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TERRITORY and MEZZADRIA (edited by Simona Bellucci and Francesco Deplanu) Flat land towards Montecastelli view give her hills of Spedalicchio di Umbertide: note the landscape characterized by the scattered settlement. The territory of Umbertide, like that of almost all of central Italy, was "shaped" by the very long choice of economic management of the properties that began at the end of the Middle Ages, it went into crisis after the war and ended in 1964 with the legislation that put an end to the new sharecropping contracts. Even the landscape of our area it can be defined with the terms of the rural landscape used for the whole of Europe, that is, it falls within the agricultural landscape a bocagé and does not belong to the other large category of openfields. Openfields that developed where the property came from managed directly by large landowners or jointly. In central Italy it was instead the indirect management of the land, through sharecropping, which gave rise to the division into plots and the distinction by hedges, trees and ditches, of the various plots. Plots that often went unevenly to form a farm, the economic unit of indirect land management typical of our areas. Thus from above the territory appeared completely fragmented. This subdivision, although decreased after the sixties, is also clearly visible from the satellite images that can be seen with "Google Earth": ditches, ancient oaks and other types of trees continue to be inexplicable functional elements within the fields without "seeing them. "with historical eyes. The plots of different positions and types that made up the farm they are a consequence of the need to make the family that settled there work well in several periods according to the different crops or maturation times. The economic management of the territory in an indirect form has therefore given rise to a particular rural landscape: the scattered settlement and polyculture. Particularly stable type of settlement with isolated houses in the plains and hills which today sees the replacement of the old farmhouses connected to the "Poderi" where the sharecroppers lived with houses often second property and, for 20 years and more, birth of a new economic use of the rural territory devoted to tourism. Farmhouses, country houses, holiday homes with swimming pools, often in the area of the old "ara", enrich our hills and flat areas. Polyculture was clearly visible in the so-called "Alberata", that is, in the mixed cultivation of vines alternating with cereals and in the small crops around the farmhouses. What is sharecropping The sharecropping is an agrarian contract under which the agricultural exercise was carried out on a farm. On the basis of the sharecropping agreement, a subject (grantor), holder of the right to enjoy a rustic land, associated himself with another subject (sharecropper), on his own and as head of a farmhouse for the cultivation of the land and the exercise of related activities, in order to divide the products and profits in half. In particular, the grantor conferred the enjoyment of the farm, while the sharecropper lent his own work and that of the farmhouse, with the obligation to reside permanently on the farm. On the day of San Martino, on the decision of the "owner", the change of farmhouse could take place based on the real ability of a "family", also for this patriarchal and numerous one, to make the "farm" profitable in an adequate manner. The first forms of sharecropping were born around the year one thousand but had a rapid growth in the fourteenth century. starting from the areas of the municipal counties. This form of contract dominated in our areas until the twentieth century, when after the war there was a rapid decline in sharecropping not only due to the push towards the direct cultivation of the farms, which took the form of the law n. 756 of 1964, but also due to the growing refusal of farmers to reside in old farmhouses, often without electricity and running water. Plain of the Tiber at the crossroads of the road to the Umbertide cemetery in the 1960s: you can see the use of the rural territory with the promiscuous culture of the vine, probably with field maples as a support, pruned like a candelabra, a useful form also for collecting vine shoots at the time of pruning and wood collected to dry. Plain of the Tiber at the crossroads of the road to the Umbertide cemetery in 2019, unfortunately in summer, among the leaves of the "downy oaks" you can see the complete disappearance of the arborata with the promiscuous culture of the vine; the division with the ditches of the plots remains. The same plain of the Tiber at the crossroads of the road to the Umbertide cemetery in the IGM "Tablets" with relief carried out in 1941, where you can see the cemetery on the right in the middle of the image and the land completely cultivated with the promiscuous culture of the vine: in fact it can be seen how the plots are characterized by "circles" to indicate the presence of a crop, with a sort of wavy line inside with shadow that characterizes the type of crop of the plots themselves, or the symbol of the vine. The "Tablet" thus represents the dominant presence of the arborata with the promiscuous culture of the vine. The Mezzadria in Umbertide Simona Bellucci who dealt with the sharecropping system and the relations between the two worlds of "owners" and "workers" writes about it in its " The incomplete modernization. Umbertide farmers and owners between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries ": " The form of land management determines the type of farmer prevalent in Umbertide, the sharecroppers, who are flanked by the laborers:" The sharecropping contract applies everywhere, There is a good number of laborers. "The sources never mention the small owners direct farmers because in the Municipality we find only medium and large land ownership. Small peasant property is scarcely present in all of Umbria, limited to certain Apennine areas, only "in the immediate post-war period there is a whole movement for the formation of small peasant speculative of the sharp rise in land and without adequate support for the necessary transformations and the exercise of the activity itself, it was quickly wrecked around 1930, after which it quickly returned to the pre-war structure. "" The large owners adopt the sharecropping management system, long-standing contract, dating back to the Middle Ages, which generally provides for the division of products in half, due to its characteristics of a corporate pact particularly suitable for maintaining social peace. In Umbria, however, there are clear signs of a worsening of the sharecropping contract at the end of the nineteenth century due to a relationship that becomes more unfavorable to workers due to excess labor. However, sharecropping is not a real corporate pact, because the settler suffers injuries to his individual freedoms, from those concerning marriage, to education, for which he must ask for and obtain the master's consent. The contracts, all disadvantageous, also provide for a series of obligations for the sharecropper, in fact he is subject to additional donations of poultry and eggs on certain festive occasions such as Easter and Christmas, he must also bear part of the land tax, the wife of the settler, in addition, she has to do laundry for the owner's family. The sharecropping contract has different clauses from area to area, in Umbertide «in principle the division of the products takes place in half; only for grapes to a third in favor of the owner ». In the general condition of poverty there are, however, sharecroppers who live in a better way than others, they are those who cultivate farms in the plains, more fertile than those of hills or mountains and where the number of arms is in balance with the extension of the earth. ". Consequences of indirect management Over time, this type of management of agricultural property also imposed a cultivation method: polyculture, exemplified in our area by the mixed cultivation of the vine mixed with cereals but also by the fruit and walnut trees in front of the house. It characterized the typology of human settlement in the Umbrian-Tuscan-Emilian countryside, that is the scattered settlement, or our "landscape" with our hamlets called "Ca '" or "Cai", the water mills, the country churches with their viability necessary for a world of faithful who moved on foot, and microtoponyms still alive in those who frequent the countryside. The characteristic of polyculture was combined with the need to produce cereals and grapevines taking the form of the “mixed cultivation of the vine”: that is, parts of a cereal field divided by rows of vines. Often "married" to trees, to favor their growth. In Umbria, especially in the south, usually the vine was associated with maple, even today, which has been replaced by concrete poles, the maple is visible in our countryside as a "residue" of the ancient way of farming. For aesthetic / affective reasons, the landscape has continued to maintain "survivals" that are no longer functional to the economic context that had generated them as in the residues of "promiscuous culture" that are sporadically encountered in the countryside. An example of "survival" can be seen just beyond the junction of the road that climbs to the cemetery in the direction of Montone, near the junction for S. Lorenzo. The end of Sharecropping the law N ° 756 of 1964 discouraged the stipulation of these contracts then prohibiting the establishment of new ones starting from September 1974, while acknowledging those already existing. The law No. 203 of 1982 then imposed the termination of sharecropping or middle-range contracts with their conversion into rental contracts. Rural architecture and appliances There is a commendable text, published by the Umbria Region and written by the professors, Melelli, Fatichenti of the University of Perugia that can guide us to re-read the historical stratification of the landscape both in terms of rural architecture and the appurtenances and open spaces of our Region and also of our Valley: Alberto Melelli Fabio Fatichenti Massimo Sargolini. “ Architecture and Rural Landscape in Umbria. Tradition and contemporaneity. "Umbria Region, Quattroemme Srl. But there are many human elements that are found in the apparently natural agricultural landscape, the fruit instead of one historical economic stratification that has remained stable for hundreds of years and then has changed rapidly, in the text indicated by prof. Fatichenti indicates in fact, as "historical assets" a series of elements: “ Minor elements of religious architecture (chapels, oratories, farm churches, country cemeteries, road crosses, niches or votive plaques, tabernacles, newsstands); - service goods (public springs and wash houses, taverns, springs, aqueducts, masonry huts, stone boundary stones); - appurtenances to buildings (farmyards in beaten or paved earth, wells or cisterns with or without cover, wash houses, fertilizers, ovens, dryers, barns, sheepfolds); - agricultural arrangements (terracing and embankments, dry stone walls); - hydraulic arrangements (embankments, canals, dams). " It must be said that in our area, unlike the rest of Umbria, the "barns" were not used, the hay was instead collected and left to dry outdoors, in the large "sheaf" near the threshing floor, a space that was also the small "square" of the farm house or of the groups of neighboring houses. Harvest time, Montecorona area, 1928 The rural house The rural house is an expression of the needs of the production system in which it is located. Its housing structure, the new parts that are built and the annexes are all functional to that economic cell of the exploitation of the property in an indirect form which is the appoderamento, or rather the farm with the typical farmhouse of sharecropping. The space in front of the house is used for the arrangement of agricultural work; new buildings, if they exist, are an expression of production needs, stables, dryers, any barns, even the external bathrooms are usually built in the same area where the excrements of animals taken from the stables for fertilization are kept. Usually the house has two floors, with an external staircase that ends in our areas with a small roof, in the basement often hens or rabbits were placed; downstairs there is the stable for the animals, now rearranged in beautiful halls; upstairs, with an internal hatch to go up and down with a wooden staircase for the winter, there was space for the settlers. The second floor always had a large fireplace in the central room which had to be enough to heat all the rooms, where we all ate together. Especially in the hills the external structure of the rural house appears from far away in harmony with the colors of the surrounding nature; this happened unintentionally because the building materials were being taken from the surrounding terrain. This last geological typology is clearly visible on the roads leading to Pietralunga or Gubbio with the yellow "sandstone" sections that protrude with "teeth" alternating with gray "marls"; marls also present as on some badlands forms visible going up from Umbertide towards the Monte Acuto area. The great majority of our rural houses have the use of marly stones, more gray, or sandstone, of a browning yellow, leaving the external appearance of the houses in harmony with the surrounding hills. The fortress of Umbertide itself is built from stones of this type and for the finishing of the portals and the first step is also the "Collegiate". From a geological point of view, the area of the Municipality of Umbertide insists on fluvial-lacustrine sedimentary deposits of the alluvial plain together with a Miocene sedimentation area, of marly-arenaceous type, which characterizes the high hill between the Tiber and the limestone ridge of the Umbrian-Marche Apennines. These geological structures they are interrupted by some calcareous rocky outcrops of more ancient formation which occupy a limited area of their own near Monte Acuto. Just look at the rural houses once you enter the Gubbio plain to notice of the difference with those of our area, and of how the limestone quarries have the choice of the construction material of the houses. The housing structures closest to Umbertide have the most frequent use of bricks deriving from clay. Stratification of architectural elements Let's have two here examples of historical stratification in the still visible rural buildings, an older one, the dovecote tower, and one much closer to us, but now already a "historical" stratification, or rather the "dryers" of tobaccos. Among the elements that the sharecropping system has left in our rural landscape architecture are the dovecote (or palombine) towers . Example of an Umbrian rural house rebuilt maintaining the previous characteristics, including the "dovecote tower" and with original materials, with the ancient housing structure on the upper floor with the old "shed" integrated, however, in the roof. "Buzzacchero" area. Photo 1. Dovecote tower in the countryside, located on the banks of the "Assino" stream. Photo n. 2. Dovecote tower in the ancient countryside, located towards the Polgeto road. Photo n. 3 Probable dovecote tower on the border between the urban area and the old one countryside, placed in front of the walls of Fratta. Other sources would be needed to be sure, but the four-storey height, the "roost" between the third and fourth floors suggest this type of architecture. They seem to have arisen earlier than the rest of the buildings and although it is thought that the use of buildings from urban towers has extended, they have become characteristic of the rural environment. They wore various advantages advantages in addition to the meat of the pigeons, there was the fact of eliminating the seeds of weeds from the farmyard to the fields and providing a precious fertilizer for the cultivation of hemp and flax, but in any case it was also used to fertilize olive groves and vineyards. They could have three, four or five floors (those born with defensive purposes) but usually the last level, still reachable from the inside or with an external ladder, consisted of the real diver. Levels could be used for different purposes. On its walls often numerous niches were opened with nest functions, they were plastered and made very smooth so as to prevent weasels, stone martens and other predators from climbing up and killing pigeons. "Outside there were the entrance holes for the doves, and the rose window for the ventilation of the compartment, both overlooking the" roost "(or" walk ") which served both as a shelf for the dove but also as a further obstacle to predatory animals. " Today many of these towers in our territory are used for tourism purposes and perform an attractive function for tourism. The breeding of doves or pigeons was an activity of breeding present well centuries before the construction of the dovecote towers in the area, just think that in the "Statutes of Fratta of 1535" we read a specific rule: " DELI PIGLANTI LE COLOMBE DOMESTICHE or DE COLOMBAJO ". The Statutes deal with "the taking of domestic doves ", specifying the penalty for those who have stolen or killed them: "... X de dinars worth of money for everyone who steals in any way, palomba de palomboro or domesticho or casalengho ". The characteristic tower probably acquired an aesthetic value and in the twentieth century also the rural houses that did not use them for such purposes they equipped themselves with towers, as reported by prof. Fatichenti for the Spoleto in “Architecture and Rural Landscape in Umbria. Tradition and contemporaneity. ". Our country lacks studies on this aspect and so we can hypothesize that the numerous turrets that can be seen which however have a four-pitched roof were built for aesthetic or "rank" reasons. We recommend reading the Degree Thesis on the "dovecote towers" of our territory created in 1990-91 by Professor Anna Maria Boldrini who kindly allowed us to show it on this page. Photo 1. Probably a turret built in ememulation of the "dovecote tower" for the fact that it is different type of cover (four sides). "Poste" area. Photo 2. Probably a turret built in ememulation of the "dovecote tower" for the fact that it is different type of cover (four sides). "Station" area. Photo n. 3 Probable tower built in ememulation of the "dovecote tower" for the fact that it is different type of cover (four sides). "Buzzacchero" area. Among the recent constructions that the introduction of a new culture has left over time there are the tobacco "dryers" , rather tall buildings with many chimneys, today sometimes replaced by "dormers" when the buildings were reused as homes. These annexes next to or directly separated from the farmhouse were connected to the cultivation of tobacco by carrying out the drying time here with the leaves strung on strings, placed on poles which were then raised to a considerable height. Tobacco production allowed the birth of a thriving manufacture. just think that in 1946 the "Tabacchi plant in Umbertide, employed 230 people, 180 women. The total rose to 315 people in 1951. Subsequently the shift to cooperative and mechanized (bulk-curing) forms of production first concentrated drying in large buildings and then replaced it with machinery. Thus almost all of the "dryers" lost their function. A similar fate also for the large buildings such as those of the FAT company in Città di Castello which today are used in a museum key for the works of Alberto Burri after the relocation to Regnano. Tobacco cultivation that contributed also to homogenize the use of agricultural land from the early 1900s to the seventies in our flat and low hill areas, contributing to the elimination of the "tree" with the promiscuous culture of the vine. 1/1 Figs. 1-4: we show here some of the many characteristic dryers of the whole upper Tiberina Valley, here photos starting from the border with the Municipality of Montone at Tenute di Montecorona. Buildings of this type can be seen almost in every area of the municipality. We present here in .pdf a reconstruction of the agricultural use of Tobacco made by Prof. Simona Bellucci who kindly grants us from her work: “ Tobacco and tobacconists. The tobacco plant in the economy and society of Umbertide ", Crace / Fondazione Museo Storico Scientifico del Tabacco, Città di Castello 2009, pp. 58-61. Umbertide and his countryside, year 1933. In the lower left corner it is clearly visible the mixed cultivation of vines on the right bank of the Tiber. To deepen the relationship between rural architecture and sharecropping in our territory, we refer you to the page of the "Graduation theses" where there is the beautiful and accurate work of Professor Anna Maria Boldrini: " Rural architecture in the upper Tiber Valley: Umbertide in the century XVI ". Clicking on the image below opens the complete work directly. We conclude by returning to the present: today between Farmhouses, Guest Houses, Bed and Breakfasts, Holiday Homes, etc. present in the Municipality of Umbertide in the "Alta Umbria" site are counted 96 accommodation facilities ... almost all of them belong to that agricultural system that it has today changed economic function. Facilities that usually must to the scattered settlement born with the appoderamento their existence. Sources: - Alberto Melelli Fabio Fatichenti Massimo Sargolini. “ Architecture and Rural Landscape in Umbria. Tradition and contemporaneity . " Umbria Region, 2010, Quattroemme Srl. We present some elements in summary - http://www.treccani.it/encyclopedia/mezzadria_%28Dtionary-di-Storia%29/ - IGMI Tablet, Series M 891, Edition 3, Sheet, NICCONE, 122, I, NO - http://umbertide.infoaltaumbria.it/Ricettivita/Dove_Dormire.aspx - Simona Bellucci, " The incomplete modernization. Umbertide peasants and owners between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries ". Edimond, Città di Castello 2004, pp. 18-20. - Simona Bellucci, “ Tobacco and tobacconists. The tobacco plant in the economy and society of Umbertide ", Crace / Fondazione Museo Storico Scientifico del Tabacco, Città di Castello 2009, pp. 58-61. - Simona Bellucci, Umbertide in the 20th century: 1943-2000, Nuova Prhomos Editions, 2018. - Photo: Francesco Deplanu. - Photo: historical photos of Umbertide from the web and from various private archives to which we applied the " umbertidestoria " watermark in this way we try to avoid that the further disclosure on our part favors purposes not consonant with our intentions exclusively social and cultural. Henri Desplanques, Campagnes Ombriennes, 1969 “ A complex historical stratigraphy is the basis of rural landscapes. . .. " Help us remember umbertidestoria@gmail.com

Astorre Bellarosa Francesco Alunni Pierucci Antonio Rossetti Ebe Igi Alessandro Franchi Francesco Andreani Gabriele Santini Arsenio Brugnola Giuseppe Guardabassi Historical figures of the twentieth century In this subsection we propose the biographies of some characters who have played a role in the history of the city. Astorre Bellarosa Francesco Alunni Pierucci Antonio Rossetti Ebe Igi Francesco Andreani Alessandro Franchi Gabriele Santini Arsenio Brugnola Giuseppe Guardabassi Bruto Boldrini curated by Simona Bellucci Astorre Bellarosa He was born in 1895 in Umbertide into a family that includes father, mother and twelve children. Orphaned by his father as a child, his grandfather, a coachman at the Marinelli family, takes care of his numerous offspring and Astorre can continue to study up to the eighth grade. After school, he learns the job of carpenter, but in 1915 at the age of 20, he is called back to war and fights on the Karst where he is wounded, sustaining a slight but permanent injury to one hand. Upon returning from the war he married Tecla Beati from Umbria, with whom he had three daughters, the second of whom died at an early age. He manages to open a sawmill in Via Roma with a partner Riego Maccarelli, a well-known anti-fascist, who also employs several employees, practicing the profession of carpenter with great skill. Animated by deep political convictions, he joined the Italian Communist Party since its foundation and remained deeply attached to his political faith even during the Fascist period. Adherence to communism is always combined with great admiration for Giuseppe Mazzini, whose political thought he studies as a self-taught and never gives up wearing the republican tie. He was subjected to an attack by the fascists before they came to power and the threats were repeated even during the twenty years, so much so that he always keeps a rope and a knife in his room at the back of Via Roma, from which he sometimes escapes in in a hurry. After the bombing of Umbertide, displaced in Serra Partucci, he sees his sawmill on fire from above, set on fire by the Nazi-Fascists in retaliation. The partner Riego, captured, is taken to prison in Perugia, tortured and then released. After the war, he continued to work as a carpenter but as an employee, then he opened a bar in via Roma. He became mayor in 1945, first appointed by the Allies and then elected in April 1946 until 1952. Later, he continued his administrative activity as councilor in the second council of the mayor Serafino Faloci. After the end of the administrative experience, he remains active in politics, uncompromising from a moral point of view as well as generous and a lover of company in private life. In 1969, the year of his death, he wants a secular funeral early in the morning and to be buried underground if cremation was not possible. His former employees build him a poor wooden coffin as he had arranged and carry him on the shoulders to the local cemetery. Francesco Alunni Pierucci We can speak of him as the most illustrious political and trade union exponent of Umbertide in the twentieth century. He was born on 4 June 1902 into a peasant family formed by his father Alessandro, his mother Matilde Pasquini, the brothers Astorre and Antonio and his sisters Linda and Veronica. At the age of two, he lost his right arm following an accident and, due to the disability, his parents made him continue his studies with great sacrifices. He attended up to the third technical high school, which later allowed him to earn a living, giving lessons in mathematics. The family is sent away from the farm after the killing of a pig without the owner's permission during the First World War and Francesco grows up in this climate of oppression, developing a deep sense of rebellion in the face of the injustice received. At 15 he joined the socialist section of Umbertide and later, after the communist split, he joined the PCI becoming secretary of the Upper Tiber section. Targeted by the fascists, in December 1923 he expatriates to Nice, where his brothers were already there, opens a grocery shop here and becomes the coordinator of a group of anti-fascist political emigrants. In Nice he also met Sandro Pertini, in 1933 he moved to Toulon and then to Lyon. In 1940, at the time of the Vichy Republic, he was interned in the Vernet concentration camp. He was then handed over to the Italian authorities and passed through various prisons here and finally sent to confinement in Maierà. He returned to Perugia after 25 July 1943 and resumed political activity in the Upper Tiber, being part of the CLN but in November, due to a tip, he was arrested and tortured. He remained in prison until the liberation of Perugia in 1944, after which he resumed political and trade union activity until he became the national secretary of the CGIL tobacconists. After the war he marries a Ligurian partisan, Mirella Alloisio, who becomes his inseparable companion. In 1948 he was elected senator for the PCI in the college of the Upper Tiber. From 1952 to 1958 he was mayor of Città di Castello. He will then be the founder of the newspaper “Il sulco”, which addresses the peasants and also deals with the cooperative movement, managing to heal the critical situation of the Molino di Umbertide. In the latter part of his public life, he wrote several books on the political struggles of the workers and peasants movement in Umbria. He died in 1985. Antonio Rossetti Antonio Rossetti is a peasant from the Petrelle di Umbertide, born in 1915 who, as secretary of the local Chamber of Labor, is the animator of the claims of sharecroppers after the war, as well as municipal councilor elected from the ranks of the Communist Party for three consecutive times in 1946 , 1952 and 1956. He held the position of municipal councilor in the second legislature from 1952 to 1956. We remember that, to organize the union struggle, he even came to Gubbio and returned late at night by bicycle. Shy and reserved as determined in the action, Rossetti, in the heated climate of the strikes for the De Gasperi award, ie for the division of the products between the owner and the sharecropper at 53%, is accused, together with other trade unionists from the Upper Tiber, to have extorted signatures of acceptance of the award by the peasants and liable to preventive arrest before the trial against him. He goes into hiding, kept hidden by the peasants of the Faldo and Petrelle area, constitutes himself a few months later and is sentenced, even serving a few months in prison. Nothing could bend the tenacious organizer who, released from prison, immediately set about setting up an even more ambitious undertaking: the birth of the Molino Popolare di Umbertide of which he was president. Overwhelmed by the crisis of the Molino in 1964, he is paying greater managerial responsibilities as the highest exponent. Since then, he has retired to private life, cultivating a piece of land with his wife Elisabetta, a tabacchina, in his Petrelle, probably embittered by the affair that hit him. His merits as an indefatigable activist have been removed and not sufficiently remembered even on the occasion of his disappearance, which took place in 2013 Sources: Simona Bellucci: Umbertide in the 20th century 1943-2000, Nuova Prhomos, 2018. EBE IGI The story of the very young violin virtuoso torn from life by a cruel and dramatic fate Edited by Fabio Mariotti by Amedeo Massetti A rare talented violinist. Today she would be remembered among the great Umbrian musicians and not only, if a serious illness had not ended her very young life. And Umbertide would have counted her among his many famous people. Ebe Igi, daughter of Ivo and Eletra Butturi, was born in Umbertide, in via Mancini, on 26 August 1912 from a family of the small town bourgeoisie: her father was a municipal employee, her mother was a housewife. He lived in via Petrogalli n. 6, in the heart of the S. Giovanni district. She had started studying the instrument at the beginning of 1921, at the age of nine, the only girl in a group of young people who attended the violin school of Professor Decio Ajò, recently established in the town with the name of "School of bow", and at the which the Municipality disbursed a contribution of 150 lire per month. The council, chaired by Settimio Rometti, first socialist mayor of Umbertide, on 19 January 1921 had also resolved to establish ten free places, reserved for young people between 8 and 14 years of poor families: three boys had submitted the application for registration to the school. Maestro Ajò taught permanently in Gubbio and came to Umbertide once a week. But Ebe, very passionate about music, went with her mother for another two days in the city of Sant'Ubaldo, on the Apennine train, to take other lessons from him. He then studied in Bologna with Maestro Supino as his sister, Vittorina Igi, who died almost a hundred years old in Frascati on June 22, 2004, sometimes remembered. The parents followed their daughter's musical activity attentively, indulging her passion. Little Hebe turned out to be very gifted and continued her studies successfully for nine years. Her art did not go unnoticed in Umbertide where while still a student she held applauded concerts as a soloist, accompanied on the piano by maestro Alessandro Franchi, director of the musical band, or by the pianist and composer Raffaele Zampa, a great musician as well as a notary. The girl graduated in "Violin Teaching" in 1930 at the Royal Philharmonic Academy of Bologna, with Maestro Angelo Consolini, one of the leading exponents of the Bolognese string school, with the "magnificent score" of 30/30, "prize deserved to his noble labors "and his" very happy temperament as a violinist ". But she will not be able to see the dream of a brilliant career come true because she will die in the hospital of Perugia, just eighteen, a few months later, on November 12, 1930. Her sudden and immature death greatly affected the people of Umbria from whom she was known and loved: everything the country attended the funeral. For his tomb under the "arcades", in the right hemicycle of the Umbertide cemetery, the young artist Corrado Cagli, then artistic director at Ceramiche Rometti, sculpted a shiny ceramic bas-relief in "Nero Fratta", depicting a face of a woman leaning back, resting on a wing, a severed twig and a violin that seems hopelessly abandoned. A polyphonic choir today brings its name to Umbertide: the Chorus Fractae Ebe Igi. It was set up by a group of enthusiasts in 2000, under the guidance of Professor Nicola Lucarelli. It is currently directed by Maestro Paolo Fiorucci, has over thirty choristers, has a repertoire that ranges in the widest fields, from classic - traditional to modern. Recurring this year (Ed 2012) the centenary of the birth of Ebe, the members will organize an event in his honor in which they will remember his extraordinary musical gifts, making his life and artistic activity known. Some news on the concerts of the very young Hebe taken up by the newspapers of the time The municipal violin school, in 1926 , worked well and there were many young people from Umbertide who attended it. On Sunday 14 March , in the theater of the Scholastic Patronage, a musical essay was held by the students of Umbertide and Gubbio of the school directed by Professor Decio Ajò. The audience was numerous, "great applause greeted the end of each piece of the interesting program, perfectly executed by the individual students, among which Cardinals and Miss Igi distinguished themselves" (L'Assalto, Perugia, March 18-19, 1926) . Ebe Igi was one of the best students: he was highly applauded at the age of fourteen in his violin solos. The symphony of the Thief Magpie aroused great enthusiasm in the evening (an encore was requested), “masterfully directed by Maestro Franchi while Dr. Zampa sat with the well-known valentia on the piano”. On March 31, 1929 , Maestro Alessandro Franchi accompanied a violin concert by Ebe Igi on the piano. The seventeen-year-old girl was about to graduate from the Philharmonic Academy of Bologna under the guidance of Maestro Consolini. He played in the large hall of the “L'Unione” club in front of a large audience, mostly women. A huge success. The performance was much applauded, especially in Beriot's ninth Concerto where the violinist had "proved to possess sweetness and robustness of cavata, perfect intonation and a truly surprising sense of interpretation" (Il Messaggero, Rome, 9 April 1929). It was not the first time that the maestro played with the young Ebe, a girl he esteemed for her rare musical gifts and tried to enhance in every way. Franchi will also accompany Ebe on the piano on the evening of 22 September, in a concert held in a classroom of the kindergarten. The girl will perform with him also the following evening at Umbertide's “L'Unione” club. On Sunday 11 May 1930 , the "professor Ebe Igi" held another violin concert accompanied by Maestro Franchi. She had just graduated with full marks from the Philharmonic Academy of Bologna. To organize the musical audition was the dean of the vocational training schools, Falorni, who had invited the musicians to the great hall of the institute. A large audience, made up of school groups, the Podestà, political authorities and teachers listened with interest to the two good musicians, who had an extraordinary success (La Nazione, Florence, 18 May 1930). Ebe was considered a "true and great artist with an impeccable execution" (La Tribuna, Rome, 14 May 1930), who knew how to "bring out from her" Bresciano "effects of sweetness and intense sound that are truly surprising" (La Nazione, Firenze , May 18, 1930). Franchi, as usual, accompanied the piano "with that conscience and artistic competence that had always distinguished him". The program was demanding and interesting (Part 1: Simonetti, Madrigale; Frontini, Serenata Araba; Bruch, Concerto (op. 26): a) Allegro moderato, b) Adagio, c) Energetic finale. 