Signor Capitano Giantommaso Paolucci e li Signori Vittorio del quondam [fu] Bernardino Ceccarelli, Filippo del quondam Giambattista Legnetti anche in nome di Pietro del quondam Benedetto Crosti tutti di questa Terra della Fratta a me cogniti pubblici rappresentanti della Comunità di questa Terra li quali facendo l'atto infrascritto in virtù della risoluzione del pubblico generale Consiglio celebrato sotto il dì 9 maggio 1780, copia di cui a me diedero per inscriverla col presente istromento, del tenore alla quale, ed in vigore delle facoltà riportate a seconda del medesimo Consiglio della Sagra Congregazione del Buon Governo e della Sagra Consulta, che si giustifica colle lettere di Monsignore Illustrissimo e Reverendissimo Governatore di Perugia in data del 27 giugno e 29 aprile dell'anno 1780, che parimente a me diedero per allegarle nel presente strumento, del tenore che in vece e nome di detta Comunità danno, cedono e concedono per uso perpetuo dell'Accademia de' Riuniti di detta Terra alli signori Accademici di essa e per la medesima all'eccellentissimo signor dottore Gioacchino Maria della beata memoria del signor Mariano Savelli governatore al presente della Terra d'Otricoli parimente a me cognito deputato da essa a questo atto nell'adunanza tenuta il dì 24 gennaro scorso copia della quale parimente a me diedero ad effetto d'inserirla nel presente istromento per detta Accademia e Signori Riuniti assieme con me notaio stipulante ed accettante in favore l'uso perpetuo della casa ov'è il pubblico teatro, alla quale si sale con scala di pietra al di fuori, posta in questa Terra della Fratta nella Piazza del Grano di questa Comunità, ove è la Rocca, conforme davanti la detta Piazza, da un lato la casa del signor Pensa e Padri Minori Conventuali di San Francesco di questa medesima Terra, e dagli altri lati le mura castellane, e di sotto la pubblica Cancelleria, l'Archivio e Carceri, qual casa consiste in una sala, ove è il teatro e la platea del medesimo e due camere contigue a detta sala con tutti i suoi scioiti, annessi, connessi, membri, adiacenze, pertinenze, ponendolo, costituendolo, dandogli... E questa cessione fanno detù Signori pubblici rappresentanti perché asseriscono e confessano aver fatto acquisto della casa degli eredi Petrogalli di detta Terra per il preciso fine ed effetto dell'abitazione del signor Commissario pro tempore per cui servirà la casa ceduta a uso de' Cancellieri, Sbirri e Balivo come appare per rogito del signor dottore Filippo Maria Savelli notaio di questa Terra il dì 8 gennaio 1780, al quale [si rinvia], con li seguenti patti, capitoli e condizioni, cioè: 1. che li Signori Accademici pro tempore siano tenuti mantenere detta casa di tutti li necessari risarcimenti, senza che la Comunità suddetta abbia avervi alcun pensiero, conforme detto signor deputato in vece e nome di essa Accademia promette di fare a tenore del detto gentile Consiglio, ed approva [il suddetto], per il quale oggetto di mantenimento obbliga ed ipoteca il rinvestimento che hanno promesso di fare li detti Signori Accademici per rogito mio il dì 24 gennaio di detto anno, volendo e dichiarando che il fondo o rinvestimento da farsi come sopra di scudi sessanta dalli detti Signori Accademici delli loro proprii denari resti perpetuamente obbligato per detto mantenimento di casa, quale dovrà farsi colli frutti che decorreranno del detto rinvestimento, senza che il capitale e frutti di esso possano convertirsi in altr'uso, e non altrimenti. 2. che in caso si dissolvesse quest'adunanza di Riuniti, la Comunità suddetta possa e debba rientrare al possesso ed uso della casa come sopra descritto con tutti i suoi risarcimenti, bonificazioni e che il rinvestimento da farsi per fondo di detto mantenimento resti vincolato ed ogni casa delli suddetti Signori Accademici possa ritirare quella somma che avrà sborsata per sommare il suddetto capitale colli suoi frutti, in caso non fossero stati impiegati. E siccome la Comunità cede all'Accademia il solo dominio utile di detta casa, benché perpetuo, conviene per patto espresso, quale detto signor deputato intende, vuole e dichiara che si abbia per espresso nel principio, mezzo e fine del presente istromento, altrimenti non sarebbe venuto al presente contratto: che dandosi qualche caso fortuito d'incendio, terremoto o altro sinistro accadente (che Iddio non voglia) 1'Accademia suddetta non sia tenuta ad alcun risarcimento, sul riflesso che la Comunità si riserva il dominio diretto e non altrimenti, perché così. 3. che sia leccito [sic] alli Signori Accademici pro tempore di ampliare la platea, fare aggiunta, mutare ingresso, fare li cassini e tutto altro che stimeranno opportuno per l'esercizio delle loro accademie e recite di commedie e come a loro più piacerà e parerà per maggiore ornamento, comodo e decoro del luogo pubblico. E finalmente che la chiave di detta casa debba tenersi dal Principe o Presidente pro tempore di detta Accademia. Dichiarando detti signori pubblici rappresentanti debba restare in perpetuo l'uso della casa Petrogalli, come sopra comprata per il signor Commissario, Cancellieri e Sbirri e Balivo e la casa e di lei uso, ove è il detto teatro, debba ancor questa restare in perpetuo per l'Accademia suddetta dei Riuniti, senza che mai possa ritogliersi, promettendo di sempre e perpetuamente mantenerla nel libero, quieto e pacifico posesso [sic] ed uso di essa, né a ciò mai contro dire o venire per qualunque capo, causa o motivo, volendo esser sempre tenuti in nome della loro Comunità ch'a perpetua osservanza del presente contratto non solo in questo, ma anche in ogni altro modo migliore. [Notaio Vittorio Paolucci. Archivio Notarile Umbertide. Registro n. 866.] Lettera di Giampietro Pensa Giampietro Pensa da Città di Castello [omissis] l'espone avere una casa nella Terra della Fratta per la metà ed indivisa con questi Reverendi Padri Conventuali di San Francesco posta nella Piazza frumentaria, presso davanti la detta piazza, di dietro li sciolti delle muraglie castellane, da uno il palazzo del pubblico, casa ereditaria del Fracassini, ora de' Signori conti Ranieri di Perugia rifermata in ultimo luogo al detto oratore in terza generazione il dì 8 novembre 1741 per rogito del fu Maurizio Savelli notaro di detta Terra e descritta al libro livellare di detta sua mensa a carta 59; e siccome desidero vendere la metà della medesima casa per indivisa, come sopra, stimata dai periti communi in somma di scudi 15, supplica pertanto l'oratore Vostra Illustrissima [...] per la licenza di poter vendere detta casa per il suddetto prezzo ..... Nulla osta rilasciato dalla Diocesi Nulla osta del Vescovo di Gubbio relativo alla compra-vendita della casa del Pansa adiacente al teatro. Attentis narratis servato dominis favore nostrae mensae episcopalis et sine prejudicio habentium meliora et potiora jura quater oratori petitam licentiam vendendi medietatem domus, de qua in precibus, concedimus atque impartimus ita tamen ut emptor intra debitum tempus precies nobis porrigat ad effectum conseguendi debitam investituram, et non intelligatur illatum illum praejudicium [...] exigendi canones decursos et non solutos. Incipiendi datum Eugubii ex Cancelleria Episcopale hac die prima mensis septembris 1785. Episcupus Eugubino Franciscus Lusieri LVD. Cancelliere Episcopale. Stima della casa dei frati Noi Maestri muratori [Bruni e Porrini] di questa Terra della Fratta, essendo stati richiesti, Mastro Pietro Bruni ad istanza dell'illustrissimo signor Domenico Cerboncelli come Depositario degli Accademici del teatro di questa Terra della Fratta, e Mastro Francesco Porrini ad istanza dei Padri Minori Conventuali di questa medesima Terra per vedere, considerare, stimare e riferire il giusto prezzo e valore di una casa che in comune si gode da terra fino al tetto dalli suddetti Padri Conventuali e dalla suddetta Accademia del teatro posta in questa Terra nella Piazza della Rocca che confina da Levante le mura castellane mediante lo steccato, O [occidente] la Piazza della Rocca et eredi Fracassini, S [sud] il teatro salvi etc. composta di tre piani e stalla a pianterreno, il prezzo della qual casa, libera da ogni defalco, la giudichiamo secondo la nostra perizia e coscienza avendo minutamente considerato ascendere a scudi sessanta moneta romana di paoli dieci per scudo e per essere tutto ciò alla verità conforme sarà il presente foglio sottoscritto e rispettivamente segnato col