2nd Part: D'Ambrosio, Canzonetta; Franchi, Melodic Intermezzo; Paganini, The Hunt; Wiennawski, a) Legend, b) Tarantella Scherzo); the performance of the music "was masterful in reality" and the "virtuosity of the violinist was able to show itself in the widest form, giving proof of a profoundly expressive and educated feeling" (La Nazione, Florence, 18 May 1930). Sources: Historical research by Amedeo Massetti - 2012 Concert program at the "L'Unione" club Arch group of master Ajò in Gubbio Group of arches at the Teatro dei Riuniti Gravestone in black Fratta by Corrado Cagli The school building in 1921 The school building in the 1930s The Garibaldi school in the 1980s The centenary party. November 2019 December 4, 1945. The funeral of Quirino Pucci, Giuseppe Rosati and Giuseppe Starnini The ceremony in Piazza Matteotti. Behind you can see the rubble of the bombing FRANCESCO ANDREANI curated by Fabio Mariotti Illuminated Mayor of the early years of the last century Francesco Andreani, a lawyer, held the office of Mayor of Umbertide from 5 February 1910 to 4 November 1919. Estimated by everyone, he carried out his role with competence and foresight. He was responsible for the construction of the grandiose elementary school building in Umbertide, by the architect Osvaldo Armanni, and other important public works. In addition to this, the construction of the rural schools, very important for those times, of San Benedetto, Pian d'Assino and Badia di Montecorona designed by Eng. Sozzi, the public houses in via XX Settembre, Viale Cesare Battisti behind the railway station, the bridge over the Rio stream which made the connection with Montone easier and safer. Electricity also arrived in 1915. Then the war brought considerable economic hardship which also considerably limited the municipal budget. Its Board was made up of Giuseppe Guardabassi, Rolando Santini, Carlo Bebi, Alberico Bebi, Silvio Ramaccioni and Quintilio Pucci. The family of Francesco Andreani, originally from Colle di Montecorona, moved to Umbertide in the last decades of the nineteenth century to manage a grocery store and a pasta factory in Piazza Umberto I (now Piazza Matteotti), in the premises of the current bank. Born on 19 July 1861 to Michele Andreani and Francesca Fuscagni, Francesco graduated brilliantly in law from the University of Perugia. He was a well-known civilian, with a "controversial and convincing" oratory. He exercised his profession in Perugia, with frequent returns to Umbertide where he held the office of Mayor for about a year, in 1890, when the electoral victory of the socialist-republicans overthrew, for the first time in the city's history, the administration of the conservatives; he was still Mayor without interruption from 1910 to 1919. For several years he was also municipal councilor and councilor for the municipality of Perugia. (in the council of Ulisse Rocchi who brought public transport and water to Perugia) Francesco Andreani did not officially join any party, even if of markedly republican sentiments. Enrolled in Freemasonry, he shared Italy's entry into the war in 1915 against Austria and carried out intense patriotic propaganda. He did not want to join fascism which in 1919 began its rise to power with violence and abuse. In Perugia, with other citizens, he rearranged and ran a team of volunteers for accidents called the "White Cross", he collaborated to found, in 1909, the "XX June lay recreation center" for children, he actively worked on the realization of People's University. With Francesco Buitoni, Leone Ascoli and Annibale Spagnoli, Francesco Andreani set up a sugared almond factory in Perugia on 30 November 1907 which would later become the "Perugina". In 1910 he was a candidate of the left in the College of Perugia 1, for the elections to the national parliament, but was defeated by the liberal-monarchist Romeo Gallenga. He died on 21 March 1932. The Municipality of Umbertide, on 30 October 1947, named a street after him. The imposing school building (now Garibaldi primary school) It had been in office for just a year that the Andreani junta, in the first months of 1911, began to ask itself the problem of the schools of the capital and of the hamlets. In a resolution of 26 March it was stated that “in the capital the current building is insufficient and not very decent. In the countryside for some schools it was impossible to find the place and for some others there are classrooms that are absolutely indecent and unsuitable for their intended purpose. It is therefore essential to build, first of all in the capital, a new building that meets all the modern educational needs and others for the country schools that lack a decent and possible place ". The project of the new school of the capital was entrusted to the architect prof. Osvaldo Armanni, a highly professional figure with consolidated experience, famous, among other things, for having designed the Palace of Justice in Rome, better known as the “Palazzaccio” and the Synagogue. He was born in Perugia to a family originally from Assisi for which he designed his last work, the National Boarding School "Prince of Naples". The size of the building arose from the need to have at least 20 classes available for the attendance of 457 pupils, plus offices and various services. There was full awareness of going to meet a considerable expense, so much so that initially the expenditure of over 220 thousand lire was foreseen, then reduced to 200 thousand lire by the Ministry of Education at the request of the opposition that asked for a reduction of the cost of the intervention. This involved, among other things, the cancellation of the gymnasium that had been foreseen in the initial project. The works began in the summer of 1914 and ended in March 1917. Just three years for a demanding job with the technical means of the time. During the winter of 1917-1918 the building was used as a military hospital for the wounded of the First World War. Only on April 5, 1919 the fourteen elementary classes settled in the new structure. After 100 years, in November last year, the Garibaldi school celebrated its centenary of life in grand style with all its current components, with the city authorities and with the hundreds and hundreds of students who over the years have attended his classrooms. The Headmaster Dr. Silvia Reali commented the event as follows: “I am very happy to be part of the Garibaldi school and to be able to celebrate this prestigious event together with the teaching staff, all staff, students and families. Few schools boast so much history and architecture so beautiful and, I would say, modern due to the insights that the architect had in creating varied, bright, spacious and truly welcoming learning environments ". Francesco Andreani's photo is by Bruno Porrozzi The photos of the school are from the historical photographic archive of the Municipality of Umbertide The Centenary photo is by Fabio Mariotti Sources: "Umbertide in the 20th century 1900 - 1946" by Roberto Sciurpa - Ediz. Municipality of Umbertide - 2006 based on historical archive research carried out by Amedeo Massetti. January 2, 1927. The Band with the new uniforms in front of the Collegiate 9 September 1928. Exhibition in Piazza Matteotti 1931. Concert programs for August and September 1934. The program of 9 September and the Sacra Spina in Preggio September 8, 1930. The concert in the square (Photo Mario Fornaci) October 4, 1934. Exhibition at Monte Corona 1946. Manifest with photos of the members of the band the cover of the book by A. Massetti ALESSANDRO FRANCHI Great composer and incomparable master of the city band at the turn of the two wars by Amedeo Massetti Alessandro Franchi has remained a myth for the old musicians who were lucky enough to know him. His name still arouses respect and admiration in young people today for the many times they have heard it pronounced with regret and moving reverence. Some elders of the band, until not many years ago, carried his photograph in the sheet music folder, keeping it with the devotion due to a relic. This is not surprising: Franchi, one of the greatest composers and conductors in the history of Italian band music, left Umbertide a truly profound mark of his art and his humanity. He was born in Bastia Umbra on May 1, 1887, to Napoleon, a 34-year-old shoemaker, and Isolina Petrini, a "housewife". Extraordinarily gifted, he had undertaken the study of music as a child; in his training he will meet great masters who will impress their signs on his fertile mind and on his sensitive soul. Since he was a boy he was part of the Banda di Bastia Umbra and played the role of organist in that parish church dedicating himself to teaching school choirs. In 1908 he began studying harmony under the guidance of the great Raffaele Casimiri di Gualdo Tadino. He then completed the harmony and counterpoint course with Armando Mercuri of Perugia; in the meantime he studied band instrumentation with maestro Bernardino Casetti, director of the municipal band of that city. In the school years 1910 - 11 he was in Bologna where he had practical composition lessons from Ottorino Respighi and, under the guidance of the masters Filippo Codivilla (Director of that Municipal Band) and Bonfiglioli (Music Chief of the 35th Infantry Regiment) completed the study of composition and band instrumentation. In June 1911 he obtained the Master Band Master's degree at the Liceo Musicale in Bologna, earning special praise from the conductor Marco Enrico Bossi in the conducting exam. In July of the same 1911 he was hired by the Municipality of Fojano della Chiana where he remained until February 1915 taking care, in addition to the band, of theatrical performances directing the operas: Bohème and Rigoletto and instructing the choirs (as well as said operas) of the Sonnambula , of the Puritans, of Norma, of the Elixir of Love, of the Barber of Seville etc. I also directed various vocal - instrumental concerts to the same “Garibaldi” theater. In 1914 he graduated from the Royal Musical Institute “L. Cherubini ”of Florence the diploma of license and tenor trombone teaching. In March 1915 he was hired by the Municipality of Umbertide but could only deal with a vocal - instrumental concert "Pro trousseau of the soldier" because in the following November he was called to arms and in February 1916 he reached the war front where he remained uninterrupted until November 1918 . After a long period in the front line he was called to the direction of Bande Divisionali and was part of the orchestra of the Second Army directed by Arturo Toscanini. By order of the Commander, the Army Corps instructed a choir of 350 soldiers who, with band accompaniment, performed the Grappa song, a hymn to the Baptists and other patriotic songs in a grandiose military gathering. In February 1919 he was sent to Innsbruck to direct the Military Band of that Occupation Corps. In the following April he was sent on leave and resumed the civil profession at the Municipality of Umbertide. He won several competitions for the positions of Maestro Director of music schools and Band Bodies including those held by the Municipalities of Massa, Orvieto, Foligno, Bibbiena, etc., but, for family reasons, he always remained here. Here, as well as giving his activity to the Band, he devoted himself with passion and disinterest to the education of numerous choirs of operas, scholastic and patriotic, and he concerted and directed the operettas: "Il Piccolo Balilla" and "Campane a Festa" of R. Corona; “A Race in the Mountains” by M. Cagnacci; "La Pietra dello Scandalo" and "Signorina Terremoto" by V. Billi and one of his operettas in a written act for children. He also took care of patriotic celebrations, charity shows. From the school year 1930 - 31 to 1940 he held the position of teacher of music and choral singing at the Secondary School of Professional Goodwill in Umbertide, also taking initiatives of various concerts for the musical culture of the pupils, introducing the pupils themselves as performers of famous choirs of operas and other kinds. Previously, from the year 1927 to 1933, he always carried out this role also in the supplementary course having a lower magistral character attached to the aforementioned School. In the field of Theater and Church he gave continuous and assiduous activity, both as organizer and director of vocal - instrumental concerts, and as organist and director of liturgical music performed within the local Schola Cantorum, which he himself founded. The “Musica Sacra” publishing house in Milan has published several of his compositions for voices and organ. Other various musical houses, then, have published several of his works for large and small bands. In October 1937 he obtained at the Royal Conservatory of Music “L. Cherubini ”of Florence the diploma in band instrumentation. After the end of the Second World War, Franchi, after having brilliantly passed the verification of the "Purge Commission" which judged public employees for the activities carried out during Fascism, was called in 1944 to fill the post of municipal archivist not being able to return yet to carry out his musical activity. It was the junta of the mayor Astorre Bellarosa, in 1945, who relieved Franchi from the administrative office to bring him back to carry out his activity as teacher and director of the city band "so that the teaching of music could recover in favor of the population and therefore the band could regain its importance also as an educating organ of the people's soul ”. On 4 December of that year, the bodies of three young volunteers who had given their lives for the construction of the new democratic Italy were brought back to Umbertide: Quirino Pucci and Giuseppe Rosati of the "Cremona Combat Group" and Giuseppe Starnini of the "Combat Group Legnano ". To welcome them with great emotion the whole city and the reconstituted town band. These are the words of thanks from the Mayor: "I sincerely thank the SV and this Band for their participation in the honors that the entire population of Umbertide has paid to the bodies of the volunteers who fell on the Ravenna front". 1946 and 1947 marked the beginning of the resumption of full band activity in Umbertide after the war period. There was the entry of new young people and the consolidation of the historical group. The band was then made up of 35 people of very low average age, together with older members such as Mario Villarini, Giovanni Bartolini, Francesco Lotti and Giuseppe Lazzarini. The rest were essentially young people, some recently returned from war or imprisonment (Giuseppe Coletti, Augusto Bruschi and Alvaro Lozzi) or from military service (Luigi Gambucci, Egidio Alunni, Aldo Rondini, Guido Giubilei, Luigi Briganti and Nello Migliorati ). Many eighteen-year-olds (Aldo Fiorucci, Aldo Cozzari, Nello Belia, Giordano Corgnolini, Nello Palazzoli) and in their early twenties Domenico Baldoni and Bruno Giubilei (21), Federico Lazzarini (23), Giuseppe Fiorucci (27). Finally, there were the very young Bruno Tarragoni Alunni (14), Rolando Rosati (15), Antonio Boldrini and Carlo Violini Alunno (16). President Burelli and his deputy Ceccarelli followed the activity with great participation, trying in every way to meet the needs of the musicians. The Band closed in 1947 on December 31st, at 5.30 pm, with a great concert in the square to solemnize the Constitution of the Italian Republic. Franchi was the legendary conductor of all time, loved by the boys who found in him a guide and in the musical activity a way to more serenely overcome the daily difficulties of such a difficult period, in which everything was missing. But his health, already unstable for some time, suddenly worsened and on April 5, 1948, at the age of 61, the master Alessandro Franchi died of a diabetic coma in his home in via Guidalotti 1. The dismay and pain of this premature death are unanimous in the village. His boys watched over him all night and then placed him in the coffin. The funeral took place on April 7, starting from the Collegiate Church among an immense crowd, moved. His band, directed by the young trumpet professor Pietro Franceschini, accompanied him to the cemetery, respecting his will, with the grave and poignant notes of "Heart that remembers", the funeral march he composed at the age of 23 in memory of maestro Giuseppe Censi . The photos are taken from the book by Amedeo Massetti The photos of the funeral of the fallen volunteers are from the Historical Photographic Archive of the Municipality of Umbertide Sources: Historical research by Amedeo Massetti for his book “Two centuries on the march - Umbertide and the Band” - Petruzzi Editore - 2008. In the book, the complete story of the master Franchi in the chapter "The epic of Franks". GABRIELE SANTINI Great conductor of the first half of the twentieth century. In the 1920s he was assistant to Toscanini's Scala and on several occasions he directed two sacred monsters of opera such as Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi by Nicola Lucarelli (From "Umbertide Cronache n.1 2002) Gabriele Santini was born in Perugia on January 20, 1886 from a family from Umbertide, the father was Pio Santini and the mother Carmela Nolaschi. He studied at the “F. Morlacchi ”cello and piano and later moved to the“ GB Martini ”Conservatory of Bologna where he completed his studies in composition with G. Minguzzi and P. Micci. He began his career as a conductor as early as 1904 and devoted himself almost exclusively to the operatic genre. After a first period at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome, (later called Opera Reale, now Teatro dell'Opera) he was hired by various theaters in Latin America. He stayed for eight seasons at the Colon Theater in Buenos Aires (one of the most important in the South American continent) and later at the Municipal Theater in Rio de Janeiro, at the Lyric Opera in Chicago and at the Manhattan Theater in New York. From 1925 to 1929 he was called to the Teatro alla Scala in Milan as assistant to maestro Arturo Toscanini. He then returned to the Rome Opera where he remained permanently until 1933 and from 1944 to 1947 he also exercised the position of artistic director. In 1951 he directed the company of S. Carlo di Napoli in the tour in Paris, for the celebrations of Verdi's fiftieth anniversary. On that occasion, the works "A Masked Ball", "Joan of Arc" and the "Messa da Requiem" were performed under his guidance. He directed several seasons at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, in 1946 - the theater was destroyed and the performances were given at the Palazzetto dello Sport - and from 1960 to 1964, the year of his death. For the first time he presented to the public, among others, the works "Il re" by U. Giordano (1930), "Doctor Antonio" by F. Alfano (1949), "Pérsephone" by I. Strawlnsky (1956) and directed also the Italian premiere of “L'heure espagnole” by M. Ravel and “Christophe Colombe” by D. Millhaud. He also dedicated himself to the rediscovery of the masterpieces of the past by taking care of the first re-propositions of "La Favorita" by G. Donizetti, "Il ballo delle ingrate" by C. Monteverdi, "Fernando Cortez" by G. Spontini. Her repertoire also includes "Amella al ballo" by G. Menotti and "Medea" by L. Cherubini, a work rediscovered by Maria Callas and performed by the same, under the direction of our director, in 1955 in Rome. He died in Rome on November 13, 1964. His discography is quite extensive and includes among other things: Giordano's “Andrea Chenier” (with A. Stella, E Corelli, M. Sereni); the "Boheme" by Puccini (two editions, one with R. Carteri, Tagliavini and Taddei, a second with Renata Tebaldi, G. Lauri Volpi, T Gobbi); The "Triptych" by Puccini ("Il Tabarro, Gianni Schicchi, Suor Angelica") with various artists including V. De Los Angeles, T. Gobbi, M. Del Monaco, P. Montarsolo; two editions of Verdi's “Don Carlos” (with A. Stella, Filipeschi, Labò, Gobbi, Bastianini, Cossotto, Christoff); Verdi's “Simon Boccanegra” (with M. Callas, Albanese, Savarese); Verdi's “Traviata” (with M. Callas, Albanese, Savarese); Verdi's “Ernani” (with M. Del Monaco and N. Rossi Lei-neni); "Madama Butterfly" by Puccini. Recordings made live in the 1950s have also recently been reissued on CD, in which we find Santini conducting the most beautiful names in the vocal scene of the time (R. Tebaldi, M. Callas, A. Stella, M. Del Monaco, F . Corelli, E. Cossotto and many others). Among these recordings, "The siege of Corinth" by G. Rossini (with R. Tebaldi, M. Petri, M. Picchi, M. Pirazzini ); “Fernando Cortez” by G. Spontini (with R. Tebaldi, A. Protti); “Lohengrin” by R. Wagner (with R. Tebaldi, G. Guelfi, E. Nicolai) and published by the Legato; "Giovanna d'Arco" by Verdi (with R. Tebaldi, U. Savarese). On the official website of the Teatro dell'Opera you can read the following: "The Orchestra of the Opera House was born together with 1 Teatro Costanzi, inaugurated in 1880. Witness and protagonist of the premieres of" Cavalleria Rusticana "," L'Amico Fritz !, “Iris”, “Tosca”, saw alternating on his podium Pietro Mascagni, lgor Stravinskij, Riccardo Zandonai. The transformation of Costanzi into the Teatro Reale dell'Opera di Roma in 1928 gave it a physiognomy of an international character, confirmed by the constant presence on its stage of the greatest directors and opera artists from its foundation to today. Up to the end of the 1950s, Gino Marinuzzi, Tuilio Serafin and Gabriele Santini, among others, famous conductors succeeded each other in the position of permanent conductor, who forged the characteristics of extreme flexibility and softness of sound ". We can observe from this the consideration that the maestro Gabriele Santini continues to have in those who have had the good fortune to listen to him directly and in those who know him perhaps only through recordings. Among other things, already in 1938 E. Schmidl, in his Universal Dictionary of Musicians, dedicated an entry to ours and thus expressed himself: “he conducted many opera seasons in Italy and abroad especially in America, esteemed and applauded everywhere”. Of particular interest are his collaborations with the two most prominent soprano of the last century: Renata Tebaldi and Maria Callas. The first recalled recently and with particular esteem and affection his performances under the guidance of our teacher in an interview with Corriere della Sera on the occasion of the celebrations for his 80th birthday. Regarding the second, it is worth remembering that the Greek soprano performed only once in Perugia and did so on August 18, 1949 in the Church of S. Pietro where he performed the "Oratorio San Giovanni Battista" by A. Stradella under the direction of Gabriele Santini. In 1952 our director directed Callas in Bellini's Puritani (in Rome). The year 1953 was that of the famous engraving of "Traviata" (the first recorded by the Greek soprano) and in fact it began in January at the Rome Opera with this work, followed by "Norma" (also in Rome), in the month of September the historic recording of the Traviata was made in Turin and in December, again, Callas performed under the direction of Santini in Verdi's "Trovatore" (also at the Rome Opera). The collaboration with the Greek singer resumed again in 1955 ("Medea" by L. Cherubini, at the Rome Opera) and in 1958 ("Norma" again at the Rome Opera). At the end of this memory I would like to mention a recording curiosity, a record called "Gigli rarities" in which the famous singer from the Marches sings songs from "Romeo et Jullette" by C. Gounod and from "Forza del fate" by G. Verdi, all accompanied by the Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, conducted by Gabriele Santini; the registration dates back to 1934. Photo: From the article - from the Photographic Archive of the Municipality of Umbertide and from Wikipedia Sources: Article on "Umbertide Cronache" - n.1 2002 - Page 42 ARSENIO BRUGNOLA The "doctor of the poor" was a native of Montone of which he was also Mayor, then Provincial Councilor in the District of Umbertide and Deputy for the Upper Val Tiberina. His remains rest in the cemetery of Umbertide by Arsenio Rossoni (his nephew) (From "Umbertide Cronache n. 4 1995) On 1 December 1943, on a harsh day of that winter that preceded the occurrence of the last war events that affected the Val Tiberina and which ended with the passage of the front in the summer of '43, he closed his earthly existence in "his Montone ", where he was born seventy-three years earlier, prof. Luigi Arsenio Brugnola, "doctor of the poor", as Rometti defines him in his book on the events of socialism in Upper Umbria. The funeral, which took place in a dignified silence, without indulging in superfluous commemorations, almost reflecting the shy character of exhibitionism and exteriority that characterized prof. Brugnola, were a spontaneous testimony of his popularity and of the gratitude that those who had resorted to his ability as a doctor, his sensitivity as a man and his function as politician and public administrator had. They were also a tribute to a whole life of sacrifice and study, committed every day to overcoming many difficulties, since youth, but still selflessly attentive to the needs of the weakest. Orphaned of both parents while still a teenager, with the two younger brothers Americo and Annibale and his sister Aurora, he found in the affection and help of his maternal uncles, canons of Montone, Don Settimio and Don Giuseppe Cancellotti, a sure family reference which allowed him to continue in higher and university studies, during which he also carried out the function of tutor at the "La Sapienza" College in Perugia for several years. The heartfelt vocation for medical studies undertaken is testified by the brilliant results achieved, so much so that at the end of the fourth academic year at the University of Perugia, after having passed all the exams with the mark of thirty and honors (except for a thirty), the Faculty of Medicine decreed: "in consideration of the singular zeal and profit shown by Brugnola, he was entrusted with the assistance of the Physiology cabinet" and all this before the degree that he had to achieve at the University of Rome on July 7, 1895 with full marks and thesis declared worthy of printing and admitted to the Girolami Prize announced by the same University. In immediate succession, after completing his university studies, the newly graduated Dr. Brugnola began his activity as a doctor, practicing for five years the profession in conduct, in the municipality of Pietralunga, after a few brief experiences of interin in other municipalities of Umbria, and it was during his stay in Pietralunga that he was able to complete important research concerning the urology of pellagra, in some respects still current today, taking advantage of the presence of numerous patients suffering from this disease in the small local hospital, due to the lack of nutrition of the rural population of that area. The research and studies carried out led to his co-optation, in February 1899, by the "Perusina Academia Medica et Chirurgica". Undoubtedly his experience as a doctor, lived above all among the poor, had to contribute not a little to refine his sensitivity towards the weakest which was already an integral part of his character, so much so that already in November 1895 he had been appointed by the Municipal Council of Montone president of the local Congregation of Charity. After his experience as a physician, he was followed by that of assistant at the Medical Clinic of Perugia, for about four years, and then the first aid activity of the Medical Clinic at the University of Sassari, where in 1906 he obtained the teaching in Special Medical Pathology. Returning to the hospital of Perugia in 1908, he continued researches already begun in bacteriology and clinic, publishing numerous works. After that date, particularly important events occurred in the life of prof. Brugnola: in the same 1908 the marriage with Maria Concetta Ramaccioni from Umbria, a woman of recognized charm and intelligence, who was always at his side in the difficult moments that followed; in 1909 the birth of his daughter Margherita; in 1910 the election as Provincial Councilor for the district of Umbertide, which followed his election as Mayor of Montone, a position he held for several years, contributing not a little to the establishment and resolution of many local problems, including that of the road connection with Pietralunga. His adhesion, at that time, to the Italian Socialist Party appears completely understandable and consequent