segno della Santa Croce da noi infrascritti. In fede questo dì 26 febbraio 1787 nella Terra della Fratta. [Notaio Giovan Battista Burelli. Archivio Notarile Umbertide. Registro 885 c. 30]. Richiesta dei frati al Vescovo Illustrissimo e reverendissimo Monsignore, il Guardiano e Religiosi Minori Conventuali di San Francesco della Terra della Fratta umilmente rappresentano a Vostra Signoria Illustrissima e Reverendissima come, fra gli altri stabili al loro Convento appartenenti, tengono una casa in detta Terra situata nella Piazza della Rocca compatronale ed indivisa con l'Accademia del teatro di detto luogo del valore di scudi sessanta moneta romana, trenta dei quali appartenenti e di ragione al loro Convento e gli altri trenta a detta Accademia; come anche ritengono un pezzo d'orto del valore di scudi quattro romana moneta, e siccome sì dell'uno che dell'altro ne ritraggono al presente poco e quasi niente d'utile, supplicano pertanto Vostra Signoria Illustrissima e Reverendissima volergli accordare il permesso di poter vendere detti stabili ascendenti al valore di scudi trentaquattro, come dalle perizie giurate e qui annesse, obbligandosi di depositare il denaro nel loro errario [sic] per rinvestirlo poi in miglior fondo. Che della grazia..... [Notaio Giovanni Battista Burelli. Archivio Notarile Umbertide. Registro 885 c. 29 ]. Contratto di compravendita tra i frati e gli accademici In Dei nomine amen.Die vigesima septima junii anno... [27 giugno 1788] Presenti e personalmente costituiti alla presenza mia e dei testimoni infrascritti li Reverendissimi Padri Francesco Antonio Celestini guardiano, Filippo Maria Magnanini e Felice Antonio Angelucci sacerdoti e religiosi di famiglia del venerabile convento de' Minori Conventuali di San Francesco di questa Terra della Fratta e quello intieramente rappresentando, tutti a me cogniti, i quali inerendo alla risoluzione del loro Capitolo congregato fin dal dì 21 maggio 1787, al quale di loro spontanea volontà ed in ogni altro modo migliore, in vigore della licenza e facoltà ottenuta dall'Illustrissimo e Reverendissimo Monsignor Vescovo di Gubbio, come dal suo rescritto in data 4 marzo 1788 che a me fu dato originale per inserirlo nel presente istromento, al quale danno, cedono e vendono all'Accademia del Teatro dei Riuniti di questa Terra, e per essa al [...] signor Don Nicolò del quondam signor Pietro Antonio Guardabassi membro della medesima qui presente a me cognito, a tale effetto dall'Accademia medesima deputato e per essa insieme con me notaio accettante e stipulante. La metà indivisa d'una casa, che detto convento godeva in comune coll'Accademia suddetta posta in questa Terra nella Piazza della Rocca, confinante nella parte posteriore le muraglie castellane mediante lo steccato; davanti la Piazza suddetta, da un lato le case degli eredi Fracassini e dall'altro il teatro suddetto salvi, composta di tre piani e stalla a pian terreno, con tutti i suoi scioiti, membri e pertinenze, ad avere, tenere e possedere con tutte e singole ragioni al detto convento competenti, ponendola e costituendola e fintantoché [omissis - formule varie] per il prezzo di scudi trenta moneta romana a tenore del foglio di perizia… [Notaio Giovanni Battista Burelli. Archivio Notarile Umbertide. Registro n. 885 c. 27]. Fonti: “Umbertide nel Secolo XVIII” di Renato Codovini e Roberto Sciurpa – Comune di Umbertide – Gesp, 2003

Serra Partucci 24 GIUGNO 1944 LE VITTIME / THE VICTIMS Natale Centovalli, anni 30; Domenico Černic, anni 26; Bruno Ciribilli, anni 20; Giuseppe Radicchi, anni 17; Mario Radicchi anni 24. Il massacro di Serra Partucci - voce di Paola Avorio 00:00 / 02:37 The massacre of Serra Partucci - voice by Paola Avorio 00:00 / 03:06 24 GIUGNO 1944 Allineati lungo il muro dietro il cippo che ricorda la strage, il 24 giugno del 1944 sono stati fucilati cinque giovani. Il giorno precedente un giovane contadino della zona, approfittando del prevedibile imminente arrivo degli alleati da Perugia, liberata tre giorni prima, aveva sparato ad un soldato tedesco, ferendolo ad un piede, per appropriarsi della sua motocicletta Per rappresaglia, una quindicina di soldati SS hanno rastrellato le vittime alle prime luci dell’alba, in modo da sorprenderle nel sonno. Nel casolare dei Radicchi, a mezza costa della collina, hanno prelevato i figli di Santino, Mario di 24 anni e Giuseppe di 17. Hanno proseguito verso questo luogo, Vocabolo Lago, dove abitavano i Centovalli. In casa erano tutti svegli, pronti per andare a mietere il grano in un campo vicino. I militari sono entrati. Hanno chiesto pane e lardo. Dopo essersi rifocillati hanno fatto uscire Natale, 30 anni, ed il fratello Quinto, 24. Per rispettare la regola di 5 condannati a morte per un tedesco ferito, mancava la quinta vittima. Hanno deciso di andarlo a prendere nella chiesa di San Giovanni, in cima alla collina, che era gremita da fedeli per la ricorrenza di San Giovanni Battista, festa patronale a Serra Partucci. Hanno scelto Domenico Černic, 26 anni, un ragazzone sloveno, forse perché si era messo in evidenza parlando bene il tedesco Al ritorno dalla chiesa, il quinto prigioniero è stato fatto accostare agli altri quattro. Fra di loro, Quinto era senza una mano, che aveva perso in un trinciaforaggi. Domenico ha fatto notare ai tedeschi che in quelle condizioni mai avrebbe potuto sparare. È stato individuato come quinto condannato Bruno Ciribilli, vent’anni, che stava passando per caso. I cinque innocenti sono stati fatti allineare lungo il muro. Senza proferire parola, l’ufficiale ha fatto un cenno rapido con il braccio. Sono partite raffiche di mitra. Dopo qualche attimo, cinque colpi hanno dato il colpo di grazia, ristabilendo il silenzio. Senza indugio, il manipolo dei soldati si è dileguato rapidamente, quasi di corsa. Missione compiuta! 24 June 1944 Lined up along the wall behind the memorial stone commemorating the massacre, five young people were shot on 24th June 1944. Three days earlier the allied troops had arrived in Perugia and On the 23rd, a young farmer from the area, taking advantage of the imminent arrival of the allies from Perugia shot a German soldier, wounding him in the foot, in order to steal his motorcycle In retaliation, the same night about fifteen SS soldiers rounded up the victims at first light, so as to catch them sleeping . In the Radicchi farmhouse, halfway up the hill, they picked up Santino's sons, Mario, 24, and Giuseppe, 17. They continued towards Vocabolo Lago, where the Centovallis lived. Everyone in the house was awake, ready to go and harvest wheat in a nearby field. The soldiers entered. They asked for bread and lard. After having refreshed themselves, they brought out Natale, 30 years old, and his brother Quinto, 24. To comply with the rule of 5 sentenced to death for a wounded German, the fifth victim was missing. They decided to pick a victim in the church of San Giovanni, at the top of the hill, which was full of people because of San Giovanni Battista Celebrations, the patronal feast in Serra Partucci. They chose Domenico Černic, 26 years old, a big Slovenian boy, perhaps because he had stood out by speaking German well Upon returning from church, the fifth prisoner was brought alongside the other four. Among them, Quinto was without a hand, which he had lost in a fodder shredder. Domenico pointed out to the Germans that he would never have been able to shoot in those conditions. Bruno Ciribilli, twenty years old, who was occasionally passing by was identified as the fifth convict. The five innocents were lined up along the wall. Without saying a word, the officer quickly waved his arm. Machine gun fire began. After a few moments, five shots delivered the final blow, re-establishing silence. Without hesitation, the handful of soldiers quickly disappeared, almost running. Mission accomplished! Testo tratto da: Mario Tosti, Cinque cipressi, Digital editor, 2014. Voce di Paola Avorio Immagine di sfondo: opera di Antonio Renzini: "L'eccidio di Serra Partucci" Un progetto a cura di Mario Tosti, Unitre di Umbertide, il Centro Culturale San Francesco, Umbertidestoria, con il Patrocinio del Comune di Umbertide; con la collaborazione di Pietro Taverniti, Massimo Pascolini, Sergio Bargelli, Corrado Baldoni, Francesco Deplanu, Sergio Magrini Alunno, Antonio Renzini, Luca Silvioni, Romano Vibi. Help us remember umbertidestoria@gmail.com EH Carr "Change is certain. Progress is not "