to his field choices made for some time, if one takes into account how much his nature was led to intervene in favor of the less well-off and those who were however in situations of need and suffering. This inner thrust of his had to find full correspondence in the social and humanitarian demands of the PSI. It is no coincidence that his socialist commitment was realized within the reformist area, of which he evidently shared and appreciated the moderation and commitment to the solution of the most urgent social problems. Unfortunately, the satisfactions on a professional and political level were also accompanied by profound bitterness. the more suffering the more incomprehensible to a logical reading of the facts. It was in this period, exactly in August 1911, that he was denied by the Congregation of the Hospital of Perugia the appointment as chief physician, after the examining commission had indicated him as the first eligible doctor. It was that same Congregation that later had to call him to carry out the functions of President of the same, almost as a result of belated recognition of the mistake made. Almost the same situation occurred in the competition for the chair of Medical Pathology at the University of Turin, in which academic qualifications, scientific production and experience gained, far superior to those of the other competitors, were useless to see him proclaimed the winner of that competition. All this, however, did not lead to prof. Brugnola to decrease neither his professional nor political commitment, but rather it was a stimulus to determine him even more to face those strong conservative power groups that could not tolerate the presence in the university environment of a character not connected to baronies of any kind. The subsequent war events, which also involved Italy with the outbreak of the First World War, committed the whole country to face the dramatic situations of the moment, weakening the treatment of internal problems. In that period we find prof. Brugnola. major physician of the RE, work at the Military Hospital of Viterbo and therefore as director of the hospital section set up precariously in the premises of the Seminary of Perugia. Once the conflict was over, the country began the journey towards the coveted normalization which, despite the victorious war, was long and difficult with the violent recurrence of all the contradictions and problems that had remained dormant during the period of the belligerence. The resumption of the political struggle was particularly hard, with the country troubled by strikes and unrest and the governments hardly able to cope with the situation as a whole. The professor. Brugnola also resumed his political commitment and presented himself as a candidate in the elections of November 1919 for the 25th Legislature, he was elected deputy for the Alta Val Tiberina together with other 155 socialist deputies that the proportional system allowed to bring to the Chamber. In that legislature, it should be remembered, no representative of the new fascist movement was elected, although the Parliamentary Fascio Group was already constituted then, made up of some nationalist and right-liberal deputies. The difficulties of the country, which were also fully reflected in Parliament, made that Legislature particularly difficult, so much so that the attempts of the Nitti and Gioliotti Governments led to nothing, while Italy slipped more and more towards authoritarian solutions and that fascist adventure began which modified power relations and rules of conduct, to the point of inevitably subverting the established democratic order. In the subsequent elections for the XXVI legislature, prof. Brugnola did not participate. We do not know what were the basic reasons that led him to retire from the political arena at the national level: probably the sharpening of internal relations within the PSI between reformists and maximalists, perhaps the intuition of an irreversibility of the deterioration in progress of the Italian political situation and perhaps also the desire not to neglect for too long his mission as a doctor which allowed him to translate directly into his daily work those humanitarian and social stimuli that he had tried to pursue even in politics. The advent of the Fascist regime, especially at the beginning of the twenties, led to the marginalization of those, of opposite political opinion, who did not intend to conform to the new course and continued to represent a certain point of reference, especially for the young people of the time, as I the Honorable Puletti recalled some time ago, faced with the spread of a demeaning conformism. For prof. Brugnola was not enough to withdraw from public life and complete dedication to his freelance activity: for his opponents it was necessary not to allow opportunities for comparison and at least not to submit to the critical judgment of those who still could count on a significant personal following. Thus, when the unveiled threats received seemed to degenerate with concrete facts, he was forced to abandon Perugia to take refuge in the Marches, in Cingoli, waiting for more liveable moments. On his return to Perugia, when the Fascist presence had consolidated and more acceptable living conditions had been established, prof. Brugnola was able to resume his activity as a doctor, obviously only as a freelancer. Paradoxically, the years that followed, spent in the daily commitment that his "mission" entailed, in the always crowded clinic at the foot of the "stairs" of S. Ercolano, were for him perhaps more redundant in notoriety and consensus than those spent in public life . Faced with the trappings of the regime, the imperial rhetoric, the exaltation of force, the figure of a man who had been able to retreat without bowing his forehead and who had managed to arouse respect and consideration even in the hierarchies of the time for his integrity morality and professional capacity, involved a generalized consent, although not expressed for obvious reasons, but undoubtedly palpable in any environment he was in. So the years that followed always saw him still "master of himself", absolutely not inclined to compromise, notoriously critical of the ruling regime, even if devoid of rancor and feelings of revenge, almost aware that the events to come would have done anyway. justice of a questionable past. Those years were also for him a period of deepening of historical studies, of which he was passionate, and of careful reflections. The writer remembers perfectly with how carefully he glossed the political essays of the time, such as Oriani's "Ideal Revolt", placing in the margin of each page his point of view on facts and people, with acute observations, not without pungent sarcasm and irony. Sarcasm and irony that often also manifested in external behaviors that are part of the anecdotal that concerns him, as when he peremptorily invited one of his sharecroppers, framed in the PNF to refrain from the Roman greeting when he met him or when he ordered his nephew Mario Ramaccioni who went to Umbertide in Perugia for the obligatory meetings of the GLL, to take off his uniform before entering his house. The years between '30 and '43, with the growing succession of events and adventures on the world stage, passed very quickly for everyone, who more or less involved or overwhelmed by the dramatic events of the Second World War. The anxiety of seeing the unfortunate war event concluded as soon as possible made the wait almost spasmodic, with an alternation of hopes and disappointments, punctuated by the news of Radio London which was also religiously listened to in the Brugnola house, despite the existing obligation to "block" the short wave circuit of radio equipment. Unfortunately, the path towards the end of the war was accompanied by the manifestation and slow worsening of those heart problems that prof. Brugnola at the end of his existence in Montone, where the whole family had withdrawn due to displacement from the cities in the summer of 1943. Now he rests definitively in the cemetery of Umbertide. Today not many can say that they have known Arsenio Brugnola; many years have now passed since his time and everything has profoundly changed in terms of scales of values, the concept of ethics, the goals to be pursued, but certain examples of life, like his, deserve to be remembered. The Municipality of Montone wanted to make a contribution to his memory by recently naming a street after him. Sources: Article published on “Umbertide Cronache n. 4 - 1995 "- Page 58 GIUSEPPE GUARDABASSI Esponente di spicco del socialismo umbertidese a cavallo tra la fine dell’Ottocento e la prima metà del Novecento a cura di Fabio Mariotti Fu il personaggio più autorevole e carismatico del Partito Socialista non solo nella zona di Umbertide ma in tutto il territorio umbro. Era nato il 14 gennaio del 1865 da Ester Toni e da Giovambattista, gestiva un negozio di ferramenta in fondo al corso, in prossimità di piazza Matteotti (allora Piazza Umberto I) ed abitava in Via Cibo. Il suo equilibrio e la sua lungimiranza lo imposero come primo segretario della sezione socialista locale e oggi viene spontaneo chiedersi dove avesse acquisito una preparazione politica tanto profonda e vasta da imporsi alla stima dei suoi fino a diventare membro della Direzione Nazionale del Partito Socialista. I tre amici e compagni con cui aveva fondato la sezione non erano della stessa levatura. Il marchigiano Michele Belardi, impiegato del dazio, era nato a Loreto il 16 novembre del 1847 e nel 1906 tornò a Porto Recanati nella sua zona di origine; Ovidio Vibi, anche lui impiegato del dazio, era nato il 22 aprile del 1876 ed abitava in via Cibo; Torquato Bucci, di professione avvocato, era nato il 28 dicembre del 1859 ed abitava in via Alberti. Gente rispettabile e animata da una grande passione politica, ma la cui opera rimase circoscritta all'ambito cittadino (1) . Guardabassi ebbe il coraggio e la costanza di lavorare per un'idea quando tutto sembrava congiurare contro: gli operai e i contadini che si mostravano sordi ai messaggi di richiamo, la scarsa partecipazione alle iniziative intraprese, gli insuccessi elettorali, i fischi e gli schiamazzi degli stessi contadini organizzati dal barone Franchetti (2) contro i comizi socialisti in occasione delle elezioni politiche che non consentivano mai agli oratori di parlare. Lo spettacolo poco edificante e riprovevole di non lasciar parlare l'avversario politico, che ancora ha qualche strascico dalle nostre parti specie in occasione della chiusura della campagna elettorale, ha origini antiche ed è nato e cresciuto nell'ambiente agrario di destra. Oltre a curare l'aspetto organizzativo della sezione e la diffusione della stampa e degli opuscoli di informazione, il segretario era impegnato in una assidua opera editoriale. Non solo faceva il corrispondente del giornale del partito Avanti! ma curava una rubrica pubblicata sul settimanale locale La Rivendicazione che si stampava a Città di Castello, dove i socialisti avevano acquistato una tipografia. Il settimanale (3) fu in vendita dal settembre 1902 fino al marzo 1921 quando le squadre fasciste distrussero (4) gli impianti tipografici. Fuori della porta del suo negozio c'era un cartello con scritto "Qui si vende la Rivendicazione" con sotto l'elenco degli articoli più importanti. Le elezioni politiche del 6 novembre 1904 videro i socialisti particolarmente attivi in tutta l'alta valle del Tevere per sostenere la candidatura di Francesco Bonavita contro quella del solito barone Leopoldo Franchetti . Fu una campagna elettorale aspra perché i conservatori temevano un ulteriore balzo in avanti dei socialisti e del Blocco Democratico in genere. Pochi giorni prima delle elezioni, mentre il barone attraversava Umbertide a bordo della sua macchina fu sonoramente fischiato da un gruppo di giovani che si trovavano davanti al negozio di Guardabassi. Il barone fermò la vettura, scese e guardò torvo in direzione del gruppo con aria sdegnata e minacciosa. Il giorno dopo vennero due padrini e consegnarono a Guardabassi il cartello di sfida alla spada. Ai rappresentanti del Franchetti, il pacato segretario rispose "che il suo ideale socialista e la sua concezione della lotta politica e sociale non gli permettevano di ricorrere a mezzi ch'egli considerava come avanzi di costumi barbari e sorpassati e che sono la negazione stessa delle lotte civili; e che, d'altra parte, egli non poteva e non intendeva assolutamente essere responsabile di atti commessi da giovani non ancora sufficientemente educati a queste lotte civili (5) ." Quella campagna elettorale si chiuse così e il risultato delle elezioni, come era prevedibile, non solo confermò la rielezione del barone Franchetti, ma determinò il calo delle sinistre estreme e il trionfo di Giovanni Giolitti. Il timore di un successo delle "estreme" mandò alle urne in Italia 1.903.687 elettori, il 65% degli aventi diritto al voto (2.928.749), percentuale mai raggiunta prima, e la grande presenza dei cattolici in appoggio ai liberali pesò fortemente sull'esito delle elezioni. Ormai si profilava un corso politico nuovo e si faceva strada l’ltalietta giolittiana. Anche all'interno del partito socialista c'era aria di tempesta. Polemiche acrimoniose laceravano il gruppo dirigente e l'estremismo massimalista di Enrico Ferri e Arturo Labriola si opponeva all'ala riformista di Turati, Bissolati e Bonomi. Per evitare un'eventuale scissione, Oddino Morgari, nel suo settimanale Sempre Avanti, tentava la via della conciliazione con una tesi centrista detta "integralismo". Al Congresso di Roma del 1906 la linea di Morgari ebbe una buona maggioranza e Giuseppe Guardabassi, che ne era un esponente autorevole e ascoltato in Umbria, fu eletto membro della Direzione Nazionale del Partito. Nelle elezioni amministrative del 1905 che avvenivano nell'atmosfera riformatrice del Giolitti e tra laceranti conflitti interni al partito a livello di vertice, i risultati ad Umbertide furono molto negativi per i socialisti che si erano presentati con una loro lista. Ottennero solo 150 voti, ma Guardabassi fu eletto con 180 preferenze grazie al prestigio personale di cui godeva (6) . Quell'anno fu negativo in tutti i sensi. In molte regioni d'Italia furono organizzate manifestazioni contro "il caro vita" che ebbero uno svolgimento disordinato e violento soprattutto nelle zone agricole. Ad Umbertide un mercoledì, giorno di mercato, un gran numero di operai si avventarono con selvaggio furore sulle contadine che portavano uova, pollame, ortaggi e legumi, frutto del loro lavoro, a vendere per ricavare qualche spicciolo. Le indifese donne furono aggredite dagli operai rabbiosi e i loro prodotti scaraventati nella Reggia. Gurdabassi intervenne immediatamente ma ormai era troppo tardi. La vicenda, com'era logico attendersi, fu strumentalizzata dagli agrari. La sezione socialista organizzò per la domenica successiva due incontri, uno a Montecastelli e l'altro a Molino Vitelli. Fu un vero disastro: a Montecastelli non si presentò alcun contadino, mentre a Molino Vitelli erano più di trecento, non per ascoltare il comizio di Guardabassi, ma per investirlo di bordate di fischi e di minacce paurose (7) . Una bella soddisfazione Guardabassi l'ebbe nelle elezioni politiche del 1908. Questa volta i candidati erano tre: il solito barone Leopoldo Franchetti per i liberali conservatori, il marchese Ugo Patrizi per la democrazia radicale e Francesco Bonavita per i socialisti. Bonavita riportò 660 voti, Patrizi 800 e Franchetti 1.000. Non solo i socialisti erano in netta avanzata, ma diventavano determinanti nel ballottaggio che si rendeva necessario in quanto nessuno dei tre aveva raggiunto la maggioranza assoluta. I socialisti, riuniti a Città di Castello sotto la presidenza di Guardabassi, votarono all'unanimità di orientare i loro voti su Patrizi come il minore dei mali. Fu la fine politica del barone Franchetti, che nel 1917 lascerà anche questo mondo con un testamento sorprendente: i suoi numerosi poderi sarebbero passati in proprietà ai contadini che li coltivavano. I giornali di tutta Italia parlarono di filantropia esagerata e di testamento "socialista". I socialisti locali, più disincantati per le lunghe lotte condotte contro il nobile barone, videro nel gesto l'ultimo dispetto politico: quei contadini, in passato accesi leghisti, divenuti proprietari passarono dall'altra parte. Il barone dava filo da torcere anche da morto. Non c'è da meravigliarsi: l'istinto naturale, se non è sorretto da una robusta convinzione politica e da una grande passione sociale, non mira all'uguaglianza ma alla supremazia; se non si riesce ad essere "padroni", si aspira almeno ad essere "padroncini". Poco dopo, nel 1910, ci furono le elezioni amministrative. Il lavoro dei socialisti incominciava a dare i suoi frutti perché il Blocco Democratico riuscì a conquistare molti comuni. Ad Umbertide Guardabassi divenne un valente collaboratore del sindaco Francesco Andreani, impegnato in una serie di opere pubbliche che ancora resistono al tempo. Guardabassi era sulla breccia dell'impegno politico del "né aderire, né sabotare" quando la prima guerra mondiale strappò al suo affetto gli unici due figli, Spartaco e Francesco. Il primo morì in una nave da guerra, il secondo sei anni dopo in seguito alle ferite che lo avevano menomato nelle operazioni militari al fronte. Animatore di tutte le manifestazioni politiche di Umbertide e dell'alta Umbria era sempre in prima fila nel condurre le lotte sociali con equilibrio e con il totale rifiuto della violenza. Solo nel grande sciopero del 1920 per il rinnovo del Patto colonico successe un fatto increscioso nella zona di Montone. La guerra era finita da un pezzo e le promesse di miglioramento delle condizioni di vita dei coloni, fatte in quel periodo, erano rimaste parole al vento. In tutta l'Umbria si registrarono scioperi e vibrate proteste che si protrassero per oltre un mese in piena estate. Il 10 agosto i contadini schierarono nei campi tutto il bestiame "grosso" delle stalle e solo in presenza di questo espediente, durante la notte, oltre il 50% dei proprietari si decise a firmare l'accordo. Fu a questo punto che un gruppo di giovani mezzadri si recò a Montone, presso la casa di Riccardo Reali, che non intendeva firmare. Costui, spaventato, mise mano ad una rivoltella che siguardò bene dall'usare mentre un gruppo discioperanti lo aggredì a bastonate (8) . L'episodio, per fortuna, finì qui senza conseguenze più gravi, ma ebbe un lungo strascico giudiziario che vide coinvolti 35 mezzadri, Giuseppe Guardabassi in qualità di Segretario della sezione socialista e Clotide Rometti segretario della Camera del Lavoro di Umbertide, che vennero ammanettati e condotti in carcere a Perugia pur non avendo partecipato all'aggressione. Il capo di imputazione, per i maggiori responsabili, era il seguente "... per avere nell'agosto 1920 in Montone in correità tra loro, ristretto la libertà di lavoro dell'industria agricola più volte con atti esecutivi della medesima risoluzione criminosa e mediante minacce e violenze a mano armata di bastoni, contro i proprietari terrieri: Reali Riccardo, Tirimagni Pericle, Ciucci Giulio, Nunzi Sante e Vannucchi, per costringerli a firmare un patto colonico con patti che essi pretendevano dover conseguire... " (9) . Guardabassi fu assolto e Rometti condannato a sei mesi di carcere. Alcuni mezzadri subirono una condanna da sei a otto mesi mentre la maggioranza venne assolta per non aver commesso il fatto. Dopo l’avvento del fascismo Guardabassi fu perseguitato in tutti i modi, soffrendo insulti e violenze. Gli dettero fuoco persino al negozio. Morì ad Umbertide il 18 ottobre 1944. Gli sopravvisse l’amata moglie Alba che era sempre stata il suo sostegno nelle innumerevoli peripezie sostenute. Nel dopoguerra a lui fu dedicata la locale sezione del P.S.I. mentre l’amministrazione comunale gli intitolò la piazzetta dopo il passaggio a livello di via Spoletini. Note: 1. I dati anagrafici e l'attività professionale sono attinti dall'archivio anagrafico del Comune di Umbertide. 2. Clotide Rometti, “Sessant’anni di Socialismo nell’Alta Umbria e in Italia” – Ed. Il Solco, Città di Castello 1954 - pag. 30. 3. Tra i redattori, oltre a Giuseppe Guardabassi, vanno ricordati: l'avvocato Luigi Massa, il dottor Luigi Bosi di Sansepolcro, il dottor Luca Sediari, l'avvocato Giulio Pierangeli, il tipografo Luigi Gabbiotti, Vito Vincenti, Napoleone Bevignani, Aspromonte Bucchi, Giuseppe Beccari, Emilio Pierangeli, Bistino Venturelli. Cfr. Clotide Rometti, op. cit., pag. 28. 4. Clotide Rometti, op. cit., pag. 27. 5. Clotide Rometti, op. cit., pagg. 31 e 32. 6. Clotide Rometti, op. cit., pag. 38. 7. Clotide Rometti, op. cit., pag. 40. 8. Clotide Rometti, op. cit., pag. 6%. 9. Francesco Pierucci, 1921-1922 Violenze e crimini fascisti in Umbria, Tipografia Caldari, Umbertide, 1977. Fonti: - “Umbertide nel secolo XX 1900 – 1946” di Roberto Sciurpa – Comune di Umbertide, 2006 - “UMBERTIDE – L’uomo nella toponomastica” di Bruno Porrozzi – Ass. Pro-loco Umbertide, 1992 Help us remember umbertidestoria@gmail.com Bruto Boldrini Dal Calendario storico di Umbertide 1998 l’appassionata biografia che Mario Tosti ha dedicato a Bruto Boldrini, amministratore locale ed esponente di spicco del Partito Socialista di Umbertide degli anni ‘50 e ‘60, impegnato anche molto attivamente nel settore sociale e assistenziale. Bruto è uno dei dodici figli nati vivi da babbo Fabrizio, ferroviere dell' “Appennino” e mamma Ezilde de Grattasassi, venditrice di stoffa. Finite le elementari apprende il mestiere nell'officina meccanica di Silvio Nanni e poi nelle botteghe artigiane di Migliorati e Rondoni. Combatte al fronte, durante la prima guerra mondiale, nella Pasubio, reparto artiglieria di campagna. Rientrato alla base, trova un'occupazione stabile, nel '21, all'officina della Ferrovia Centrale Umbra. Fisico asciutto, portamento eretto, avaro di parole, ricco di azione, nel lavoro, nel volontariato, nella politica: l'impegno sociale rappresenta il costante motore della sua vita, facendogli assumere un ruolo di riferimento morale per la collettività. Opera nella società di pubblica assistenza “Croce Bianca” (con Aldo Burelli presidente e Porrini segretario) che fornisce servizi di trasporto per gli infermi, con barelle su ruote spinte a mano; e per i morti (la famigerata “Carulìna”). Nel tempo libero accudisce alla manutenzione del cimitero: vernicia le croci ed i cancelli, risistema le tombe, ripassa con il nero i nomi sulle lapidi. Socialista convinto, ne pratica gli ideali con rigore e passione; allaccia rapporti personali con i leaders del partito che trovano ospitalità nella sua casa di via Cibo, senza disdegnare le tagliatelle preparate dalla moglie Anita e servite nella sala da pranzo della Rita Grilli, in mancanza della propria. Eletto consigliere comunale per la lista del Psi nelle amministrative del '46, è riconfermato per quattro legislature. E' assessore nella mitica prima giunta del dopoguerra, sindaco Astorre Bellarosa, e ricopre la carica di vice sindaco nella giunta di Serafino Faloci. Viene immortalato a fianco del Patriarca di Venezia Angelo Roncalli, futuro papa Giovanni XXIII, in visita a Preggio. Poco dopo la morte, nel 1966, il sindaco di Umbertide Umberto Cavalaglio commemora la figura del defunto consigliere, “mettendone in risalto le preclare qualità di amministratore integro, puro e di uomo; ricorda le varie cariche tenute con rara passione e con impareggiabile solerzia e competenza, nonché la dedizione completa all'Amministrazione, al movimento democratico, al suo Partito e alla popolazione. Rimpiange la perdita di un così valoroso amministratore, verso il quale ha sempre nutrito una profonda stima ed un affetto davvero fraterno”. Mario Tosti Bruto Boldrini

GUIDUCCINO DELLA FRATTA An experienced Frattegian administrator vulgar language and fourteenth-century poetry curated by Fabio Mariotti Conference held in Umbertide in November 1974 by Prof. Ignazio Baldelli of the La Sapienza University of Rome on Guiduccino della Fratta (Transcription from the original recording) From a paper manuscript in the State Archives of Perugia, S. Maria Valdiponte 28. (1363-67) cc.125-132-1375-76 cc.166-182 I want to start with some general considerations. In recent years, Italian culture at the highest levels has taken a strong interest in the regional aspects of its components. An illustrious scholar, Carlo Dionisotti, recently published a fundamental book on the relationship between geography and culture (Ed: “Geography and history of Italian literature”). I am not saying that all this was unknown until recently, but it was certainly strongly overshadowed as the culture of each country is strongly related to social and political reality. In the past century, all the forces of Italian culture and reality tended to unity; it is natural that in such a perspective, the regional aspects were strongly overshadowed and the accent was placed on what united the Italians, on the common aspects and therefore on certain voices and on certain great movements that had meant linguistic unity and Italian culture. However, it is certain that only in the last decades, since 1930, in Italy has systematic attention been paid to the regional components of Italy, and there has been a growing interest in a composite unity, made up of notable regional traditions, of different aspects, even if often in the millenary history of Italy these different aspects have sometimes sought a common denominator. Undoubtedly, all this must be related to the best Italian regionalism. We know that in the Italian regions, even as a political institution, there are serious periods: at a certain moment it could happen that instead of just one mafia we could have many small mafias and this would be one of the biggest misfortunes for the Italian reality. But many men of culture have confidence. Such a perspective - our trust in the regions - looks towards the ancient and takes the right of contemporary society from the ancient. Since the pre-Roman origins there has been a composite Italian reality; literature and culture in the vernacular was not born as a unitary one but was born first in the great Benedictine abbeys of the center-south, then in the municipalities of the center-north. If we look with a minimum of attention to the Perugian or Florentine culture of the thirteenth or fourteenth century we are faced with very different manifestations, sometimes contrasting, always very lively. This liveliness of the literary and artistic culture of our cities and regions gives us hope for an active, lively and non-provincial future of the regions. In a perspective of this kind, what has been maturing in the conscience of the Italians, what is the position of Umbria? Umbria has its own unitary physiognomy albeit in this larger unit, in what the Spaniards call the small homeland, in comparison with the large homeland, or the small homeland in accordance with the large homeland. Does our small homeland have an interesting cultural and linguistic physiognomy in that larger reality that is Italy? We are sure so, but first another consideration is needed. At first glance, some might consider the claim to the region, to regionalism absurd at a time when we are talking about Europe. Instead this is in perfect agreement. When men unite or attempt to unite in larger units each one must seek strength, his identity in the most immediate, regional roots in the truest sense of the word. In this broad, motivated and composite perspective of the kind I have said, what is the position of Umbria? I would say a position of extreme interest as the most ancient Umbrian culture, of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, is characterized by a strongly popular tone. Certainly very different from the Tuscan refinement, from the pedagogical, teaching, wisely Ambrosian tone of Lombard culture, but a popular tone in the Franciscan sense of the word. I use the term "Franciscan" with perfect conscience. The most revolutionary, most active movement in Umbria is Franciscanism for what it has catalysed around it political, ideal and cultural forces. In Umbria the most interesting literary manifestation of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries is the "lauda". That lauda of which today we are able to indicate various centers of active production, of different sign. A more revolutionary, Christocentric "lauda", as developed in Todi and Assisi, is contrasted by a more orthodox average "lauda". Perugia will espouse the interests of the Church for many decades in its expansion action beyond the Tiber, where Ghibelline traditions will be created, of rebellion against the Church, of rebellion against the bourgeoisie, of a popular character. All this produces a medium-popular type of literature: the "lauda" that chooses the ballad as a musical metric scheme makes a significant choice. Choosing the ballad among all the possible metric-musical schemes that the Italian and European culture offered at that time, means choosing the meter and the music of the most popular tone. Recalling Perugia, alongside the "lauda", we have the production of legal-administrative prose (the great municipal statute of Perugia was probably written in 1342 in the vernacular and is presented in one language, in a style that is attentive to the concrete reality of life daily); or a novel, the novel by Corciano and Perugia which offers us a medium-popular ideal. It is quite interesting to study such documents on a social and literary level. In this period there is an effort to recover classical traditions, especially French, translated on an actively democratic and popular level. The difficult equilibrium of Umbria, and of Perugia in particular, will tend to end rather tragically in 1370. Returning to the theme, it is of particular interest to refer to that family culture characteristic of the time. A "bastard" of accounts preserved in the State Archives of Perugia has handed down the accounting of a "gabelle" contractor, certain Guiduccino della Fratta (La Fratta was renamed, in the last century, Umbertide), which should not be seen as a naive and inexperienced minstrel. He was a man who handled considerable sums of money, having contracted out the municipalities of Montone, della Fratta, for a sum of 1000 florins, which, translated into lire, are currently 60-80 million. to be interested, with his partners, on a fairly conspicuous financial level: his actions, at a certain moment, went from Fratta to Marsciano. Guiduccino, therefore, was an important person even if he was not at the level of the great bankers of the fourteenth century. his accounting results in important payments even if we, on an anecdotal level, are more interested in the extreme care with which our Guiduccino treated his mount, the one he called his nag, which allowed him to travel between Montone, Romeggio, Fratta, Marsciano .... Here are some examples: ("Quisste sleep and the d. And the quail I Guiducino ò esspese. En prima espese a di xxx de November when I went to the Fracta wing for d. And to draw and put an iron of the ronccino and en j sheets of wine and en la provenda ii s. "). ("Item espese en lo trombadore when I el menaie to have the ordene of the dicta galbella of the casstello de Montone and dela Fracta and de Romeggio xxxii s. And vi d. Banned"). ("Item expended on the twelfth day of the dicto month in the arbergo d'Armanucciuo dala Resena x f.). (Item espese en vino to do honor to Fractegian cierte that I fommo ser Nicolò and I iiii s. "). ("Item paddles a day xviii of gienaio for the galbella de Montone won twelve gold florins of the quails had twelve of them from Sepolino de Luca and ten paddles of the d. Dele gallbelle caught xxii gold florins"). ("Item espese en axis, enn agute, elglie maiesstre that aconciaro the usscia and the fenesstre and 'l mangdoio, e' n palglia for the roncino, and the quail d. Espese Vagnuolo tavernaoio, and the quail d. Him die ser Pietro xxvi ll . iiii d. "). ("Item espese a di xxiii de marco en doie ferre nuova, en chiuov for the roncino and plump to make poltrilglia en glie pieie xxii s."). ("Item paddles in tormentina, in oil, in fat de casstrone to make the onhuento for the pies of the roncino xv s. (1)"). Note read: d. (to denare); ll (for livere); f. (for florins); s. (for solde). As can be deduced from certain peculiarities, the language used is that typical of the territory that goes from Perugia to Fratta. In the morphological system of ancient Perugia we note the presence of the neutral plural in "a", while the masculine plural in "i" does not exist; plural masculine and feminine, on the other hand, are united by the ending in "and". In the accounts of Guiduccino the vernacular is used and this constitutes a rather remarkable novelty as most of the accounts of this kind, throughout the century, are still kept in Latin. This means that Guiduccino - like many others - had a strong sense of the vernacular of his country, and therefore preferred it to Latin. Guiduccino, however, knew Latin, as evidenced by the transcription of "Adoro te devote", albeit in a somewhat approximate way. The choice of the vernacular is always a positive choice: Latin is the tradition, but men who have an interest for daily activity, they turn to the vulgar. Boccaccio's leading scholar has made a rather interesting observation; most of the codes that contain the "Decameron" have all passed through the hands of Italian bankers. We must not think of the "Decameron" as it appears to us from the cinema, but as a business book, the book that attracted bankers and the practical world of fourteenth-century Italy. Guiduccino is a small banker in the area and therefore has a very strong interest in the vulgar. But it is not only this that Guiduccino left in his account book, in his "bastardello": he also transcribed, if not composed, some poetic documents of considerable interest. Let me open a parenthesis. Many times some of the oldest documents of Italian poetry have been handed down to us through rather unusual roads. The literature in the vernacular is looked upon with a certain contempt by the university centers and by the men of the highest culture and therefore was not preserved from time with the same care given to the Latin texts. The book was a precious object, of very high cost: therefore the great ecclesiastical communities, princes, some notaries, universities could possess it. The parchment was used for important texts (St. Augustine, legal texts) while a work in vernacular written around the 11th-12th century was reported on some fragments of parchment, but in most cases it was not preserved or preserved. Then we find many of the most interesting texts of the origins of Italian culture and literature, from time to time, rather casually in certain half pages left blank. There is a codex by Gratian, a medieval jurist, in which when a chapter is finished, you go to a new page, leaving half a page blank. In this half page we come across a man of revolutionary culture who has a sense for the vulgar and hands down a text written in those centuries. Some of the most ancient rhythms of Italian poetry - Cassinese rhythm, Laurentian rhythm, Marche rhythm of S. Alessio - are handed down rather casually in this manner. Other documents were saved, just as casually, through the "guard" of the code, a large piece of parchment placed to protect the code itself. On these "guards" there are very important ancient texts. A notary from Umbertide must have had one of these codes at hand because he made a mess of it: there are 7-8 "bastardelli" linked by pages of the same 11th century code. The ways in which this ancient literature is handed down in the vernacular are casual to exceptional. I myself was lucky enough to discover the oldest existing Tuscan text in America, written at the end of the 11th century, in the "guard" of a codex of the Philadelphia library. There is a legal provision of the municipality of Bologna which prohibits notaries from leaving blank pages in documents to avoid tampering. And it is precisely in these blank pages that we find the most unexpected things in the study of ancient codes. The notaries of Bologna in the 13th century were men of particularly refined culture as the many pages that remained blank in the transcription of the documents were filled by them with extremely interesting copies of vernacular texts. In these Bolognese memorials - dated 1286 - there is a sonnet by Dante who was just over 20 years old in that year, but was so famous that a notary to fill a half blank page transcribes the sonnet of the Garisenda. And, if it was difficult for high-level vulgar texts to be saved, this was even more difficult for texts of a popular tone, considered negligible and therefore not transcribed. The Bolognese notaries have transcribed, along with songs by Jacopo da Lentini, even popular ballads. We said that Guiduccino was a man of good taste, he too had a blank page or two in his "bastardello" and he transcribed 4 ballads and a couple of prayers in Latin. The 4 ballads are not otherwise known and they are certainly all by the same author because they are united by a thematic element: loving fidelity. The ballads were written close to Umbertide since there are linguistic elements that certainly recall the region I was talking about before; and here they are: THE “You will never have pity cruel woman of me? and you know that 'l cur te de, and already do not aim at the time that was gone. If you thought about time how much is nobel thing, it is not yet in time to give your servant pose? and you are not flat and yet me dul de te that I brought you fe and tu en ver me always cruelty. Averaie tu maie pity Flee as much as you know that I too will follow you, that I love you more than never, and you do not want to suffer, say who you mean, and that I too will follow you and do not hope though that I abandone you that my heart goes away. Averaie you II My sweet lord, take merchandise of me who am subject to your faith. The annema, the body and my whole person to you donaie for the love I look at: if absentia foie, now forgive me, that I will obey you and never be late anymore, but this dart that is in my heart luie aial from me for love, faith. And the rays of light and your kindness I am taken to fall in love with your love, and in memory of the Danish faith I always contemplate in true color: to! dear my lord, your faith do not break it to me as others believe. Vague ballad, go to my lord And tell her to be firm and strong to me, and of his beautiful eyes and pious glance do not do my despect to no lover, but as a diamond keep faith to me who sees me for his love to die. III So that with close love I am for you, the annema is the heart always fo de you. He did not deserve, sir, so many ghuaie, because he loved you with 'perta fe, but I don't think he ever does that, star gientil, proceeded from you, but only he who never had fe with his and deceit he betrayed you and me. Giovene and beautiful, I don't want you to believe that it hurts me already being here for you, nor ancho de morir for quilla faith which you gave to me without error: donqua perfect love as a favor to you keeps el cor alegro towards me. Yes, as Arcita went down in prison What a podia Ymilia always see, maie huomo in the world had such a state that it seems I didn't think I had, but if near love were you assaie comfort doneresste to me. IV If he had been wise en ver de me, still possess my fe. Tu senca fe dolciecca deceived me, me who loved you more than anything else love, with your locenghe aie me more than robato how tender are the keys to my heart: I fell in the low sun for you, nor did you ever record more than me. But you do not look that your and deceive sleep known by those who use you, so that from outside what spreads within: the time that says mecho will pass, think for what your mala fe many will benefit by harming you. Sweet ballad is telling everyone who calls others to be wise and haughty and does not look at the pain with mocti thieves de who for robar others is so manero hold your purse tightly and your heart to yourself to what is not false fe. The elegant yet popular tone of the ballads is evident. It is an elegance that is revealed in the systematic nature of certain truncated rhymes, a usual element in poetic composition. The high cultural level is revealed in a truly amazing detail: the presence of an echo of a work by Boccaccio. This sonnet I am talking about was probably transcribed in Umbertide, in Montelabate, or in the territory between them, by Guiduccino della Fratta around 1363. Boccaccio is still alive and here there is a reference not to his major work, the "Decameron", which had already had a notable diffusion at the time, but at the "Teseida", an early work in eighth with very little diffusion in Italy. We are facing a local and regional culture, but not a provincial one. The region, however, has an active and cultural sense only if it is open to the reality of other countries and other regions. In the area we are talking about there is someone who cultivates poetry on a rather original level, even if it is not excellent poetry and is very attentive to the cultural reality of the largest centers, of the most notable poets. The reference to "Teseida" is when he says: "Sìcomme Arcita went down in prison / who can always see Ymilia see". Arcita and Palaemon are the two Theban prisoners in Athens prisons who fell in love with Emilia. I am not going to tell you about the "Teseida" but it is a story based on the love of two prisoners for a young girl who they see wandering around in the garden from a cell window. Here Guiduccino refers to the second part of the novel when Arcita, who has been allowed to leave Athens, comes back, with grave danger for his life, in order to see Emilia again. The interesting thing about these documents is the almost first-hand experience of the culture of a certain regional sign, actively present in what are the currents of the higher centers, for example by Boccaccio. These ballads, of notable poetic workmanship, were certainly written in the area we are talking about. What is the proof of this? The overwhelming proof is provided by the type of rhyme, which necessarily preserves the original aspect. We find in rhyme “enganne” with “spande” (In verses 9 and 11 of the ballad “Se saggio stato en ver de me”). We know that the ancient technique required perfect rhyme, while in this case there is no perfect rhyme. If we try to get a perfect rhyme in these two words we get "engenne", "spanne". You know that in most of Umbria "when" is said "quanno" (Foligno, for example). So evidently the poet of these ballads wrote "enganne" in rhyme with "spanne"; the copyist then changed "spans" and broke the rhyme. One might think that the ballads were written in southern Umbria; however, we cannot refer to the current situation, we must refer to the 14th century situation. Now it turns out that the consonant group "nd" was frequently found in the form "nn" in Gubbio. This means that this form extended far north than it is in today's dialects. In conclusion, we can say that these ballads were written in Umbria in an area not far from Guiduccino's homeland. The language of the above ballads and accounts roughly coincides with that of the Perugia theaters. However, there are two peculiarities that certainly recall Umbertide. To say "we went" we use the form "gemmo" and not "gimmo". "Gimmo" is the Perugian form; “Gemmo” is the northernmost form, almost castellana (and is the form used by Guiduccino della Fratta). Towards the area of Pierantonio there is still today a linguistic border of extreme interest: in that point passes one of the most important linguistic borders not only of Umbria, but even of Italy. From this point of view, those who are "Frattegiano" - how to say Guiduccino - use very different forms from those used, for example, in Ponte Valleceppi, that is, the sonorisation of the intervocalic "s". In the south of Italy the intervocalic "s" is always sonorous; north of the line I mentioned earlier we begin to find the sonic intervocalic "s". In the text reported above, in two or three cases, instead of the "s" our Guiduccino uses a "c", which in ancient texts was read as "z", for example in precedent, in chiecia, in piceglie (for "peas"). This form was used alluding to a sonorous "s": it is a hypothesis formulated by me at the time of the discovery of the texts, which I still confirm today. Even this land - I use "terra" with the medieval value of the term which means "walled land", "land surrounded by walls" - that is Umbertide had these interests towards the vulgar; interests towards a literary possibility with regional components (presence of the vulgar Perugian ) with some more local peculiarities (presence of probably "Frattegian" forms) or with a notable openness towards reality and larger centers (2). Note (2) See Ignazio Baldelli “Ballads and prayers in a book of accounts of the century. XIV - in idem, Vulgar Middle Ages from Montecassino to Umbria, Bari 1971, pp. 371-383. On 29 January 1980 the Umbertide City Council named a street in the area that was formerly called "Terziere Inferiore" or "Porta Nuova" (the current area of Piazza San Francesco and offshoots) after Guiduccino della Fratta. The professor. Carlo Dionisotti Via Guiduccino della Fratta

THE "SPANISH" EPIDEMIC IN UMBERTIDE AND IN THE HIGH TIBER VALLEY curated by Fabio Mariotti We publish, with the kind permission of the author, the historian from tifernate Alvaro Tacchini, the article on the Spanish epidemic that struck Umbertide at the end of 1918, an article that is part of a series of articles dedicated to Valtiberina Umbra and Tuscany. For this reason we believe that, in order to better understand what happened and place it in a wider and substantially homogeneous historical, social and civil context, it would be advisable to also read the other articles that refer to the entire valley and of which we report the titles : “Spanish” flu: when and how it spread; October 1918: an attempt was made to minimize; Prophylaxis and popular nutrition; Public hygiene; The "Spanish" in Città di Castello and in the Nestoro valley; the "Spanish" in the Sangiustino area; Sansepolcro: the "Spanish" among the prisoners of Aboca; Pieve Santo Stefano: gratitude towards a military doctor. The "Spanish" among the military ". At the end of the page you will find the link to access all the articles published on the storiatifernate.it site of Alvaro Tacchini, whom we thank for his courtesy and availability. by Alvaro Tacchini The 2020 Coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) recalls the dramatic memory of what happened in 1918-1919, also worldwide, for the so-called "Spanish flu" (H1N1). The following articles reconstruct its history in our valley. It was a shocking event, which locally caused the death of more than a thousand people in the last quarter of 1918 alone. At that time it was a very poor society, with severe hygienic deficiencies and with a modest level of health care, culturally and socially. less ready to face such a serious emergency. Moreover, a society exhausted by four years of war. Attention! In re-proposing these texts - already published in 2008 - we do not want to darken even more the mood of a public opinion already worried about what is happening. On the contrary! This historical knowledge can help us to better appreciate how much our society has evolved in the last hundred years from the point of view of democracy, social conditions (especially in the food and hygiene fields), health care, basic culture, fabric institutional and associative. One more reason to fight the Coronavirus challenge together, in harmony with the political, administrative and scientific authorities. The complete texts of the articles, accompanied by the notes, are in my volume "The Upper Tiber Valley and the Great War". The epidemic in Umbertide The municipal authorities of Umbertide reported the appearance of the flu to the prefect on 19 September. Since then they have regularly informed him about the progress of the epidemic. Moreover, the prefect himself had given strict provisions to monitor its diffusion in a careful and methodical way. The bulletins sent by the Umbertian municipality are a valuable source of information. In September 8 disinfections were carried out in the homes of 10 people who died of an infectious or "contagious" disease, as the traffic police often wrote in their reports to whom, together with the municipal brush, the health officer entrusted the task. The affected area was the countryside north of Umbertide, between Montecastelli - above all, with 5 deaths -, Montemigiano, Romeggio and Verna. That the situation aroused concern is confirmed by the decision, from the end of the month, to have the bodies transported to the cemetery by the shortest route, with religious services only in the church of Santa Maria. But the epidemic suddenly spread to the point that it was necessary to prohibit "the agglomeration in the church for funeral services" and to have the bodies transported directly to the mortuary chapel of the cemetery. In fact, the telegram sent to the prefect on 4 October painted a dramatic picture. After having indicated the number of people affected by the beginning of the epidemic at about 600, he updated the situation as follows: "Case reports in the last 24 hours are 30 locations in Montecastelli, 20 Niccone, 30 Rasina, 20 Molino Vitelli, 20 Calzolaro, 15 Ranchi Nestoro, another 50 cases in different areas - Three deaths in the last 24 hours, one of which was a prisoner of war was hospitalized in a civil hospital - Situation in Montecastelli worsening, making it impossible for only a doctor to disengage service - Please arrange for another provisional sanitary dispatch of disinfectants ”. The municipal authorities did not hide the gravity of the moment ("here very serious infection, high mortality") when they urgently requested the transfer of about twenty beds from the military hospital to the civil one, which had already exhausted them. The impact of the "Spanish" was underlined by the bare figures. In the first fifteen days of October in the municipality of Umbertide 49 people died, compared to 6 in the same period in the previous year. In the 12 information bulletins sent to the prefect from 5 to 30 October - but some are missing - we read of 580 new cases of flu, with 53 deaths. The 55 disinfections carried out during that month give us the names of 57 residents in the municipality who died of contagious disease. While there is no official death census, these figures paint a very significant picture during the peak of the epidemic. And the reports of the disinfections barely hint at the tragedy experienced by many families: in Niccone, Silvio Medici lost his wife and daughter; Pietro Boldrini the mother and a son; Domenico Montanucci, from Montemigiano, was killed by his wife, a son and a grandson of just 15 months; David Bacuccoli, from Migianella, and Vittorio Gnagnetti, from Umbertide, each saw two of their daughters die in a few days. The authorities took every possible precaution. The prefect postponed the commemoration of the dead to December, and ordered that the religious services of All Saints and any other solemn feast be limited to the celebration of flat masses. And, perhaps even in order not to depress the morale of the population, he established that the ringing of bells for holidays or funerals was reduced "to the number of tolls purely essential to the desired signaling". Sanitary conditions began to improve in November. There were then 40 deaths overall, compared to 17 in November 1917. The reports of the disinfections allow us to quantify at least 21 certain deaths for "Spanish". At the end of the month the Municipality was finally able to write to the prefect that the flu was "significantly decreasing", sending for the first time a bulletin with the words "deaths none". In December, the daily number of new cases dropped to 7-8. A total of 46 people died, compared to 17 in December of the previous year; at least 10 died from contagious disease. Meanwhile bad news arrived from the mountain hamlet of Preggio which, in the words of the municipal authorities, was isolated and "without health care". The infection was brought to Preggio by a little girl, already infected in Umbertide, a guest of the Mavarelli family for the Christmas holidays. Quinto Vignoli wrote to the mayor: “[…] the epidemic has also begun to rage in our town and surroundings. In the chapel of the Preggio cemetery there are two dead. One in that of S. Bartolomeo de 'Fossi and one in that of Racchiusole that cannot be buried because they lack the death certificate, as there is no doctor who draws them up. You will easily understand how much a doctor is needed up here in such circumstances (we also have no pharmacy, and having no roads we can say that we are outside the human consortium). As long as our health was good we did not get bored: but now we are claiming for our sagrosanto right. The coming of a doctor twice a week at this moment of such epidemic rage is negligible, especially since the doctor's arrival did not take place before 12 noon to leave at 2.00 pm Little for the town, but nothing for the countryside ”. At the urgent request of the mayor, the military doctor Augusto Massi was finally sent. He entered service on December 17: from the end of November to that date Preggio had had at least 17 deaths. Massi reassured the mayor about the benign nature of the epidemic in that place, but invited him to keep the schools closed, because the disease - he wrote - "spreads everywhere". From his arrival until March 6, 1919, the doctor reported 747 new cases of flu, which cost the lives of at least 9 people. The surrounding area was most affected. Massi moved on horseback and it took him three hours to reach the most inaccessible areas. In the rest of the Umbertidese municipality, despite a resurgence towards the end of the year, from January 1919 the "Spanish" gradually dying out and mortality returned to normal levels: in that month there were 26 deaths, just 2 more than in the year previous. There were 8 (outside of Preggio) those due to the disease. It allegedly made another 9 victims between February and 7 June 1919, when the prefecture sent the long-awaited communication to the mayor: "Since the influenza epidemic in the Province has almost ceased, the SV will be able to suspend the sending of bulletins which it relate ". The set of documentation collected allows us to quantify at no less than 142 the people killed by the "Spanish" in the Umbertidese area since September 1918. The photos of the documents are taken directly from the site. The other photos are by Fabio Mariotti from the historical photographic archive of the Municipality of Umbertide. By clicking on the link you can enter directly on the part of my site that tells the story of the "Spanish" in our territory. http://www.storiatifernate.it/pubblicazioni.php?cat=48&subcat=159&group=410 The Umbertide hospital in the early 1900s The church of Santa Maria in the 1920s 1918. The Collegiate Church seen from Piazza Guardabassi 1918. Ordinance of the Municipality who orders the bodies to be brought directly to the Cemetery Report on cases of new flu in the last 24 hours Ordinance of the Municipality which postpones the commemoration of the dead to December Preggio. Via di Mezzo in the early 1900s Telegram for reporting the number of deaths

Descrizione dell'Umbertide storica: dal Castello di Fratta ad Umbertide. Immagini e mappe storiche del nostro paese. From the Castle of Fratta to Umbertide ( edited by Francesco Deplanu) The first evidence of the castle of Fratta dates back to 1189. In fact, the deed with which "Fracta Filiorum Uberti", previously owned by the successors of Arimberto, was subjected to Perugia by the Marquis Ugolino di Uguccione, ascendant of the Marquises of Petrelle. Over the centuries the territory of Fratta it only once experienced a domination other than that of Perugia. In fact, in 1550, for a few months, the castle with all its territory, villas and rents was run by Paolo and Giovanni di Niccolò Vitelli Domicelli from Città di Castello. This did not mean a stable and peaceful life for the Castello della Fratta, on the SIUSA site we read: " In 1351 Fratta was devastated, on the occasion of the battles between the Visconti and Perugia, by the army of Giovanni di Cantuccio Gabrielli di Gubbio, captain of the archbishop of Milan. In the following decades, Fratta and its territory suffered the consequences of the clashes between the mercenary captain Braccio Fortebraccio da Montone and two thousand horses sent by Ladislao d'Angiò king of Naples, between 1403 and 1408; it was again devastated, in 1478, thanks to the plague, by the troops of Federico Duke of Urbino and, the following year, by the Florentines. Finally, Valentino too, at the head of the papal troops, moving towards Fossato di Vico, occupied it in 1500. " Also in this period the history of Fratta depended on the political life of Perugia, the struggles between the different opposing factions that took place in Perugia from the second half of the fourteenth century to the first decades of the following century often had repercussions in our country. In fact, on the Siusa website you can continue to read: "at the castle of Fratta, on various occasions, the exiles found refuge; it was the main interest of the Perugians, therefore, to" recover "or recapture the aforementioned castle. In 1385, for example, Fratta was occupied by the exiles, thanks to an uprising led by Tommaso di Ciardolino, captain of the guard; reconquered the following year by Albertino di Nino di Guidalotto and by Mattiolo di Angeluccio di Colle, being captain of the Perugia Pellino di Cucco Baglioni war, Fratta was extensively restored, in the defensive structures and equipped with an imposing fortress. " Thus our "Rocca" came to life. The construction was thus entrusted from Perugia to Alberto Guidalotti, the architect was named "Trocascio", or Angeluccio di Ceccolo. It was finished in 1389. Today the Rocca is consisting of large walls that at the base reach a width of 2.40 meters, is more than 30 meters high, presents with two circular towers, a square bulwark and two doors with a drawbridge, although today only one remains. Other episodes of occupations and recoveries took place in the years 1394, 1431 and 1495. During the rebellions for the salt gabelles in Perugia and then the famous "salt war" of 1540 Fratta, however, remained faithful to the papacy and thus saved himself from the destruction of the walls that he would otherwise have suffered. fig. 1 and 2: La Rocca in the 60s and a few years ago. Of this period there remain the precious Statutes of 1521 " ... of the sacred statutes of the notable castle of Fratta of the filioli de Uberto countryside of Perosa of the door of sancto Angelo ". A statute in the vernacular that also gives us a picture of the language used, although adequate for a clearer and more common linguistic expression in contemporary Tuscan. The notary, " Marino di Domenico di Marino Sponta of the dictum castle of Fratta, minimum servant of the community " rewrites the ruined ones of 1362. According to Francesco Mavarelli, who wrote about them in 1903 in “ Of the art of the Blacksmiths in the Land of Fratta (Umbertide). Memories and Documents ", they were only adequate copies of those of 1362 which had gone over time and were ruined. But what was Fratta like in the 16th century? In addition to information from Cyprian Piccolpasso there are also two maps of the sixteenth century that can tell us about it. let's start from these less known by Ubaldo Giorgi and Ignazio Danti. Thanks to the historian Fabrizio Cece who kindly provided it to us, we have an image, a detail, taken from the Map of the Diocese of Gubbio drawn by Don Ubaldo Giorgi in 1573. The intent to represent the Diocese with all its parishes characterizes the map : among others you can see S. Maria, S. Antonio, one of the first patrons of Fratta, S. Andrea and, in the center of the walls of Fratta, S. Giovanni. Fig. 1 and 2: Map of the Diocese of Gubbio drawn by Don Ubaldo Giorgi in 1573 and Detail of Fratta. Photo provided by Fabrizio Cece from the Diocesian Archives. Here we present, instead, the Texas University website that you can browse and zoom to see the description of Fratta in 1584 by Ignazio Danti. Here is the direct link to the portal of Texas University . Fratta owns the bridge over the Tiber, the only one on the map before "Ponte di Pattolo", "Ponte Felcino", "Ponte di Val di Ceppolo" north of Perugia. Yup they can see several designs of towers in the city with a part extended south of the bridge along the Tiber. Above all, as we indicated at the beginning, we have the best known map of Piccolpasso from 1565 with the representation of "Fratta" and then of its main quadrilateral defensive walls (at this link of the Municipality of Umbertide you can download the two documents in .pdf). In this period, Piccolpasso reports, the Community of Fratta presents itself as a place where " The men of this country sleep diligent, ingenious and solicitous and circumspect because their little site for the continuous exercise make it fruitful as a large countryside and a very large place. you work very well with archebugi and auction arms ". Further on, according to what Mavarelli and Prof. Porrozzi also report, the men of Fratta " have no cattle or pasture ". The city occupies " 138 reeds " of earth and " fires about 80 ", or 80 families. In the period between the middle of the sixteenth and the last years of the seventeenth century, the loss of much of the documentation of the municipal historical archive does not allow us to establish whether there have been particular changes in the institutions. The crucial year for the documentation is 1799: in fact, a large number of municipal papers were destroyed in a fire in the public square. Guerrini writes in his " History of the land of Fratta, now Umbertide ": " when in 1799 a gang of wicked brigands with blind vandalism and fury burned in the public square, as an infamous holocaust at the foot of the tree of Liberty, all the books and papers of the Town Hall ". TO starting from the mid-eighteenth century there is a fatigue towards the assumption of public responsibilities and a progressive worsening of some problems, such as the training of the bussolo (to choose the various institutional figures) and the choice of officers. From that moment on were introduced norms and new institutional figures that would allow the proper functioning of the government of the Community of Fratta. Thus it was from the point of view of the management of public offices it continued with a certain organizational difficulty, until in 1787 Pius VI, in April 1785, with an appointment of the then governor general of Umbria, Monsignor Angelo Altieri, found in the Perugian lawyer Silvestro Bruschi, the judge commissioner and general visitor of the communities of the territory of Perugia including the Community of Fratta . On January 28, 1787 the general council of Fratta was held and they emerged, according to what they report Sargentini Cristiana e Santolamazza Rossella who edited the item Fratta / Umbertide on the SIUSA site, " conspicuous administrative irregularities to be ascribed to the admixture in the exercise of the functions assumed by the administrators, to which was added a heavy debt of Fratta towards Perugia. Two were therefore proposed. assistants on public affairs, the canon Don Emanuele Cantabrana and the layman Paolo Mazzaforti, as practitioners of the interests of the community; moreover, having found that the number of councilors was not fixed, Bruschi ordered that the entanglement be carried out in his presence. decree established that the presence of at least twenty-four councilors was essential, << possessors, of good morals, and capable >>, the same number, that is, of the individuals who made up the magistracy's compass, up to the maximum number of thirty with the honorary members; and that, for the session to be valid, at least two thirds of the councilors were required . Particular attention was paid to the drafting and conservation of public writings, in such a way that << each of the four priors is given his key to the public case, where in addition to the documents and original receipts of interest, the community is kept closed the great seal. custodial and all the others, except that of the letters to remain with the secretary, according to the usual >>; moreover, that << it is the responsibility of the magistrate to do it, that all the books are kept exactly from the secretary, and that he is always at par in the register of deeds >> ". Silvestro Bruschi concluded the minutes of the visit to the Fratta Community with an approval dated September 16, 1787. The era of the French and then Napoleonic Revolution was coming, even for a an unimportant territory such as that of Fratta, changes arrived. With the proclamation of the Roman Republic, on February 15, 1798, the innovative principles of French administrative policy entered the former papal territories by right. The constitutional charter, published on March 17, contemplates the classic tripartition between legislative power, entrusted to two chambers (Senate and Tribunate), judicial power, exercised by elected and irremovable judges, to the courts, executive power attributed to five consuls. Four ministries (justice and police, interior, finance, marine warfare and foreign affairs), the large police headquarters (national treasury) and large accounting (national computisteria) depend on this. The territory of the State is divided into eight departments: Metauro ( Ancona), the Musone (Macerata), the Tronto (Fermo), the Trasimeno (Perugia), the Clitunno (Spoleto), the Cimino (Viterbo), the Tiber (Rome), the Circeo (Anagni). In turn, the departments are divided into cantons, and within the latter, which constitute the smallest of the state circumscriptions, the ancient pontifical communities undergo an incisive process of homogenization, as only the centers with more than 10,000 inhabitants constitute their own municipality, governed by building blocks, while the others are grouped together until this minimum population threshold is reached. Fratta thus became part of the Trasimeno Department, based in Perugia, as "Canton" with his own consular prefect: Giuseppe Savelli. The local company of the National Guard was also organized, with its own commander, the papal coat of arms was demolished and the municipality was given the name of municipality. But the Republic fell after 18 months with the surrender (29 September 1799) to the Neapolitan and Austrian armies. Fratta thus returned again under the state of the Church. Sources: - Antonio Guerrini: History of the land of Fratta now Umbertide from its origins until the year 1845 (for Antonio Guerrini completed by Genesio Perugini) - Tip. Tiberina Umbertide, 1883 -Francesco Mavarelli: On the art of blacksmiths in the land of Fratta (Umbertide) - Memories and documents - Stab. Tipografico Tiberino, 1903 - Cipriano Piccolpasso, The plants and portraits of the cities and lands of Umbria submitted to the Government of the city of Perugia , edited by G. Cecchini, Publisher of the National Institute of Archeology and History of Art, Rome 1963. - Bruno Porrozzi (edited by), Umbertide in the images. From the 1500s to the present day , Pro Loco Association Umbertide, Rubini and Petruzzi Typolithography, Città di Castello, 1977. - SIUSA (Unified Information System for Archival Superintendencies) on Umbertide http://siusa.archivi.beniculturali.it/cgi-bin/pagina.pl?TipoPag=prodente&Chiave=50311&RicProgetto=reg-umb&fbclid=IwAR2ydRABe1Uw3MxVbj3WkZrexe4eu0lBSPZe_991_1LwwGoww - http://siusa.archivi.beniculturali.it/cgi-bin/pagina.pl?TipoPag=profist&Chiave=84&RicProgetto=reg%2dumb - http://siusa.archivi.beniculturali.it/cgi-bin/pagina.pl?TipoPag=comparc&Chiave=330615&RicProgetto=reg%2dumb - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth187370/m1/1/zoom/?resolution=6&lat=4964.5&lon=4844 http://www.umbertideturismo.it/content/download/293210/3113338/file/Immagine%20di%20Fratta%20disegnata%20nel%201665.pdf Photo: Fabrizio Cece Photo: Francesco Deplanu Photos: historical photos of Umbertide from the web and from various private archives to which we applied the " umbertidestoria " watermark in this way we try to avoid that the further disclosure on our part favors purposes not consonant with our intentions exclusively social and cultural. Help us remember umbertidestoria@gmail.com Marc Bloch , Apology of history « The story is there science of men over time "

Luca Signorelli e la Deposizione della Croce Proponiamo dalla Tesi di Laurea della professoressa Ricci Vitiani Valentina su “LA COMMITTENZA DI LUCA SIGNORELLI IN UMBRIA: NUOVE INDAGINI E RICERCHE”, un sunto che inquadra la presenza e l’attività del pittore nelle nostre zone. The Deposition of the Cross Luca Signorelli and the Deposition of the Cross We propose from the Degree Thesis of Professor Ricci Vitiani Valentina on " THE COMMITTEE OF LUCA SIGNORELLI IN UMBRIA: NEW INVESTIGATIONS AND RESEARCH " , a summary of the initial setting that frames the presence and activity of the painter in our areas and we report in full the section on our" Deposition of the Cross ". The section with the explanatory documents and the bibliography used is reproduced here in its entirety. The complete degree thesis can be consulted in this section (under construction). Introduzione La Deposizione della Croce Appendice Documentaria Bibliografia Photo by Fabio Mariotti: The Deposition of the Cross by Luca Signorelli (edited by Valentina Ricci Vitiani) Introduction Luca Signorelli's experience in Florence suffered an abrupt interruption in 1492, with the death of the Magnifico. Moving away from the Tuscan capital, the painter will find himself busy in the suburbs, but always in a receptive and open environment and, moreover, historically in constant contact with the most advanced Medici court to which he had often shown loyalty and offered his help. Luca Signorelli's artistic activity in the Upper Tiber Valley was remarkable: the sources attest to the presence of numerous altarpieces licensed by the Cortonese, but also the private buildings housed the artist's works. In the Upper Tiber Valley the painter's production was concentrated in particular in Città di Castello, of which the artist in 1488 became an honorary citizen. In Città di Castello the copious activity of the Cortonese was therefore linked to the relations with the illustrious Vitelli family, with whom the painter played the role of true court artist. In the city the painter was already active starting from 1474, even if most of the works can be dated between 1493 and 1498. Subsequently, when the pictorial geography of the artist was reduced to the peripheral environments of the Cortona area, his works reached Morra, Montone, Umbertide. Perhaps the fame of the painter who worked in Montone gave the artist the allocation of the Deposition from the Cross by the Confraternity of S. Croce di Fratta, today's Umbertide: various considerations lead to a similar reflection, including the geographical proximity between the two centers and the chronological one of the execution of the two altarpieces. For Umbertide 's table, the investigation contributed effectively to clarify aspects that in the past, due to an incorrect interpretation of the known documents, have been misunderstood. In particular, it was possible to trace a new documentary source in the State Archives of Perugia, the first in chronological order concerning the project of the clients to entrust the execution of the panel to the Cortonese. It is a notarial deed stipulated on July 8, 1515 by the same Confraternity which contains the appointment of the prosecutors Orsino di Giovanni and Giacomo di Arcangelo, in charge of reaching agreements and obligations with master Luca, painter of Cortona and receiving promises from him " pro pingendo per ipsum unam tabulam sive cunam “, the document preceding the deed of assignment of the painting, unfortunately not yet found. The Perugian document was precious in correcting certain inaccurate information that in the past had been wanted to be read in some notarial papers of the time preserved in the Municipal Archives of Umbertide and known since the nineteenth century due to the transcription made by Gualandi. On the basis of incorrect interpretations of much of the material that has come to light, scholars have assumed for the Deposition the existence of a coping made by Luca Signorelli at the end of the large panel. In truth this part of the painting, theoretically a Pietà, is not documented, since the terms contained in the documents and which should have referred to this, have been corrected in their incorrect transcription and interpretation. IS It was also interesting to dwell on the references of the Umbertidese table to the local literature of the time, in particular with regard to the texts of the sacred representations set up by the disciplines of the Confraternity of Santa Croce centered on the theme of the Passion: it is above all with a text dating back to 1496 that the excited and theatrical Deposition from the Cross shows significant adherence in several details. Introduzione La Deposizione della Croce Appendice Documentaria Bibliografia THE CUSTOMER OF LUCA SIGNORELLI IN UMBRIA: NEW INVESTIGATIONS AND RESEARCH from Valentina Ricci Vitiani Deposition from the cross 1517 Umbertide, Museum of Santa Croce, Oil on board, cm. 198 x 147, main table; 17.5 x 184 cm, predella Signed and dated on the predella: LVCAS SIGNORELLVS DE CORTONA PICTOR PINGEBAT / MD / .XVI Inscription on the cross: INRI Provenance: Umbertide, church of Santa Croce. The episode in the foreground in the altarpiece is that of the Deposition from the Cross of the body of Christ: two men, on two stairs, carefully lower Him from the Wood; at the foot is the unconscious Virgin, the body dropped on the knees of the pious woman. They assist to episode la Magdalene, holding out her hand to collect the blood that still flows from the dead body of Christ, Mary of Cleopes and Salome; the female character in the foreground on the left, dressed in precious robes, was identified by Daniel Estivill with a symbolic figure "which could represent the Holy Church, in an attitude of contemplation before the mystery of the passion of the Son of God made man": for the scholar, the colors of her garments could allude to specific virtues, white to the purity of faith, red to charity, green to hope, virtues that "define the ideal of the life of the Church", while the character's halo it would indicate the note of holiness. In reality, such an interpretation does not seem too convincing; more likely the hypothesis that it could be St. Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine, to whom we owe the discovery of the relic of the Holy Cross. In the group under the Cross there are also Cassius and St. John the Evangelist. Behind the main scene, in the landscape in the background, the episodes are depicted they precede and follow the Deposition: on the left the three crosses of Christ and the two thieves, on the right the stiffened body of the Savior is carried inside the tomb. The painter's signature can be seen in the small pillar that delimits the panel on the right; but the cryptography that appears on the sleeve of the female character on the left of the table is also interesting: one can in fact decipher a date, 1516, and some letters, certainly an L and a V. The predella, divided into three parts, contains five different stories: The defeat of Maxentius with the army of Constantine chasing the enemy; The invention of the Cross in the presence of the Empress Helen and the bishop of Jerusalem Maccarius, The miracle of the young man resurrected from contact with Wood and, more to the right, S. Elena crossing the river with the retinue of her ladies; The entry of the relic into Jerusalem. The colors are bright, metallic, the table is full of characters, tragedians with excited movements, whose gestures they produce a pressing and nervous rhythm: each expression is exasperated as in the representation of a drama on stage. The table is located behind the main altar of the church of Santa Croce in Umbertide (PG), now used as a museum. The Central Archives of Rome preserves some documents dating back to the last years of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the following century that testify to the will and the attempts by the Congregation of Charity of Rome, at the time owner of the Deposition, to sell the painting: it is the correspondence of the Prefect of Perugia, the National Gallery of Rome, the Ministry of Education in an attempt to prevent the Congregation from l alienation of the table, saved from the legislation of the time after having already risked migration in the period of the French requisitions. Until 1974 the painting therefore remained in its original location, to then be transported to the meeting room of the Civil Hospital of Umbertide, where it remained there for nine years in precarious conditions of conservation, until, in April 1983, it was sent to the Institute of Restoration of Rome. At the restoration, carried out after a long time, namely in the years 1993-1996, followed by the museumization of the table, placed again in its original location behind the main altar of the Church of Santa Croce. The preparatory drawing of the figure of Christ is kept in the Lugt collection in Paris (2538). The chronology of the table is certain: from the documents that I will later analyze in the study of the genesis of the work and its commission, we know that the table was completed around the middle of 1516. As can be seen from various documents, the panel was commissioned to Luca Signorelli by the Confraternity of Santa Croce di Fratta (ancient name of Umbertide), probably born between the end of the 13th and the beginning of the 14th century; the origin of the congregation is to be traced back to the spread, in the Perugian territory, of the related disciplinary movement to the proselytism of Raniero Fasani, a pious layman who in 1260 preached the expiation of sins through the practice of flagellation as a re-enactment of the Passion of Christ. It is probable that the Confraternity of S. Croce originated from one of these groups of flagellants, whose existence in Fratta is documented since the beginning of the fourteenth century with a privilege granted by Pietro di Rosso Gabrielli in 1337, in which there is talk of an indulgence of forty days for all those who had helped through alms the 'completion of the works for the construction of a hospital, run by the congregation itself. The Confraternity owned in Fratta and in the surrounding territories of various immovable structures, of a church and of the hospital mentioned above. The institution was regulated by a Statute that within certain limits it could be modified by the confreres if there had been a reason; the oldest copy of the Statute of the Confraternity that has come down to us dates back to 1567 and contains the regulation of all those practices to which the institute was dedicated. In addition to being a strong point of reference for the spirituality of the time, in the sixteenth century the brotherhood certainly had to represent a political, economic and social center of considerable importance. From the Statute we know what were the main tasks performed by this: the company took care of the hospital, welcoming the poor, distributing alms, providing gifts to girls from less well-off families and burying the dead when the latter could not provide for the transport of the deceased. Some news about the brotherhood and its history are given to us by Francesco Mavarelli in his Historical news and praise from the company of disciplines of Santa Maria Nuova and of Santa Croce in the Land of Fratta (Umbertide). From his studies we learn that the first name adopted by the congregation was that of S. Maria Nuova, from the small church where the brothers gathered to devote themselves to religious activities and the recitation of lauds. The church, built around the middle of the 13th century in the lower village of Fratta, was initially officiated by Augustinian monks; the position was compliant to the charitable activity of the order, always ready to offer his availability to travelers who, caught by the night, were forced to stay out of the city. However the relations between the Disciplinati of our Confraternity and the monks soon had to loosen, if already from 1341 the church was officiated by ecclesiastics of various religious orders or directly by the chaplain of the company; from the 16th century onwards, the carrying out of the sacred rites belonged to the friars of the adjacent Franciscan community and later to a chaplain compensated with 30 scudi who also had the task of teaching the young boys of the town. As early as 1338 the name of Santa Croce appears: in that year an indulgence of 40 days was granted to those who had visited the church and the hospital during certain days, including that of the dedication to Santa Croce: in a brief issued by the bishop of Gubbio the company is indicated as the Fraternity of the Disciplinati of S. Maria Nova and S. Croce. Canon Guerrini and Professor Lupattelli affirm that the Confraternity officially assumed the name of Compagnia di S. Croce in 1566, the year in which it joined the company of S. Girolamo della Carità in Rome. In the period from 1798 to 1814, i.e. in the years of the French occupation, the company will change its name to that of Compagnia del Sacramento in S. Croce to avoid deletion. From the analysis of the documents it is clear that the original church in which the brothers gathered must have measured about one third of the current one, equipped with a portico renovated in the year 1536 and demolished in 1556, when there was a first extension, for the which it was necessary to appropriate a wall belonging to the Franciscans. In 1606 there was a second extension, to carry out which permission was asked by the Confraternity to occupy the land of the Friars' lawn, the current Piazza San Francesco. The last works between the years 1635-1647: the building will take its present form. Of the relationships that existed between the painter and his clients we have in this case an interesting documentation, mostly contained in an important register of the sixteenth century in which the Confraternity noted all the income and expenses made in the period that interests us. Also refer to the Confraternity, to Luca Signorelli and to the table of the Deposition by Umbertide, some documents preserved in the State Archives of Perugia and in the Notarial Archives of Umbertide, some of which have remained unknown until now. In Perugia there is a previously unpublished act, drawn up by Berardino di Nicola di Costanzo di Fratta, with which the Confraternity elects Ursino di ser Giovanni and Iacopo Arcangeli procuratori "ad pasciendum et patos faciendum et obligationes et ad promittendum nomine dicte fraternitatis, obligandum et promissiones recipiendum to prefate magisterium Luca pro pingendo per ipsum unam tabulam sive cunam ad predictum promissionis instrumentum vel instrumenta locationis ad pingendum conferendum, celebrandum, cum pleno et sufficient mandate ... “. This is the first document drawn up for the Confraternity that mentions the panel, and the name of the painter who would soon start the work appears: it is July 8, 1515. The notarial deed, as well as for its importance of its content, confirms the correction of old transcriptions of documents already known but published according to a paleographic interpretation not too correct in some significant points of the text, interpretations which, we will see later, have contributed up to now to feed hypotheses for the which in fact documentary evidence is instead non-existent, or at least unknown: all this has been verified through a more correct transcription of clearly legible terms in the original Perugian text and which also recur in some subsequent documents, preserved in the Notarial Archives of Umbertide, below. Unfortunately it was not possible to trace the deed containing the agreement between the two parties regarding the realization of the table. However, we have the aforementioned series of records contained in the company's accounts, which informs us of the relationship between the painter and his clients. From the documents we know that in the years in which Signorelli is called to create the panel, the depositary of the Confraternity was the Censorium of Ser Giovanni: his is the task of noting the records of the payments made by the company to the painter. The first note found in the aforementioned Book of income and expenses of the Confraternity of S. Croce, containing the payments made to the Cortonese, refers to the expenses incurred to pay the notary who signed the contract; in fact, the Censorium of Ser John writes: - “Item, to the notary who made the contract of the table …… fio 0-4-0. " From the registration we know that the notary who drew up the commission of the table, whose identity is unfortunately unknown, was paid with four baiocchi. Further below we read: - “Item, I lent to the Fraternita doi Ducati which I paid to the pentor . . Fior. 3-36-0 ": not having cash in hand, the Confraternity borrowed two ducats from the depositary Censorio di ser John; it is the first deposit received by Luca Signorelli. So in the register we find written: - “To Renzo who is cum Berardino per mandallo cum a letter to Mastro Luca . Fio. 0-24-0 ": for the first time the name of Luca appears among the recordings of the book; in all probability he was in Cortona, considering the consistency of the expense made by the Confraternity to send to the painter the messenger with the letter. Subsequent registrations referable to Luca Signorelli and to table inform: - “Item for them…. to tan them for the pentor . . Fio. 0-7-0 " (unfortunately the missing term is indecipherable); - “Item in una soma de lengnie for the pentor . . Fio 0-2-6 "; - “Straw items and tallow candles for the pentor . . Fio.0-4-0 "; Wood, straw and sevo candles are bought for the painter who was working on the table; probably Luca Signorelli is in Umbertide; - “To mastro Luca pentore one florins Fior.1-0-0 "; it is obviously a deposit paid to the Cortonese; - “items for the boards for the capsa for the table Flower. 1-0-0 "; it is the implementation of the original frame of the table. The term capsa, previously transcribed as hood, with an incomprehensible meaning, is instead to be understood, according to a more correct transcription, as the containment apparatus of the painting. At this point there are two notarial deeds drawn up by two different notaries from Fratta, Berardino di Nicola di Costanzo and Marino Spunta: in their documents we read that the Confraternity, in need of money, sells some parts of land owned by him: June 26, 1516 it is sold to Bartolomeo Christians “Eminas duas […] of a tenimento terre posite in tenimento dicti castri Fratte in vocabulo Ranco Giorgio […] et plus et minus […] ut ascendant ad valorem florenorum quadraginta“; on the 26th day of the following month, the Confraternity sells an additional piece of land to Bartolomeo himself, “In the curia castri Montonis in Faldo vocabulo of the value this time of XX florins, money that “idem Ursinus prior habuit in cash with recourse magistro Luce de Cortonio pictori pro pictura tabule picte in altars Sante Crucis, videlicet pro rata. " So it is the following annotation of the aforementioned Book of entries and exits: - “To mastro Luca on the 29th of July in 1516 by reason of the table Fio. 70-0-0. " It is the registration of a new payment to Luca Signorelli, very substantial: the table must now have been finished. In the register follow the following notes: - “Item for tip to the boys of mastro Luca . . . Flor. 0-72-0 "; after paying the painter, the boys are also offered their tip; - “Item to Mastro Goro who put on the table . . Flower. 0-67-0. “; more or less at the end of July 1516, the panel is placed in the location for which it was intended, that is, behind the main altar of the church. - “To mastro Luca and for him to Pietro Paolo di Renzo . . Flower. 1-0-0. ". We are now the following year, 1517, and the payments to the painter continue: - “To mastro Lucha for the table… fio. 8-0-0 ". Other expenses then follow: - “In gold and glue for piety . . Flower. 0-35-6 "; It is the registration relating to the expense made by the Confraternity for the purchase of material to be used in the gilding of the original frame. From 1527 is a deed drawn up by the notary Marino Spunta di Fratta, with which the Confraternity returns thirty florins to Meo - Bartolomeo - Cristiani, "quos idem Meus mutuaverat gratia et amore dicte fraternitati et hominibus ipsius pro solvendo mercedem his magister Luce de Cortonio pictori pro pictura quam fecerat de tabula seu cuna capelle et fraternitatis Sancte Crucis in ecclesia predicta existente in maiori altars “. A different reading of the expression "seu cuna", erroneously transcribed "seu top", has contributed, as we shall see, to believe the hypothesis that the painter had created for the Confraternity, in addition to the panel with the Deposition, also a sort of its completion, a lunette with the Pietà; in reality, however, the discovery of the document of Perugia and above all the new paleographic investigation made it possible to correct the transcriptions of the documents relating to the table in some points, reaching conclusions contrary to those traditionally sustained: the expression "seu cuna" it appears already in the first document mentioned, where the two terms are really clearly legible, and refers to the entire altarpiece. The panel was placed on the wall of the main altar of the original church of Santa Croce. The elaborate intaglio work that still frames the table today was made in 1612, well suited to the sumptuous and rich taste of that era: it is the work of Giampietro Zuccari of S. Angelo in Vado, as the archival sources recall. As I mentioned, an incorrect interpretation of the sources gave rise to the idea that in addition to the realization of the table with the Deposition, a lunette with a Pietà was also created by Signorelli to be placed on the table. The first to support such a hypothesis was Guardabassi, who in his manuscript preserved in the Augusta Library in Perugia, speaking of the panel, hypothesizes its completion, consisting precisely in a lunette with the Pietà. The scholar derives the idea from the shape of the painting, almost square, and above all from that annotation contained in the mentioned Book of income and expenses, in which the expenditure of 35 soldi and 6 denari for gold and glue is noted " for the Pietà “. Girolamo Mancini was of the same opinion. The opinion of the canon Antonio Guerrini disagrees, and in his History of the land of Fratta writes: “But which Pietà? if it was restored in 1517, when in 1616 our distinguished artists Flori and Sermigni replaced in that altar a stone frame the grandiose exhibition of carved and gilded wood, which still exists today, they would certainly have in their wisdom, in their love for religiously respected (however reduced) art that interesting part of our classic painting! " The existence of the hypothetical completion lunette is also spoken of in the most recent studies, of a local nature, carried out on ours, to which I have now often referred. The new interpretation and transcription of the archival sources and the set of information derived from the new documents found, however, leads us to exclude the existence of the hypothetical coping, or at least to ascertain that in reality there is no reference to this in the sources mentioned. The use of the term Pietà refers to the content of the table, which depicts the Crucifixion of Christ and the robbers, the Deposition, the Lamentation or Pietà and the Transport of Christ's body to the Sepulcher. Pietà is the term used to indicate the large table and its contents in the 16th century. The theatrical character of the picture, which I have already highlighted, seems to recall the narrations staged by the various religious congregations of the time, including the Confraternity of Santa Croce. That of the Sacred Representations was a typical activity of these groups of flagellants, from their origins. That this type of sacred theater was also practiced by the Confraternity of Santa Croce di Fratta are proof of some texts of religious content handed down in writing and which were recited by the confreres on particular occasions and holidays, often with the aid of special scenographies. In an inventory of the company drawn up in 1341 it appears that "unum librum cartarem bombicinarum in quo sunt laudes" was ordered, unfortunately not received: the components of the collection focused on the theme of the Passion of Christ, subject of the large table ed expression of the penitent devotional spirit of the Disciplined. Some religious compositions were recited in procession. More often they were staged in the oratory; on these occasions some scenic devices were used, especially when the laude with univocal chant was replaced by the one with alternate chant and the narration by the dialogue between several characters. It is possible for us to hypothetically reconstruct the partial content of the ancient book that was lost thanks to the transcription by an unknown hand of the lines of a laude with a single song on the theme of the Passion of Jesus Christ and a dramatic representation with several characters that included the use of a special stage apparatus, the Rapresentacio sancte apolonie virginis. In the inventories of the Confraternity there are also objects and clothing used for the shows: Mavarelli writes about it: "In fact, among the other objects and tools necessary for the sacred shows, we find a" vesta de chamois " which evidently refers to a laude or representation having as its object the Passion of Jesus Christ and it is not to be assumed that in the not large collection there were more lauds dealing with the same subject ". In particular, the text that has come down to us focused on the Passion of Jesus Christ, dated 1496, which was staged by the confreres on the occasion of certain religious holidays and anniversaries, it begins like this: Christo's passion We cry with pain For us fo crucifixo Yeshu our lord Weep bitterly And don't forgive yourself The mourning virgin By god, you accompany her Yes you consider Pain that felt her When jl figluol vedea Die among doi latronj In the Deposition Luca Signorelli seems to have imprinted and blocked the drama of the event revived by the actors of the sacred representation: the fainting Virgin painted at the foot of the Cross is that of the text, which “He felt such great pain / Lo cor came less / down on the ground trangoscione”; and so the Christ who “… I am crowned / Of them cruel thorns / Bloody head. [...] Yeshu gets undressed / De tucti i vestimenti / Steva shameless / Among so many people [...] Li vestimenti de sotta / Tucti was pin de blood / havean made the crunch / tucti was pin de blood / That was the great pain / when the stripper / The wounds rinovaro / that dier them keystrokes ". The table seems to refer to the passage also in detail, such as for example in the nail taken from the feet of Christ that "Era si immeasurable", "Era si grande aguto". Thus the painter remains faithful to the description of the stiffened body of the Savior that appears in the passage. In general, most critics agree in judging the autograph work and often remember it as the masterpiece of the painter's old age. The intervention of the workshop, when identified, is mostly limited to the predella, which, however, most scholars praise as the best among his. Contrasting opinions on the table were expressed in the second half of the 19th century: Guardabassi describes it as one of the best works by Luca Signorelli, while Cavalcaselle and Morelli consider it to be inaccurate. While Cruttwell says she is convinced of the Signorellian authorship of the panel, Mancini does not consider the execution of the same too valuable, but appreciates with enthusiastic judgment the predella with the Stories of the True Cross. According to Venturi the work would go ascribed to Luca Signorelli together with the workshop. Unlike most of the critics, Morisani tends to identify Signorelli's hand mostly also in the predella; vice versa Lenzini Moriondo confirms a consistent intervention of the shop also in the main table. They favor the attribution to the master Salmi, Scarpellini and Pazzagli. The recent enthusiastic judgment of Kanter on the execution of some portions of the table, for the critic certainly by the hand of Signorelli; to be attributed to the master are undoubtedly the figure of the pious woman on the left, that of the dead Christ, the St. John the Evangelist; some passages of inferior quality, such as the scene of the Burial of Christ, suggest in the panel the intervention of a collaborator, identified by Kanter with Francesco Signorelli, who is also responsible for the predella which "does not reveal in the least the intervention of the safest hand and vigorous of Luca. " The last studies I have mentioned, from Kanter's comments to Henry's observations, have been conducted on the basis of already known documents, often incorrect in their interpretation, without the considerations allowed by the paleographic corrections together with the discovery of new documentary material. Regarding the possibility that the aids have intervened in the realization of the altarpiece, a topic most discussed by scholars, we believe that a partial collaboration of the master with the aids may be probable, considering the date of execution of the same, that is, being a work of late maturity of the artist, when he often found himself using the support of the workshop. In this regard, there is an unpublished document preserved in the State Archives of Perugia, a notarial deed drawn up by Berardino di Nicola di Costanzo di Fratta “in capella sive ecclesia Sancte Crucis“. The document concerns the appointment of a procurator by Ursino di ser Giovanni, prior of the Confraternity in the period in which Luca Signorelli was called to paint the table, dates back to 1516 and is drawn up in the presence of the painter Vittorio di Montone. This leads us to think that Vittorio Cirelli, a Montonese artist who started painting with Luca Signorelli, was able to collaborate in the execution of the panel, but also personally wanting to believe that in the Deposition the hand of the older master is in any case to be traced in most of the itself and that the aids were made to complete small portions of the entire work, of very valuable workmanship even in the narrative scenes of the predella. Sources: Bibliography: Mancini 1832, II, pp. 72-73; Gualandi 1845, pp. 36-38; Milanesi 1850, p. 154; Waagen 1850, pp. 568-569; Crowe and Cavalcaselle 1871, p. 32; Guardabassi 1872, pp. 354-355, 367; Waagen 1875, pp. 135-136; Vischer 1879, pp. 114, 270-271; Berenson 1897, p. 181; Magherini Graziani 1897, pp. 212-215; Crowe and Cavalcaselle 1898, pp. 481-494; Cruttwell 1899, pp. 14, 100-102, 139; Mancini 1903, pp. 207-211; Berenson 1909, pp. 251; anonymous 1909, p. 70; de Wyzewa 1910, pp. 335-343; Venturi 1913, pp. 301, 402-406; Crowe and Cavalcaselle (cur. Borenius) 1914, pp. 107, 109; Venturi 1921, p. 65; Psalms 1921, pp. 13-14; Dussler 1927, p. 209, pl. 141, 143-144; Berenson 1932, p. 533; van Marle 1937, pp. 90-92; Morisani 1942, pp. 31-32; Cortona / Florence 1953, pp. 111-113, nos. 58-59; Psalms 1953, pp. 35, 59, 66-67, 72; Psalms 1953 a, pp. 116, 118; Baldini 1964, p. 489; Scarpellini 1964, p. 125; Lenzini Moriondo 1966, p. 28; Berenson 1968, p. 400; Battisti 1971, I, p. 489, n.249 (ed. 1992, p. 376); Mancini and Scarpellini 1983, pp. 33-34; Kanter 1989, pp. 244-248; Lightbown 1992, p. 152; Codovini and Vispi 1994-1998, p. 1-19; Van Cleave 1995, pp. 156-157; Henry, Kanter, Testa, pp. 153-154, 239-240. DOCUMENTARY APPENDIX ... 60. 1514 February 13, Umbertide ASPg, Notarile, not. Berardino by Nicola di Costanzo, Bastardelli, 931, cc. 509r-510r Giovanni Francesco of the late Alberto di Umbertide and citizen of Perugia, mayor and procurator of the fraternity of S. Croce and Raniero di Giovanni, prior of the fraternity, sell to Matteo di Alberto of the said place, stipulating all rights for the heirs of Felice di Gentile di Perugia and share that the brotherhood has or may have in the future on three quarters of a piece of land located in the vicinity of the castle in the word Botani for the price of eighteen florins that they confess to have received and for which therefore they issue the payment receipt. 61. 1515 July 8, Umbertide ASPg, Notarile, not. Berardino by Nicola di Costanzo, Bastardelli, 932, cc. 407r- 408r Ser Censorio di ser Giovanni, Orsino di Giovanni, Piergentile di ser Giovanni, Giacomo di Arcangelo, Pierangelo di Giacomo, Ciono di Piero, Meo di Filippo, Raniero di Giovanni camerlengo, Meo, Cristoforo di Silvestro, gathered in the chapel of S. Croce name Orsino di Giovanni and Giacomo di Arcangelo as their own proxies, entrusting them with making agreements and obligations and promising in the name of the fraternity with master Luca painter of Cortona and receiving promises from him "pro pingendo per ipsum unam tabulam sive cunam" and to do with him the act of allocation of the same. 62. 1516 March 9, Umbertide Municipal Library of Umbertide, Notary Archive, not. Paolo quondam Cristoforo Martinelli, 76, c. 68v. Giovanni Francesco of the late Alberto di Andrea di Umbertide, as mayor and procurator of the fraternity and of the hospital of S. Croce of the said place, having a sufficient mandate, as shown by the acts of the notary from Umbria Ser Bernardino, and Orsino di Giovanni, prior of the fraternity and also Paolo di Sebastiano di Paolo, chamberlain sell to Francesco and Piermatteo del fu Giacomo Martinelli, of Umbertide, and to the notary, stipulating for their brother Renzo, a piece of land located near the said castle in the word Ranco Giorgio undivided for another fourth part with his brother Nicola for the price of thirty-one and a half florins, which they confess to having received in cash and in money numbered in gold and money, for which therefore they issue the receipt for payment. 63. 1516 June 26, Umbertide ASPg, Notarile, not. Berardino by Nicola di Costanzo, Bastardelli, 932, cc. 791v.-794v. Giovanni Francesco of the late Alberto di Umbertide and citizen of Perugia, mayor and procurator of the fraternity of S. Croce together with the prior Orsino di Giovanni, the chamberlain Raniero di Giovanni and the brothers ser Censorio di Giovanni, ser Marino di Domenico, Giacomo di Arcangelo and Piergentile of ser Giovanni sell to Bartolomeo Cristiani two mines of a piece of land located in the vicinity of Umbertide in the word Ranco Giorgio and more or less that rises to the value of forty florins, which they confess to have received and for which therefore they issue the receipt for payment . 64. 1516 July 26, Umbertide Municipal Library of Umbertide, Notarial Archive, not. Marino Spunta, prot. 105, 2nd quarter (numbering ad annum), c. 78v. Orsino del fu Giovanni di ser Orsino di Umbertide, prior of the fraternity of S. Croce in the same place, and ser Censorio di ser Giovanni, Giacomo di Arcangelo di Nicola and Antonio di Piero, officers and men of the said fraternity, having the authority to to do the things infrescribed by the general meeting of the brotherhood, forcing all the goods of the hospital and of the same fraternity, they sell to Bartolomeo del fu Tommaso Cristiani di Umbertide a piece of land located in the word Faldo in the district of Montone for the price of twenty florins or for the higher and lower price that will be estimated by two commonly elected men. Of which twenty florins the same Orsino prior confesses to having received in cash to pay "magister Luce de Cortonio pictori pro pictura tabule picte in altari Sancte Crucis, videlicet pro rata" with the agreement to be able to buy it back within ten years. 65. 1516 August 26, Umbertide ASPg, Notarile, not. Berardino by Nicola di Costanzo, Bastardelli, 932, c. 837v. Orsino di Giovanni di ser Orsino appoints Ser Giovanni's Censorium as procurator, instructing him to represent him in every litigation. The deed is made "in capella sive ecclesia Sancte Crucis" in the presence of the painter from Montone Vittorio. 66. 1527 April 6, Umbertide Municipal Library of Umbertide, Notarial Archive, not. Marino Spunta, prot. 105, 3 ° quinterno (numbering ad annum), c. 67v. Meo of the late Tommaso Cristiano alias Mascio di Umbertide confesses that he had received from Nardo of the late Mariotto di Giovanni di Meo, prior to the present of the brotherhood of S. Croce di Umbertide and stipulator for the said fraternity, thirty florins, which Meo had given "gratia and love dicte fraternitati et hominibus ipsius pro solvendo mercedem suam magistro Luce de Cortonio pictori pro pictura quam fecerat de tabula seu cuna capelle et fraternitatis Sancte Crucis in ecclesia predicta existente in altari maiori ”, as of this loan results from a deed drawn up by the notary of Umbertide ser Berardino di Nicola di Costanzo. Meo does this because he confesses to having received the money in this way, that is, twenty-eight florins from Giuliano di Angelo di Luca Fornari depositary of the fraternity and two florins from the notary himself, of which thirty florins thus received therefore issues a receipt for payment. 67. Christo's passion We cry with pain For us fo crucifixo Yeshu our lord Weep bitterly And don't forgive yourself The mourning virgin By god, you accompany her Yes you consider Pain that felt her When jl figluol vedea Die among doi latronj Time and to be resurged And cry with pain L annima comtemplare The sancta paxione That it lasts too long That we don't hear of it Since then we believe Jeshu will die for us What a god to die for us The story reconte Con tucto how much jl core I must think That you can't be enough Neither lengua nor scriptura The death I make lasts Of our Savior He came on Thursday evening Near a la paxione Yeshu made dinner Cum discipol sueie Tucti comunicoe And you can relieve the pious ones Yeshu turned to serve A traitor Judah Yeshu the turned to comfort Cum sweet parliament Who must leave them In great doubt That sappressava jl time Yeshu had to die We have to maintain En gran tribulatione Yeshu at the olive grove He went to oratione Menò giovanni and pietro And jacobo magiure Yeshu is scary Who had true flesh He sweated drops of blood It strongly nowva. The apostles sleep And christo while he was awake But little if they heard Of the punishment he carried His patre called him But he already didn't know In ante pure volea That he died for us And he is a traitor He came with a lot of people To betray the lord It came promptly That said the fraudulent Master god to save Then if you go ahead And in the mouth the bascione Here people came Cum many great lights And incontinent peter A coltel drew out The ear to a coupon And Christo tell them Coltel back in sheath that pleases your gentleman When Christo fo taken He took no breath To him the derieto Tightly tied together Yeshu fought himself Like a thief That they had abandoned him all your friends and friends And peter denies it Giovanni sen fugiva For us the abandonment Patro his heaven Christo son of god What fooled alone If I find any That he wanted to star cum him And peter painful Looking for Christo already I went to warm to the fire At anna pria's house An ancilla tell them You are de la su people He answered contentedly You never knew more Cum fine great fear If he began to ecuse it swear it then Cum mouth and cum your hands He says in truth I don't know who he is Never in my life You never saw him again The first evening came And the canton rooster And to himself Because he is arcordone I denied it my lord Three times I say it I don't know where I am Yes, I don't find him Yeshu fo introduced That he was a traitor Yeshu fo acused Cum false witnesses great noise faccialli saying undress undress Tie it to the column Tight cum the rope Cum tanto de dur scourge make him scourge he was so morbid tucto make him tremble Without pity Give them to the sever The whole meat alisa Pina de lividore All that evening I will give them the keystrokes L coperson in gl ochi door That he saw no light And for more honor In my face I spit them out The beard peeled them to give them more pain Tirravan their hair She gave them cheeks And those were the hitmen They were chosen Danvanli the bearded Et cum man cut D prophesies Who made you of us Yeshu fo crowned Of the cruel thorns Bloody head Corialli up to the pious The Jews laughed The head hit him Cum le rods the Feriano mocking him The virgin mary you havea great tremor what a tucta that evening there was a great noise Alore adimandone and said to an ancilla You know me you tell news Of my child Yeshune You figluolo and taken madonna in veritade And so hurt her What a tucto and full of wounds Lo tu figluol domane Sententato evening You will see him hanging En forca de thief Madonna did not pose And he found no place The apostles asked If they had seen him Whether I live or die Say it truthfully I can no longer carry That me if the core starts I speak john and peter And I talked to the mother Your son is taken Know it but n citade We cannot enter that the doors are closed doman give them death without any reason Madonna heard this He felt such pain The heart is less Down to earth trangoscione Say love son Not festi but sin You're imprisoned You weren't a thief Then came the question Get him out of prison Send him to judge That he was a criminal There was a great noise Say be cricifixo Dician be crucified Lassato be the thief Lassato be the thief Lassat sij Barabano And this sinner We condemn it all Up to Mount Calvary Fierli carry the cross Shouting out loud Be dead with pain When I am judged There was great existence The mouth of pilate Si de quilla sententia The third hour came Send him to hang De fuori de la citade Where the evildoers Fierli carry the cross It was a heavy burden Not if podia change He was so weakened The mother already de rieto Who wanted to help him He could not take them So much was a great noise There was a great noise De rietro them gian shouting She mocked him The lotus gian lying to him Givanlo spatassando Soon the voleanmenare Yeshu wanted to spoil And doi thief cum him His mother his taipina Yet he wanted to see him Pararse entered the street Where there was to revolve Nol podde support Christo when he sees it He was greatly distressed Than in strangoscione land When madonna il vedde On earth strangled He felt great pain What if you leave and breathe My figluol you were born To alarm me so much pain Now that I will do tarpina Yes don't see you You carry so much weight Sweet figluol pleasing Why you vie de rieto Figluol so many people O my grieving mother Don't ask me Menanme to hang Cum quisti doi ladronj Figluol I can not bring I know crucifixa with you Et where you turned Yes I will come to you When you will be open Nol podaro see Figluol let me die Ch I do not want to live more Then that I give to the place Where he must dress Undress him naked Without pity Now what was the mother doing When he saw him naked Say I'm a figluolo I cannot live longer Yeshu gets undressed De tucti i vestimenti Steva ashamed In among so many people They were obnoxious Cum villania tamanta What even the clothes of the leg They leave the robbers You dress them de sotta Tucti were pin de blood Havean crunched Tucti were pin de blood That was the great pain When I undress him The wounds renovate That will give them the keystrokes Tolser clothes them And misarce the fate Christo they said to each other Mourning the times (?) You are worthy of death Thief you go watching You are boasting of us You say you were sir Yeshu has taken off his clothes And set up in the wood And tightly bolted Cum three iron latches It was so cold When he keyed it Blood if it froze What a descurria di fuore Le man li chiavellaro Leave it spent Li piei li sopronaro I put the third chiuovo It was immeasurable He was so great aguto And so much fo beaten Not if vedea de fuore And so much the ironing The nerbora stendea The bones I schopparo them The flesh breaks The blood comes out It fell down to the earth O virgin polzella So much was your pain ... ... ... Help us remember umbertidestoria@gmail.com Photos: - Photo: Giulio Foiani - Photo: Fabio Mariotti BIBLIOGRAPHY Anon. 1909 Anon., Umbrian Art Review, I, (1909), p. 70. Baldini 1964 U Baldini, Luca Signorelli, in Universal Encyclopedia of Art, XII, Venice-Rome, 1964, pp. 487-491. Baptists 1971 E. Battisti, Piero della Francesca, Milan 1971, Milan 1992. Berenson 1897 B. Berenson, The Central Italian Painters of the Reinassance, London 1897. Berenson 1909 B. Berenson, The Central Italian Painters, London 1909. Berenson 1932 B. Berenson, Italian Pictures of the Reinassance, Oxford 1932. Berenson 1968 B. Berenson, Italian Pictures of the Reinassance, Central Italian and North Italian Schools, London 1968. Borenius 1929 T. Borenius, Dussler Review 1927, in "The Burlington Magazine" LIV (1929), pp. 41-42. Pigtails & Vispi 1994 R. Codovini & P. Vispi, Luca Signorelli's Paintings at Fratta Perugina, Rome 1994. Crowe & Cavalcaselle 1871 JA Crowe and GB Cavalcaselle, Geschichte der Italienischen Malerei, Leipzig 1871, vol. 4. Crowe & Cavalcaselle 1898 JACrowe and GBCavalcaselle, History of painting in Italy, Florence 1898, vol. VIII. Crowe & Cavalcaselle [cur. Borenius] 1914 JACrowe and GB Cavalcaselle, A History of Painting in Itali, vol. : Umbrian and Sienese Masters of the Fifteenth Century [cur. T. Borenius], London 1914 Cruttwel 1899 M. Cruttwel, Luca Signorelli, London 1899. Gualandi 1845 M. Gualandi, Original Italian memoirs concerning the beautiful atriums, Bologna, 1845. Down Guard 1872 M. Guardabassi, Index - Guide of Pagan and Christian Monuments… of Umbria, 1872. Downwinds M. Guardabassi, Notes on the church of Santa Croce in Umbertine, vol. 5, fasc. 2258, ms. preserved in the Augusti Library, Perugia. Guerrini 1883 A.Guerrini, History of the land of Fratta now Umbertide from its origins until the year 1845, Umbertide 1883. Henry, Kanter, Testa 2001 T. Henry, L. Kanter, G. Testa, Luca Signorelli, Milan 2001. Kanter 1989 L. Kanter, The Late Works of Luca Signorelli and His Followers, 1489-1559, PhD thesis, New York University 1989. Lenzini Moriondo 1966 M. Lenzini Moriondo, Signorelli 1966. Lightbown 1992 R. Lightbown, Piero della Francesca, New York, London- Paris 1992. Magherini Graziani 1897 G. Magherini Graziani, Art in Città di Castello, Città di Castello 1897. Mancini and Scarpellini 1983 Cur. FF Mancini and P. Scarpellini, Painting in Umbria between 1480 and 1540, Milan 1983. Mancini 1832 G.Mancini, Historical and pictorial instruction to visit the churches and palaces of Città di Castello, Perugia 1832. Mancini 1903 Girolamo Mancini, Life of Luca Signorelli, Florence 1903. Mavarelli / Porrozzi F.Mavarelli, Historical news and praises of the Company of disciplines of Santa Maria Nuova and Santa Croce, Umbertide…., Cur. B. Porrozzi, The work of Francesco Mavarelli, Città di Castello 1998. Milanese 1850 C. Milanesi, G. Milanesi, C. Pini, V. Marchese, Notes and commentary on the life of Luca Signorelli, in G. VasarLI, 1985.i, The Lives of the Most Excellent Architects, Painters and Sculptors, Florence [1568] , cur. C. Milanesi et al. Florence (14 vol. 1846-1870.) VI, 1850. pp. 136-158. Porrozzi 1983 B. Porrozzi, Umbertide and its territory, Città di Castello 1983. Porrozzi 1998 B. Porrozzi, The work of Francesco Mavarelli, Città di Castello 1998. Porrozzi 2001 B. Porrozzi, edited by, Statutes and Orders of the Fraternity of Santa Croce in Fratta (Umbertide) from 1567 to 1741, Città di Castello 2001. Psalms 1921 M. Salmi, Luca Signorelli, Florence 1921. Psalms 1953 M. Salmi, Luca Signorelli, Novara 1953. Psalms 1653 a M.Salmi, Chiosa signorelliana, in “Commentari”, IV, (1953), pp. 107-118. Van Cleave 1995 C. Van Cleave, Luca Signorelli as a Draughtsman, unpublished doctoral thesis, Oxford University 1995. Van Marle 1937 R. van Marle, The Development of the Italian Schools of Painting, XVI, The Hague 1937. Venturi 1913. A Venturi, History of Italian Art, VII. 2 Milan 1913. Venturi 1921 A. Venturi, Luca Signorelli, Florence 1921. Vischer 1879 R.Vischer, Luca Signorelli und die Italienische Reinassance Eine Kunsthistorische Monographie, Leipzig 1879. Waagen 1950 GF Waagen, Die Maler Andrea Mantegna und Luca Signorelli, in „H Istorisches TaschenbUch“ 3.1 (1850) PP. 473-594, spec. PP. 554-594. Waagen 1875 GF Waagen after A. Waagen, Uber Leber, Wirken und Werke der Maler Andrea Mantegna und Luca Signorelli, in Kleine Schriften von GF Waagen, Stuttgart 1875, pp. 80-144, in part. Pp. 128-144. de Wyzewa 1910 T. de Wyzewa, A propos de quelques dessinsi italiens: une „Descente de Croix“ by Luca Signorelli, in „Revue de l'Art Ancien et Moderne“, XXVII (1910), pp. 335-343. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS SCC = Historic Archive of Città di Castello AS Pg. = State Archives of Perugia BCCC = Municipal Library of Città di Castello. BCM = Municipal Library of Montone BCU = Municipal Library of Umbertide

The Railway Bridge over the Tiber 1900 edited by Simona Bellucci After the unification of Italy, rail projects arose in abundance, also because the construction of the national network was in full swing and all the municipalities saw in the railway connections the possibility of getting out of isolation. In 1866 a Florence-Perugia-Rome railway was inaugurated, which placed Umbria on the main railway axis. It passed from Terontola to Umbertide and Perugia. It did not last long, because as early as 1875 a railway from Terontola to Chiusi was inaugurated that cut off Perugia and Terni from the main axis. From here began the disasters for the railways of the region, because that stretch was abandoned. Alongside the main lines, the government also financed the secondary ones, which is why in 1880 a consortium was formed in Arezzo between various municipalities for the construction of an Umbrian-Arezzo railway, of which the municipality of Città di Castello was diligent advocate, a commitment that gave the hoped-for results in a short time, as already in 1886 the section of the Arezzo-Fossato di Vico Central Apennine Railway was inaugurated with a length of 133 km. The narrow gauge railway that passed through Sansepolcro, Citta 'di Castello, Umbertide, Gubbio, fulfilled an important function of connection between the Tyrrhenian and the Adriatic. In fact, it was connected to the line for Florence on one side and for Ancona on the other, but the winding route with considerable slopes, meant that it was not so useful. However, it continued to carry out its function until it ceased its service during the Second World War due to the damage it suffered. Railway line in Umbertide in 1901 Umbertide, however, felt the need to connect also with the most important neighboring city and capital of his province: Perugia. The municipal council wanted to commit itself to this, also because interest was growing on the part of other centers, in fact Terni also wanted to connect with Perugia. In 1899 a conference was held in Terni on the project of a railway line up to Umbertide, passing through Perugia, after which a few years later in 1911 the construction of the railway began and on 12 July 1915 the line was inaugurated. From the initial steam traction, in 1920, we moved on to electri fi cation. Umbertide was an important connection center, because there was a coincidence between trains coming from Perugia and direct or towards Arezzo or towards Ancona. Railway station railway in Umbertide in about 1910 and construction of bridges and toll booth in Montecorona in about 1935. The two railway lines passing through Umbertide, the Arezzo-Fossato di Vico line and the Umbertide-Terni line, although not particularly efficient, especially the first, nevertheless fulfilled a fundamental function of connection. He became aware of this especially in the last phase of the war period, when both interrupted the connections due to the damage caused by the bombings carried out by the Allies, in order to make the retreat of the German army more difficult and for the collection of rolling stock. by both the Germans and the Allies. The rolling stock and sleepers were used to rebuild temporary bridges, to restore the minimum necessary connections. The two lines suffered different fate after their destruction. The whole railway from Umbertide to Terni had been damaged. The first section put back into operation was the southern one to connect Perugia with Terni and only later work was resumed for the northern section, that is from Perugia to Umbertide. However, the latter reopened quite early, in 1948, and once again fulfilled its important liaison function. What remains of the railway line in the section between Gubbio and Umbertide. There are two tunnels under the current route of the Statale: proceeding from Umbertide in the direction of Gubbio, immediately after the town of Camporeggiano, the first one you meet is on the orographic right of the Assino, then crossing the river on the pipeline bridge you meet the second on the orographic left. Photos and information: Eugenio Baldinelli lawyer In addition to the workers in the workshop, the people of Umbria also boasted a high rate of employment among the traveling staff and train drivers. The railway therefore represented an important and quality source of employment in the local context, with about 150 employees. The railway also had two dormitories at the terminus of Sansepolcro and Temi for the traveling personnel, in operation since the nineties. It played an undoubtedly modern factor in an area which, isolated from the motorway network, was unable to escape from its isolation even when a late construction of the E7 motorway was prepared. The company that took care of the railways was the FAC until the war period, after the war the "MUA", then it was replaced by the "FCU", then by "BUS Italia" and now it has passed to the "Rete Ferroviaria Italiana". Today the railway network is fully back in operation after the problems on the line of the last decade. In a difficult period, many came to hypothesize the possible disposal of part of the railway structure. A young architect from Umbertide, Alessandro Venturelli, worked on his degree thesis on the possible reuse of the railway workshops with internal technical tables at the time that it was feared for its disposal: “ City Market Museum of Umbertide. Restoration and reuse of an abandoned railway area ", academic year 2012/13 at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Florence. The link refers to the thesis page. The image allows you to access the thesis with the tables that Alessandro has made available. https://www.umbertidestoria.net/tesi-di-laurea Sources: - Simona Bellucci: Umbertide in the 20th century 1943-2000, Nuova Prhomos, 2018. - https://www.trenidicarta.it/aperture.html - Umbria-Apennine Railway Photos and information - Avv. Eugenio Baldinelli - Photo: historical photos of Umbertide from the web and from various private archives to which we applied the " umbertidestoria " watermark in this way we try to avoid that the further disclosure on our part favors purposes not consonant with our intentions exclusively social and cultural. Help us remember umbertidestoria@gmail.com

Historical characters from the nineteenth century to antiquity In this subsection we propose the biographies of some characters who played a role in the history of the city in the period from the nineteenth century to antiquity. Pietro Burelli Domenico Bruni Zelmirina Agnolucci Filippo Alberti Ernesto Freguglia Giuseppe Savelli Antonio Guerrini Annibale Mariotti Pietro G. Petrogalli Francesco Mavarelli San Savino di Fratta Alessandro Magi Spinetti Giuliano Bovicelli Luigi Vibi I Cibo di Fratta Cesare Bartolelli - Cristoforo Petrogalli Giovanni Tommaso Pao(u)lucci Fabrizio Stella Giovan Battista Spoletini Orazio Mancini La famiglia Spunta di Fratta Filippo e Giovan Battista Fracassini Giovanni Mauri Bernardino Sermigni Giovanni Pachino - Cintio Paulucci Lavinio Magi - P. Paolo Cristiani Cherubino Martelli - Felice Remeri La famiglia Soli - Sante Pellicciari Costantino Magi - Angelo Martinelli - Francesco Spinetti Bernardino Magi - Muzio Flori Lodovico Flori Massimo Martinelli Leopoldo Grilli Pietro Burelli Pietro Burelli Military engineer in the service of the Serenissima curated by Fabio Mariotti Pietro Burelli, son of Tommaso "distinguished scholar", was born in Fratta in 1584. From a very young age he showed great talent and a marked aptitude for mathematical sciences. The historian Antonio Guerini, in his work " History of the land of Fratta, now Umbertide - 1883 " says that " civil and military architecture was preferably his main passion in order to open up a more splendid field on the streets of honor, he gave himself totally to a career in arms ". For this he went to Spain, then engaged in a bloody war with the Turks, where he reached the rank of captain. He became particularly adept at building countryside fortifications that resisted the assault of cavalry and infantry. For this reason, when he returned to Italy, he put himself at the service of the Most Serene Venetian Republic, recommended to Doge Niccolò Donatuti by the General Superintendent in Terra Ferma Benedetto Moro, with a very rich commission of 800 scudi a year. In this on activity in the Veneto region he undertook the restoration and restructuring of the bastions of Palmanova and the grandiose project of the fortress of Verona, a city in which, surprised by a serious illness, he died in 1642 at the age of 58. Article published in the December 2019 issue of " Local Information ". Il 18 dicembre 1960, 59 anni fa, l’amministrazione comunale intitolò una via a Pietro Burelli. Chi era questo personaggio ritenuto degno del titolo di una via e quanti umbertidesi oggi conoscono la sua storia? Per approfondire la storia di Pietro Burelli, di cui trattò nella sua opera il Guerini, è stata fondamentale la ricerca storica del Col. Pilota dott. Giuseppe Cozzari presso l’archivio storico della città di Venezia, con la preziosa collaborazione dello storico Renato Codovini per la trascizione dei testi. Oltre ad alcune lettere che testimoniano l’iter per l’assunzione del nostro antenato come ingegnere militare esperto in fortificazioni difensive, il Cozzari ha ritrovato anche un manoscritto originale che illustra in maniera dettagliata, anche con precise immagini, il funzionamento di una nuova arma da guerra, il “Trabucco”, ideata dal Burelli. Sources: Fabio Mariotti. The documentation was found in the historical archive of the Municipality of Venice by Dr. Giuseppe Cozzari and transcribed from the vernacular by the historian Renato Codovini. DOMENICO BRUNI Great opera singer curated by Fabio Mariotti Domenico Bruni He was born in Fratta on February 28, 1758, to Pietro, the master mason, and Francesca Brischi. Already at an early age he showed a good disposition to singing. Domenico's father belonged to the Compagnia della S. Croce. It is therefore probable that the young man learned the first rudiments of music in the school of the Company, starting from 1764. Bruni's debut at Fratta, with a soprano voice, is in 1772, at the age of 14. At the age of 15, according to a cruel custom of that time, often adopted by poor families who had children particularly gifted in singing, Domenico was emasculated. This made him one of the most important emasculated singers of the time. His first performance in a large theater, the Alibert in Rome, dates back to 1776. From 1780 to 1787 he sang in some of the most important Italian theaters and his fame began to cross national borders. In 1787 he was called to the court of Catherine II of Russia, where he arrived after a long and adventurous journey and where he remained until 1790. The most important years of his career go from 1791 to 1796. In this period he was also called to London where he performed in 1793. The debut as a professional singer in his city is dated 8 September 1795, during the Feast of the Madonna della Reggia, probably in the Collegiate Church. After his career, Bruni returned in 1797 to Fratta where, in consideration of the fame he had achieved and despite the opposition of the rich local notables who did not want to accept him among themselves, he was elected Prior of the Confraternity of San Bernardino. This important task was entrusted to him again from 1805 to 1807, while in 1804 and from 1816 to 1818 he was appointed Depositary (today we would say cashier) of the same Confraternity. Relations with the Compagnia della SS Concezione date back to 1795. In 1814 he was elected Prior, while in 1812 and from 1819 to 1821, the year of his death, he was appointed Depositary. Bruni's deep ties with the local Confraternities are also demonstrated by the will, where he asked for his body to be buried in the church of San Bernardino and left an annual legacy of 10 scudi to the Confraternity. Domenico Bruni's name is also inextricably linked to the Theater. On 4 August 1808, in fact, he was appointed president of the Accademia dei Riuniti. During that meeting the municipality was asked the possibility of using the entire building where the theater room was located in order to create a real theater, what is still called Teatro dei Riuniti, whose works were completed in 1814. . Sources: - Nicola Lucarelli: "Domenico Bruni (1758 - 1821) - Biography of an emasculated singer" - Ed. Municipality of Umbertide, 1992 - Text published in the "Calendar of Umbertide 1998" - Ed. Municipality of Umbertide, 1998 Zelmirina Agnolucci ZELMIRINA AGNOLUCCI Popular opera singer SINGING FOR THE Czar OF RUSSIA NICHOLAS II by Amedeo Massetti She bore the name of her grandmother, Zelmirina, her maternal grandmother Zelmira Savelli (1) , wife of Gabriele Santini, whose homonymous grandson would become internationally renowned conductor (2) . The mother, Maria Santini, fifth of the seven children of Gabriele and Zelmira, born in 1848 (3) , had married Francesco Agnolucci, 1851, great young violinist director, from 1871 to 1875, of the school municipal music of Umbertide, teacher of many children. He will also conduct, highly esteemed, many philharmonic and musical bands in various cities of Italy. Zelmirina was born in Umbertide in 1879. She had breathed the notes since she was a child listening to the sweet melodies played by her father in their large country house. She had studied singing, graduating as a soprano with Pietro Mascagni at the “G. Rossini ”in Pesaro (4) , where he went twice a month in a horse-drawn carriage. The first performance in the theater in Umbertide We find it for the first time on the evening of April 4, 1898 at the “Teatro dei Signori Riuniti” in a show of some importance that deserved the honors of the chronicles (5). Everything was organized "for the benefit of the sightless singer Emilia Giannuzzi", passing through Umbertide, who performed in front of a large and passionate audience. The theater, in fact, despite the rain for many days and the weather discouraging the evening outings, was crowded, "the boxes overflowed with representatives of the gentle sex". This in spite of a humid Lent evening, a Monday that began Holy Week. But Giannuzzi was a good soprano and they sang next to her the Umbertidesi Zelmirina Agnolucci, occasionally in the role of contralto, “very admired”, and Giulio Santini, known and appreciated baritone (6). A great local musician, Massimo Martinelli, director of the Municipal Concert, always present in important musical events, accompanied them on the piano. Zelmirina had performed several times at the Morlacchi theater in Perugia as a dramatic soprano, starting a demanding career that had already given her various satisfactions (7). He then began his artistic career by singing in companies of national level. His Mimì in the "Bohème" at the prestigious "Coccia" of Novara (8) during the 1899 Carnival (9) is memorable and the interpretation, in the same theater, of the "Devil's Trill" by Stanislao Falchi (10), in the splendid stage costumes. The tour in Russia But the first major tour of his life was the one he undertook at the beginning of the twentieth century: he would take her to St. Petersburg, to sing for Tsar Nicholas II. The girl, twenty-one, she left with her father Francesco Agnolucci, after signing a contract with the impresario for exhibitions in various cities on the long way to the capital of the Russian empire. We find her in this adventurous artistic journey, in March 1900, at the Grand Theater of Vilna (11) where he sings in the "Cavalleria Rusticana" together with Luisa De Sirianna, Carolina Zawner, Federico Percopo (tenor), Giuseppe Pimazzoni and Ignazio Pompa (12). The next stop was the Theater Riga National (13), in May 1900, together with Ernesto Pettinari and again with the baritone Ignazio Pompa (14). Great success at the Imperial Theater in St. Petersburg But the most important performance was at the Imperial Theater in St. Petersburg, where Tsar Nicholas II sat in the audience (15). It was a great success and the young soprano impressed with her skill and beauty Wassili Elisiewch Lithewsky, noble councilor of the Tsar (galavà), governor of Vitebsk, now a city of Belarus. During Zelmira's stay in St. Petersburg there was an intense acquaintance between the two which resulted in the Russian noble's request for marriage. The girl's father agreed, and had to pay the entrepreneur a large sum to compensate for the commitments that Zelmira would have to fulfill upon his return. Marriage with the Russian nobleman Wassili E. Lithewsky The wedding was celebrated in Vitebsk after not a few difficulties: Wassili even spent a few days locked up in a military fortress for not having asked the Tsar for permission to marry, as was prescribed for officers; but the impetus to marry the young soprano had made him forget every procedure of his role. Wassili was born in Ekaterinodar (16), on the Black Sea, in 1860 and was almost twenty years older than the girl, a charismatic and charming forty-year-old. The couple settled in the city ruled by their husband and began a happy life together. Two children were born soon: Boris in 1901 and Elena in 1904. Wassili was so in love that he built a theater in their sumptuous palace in Vitebsk where his wife put on shows in which she performed in the singing roles. A large adjoining room housed a specimen of every musical instrument existing at the time: incomparable, precious furnishings, desired by Wassili, by his love for Zelmira, by his artistic sensitivity (17). Francesco Agnolucci stayed for some time in Russia close to his daughter, then returned to Italy. He died in 1917 in his house in Rio, on the border between the towns of Montone and Umbertide, at the age of 66 (18). The return to Italy with her husband and two children In 1914 Zelmirina left with Wassili for Italy to introduce her mother Maria and the Agnolucci family to her husband and children. The Lithewskys stayed for a few months but Wassili, after the First World War broke out, being an official of the Tsar, had to return to Russia; his wife and children remained at home; Boris and Elena completed their studies in Italy. "Stay here" - Wassili had told them - "when the war ends I will come and pick you up". After the Russian Revolution, Wassili was forced into hiding But in October 1917, in the middle of the world conflict, the Bolshevik revolution broke out in Russia. All classes of the nobility were legally abolished. Wassili had to hide to escape arrest and was forced to live in hiding for a long time, aided by his own farmers. Her relatives had been killed with summary executions, without trial, including the two sisters Barbara and Alessandra, schoolmates of Elena of Montenegro, who later became the wife of Vittorio Emanuele III of Savoy. Only nine years later, in November 1926, "General Lithewsky" managed to get in touch with the Italian foreign ministry through official diplomatic channels. Through the consulate in Odessa, in present day Ukraine, he obtained a passport with relative visa; for a moment the darkness seemed to clear but the operation was not successful and the former Tsar's officer had to go back into hiding. In 1929 he managed to send his family a photo of him, addressed with affection to "dear Lolina", his daughter Elena. In Italy, in 1918, due to the great "Spanish flu" which killed 20 million people all over the world, the eldest son Boris had died when he was only seventeen years old. The loss of her son had upset Zelmirina. Wassili Lithewsky spent very hard times in Russia: for almost ten years his relatives in Italy had not been able to receive news. Amid enormous difficulties, he went clandestinely in various parts of the territory, fleeing into the deserts of Central Asia, supported only by the desire to see his owners again. In the early thirties of the twentieth century, the climate calmed a little, the family research began: the son-in-law, Dr. Carlo Alberto Angelini, husband of Elena, knew well and contacted the Italian ambassador in Moscow, Bernardo Attolico; he also asked for the intervention of the Red Cross. Even the engineer Adolfo Ghisalberti, grandson of Maria Santini (19) got involved in the research. Finally he was able to find him in the Gobi desert, in Mongolia, and to organize his return: in the summer of 1932 Wassili was able to leave for Italy. Carlo Alberto Angelini went to pick him up at the port of Genoa. His physique was very weak: several times it was necessary to support him during the transfers of the trip. After countless ups and downs, the return to the family When the Tsar's adviser arrived in Umbertide, on his way to the country house in Rio, hollow face, white lace, almond-shaped eyes, many people noticed the rich dress of a Russian nobleman which gave his tall and majestic figure an aura of charm and mystery. . Zelmirina, despite her joy, suffered a great shock upon the arrival of her husband whom she had had to leave a long time ago. The second child, Elena, who saw him again after 15 years, stopped breastfeeding her daughter Viola due to the trauma (20). Wassili finally settled in the large house of the Agnolucci family. An avid smoker, he slept with the light of a candle on the bedside table because when he woke up he had an urgent need to light a cigarette. But the elderly aristocrat will not be able to enjoy the warmth of the newly found family for long because he died of pulmonary emphysema only three months later (21). Zelmirina's death on 5 July 1944 Zelmirina, bent by the adversities of life, suffering in her youth (22) from a viral form of lethargic encephalitis (23), fell ill with Parkinson's disease and spent the last few years in suffering. She was lovingly assisted in her illness by her son-in-law, Carlo Alberto Angelini, doctor, husband of his daughter Elena. He died on 5 July 1944, the day of Umbertide's Liberation (24), invoking his beloved son Boris, at the "Palazzo della Tramontana", the current villa owned by Cozzari along the road leading to Migianella (25), then owned by Agnolucci . 30th September 2013 Sources: Historical research by Amedeo Massetti Published in March 2014 on n.52 of "Altotiberine Pages" by the Historical Association of the Upper Tiber Valley. Reduced text published in the "Calendar of Umbertide 2015" - Ed. Municipality of Umbertide 2015 Notes to the text: 1 Zelmira, born in Umbertide in 1820, belonged to the Savelli family, living in via Stella; she was the sister of Giuseppe Savelli, mayor of Umbertide several times from 1863 to 1880, and of Don Flaviano, canon and archpriest of the Collegiate Church of S. Maria della Reggia. Zelmira Savelli will die in 1875. 2 Gabriele Santini was born on January 20, 1886; the father was Pio Santini, the mother Carmela Nolaschi. He studied at the “F. Morlacchi ”cello and piano and later moved to the GB Martini Conservatory of Bologna where he completed his composition studies with G. Minguzzi and P. Micci. He began his career as a conductor as early as 1904 and devoted himself almost exclusively to the operatic genre. After a first period at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome (now the Opera Theater), he was hired by various theaters in Latin America. He stayed for eight seasons at the Colon Theater in Buenos Aires and later at the Municipal Theater in Rio de Janeiro, at the Lyric Opera in Chicago and at the Manhattan Theater in New York. From 1925 to 1929 he was called to the Alla Scala theater in Milan as assistant to maestro Arturo Toscanini. He came back then at the Rome Opera where he remained permanently until 1933 and from 1944 to 1947 he held the position of director here artistic. In 1951 he directed the company of S. Carlo di Napoli in the tour in Paris, for the celebrations of Verdi's fiftieth anniversary. He directed several seasons at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan in 1946 and from 1960 to 1964, the year of his death (From N. LUCARELLI, Gabriele Santini, illustrious from Umbertide, in "Umbertide Cronache", bimonthly periodical of the Municipality of Umbertide, n. 1- 2002, p. 42). 3 A. MASSETTI, Two centuries on the march, Umbertide and the band, Città di Castello, Petruzzi, 2008, p. 139. 4 Testimony of the granddaughter Fiore Angelini. 5 The Liberal Union, April 5, 1998, p. 2. 6 In the second half of the 19th century the baritone voice of Giulio Santini came to the attention of the lyrical mode. In 1872 he was hired as first baritone at the Fermo theater. From here he moved to Sansepolcro and in 1874 he sang at the Teatro Nuovo in Florence as the first absolute baritone, where he collected sensational successes. During his long stay in this city, he also performed in the Bellincioni Hall, in via delle Belle Donne. At the concert, performed on January 30, 1875, Santini participated incognito, perhaps for reasons imposed by his relationship with the new theater. Leaving Florence, he performed for a long time first in Siena, then in Perugia, where he performed 12 performances of Donizetti's “La Favorita”. In February 1879, Santini sang in Verdi's “Luisa Miller” at the Città di Castello theater. The news about him they end with 1880, the year in which he was hired by the Arezzo Theater. Throughout his career he received certificates of esteem and profound appreciation for his professional performances from the entrepreneurs. (R. CODOVINI - R. SCIURPA, Umbertide in the 19th century, Città di Castello, GESP, 2001, p. 307). 7 Testimony of the granddaughter Fiore Angelini. 8 The “Coccia” theater in Novara, one of the major traditional Italian theaters, was inaugurated on 21 January 1888 with the opera “Gli Ugonotti” by Giacomo Meyarbeer, directed by Arturo Tscanini. It is named after Carlo Coccia, chapel master of the Chapter of the Novara cathedral. 9 Documents now in the possession of the niece Viola Angelini. 10 Stanislao Falchi, born in Terni on January 29, 1851, was a pupil of C. Maggi and S. Meluzzi, who started him on the study of composition. In order to achieve a more in-depth preparation, he moved to Rome, where musical studies experienced a lively revival in the climate of cultural renewal in the years following the unification of Italy. In 1877 the musical high school of S. Cecilia was inaugurated, divided into numerous courses: Falchi received the post of teacher of choral singing and in 1882 of normal singing, appointments that gave him particular prestige. He will then be director of choral singing in various schools in Rome from 1883, crowning a splendid didactic career; he will have the chair of counterpoint, fugue and composition in 1890 in the conservatory of S. Cecilia (Biographical Dictionary of the Italians Treccani). 11 Today's Vilnius, then a Russian city, now the state of Lithuania. 12 The baritone Ignazio Pompa, born in Rome in 1860, studied both in Milan and in his city. Success was not long in coming come. Over thirty, he entered various theater companies, from the Castellano Company to Labruna, Granzini, Dazig and sang in important European theaters, from Paris to Le Havre, from Ostend to Liege, to Poltava. He also sang in Smyrna, Athens, Constantinople, Cairo, Alexandria in Egypt. His presence in Russian and Ukrainian theaters, from Smolensk, where he married in 1899, to Wilnius, from St. Petersburg to Minsk, Kursk, Jekaterinoslav, Theodosia, Molitopoli, Kerck, and other Russian and Ukrainian cities, was successfully noticed. He died in London in 1909 (www.museoparigino.org ). 13 Riga, then a Russian city, is now the capital of the Baltic state of Latvia. 14 Ibid. 15 The current Mariinsky Theater, in St. Petersburg. It owes its name to Princess Maria Aleksandrovna and in the past it had, in Soviet times, the name of Kirov Theater, (in honor of Sergej Kirov) and National Academy of Opera and Ballet and, in Tsarist times, Imperial Theater of San Petersburg. 16 The city, since December 1920, has been renamed Krasnodar. 17 Testimony of the niece Viola Angelini. 18 He is buried in the Savelli chapel, in the left hemicycle of the Umbertide cemetery. On his gravestone is the following critta: He dedicated his beautiful art, his illicit industrious life to his wife and his children who with infinite reverent love venerate the tearful memory. 19 Testimony of his daughter Paola Ghisalberti. 20 Testimony of the niece Viola Angelini. 21 Wassili Lithwsky is also buried in the Umbertide cemetery, in the Savelli chapel. 22 The husband had disappeared in the chaos of the Russian revolution and they had not even been able to write to each other anymore. 23 The father of ladies Fiore and Viola, Carlo Alberto Angelini, a doctor, also had contact with Queen Elena who had promoted and funded studies on this disease. 24 On 5 July 1944 Umberttde was liberated by soldiers of the British 8th Army. 25 The villa to the left of those who climb towards Migianella, which is accessed along a path bordered by maritime pines. In the 1930s it belonged to the Agnolucci family. The singer with her son Boris Tsar Nicholas II Zelmirina with her husband Wassili Singer with some of the clothes used on stage FILIPPO ALBERTI Literate and poet curated by Fabio Mariotti He was born on March 26, 1548 in Fratta, to Luca Antonio Alberti and Ippolita Petrogalli. He spent his childhood and adolescence in severe studies and in his early twenties he was elected "coadjutor" of the chancellor of the municipality of Perugia. He soon acquired a reputation as a talented poet. His rhymes had, while he was still alive, two different editions and many of them saw the light in valuable collections of other important and illustrious writers of the time, including the valuable "nine sonnets", written by Our for the "Conversion of Saint Mary Magdalene". He wrote various highly praised works: a book of poems entitled "Rime di Filippo Alberti" printed in Rome and Venice; a beautiful song over the cicada; a tragedy entitled "Cestio Macedonico" whose protagonist was a certain Cestio citizen of Perugia, who having fought with the Romans in the war of Macedonians and in that having been reported for generous actions, he deserved the nickname of Macedonico. Not all of his works were published and many went missing - although we have news and titles - following his long illness and death. Filippo Alberti was held in high regard by personalities of the time such as Alfonso d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, Cardinals Bonifacio Bevilacqua and Domenico Pinelli and the Marquis Ascanio della Cornia. It was held in honor by men of letters such as the illustrious humanist Marco Antonio Bonciari, Scipione Tolomei, Cesare Crispolti senior, Giovan Battista Lauri, Cesare Caporali, Claudio Contuli and Cesare Alessi. But the main boast for Alberti was the friendship that Torquato Tasso professed to him; friendship based on the esteem that the great poet had for the man of letters from Fratta. Alberti tells us about his acquaintance with Tasso in Ferrara, cultivated through an affectionate correspondence with our Filippo, to whom he also dedicated a sonnet, and did not disdain to ask him for advice on the "Gerusalemme Liberata" and, if he had any, to follow them. Alberti was also a good prose writer (there are praises of illustrious men, still unpublished, preserved in the Augusta library in Perugia). Some of these works were not completed, others remained unpublished both for the envy of the powerful of the time, as confirmed by Lauri and Oldoino, and for his poor health. The literary merits and the love he brought to Fratta and Perugia lead us to believe that it would have been very interesting to have a volume of his lost "Historical Memories of Perugia", written by him when the Roman Carlo Conti was governor of the city of the Grifo. , he who under Pope Clement VIII "was tempted to make the Church of Perugia archipiscopal". His studies did not remove Alberti from public offices and he, who in 1573 had been elected "Coadjutor" of the chancellor of the municipality of Perugia, was called to take over the direction of the prioral chancellery, an office to which distinguished men were always assigned for prudence and by doctrine. Friends and admirers had to mourn his death when he was not yet old. He was 64 when he retired to live in Fratta and ended his days there, on 12 September 1612. He is buried in the church of San Domenico in Perugia. The street where his house was located, in the historic center, now bears the name of "via Alberti". Some poems by Filippo Alberti It turns out more not to love I said, you were my good And my life, Orsella More than the sun wanders, and beautiful. Hor I unsubscribe, and 'the song I address the blame, a l'ire I loved you, I hate you just as much. And out of troubles, and pains Behold, I too am mine To God, perfidious, to God. Treats that the women of Perugia, past one certain age, they should wear black Ouch, foolish is he who believes What a woman in a black dress May it seem less beautiful, and less haughty. the nigga the beautiful does not take away, And Law cake is that That only others grant Color, which always announces or deaths, or pains, It thunders, and the sky flashes when it is darkest, Negra serpe has more tosco. Omen of the beauty of a girl Green apple six Vague girl, and with beautiful outward eyes Sol virginelle gratitude and still breathe; But Cupid is already sharpening the guilty darts, Already in the man the face has removed, To turn it on then in your beautiful face. Sources: Historical calendar of Umbertide 2002 - Ed. Municipality of Umbertide - 2002 Arcangelo Chelli - “The illustrious men of Umbertide” - Ed. Tipografia Tiberina - 1888 Via Alberti Ernesto Freguglia ERNESTO FREGUGLIA The story of an adopted Umbertidese painter by Amedeo Massetti Filippo Alberti Ernesto Freguglia (1875). The Foro Boario, today Piazza del Mercato The large oil painting with oxen, which stands out on the wall of the mayor's office, was painted in 1875 by Ernesto Freguglia. Known painter at that time, but unknown to Umbertide today. Yet Freguglia lived in our city for twenty-five years, moving there from Rome in 1874. He lived first in via Cibo, then in via Petrogalli which then skirted the village of San Giovanni and finally in via Cavour, at number 64, where the last aged 74 died. day of 1899. He is buried in our cemetery. The good artist was born in Sabbionello di Copparo, in the municipality of Ferrara, on December 20, 1825. A pupil of the Ferrarese painter Guseppe Tamarozzi, he had studied at the school of drawing and figure in the university of his city. He had therefore been in Florence where we find him in 1853 among the various copyists of the Uffizi (here he reproduced a “landscape by Jean Baptiste Fierce de Roven”). He then moved to Rome, in 1856, entering the studio of the painter and restorer Alessandro Mantovani, also from Ferrara (some of his valuable works are in the Quirinal Palace). In the 1860s, Freguglia was still active in Rome where he participated in the complete renovation of the decorations, between 1863 and 1867, of the church of Santa Lucia del Gonfalone in via dei Banchi Vecchi, together with Salvatore Rotani, under the direction by the well-known Roman painter Cesare Mariani. Between 1870 and 1876, he collaborated with Alessandro Mantovani in the decoration of the Nuova Loggia Pia in the Vatican, giving "proof of uncommon skill in following Raphaelesque concepts". In 1876 he donated one of his paintings to the municipality of Ferrara. He exhibited in this city in 1875, 1877 and 1899. A couple of his suggestive romantic landscapes, in harmony with the canons of the Roman landscape school, are in the Scutellari collection of the Este city. Freguglia is a painter of a good level and his works denote profound technical knowledge and a refined taste that goes far beyond the representations of the manner of authors of his period. It is affected by the contemporaneity with the Macchiaioli movement even if, while lingering in fresh play of lights and colors, he does not neglect to use precise brushstrokes, creating almost photographic representations. The painting on the wall of the mayor's office, to which we have mentioned, "The cattle market in Fratta", in addition to offering us an extraordinary document of nineteenth-century life - the animated day of the market - provides architectural details of the ancient city that have now disappeared or transformed. In fact, the views of the bridge over the Palace and the open space in front of the Rocca are different, not yet leveled with backfill (a partial restoration of the original conditions was carried out with the recent works in the Park of the Reggia and Piazza del Mercato). Likewise, the Guardabassi post hotel (to the right of the Collegiate Church) no longer exists and was demolished to widen the entrance road to the Piazza. And finally, the Mavarelli palace has a different structure, now also raised in the wing towards the center of the town. Ernesto Freguglia (1874). The Tiber in the "Mulinaccio" area The other painting we know of, belonging to the Scagnetti collection, in which Ernesto Freguglia depicts a different glimpse of Umbertide is also of great documentary value. The canvas, dated 1874, has the usual delicate line and the richness of details typical of the painter and represents the view from the west side of the castle of Fratta. In the center of the painting, on the edge of the walls, you can see the base of the defense tower which collapsed in the flood of the Tiber in 1610. On the left side you can see some architectural details that have now disappeared. At the bottom right you can see the artificial canal that carried the water of the Carpina, after passing through the Mulinello and the Fornace, to activate the "Mulinaccio" (recently swept away by the flood) under the walls. The area still has this name. Finally, washerwomen, fishermen and people bathing in crystal clear water are represented. Ernesto Freguglia, an Emilian painter who became Umbertide, loved our city and chose it to live there for a quarter of a century, until his death. From the careful glimpses in which he depicts it, from the care he takes to the most typical details, a relationship of warm familiarity transpires. Bre 2019 of The article was published in the November issue of "Local Information" Sources: Historical archive research by Amedeo Massetti Registry card of Ernesto Freguglia at the Municipality of Umbertide Giuseppe Savelli GIUSEPPE SAVELLI The Mayor of the passage from Fratta to Umbertide by Amedeo Massetti The ceramic bust of Giuseppe Savelli was placed in the town council hall in 1894, when the room was renovated with the installation of new wooden stalls made by all the carpenters of Umbertide. It was placed on a wooden base overhanging the wall at a height of two meters, to the right of the bench of the Giunta, flanked, on the left, by the bust of Antonio Guerrini. The old furniture in the council chamber, used for 90 years, was replaced by the current one in 1984, when the town hall was renovated. The bust was restored free of charge in 2011 by the Umbertidese artist Antonello Renzini and was relocated in the room adjacent to the City Council. Doctor Giuseppe Savelli was born in Umbertide on May 16, 1824. Owner, he lived in via Stella at n. 11. He also had a house in Via Diritta (now Via Cibo at no. 13), a house in Rome, and a country residence in Rio on the border between the municipalities of Umbertide and Montone where his studio is still located. its library. From 1861 he held the position of municipal councilor. From 1863 he will be appointed Mayor. He was mayor of Umbertide several times from 1863 to 1880. Doctor Savelli was a patriot; during the revolt of the Umbrian populations to the papal government in 1859, he was appointed governor of the provisional administration of Fratta, with the approval of the government of Perugia. In 1861, as a municipal councilor, he worked with extraordinary commitment for the reconstitution of the musical band, of which he was a member and later very active and authoritative president. He wrote a memorable letter in this regard. Dr. Giuseppe Savelli was elected Mayor in 1863 (he was therefore the first citizen who ferried Fratta to Umbertide) and will hold this office until May 18, 1868. Then for the whole of 1871 and 1872 he was again mayor. In 1873, for a period, he still appears as mayor. In his capacity as head of the administration, he worked with sensitivity and foresight to give the municipality, which emerged from the inadequacy of the papal administration, a modern and efficient structure. In 1872 he approved the first public hygiene regulation and the first urban police regulation, which deeply affected the socio-sanitary situation of the time and remain milestones for their relevance. Giuseppe Savelli died in Umbertide on 6 July 1886. He is buried in the last chapel of the hemicycle left of the Umbertide cemetery, where there are also the tombs of the Santini family (his wife was Rosa Santini, daughter of Giuseppe, and his sister Zemira Savelli had married Gabriele Santini, grandfather of the internationally renowned conductor of the same name). His brother, Don Flaviano Savelli, was canon and archpriest of the Collegiate. Giuseppe Savelli is the author of a manuscript history (unfortunately partially destroyed) of the Savelli family which also includes a pope, Honorius III, who approved the Rule of St. Francis. Sources: Historical research by Amedeo Massetti 1975. Establishment of the City Council. In high, on the right of the Giunta, the bust by Giuseppe Savelli Mayor Savelli's signature on the poster announcing the name change A. Massetti at the presentation of an edition of the historical calendar of Umbertide The family crest on the house in Rio ANTONIO GUERRINI Canon of the Collegiate, professor of rhetoric and local historian curated by Fabio Mariotti Antonio Guerrini had the education and upbringing of youth very much at heart, for which he dedicated his entire life. He was born in Fratta in 1779 by Giovan Battista Guerrini and Anna Maria Cassoni. From his earliest years he showed the beautiful qualities of his soul. His first teachers were two former Spanish Jesuits, Father Sebastiano Re and Father Gabriele Villalunga. Of a good and honest nature, to better benefit his fellow citizens he embraced the ecclesiastical life, in which he distinguished himself for truly evangelical knowledge and charity. At the age of fifteen he was designated canon of the Collegiate church, while completing his theological studies in the seminary of Gubbio. At the age of twenty-five he was appointed professor of rhetoric in the public schools of our country. He taught for more than forty years until the last days of his life, with tireless zeal and with great love. Twice he was called to Perugia, first to exercise the office of rector and moderator of studies in the "Piano Collegio", then to teach philosophy; but both times he refused, thus giving very clear proof of his predilection for his native land. Antonio Guerrini worked constantly to improve teaching methods in the schools entrusted to him. He compiled a geography accompanied by historical information, designing and building a large terrestrial globe to facilitate its teaching. He also made a large map of Europe, also with indications of the main historical facts. He cooperated in the formation of the town band, in the erection of a theater (what later became the "Teatro dei Riuniti") and in the establishment of a society of dramatic declamation for the benefit of the poor in need. The cover of the book on the history of Fratta and Umbertide (Anastatic copy on the original of 1883 made by the "Gruppo Local Editorial "by Digital Editor Umbertide - September 2009) He wrote a much praised work, a "Theory of Oratory Art and Versification of Tuscany" of which, a summary, was included in the Parisian Journal of the year 1810 and which earned the author a mention by the famous Degerando who, writing in about Mr. Count Giovanni Spada, Deputy Prefect, revealed to him his desire that such a teaching method be adopted by all the universities of the Empire. He also left many Latin and Italian poems. He was very involved in the research of homeland memories, of which he left a copious collection. His major work "History of the Land of Fratta now Umbertide from its origins until the year 1845" was completed by the nephew Genesio Perugini printed at the Tipografia Tiberina and published at the expense of the Municipality of Umbertide in 1883. Antonio Guerrini died on January 21, 1845, at the age of sixty-five. He was buried in the church of Santa Maria della Reggia (Collegiata) where, to perpetuate his memory, the Town Hall placed a marble plaque between the orchestra and the main west door which reads as follows: "Don Antonio Guerrini for virtue of science, the town hall highly admired - XXI Gennaro MDCCCXXXXV". The municipal administration dedicated a street to him on January 22, 1880. Sources: - "The illustrious men of Umbertide" by A. Chelli - Umbertide, Tipografia Tiberina - 1888 - "The man in toponymy" by B. Porrozzi - Ed. Pro-loco - 1992 - Biography of prof. Antonio Mezzanotte - Bartelli Typography, Perugia 1845. Interior of the Collegiate where Don Antonio Guerrini was buried. Below, on the left, the plaque commemorating him. Antonio Guerrini ANNIBALE MARIOTTI Distinguished doctor and scholar of the second half of the 18th century curated by Fabio Mariotti Annibale Mariotti was born on 13 September 1738 in Perugia, where his father Prospero, professor of medicine and botany at the local university, had recently moved from Fratta with his already pregnant wife Maddalena Eleonori. He completed his literary and scientific studies in Perugia and at just sixteen he obtained a doctorate in medicine and philosophy. Shortly afterwards he went to Rome to study physics and mathematics under the guidance of great tutors such as Iaquier and Le-Seur, without neglecting to perfect himself in medical science with the lessons of Saliceti and Gianneschi and in chemistry with Voyole. Returning to Perugia in 1757, at the age of only nineteen, he was appointed professor of medicine but the desire to enrich his cultural background led him to leave Perugia again. It was in Bologna, where he took advantage of the classical schools of Beccari, Molinelli and Monte; in Padua where he enriched his already rich knowledge by making friends with the very learned Quirini, Morgagni and other renowned professors, then also in Pisa, admired everywhere for his great erudition. He was offered professorships from Pisa, Pavia and from the same studio in Padua, which he refused for the sake of his native place. 1930s. The post office in piazza Umberto I (now piazza Matteotti) The entrance on via Mariotti Such was by now his fame as a man with great knowledge that he often asked his vote in the most profound medical disputes from the most renowned Colleges of Italy and Count Roberti, writing to Bianconi, said: "Enough to inspire Perugia to remember me that the highly literate Mariotti is its citizen! " He had relations with the most brilliant geniuses of his time and the most renowned Academies were honored to have him as a partner, such as the Etruscans of Cortona, the Arcadi Augusti, the Leopoldini of Germany and others. He was even called by the Dresden Court as his doctor, but the call of his native land was too strong for him so he returned to Perugia where, in 1760, he was given again the chair of medicine to which, in 1768, was added that of botany, which had already belonged to her deceased parent. Annibale Mariotti lived in difficult times but, among the honors and humiliations that he had to bear, he always managed to keep the goodness and kindness of his generous soul. Proclaimed, on February 5, 1798, the French republic in Perugia, Hannibal was one of the fifteen who formed the provisional government and had the honor, with Dr. Gian Angelo Cocchi, to represent the city in Rome, at the banning of the constitution of the Roman Republic . On his return to Perugia he was elected "consular prefect" of the Trasimeno Department. He used authority and knowledge for the benefit of his fellow citizens, working for the release of some nobles imprisoned by the government of the republic and taken to Ancona. After the fall of the Roman republic, eighteen months after its proclamation, it was the object of slanderous accusations by its enemies. For this he was arrested by the Austro-Arezzo soldiers and taken to Arezzo as a criminal. After some time, the accusations found to be false, he was released, but the harshness of his imprisonment soon contributed to reducing him to death. Death came on June 10, 1801, after a serious illness of six months. Perugia reserved solemn honors for him and the funeral oration was read by Dr. Luigi Santi, his loyal disciple. He was buried in the church of S. Angelo in Porta Eburnea, where an epigraph recalls his virtues and his knowledge. Annibale Mariotti wrote about 60 works, including the "History of Perugian literature" and "Perugian pictorial letters" printed in 1788. He also left a manuscript of historical memories of all the places under the ancient dominion of Perugia. Umbertide, after 1863, dedicated to him the street (formerly vicolo del Pomo) that connects today's Piazza Matteotti with Piazza XXV Aprile. The old photos are from the historical photographic archive of the Municipality of Umbertide Sources: - "History of the land of Fratta now Umbertide" by A. Guerrini (completed by G. Perugini) - Umbertide, Tipografia Tiberina - 1883 - "The illustrious men of Umbertide" by A. Chelli - Umbertide, Tipografia Tiberina - 1888 - "The man in toponymy" by B. Porrozzi - Ed. Pro-loco - 1992 Via Mariotti today from piazza XXV aprile The plaque of the illustrious personage Annibale Mariotti Alessandro Magi Spinetti PIETRO GIACOMO PETROGALLI Man of arms of the second half of the sixteenth century famous for his courage curated by Fabio Mariotti Pietro Giacomo Petrogalli was born in 1554, from one of the best families in the country. From a young age he showed great courage and firmness of character. One day, while he was having fun fishing on the Tiber, just below the castle of Montalto, he was insulted by the Perugian Sforza degli Alessandri who, not happy with this, also had him beaten with a stick by one of his agents. Peter could not bear the insult and swore to take his revenge. Alessandri often came to Fratta, bringing with him an escort of warriors. Pietro not being able to suffer so much insolence, after the insult he received, presented himself in front of him and fired a pistol shot on his chest, leaving him dead on the ground. Then, armed with a hatchet, he made his way through the men of arms and managed to get to safety. However, he did not escape the penalty of the ban to which he was condemned, and in April 1580 he was forced to leave his native land. At first he took refuge in France and took up service in the militias of that country. He immediately distinguished himself for many and beautiful actions of value, for which he received the admiration of the soldiers and had the rank of lieutenant colonel. From France he returned to Italy, placing himself at the service of the Grand Duke of Tuscany Ferdinand I and left with the Italian troops who went to Hungary to fight with the emperor, against the Turks. Also on this occasion he proved himself worthy of his name by fighting hard and, after the capture of Chiavarino in which he covered himself with glory, he was appointed captain of a large Italian company, on October 15, 1594. He was also once again in Hungary paid by the Church, in the expedition commanded by Francesco of the Marquises Del Monte, remaining there until the end of the war, in which he sustained many wounds. It was then that, ill in health and very weak from a lot of blood shed, he expressed the desire to return to breathe the native air and the pope, with a special pardon of July 26, 1596, not only allowed him to return to his country , but he called him back from the ban and condoned all punishment, although he had not obtained peace from the Alessandri family. After some time, having recovered in health, he returned to Tuscany and was by the Grand Duke Ferdinando appointed lieutenant of the Pistoia fortress, then sergeant major of the Livorno garrison and then castellan of the same city. In 1607 he participated in the capture of the city of Bona in Barberia with the rank of battle sergeant. When Ferdinand I died in 1609, he was succeeded in the government by Cosimo II who, having also learned of his expertise and loyalty, on 15 May 1612 appointed him Governor in Valdelsa and sergeant major of all the Tuscan infantry, succeeding the knight Francesco Tucci , also giving it the rich income of Poggio Imperiale. He also held many other important offices including that of Castellano and Governor of the Fortress of San Miniato. In 1622 he returned to Fratta again, staying there for a short time, however, because Princess Maddalena, regent of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, called him to assist Cardinal De 'Medici on the occasion of the Conclave for the election of the new Pope after the death of Gregory XV. Subsequently in 1628 Ferdinando II, Cosimo's son and successor, called him back to the court to occupy the high office of Councilor of State. And that year was fatal to him because one day, while he was leaving the council, he was seized by an aneurysm for which he died at the age of 74. In ancient times via Petrogalli (formerly via San Giovanni) was located in the so-called Borgo San Giovanni destroyed in the terrible bombing of 25 April 1944. For this reason the city council on 18 December 1960 approved the assignment to Petrogalli of a new road, the crossroad that gives via XX September ends up in via Andreani. Sources: - "History of the land of Fratta now Umbertide" by A. Guerrini (completed by G. Perugini) - Umbertide, Tipografia Tiberina - 1883 - "The illustrious men of Umbertide" by A. Chelli - Umbertide, Tipografia Tiberina - 1888 - "The man in toponymy" by B. Porrozzi - Ed. Pro-loco - 1992 FRANCESCO MAVARELLI Mayor of Umbertide from 1892 to 1898 and author some valuable texts on the history of Fratta curated by Fabio Mariotti Francesco Mavarelli was born in Cagli on January 3, 1870 to Vincenzo and Angela Calai. He spent his childhood in the Marche town where his parents had some properties, but the most considerable group of his assets was in Umbertide and consisted of the magnificent palace in via Stella and numerous farms scattered in the surrounding countryside. His first friendships were born along the Via Flaminia, between Cagli and Fossombrone, just twenty kilometers away from each other and divided by the Furlo massif. Here he established sincere and lasting relationships with the most prominent families of the place such as the Vernarecci, the Chiavarelli and others. He spent the years of childhood and adolescence with his brother Giuseppe born five years before him, but then, on June 14, 1891, the two separated because Giuseppe decided to marry Luigia Menghini and went to live on his own. We do not know the exact date on which Francesco left Cagli to settle in Umbertide. The personal data sheet only notes that he moved there "as a child". With certainty in Umbertide he completed the cycle of elementary and middle school, and then entered the Collegio della Quercia in Florence where he completed the course of classical studies and graduated in law. He did not practice his profession, absorbed as he was by the administration of his assets and by numerous other commitments. During the holidays he often went to his native places to visit old friends and gladly stopped in Fossombrone at the Chiavarelli family where Marina, who was born on 7 July 1875 and had seen a child, was getting a beautiful girl. A brilliant and open young man, supported by robust and thoughtful studies, he also faced the political and administrative commitment with great success. In the partial municipal elections of 26 July 1891 he was elected councilor with 110 votes out of 171 voters, while in the general elections of 27 November 1892 and 23 June 1895 he was the first of those elected, respectively with 455 out of 490 voters and 650 votes out of 695 voters. He held the office of mayor of Umbertide for six years, from 4 December 1892 to 3 December 1898. He was municipal councilor, provincial councilor of the district and president of the Congregation of Charity. A life full of work and responsibility, considering that the young Mavarelli was in his early twenties. To this must be added the intense historical and literary commitment on some aspects of city life conducted with scrupulous balance and profound competence, confirming a school education approached with seriousness and conviction. "Historical news and praise on the Company of disciplines of Santa Maria Nuova and Santa Croce in the Land of Fratta", was his first work published in 1899 and dedicated to his wife. Professor Augusto Vernarecci, Fossombrone's friend, informs us that the work was examined and praised by a competent and severe judge such as Giuseppe Mazzatinti. The second historical commitment was that of "The Art of Blacksmiths in the Land of Fratta", published posthumously in 1901. The family members entrusted its publication to Vernarecci who accompanied the work with a touching premise that we report in its entirety. On 31 August 1896 he married Marina, the girl from Fossombrone to whom he was now tied by a deep affection. The wedding was celebrated in the Marche city and on the same day the young landowner moved to the building in via Stella di Umbertide, where Francesco performed the functions of mayor. Then came the children. The first was Zenaide (23 October 1898) and the second Angiola Maria (28 November 1899). The third, Francesca, will be born on 12 December 1900 when her father had been gone for five months. Suddenly, that Friday evening of 20 July 1900, a gunshot froze the affections, aspirations and projects: Francesco had killed himself. The dramatic event preceded the regicide of Monza by nine days and this was enough to unleash the strangest assumptions about the motive for the gesture, the result of a Homeric epic fantasy. The mirrored customs and transparency of behavior of Francesco did not offer space for gossipy inferences. Thus, the whispers that circulated from alley to alley inside the town and that every day were colored more and more with lively colors and curious details, no less wanted the unfortunate young man to be linked to a Perugian anarchist group within the which his name would have been extracted to assassinate Umberto I. The task would not have been pleasing to the lottery and hence the fatal choice of suicide. Evidently, those who spread the fable of the failed regicide knew very little about anarchy, contrary to any form of institutional collaboration and any bond, including that of marriage, which represented a limitation to the sacred freedom of the individual. The religion of anarchy was identified only with revolutionary methodology. Francesco, on the other hand, was a man of the institutions, within which he had carried out important functions such as that of mayor and provincial councilor; he had also been awarded the title of knight and his whole life showed respect for the rules and the practice of civil coexistence. No, the story of an alleged anarchist membership definitely does not hold up, if only because in a few days the alternate to kill a king is not found, but it offers us some food for thought. The elegance of mind of the last Mavarelli; the profound culture that allowed him to dig into the historical past of his people by choosing the two typical strands of existence: religion (historical news and Laudi) and work (The art of blacksmiths); the high prestige gained in the exercise of political offices made him a different character from many of his peers. The hard college life based on tolerance and respect for others, passionate and assimilated study did not belong to youthful parentheses to be thrown into oblivion, but had become a way of life. In a difficult and conflictual period in which many agrarians responded to the spread of the socialist party and the peasant leagues with the expulsion of the colonists from their farms, the sensitivity and convictions of the agrarian Mavarelli were certainly oriented towards different attitudes that did not coincide with the crude and provocative authoritarianism of the law of the strongest practiced by some of his friends. On the other hand, for many men of the extreme left, the revolution was just around the corner and Gaetano Bresci's threat to the carabinieri who translated him to the prison of Santo Stefano and silenced him because he asked too many questions is symptomatic: " guys like you who should never talk! But soon the revolution will sweep you all away ”. According to the most accredited opinion in the agrarian world, these people had to be answered with the harshest methods, there was no middle ground. Mavarelli lived intensely the political unease of his time at the crossroads between reaction and revolution, which was, moreover, the unease and embarrassment of all European culture between the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century, in search of new models of expression and vigorous sources of inspiration and which in very generic terms took the name of Decadentism. This different way of being and feeling that harbored in the soul of Francis, for the popular imagination that has always loved shortcuts, extremisms and baseless analogies, was enough to make him an anarchist, while he was an enlightened liberal. who would feel at ease a few years later with the policy adopted by Giovanni Giolitti's government. But in 1900 Dronero's deputy was still the politician involved, rightly or wrongly, in the scandal of the Banca Romana and not the leader of the Italy of the "Belle Epoque" (the vile Italy of the vate D'Annunzio) in which the lira he favored gold and in which the most urgent reforms in the social field were under way, so much so that the astute Giolitti boasted "of having relegated Marx to the attic". The profound sensitivity of Francesco Mavarelli made him feel the contrast between the times and his beliefs in a nagging way, giving him the feeling of being born in a wrong period or of being a man out of time. Of course the discomfort deriving from this state of affairs was not a reason for taking one's life, even if the gesture would have been consistent for a certain fringe of Decadents, but it certainly determined the climate in which the secret anguish that had tormented Francis for some time matured. . The expression is used by Vernarecci in the preface to Dell'Arte dei Fabbri, already mentioned above, and it certainly came from the mouths of his closest family members, his wife and mother, who intended to firmly exclude any form of depression of their joint. A person's secret anguish belongs to the mystery of life and death which must be treated with the utmost respect. We will never know the triggering reason for suicide, nor are we interested in knowing it. Five months later Francesca was born who, at least in the name, revived the memory of her father. The figure and work of Francesco Mavarelli were publicly commemorated in the session of the City Council on 23 September 1900. Unanimously the councilors decided to parry in mourning for a month the presidency desk which for six years had been occupied by their unfortunate colleague, to name the town's technical school after Francesco Mavarelli, to suspend the session as a sign of sorrow for the serious loss and solidarity towards family members . Today the first grade secondary school of Umbertide, what was once the middle school, is named after F. Mavarelli, together with G. Pascoli. In 1998 the prof. Bruno Porrozzi has published a volume, edited by the Pro-Loco Umbertide, with the anastatic copy of the works of Francesco Mavarelli. Sources: “Umbertide in the 20th century 1900 - 1946” by Roberto Sciurpa - Municipality of Umbertide, 2006 SAN SAVINO DI FRATTA Monk at the Abbey of San Salvatore di Monte Acuto curated by Fabio Mariotti San Savino, born in Fratta, the current Umbertide, although a citizen of Perugia, as Umbertide has always been the land of the city of Perugia, can be counted among the Saints of the Diocese since Umbertide has always been part of our Church. This without detracting from the Perugian church which - according to Lancellotti in the manuscript Annals of Perugia - counts him among its saints. Savino was therefore a monk at the Abbey of San Salvatore di Monte Corona, once known as Monte Acuto and a hermit in this monastery, he died in 1190 after a holy life adorned with heroic virtues that made him consider him already a saint in life. The most remote written testimonies, apart from the ancient Camaldolese martyrologists, were the commemorative inscriptions of his prodigies, which could be read in a chapel erected in his honor in 1480 on the provincial road towards Perugia, in the locality of Citerna, on a farm that had belonged to the del Santo family, a farm which until today is still called San Savino. Unfortunately, there is no longer any trace of this chapel and one of its frescoes is also lost, which flanked a Madonna in Maestà, just outside the city, in a place once called Fonte Santa, on the border with the word Sant'Ubaldo. Di Savino remains famous for the miracle of the cloak, in fact, since it is impossible to ford the Tiber to return to the convent together with two other friars, due to a flood of the river, he spread his cloak - just like the prophet Elijah or the more famous St. Francesco di Paola in the Strait of Messina - and, having climbed over it like a raft with his companions, he was able to return to the monastery. His body was buried in a chapel erected on the road that leads from the monastery of San Salvatore to the place where, several centuries later, the Hermitage of Monte Corona will be built, in the same place that had seen him isolated in hermitage for long periods. However, wars and suppressions, first the Napoleonic one and then that of the new unitary state, ruined the chapel, which is currently incorporated into the walls of a villa, completely unrecognizable. Only the toponym, San Savino, still indicates the site of the saint's tomb. Nothing is known of the fate that his relics may have made, almost certainly translated before the ruin of the building. The Camaldolese celebrated the memory of Savino, with the title of Saint, on 18 May. The city of Umbertide preserves an ideal portrait of the Saint in the collection of the Illustrious Men of the city and it is also depicted in the large altarpiece of the Transfiguration attributed to Pomarancio, located in the drum of the dome of the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria della Reggia. Sources: “Hagiographic Profiles - The Saints, Blessed, Venerable and Servants of God of the Eugubine Church " by Pietro Vispi - Gubbio, 2008 ALESSANDRO MAGI SPINETTI Benefactor, friend of the poor curated by Fabio Mariotti Alessandro Magi Spinetti, son of Francesco and Vincenza Mazzaforti, was born in Fratta in 1811. He was the descendant of one of the most important families in our city and dedicated his entire life to doing good works. He was one of the most assiduous supporters of the Congregation of Charity, "friend of all, men, animals and plants". He lived in via Spoletini until 1887, when he moved his residence to Città di Castello. He was one of the greatest supporters of the construction of the new hospital in Umbertide for which he donated 1,982 lire in 1883 and 12,848 lire and 55 cents in 1889 for the total sum of 14,830 lire and 55 cents, an enormous sum for those times. Suffice it to say that the Cassa di Risparmio donated 14,200 lire and the Municipality of Umbertide only 431 lire and 82 cents in three payments. These figures are reported, together with the names of all the benefactors, on the marble plaque placed in the entrance of the old hospital. Alessandro died on April 20, 1890 and at his funeral there was a choral participation of the city in gratitude for the numerous charitable activities carried out. The mayor Francesco Andreani also arranged for the presence at the funeral of the newly reconstituted town band directed by Maestro Massimo Martinelli . His remains rest in the city cemetery just past the main gate, a left, in a travertine sarcophagus that reports this epitaph: “Here lies Alessandro Magi Spinetti friend of the poor born on the 24th April 1811. The Congregation of Charity grateful. Died on 20th April 1890 " The municipal administration he dedicated a street to him on March 27, 1951. Sources: - “The man in toponymy” by Bruno Porrozzi - Pro-Loco Association Umbertide, 1992 - "Two centuries on the march - Umbertide and the band" by Amedeo Massetti - Petruzzi publisher - Città di Castello, 2008 Pietro G. Petrogalli Francesco Mavarelli San Savino di Fratta GIULIANO BOVICELLI A close collaborator of Pope Benedict XIII, he wrote the original "Istoria delle Perucche" and contributed to the birth of the "Monte Frumentario" to help the poor of Fratta curated by Fabio Mariotti Giuliano Bovicelli was born in Fratta around the mid-1600s. He embraced an ecclesiastical career with commitment and conviction and linked his name to the establishment and financing of Monte Frumentario , which went into full operation in 1724, when Don Giuliano died. He embellished the church of San Bernardino with rich furnishings and a beautiful statue of the saint. In his will, with deed of July 27, 1724 by Gabrielli Notaro Romano, he left all his patrimony to the Confraternity of San Bernardino, of which he was a brother, to offer concrete help to the poor of the town, precisely through that Monte Frumentario that he tenaciously wanted. His ingenuity drew him to the attention of Cardinal Pier Francesco Orsini of Rome, who chose him as his secretary and took him to Benevento, when he was appointed Archbishop of that city "and that he was there in the tearful catastrophe of June 5 1688. A horrible earthquake among so many devastations overturned a large part of the Archbishop's Palace. The Cardinal was thrown from the second floor to the ground. Where, falling, some woods crossing each other saved him from death. A gentleman, who was following him, was horribly crushed; and our Giuliano, it is not known how life escaped! (Antonio Guerrini). Having become Pope, with the name of Benedict XIII , Orsini retained Don Giuliano at the Roman Curia with important positions, such as that of Prior of the Basilica of San Bartolomeo and Apostolic Protonotary. It was during his stay in Benevento that Bovicelli wrote his " Istoria delle Perucche ", and the first publication took place in 1722 in that city. It is a work carried out with the utmost commitment and with a rigorous scruple of research that ranges from the ancient testimonies on this ornament, found among the oriental peoples, up to the early years of the 18th century. The author's aim, however, is not that of a technical, aesthetic or social examination of the wig in general, but more simply a full-bodied reflection on the awkwardness of the wigs that ecclesiastics wore. From the very first lines of his work, Bovicelli explains its aims: “History of the perucche in which their origin, form, abuse and irregularity of those of the Ecclesiastics are shown”. Vanity must have taken the hand of many monsignors, if in the preface the author immediately enters the subject with these expressions: “Today there are so many Ecclesiastics who wear the perucca; that I have great reason to believe that they are persuaded, at least for the most part, that this foreign ornament is forbidden to them, and that it has nothing in itself that suits the decency of their profession. In order to portray them, therefore, from their error, I have undertaken this work by the stimulus of some people who are firmly pious and truly zealous in the discipline of the Church; ... it is bad to see that those of the Ecclesiastics are damned by the rules of the Church; and having shown how irregular and monstrous are those of the monks, I answer the objections which the clergymen and monks who adorn themselves may attach. I end up proposing the ways that can be employed to stop the course of this disorder and absolutely remove it from the Church ”. The preface summarizes the content of the work which had a remarkable success, so much so that two years later, in 1724, an edition was printed also in Milan (1) . The exquisite sensitivity of the author realizes that the arguments against the use of wigs by the clergy were also valid for those with which the laity adorned themselves and seems almost to apologize by appealing to the tranquility and serenity of mind of the readers: "Since Most of the proofs of which I am sifting through to combat the proofs of the Ecclesiastics can quite rightly be applied to those of the Laity, and they will easily judge that it is scarcely more permissible for lay people than for ecclesiastics to wear the perucca. However that may be, I pray to God with the language of Tertullian that the peace and grace of Jesus our Lord will fall in abundance on the people who will read this Story with tranquility of mind and who will prefer truth to custom: Haec cum bona pace legentibus, veritatem. consuetudini praeponentibus, pax et gratia a Domino nostra Iesu redundet ”(May the peace and grace of God fall on those who read these lines with serenity and put truth before custom). In the specific theme, Don Giuliano was aware of the sense of modernity which he helped to anticipate, even if the landing on this shore was not offered to him by a progressive vision, typical of the Enlightenment, but by the ridicule of the anachronistic and continuous carnival that masks exalted. After 1863 a street was dedicated to him in the historic center of Umbertide, the one that is still called “Il Bocaiolo” today. Note: 1) Two copies of the book are available at the Vatican Library. One, the one published in Benevento, in the General History Collection - Vol. 6360; the other, the one published in Milan, in CICOGNARA III - pos. 1602. Sources: - "Umbertide in the XVIII century" by Renato Codovini and Roberto Sciurpa - Municipality of Umbertide, 2003 - "History of the Land of Fratta now Umbertide" by Antonio Guerrini, completed by Genesio Perugini - Tipografia Tiberina, Umbertide 1883 (Anastatic copy by the "Local Publishing Group" of Digital Editor srl - Umbertide - 2009). Giuliano Bovicelli Cesare Bartolelli - Cristoforo Petrogalli I Cibo di Fratta Luigi Vibi LUIGI VIBI Liberal of Fratta who died in 1849 in defense of the "Roman Republic" edited by Fabio Mariotti Luigi Vibi (1) , son of the notary Lorenzo, was born in Fratta in 1807. He attended high school in Perugia where he met Luigi Bonazzi and the actor Gustavo Modena with whom he maintained a good friendship. After high school he enrolled in the faculty of law and graduated in law. He was ill in health, but gifted with a brilliant intelligence which attracted the attention of an old noble from Fratta, Costantino Magi Spinetti, of liberal faith and enrolled in Freemasonry. The old Freemason and the young graduate spent many hours together discussing liberalism and the French Revolution of which, at that time, partisan versions were given both from books and from ecclesiastical tutors. The riots of 1831 found immediate response in Perugia, which arose on February 14 of that year. The city, through its Provisional Government Committee (2) , declared the Papal Government lapsed to the great amazement of the Apostolic Delegate Mons. Ferri (3). The riots found the twenty-four year old Luigi Vibi already politically deployed and the Provisional Committee that had formed in Perugia had to know him well if just two days after taking office, on February 16, it entrusted him and Petronio Reggiani (4) with the task of going in Città di Castello (5) to establish a Provisional Government Committee in that city as well. Fratta's two sons immediately set to work by bringing together the Municipal Council of that city on February 17 to proceed with the establishment of the Provisional Committee. The trust that the Perugian liberals had in the young Vibi testifies to his political trust and the validity of the school of the old master and Freemason. The generous impulses of our patriots did not last long because they were cut short by the unfavorable trend of political events. The tricolor flags hoisted everywhere, including one on the roof of Vibi's house (6) , were soon withdrawn in anticipation of better times. The ensuing repression forced many to seek safe shelter. Lorenzo Vibi, for example, Luigi's nephew took refuge in Mercatale, in Tuscany in the land of the Grand Duchy. They were actively looking for him to arrest him because, in those days, he had pushed a priest down the stairs and broke his leg. The connection with the fugitives was maintained by a certain Fiordo Bettoni who walked the approximately 25 kilometers away almost every day to bring them food, news and everything they needed. In the first months of 1849 Luigi Vibi carried out all the activities he was capable of in favor of the Roman Republic and was one of those who reorganized the Civic Guard at Fratta. He managed to raise voluntary funds among the citizens to improve the conditions of the company of which he had become captain commander. His letter of reminder of the economic commitment signed in favor of the Civic or Citizen Guard is dated 20 April 1849. "... I therefore find it necessary to invite you, citizen, to the payment already overdue of what you have signed, to which you are obliged in the aforementioned program, which you will pay within eight days from this date in the hands of this municipal debt collector in charge of this requirement ; anticipating that in case of non-compliance I will see myself, in spite of myself, bound to prevail over legal remedies ". Below is the list of people to whom this circular letter was addressed and the list sees Sebastiano Vibi with 10 shields in the front row, followed by Gaetano Migliorati with 6 shields and by the old friend Costantino Spinetti. The letter testifies that on April 20 Vibi was at Fratta, but still for a little while. On 30 April the Roman volunteers sustained the first victorious fight against the French of General Oudinot at the Janiculum and the news of the siege of Rome by the French led him to go and fight for his defense alongside Garibaldi (7) . He left on May 5 under the command of other volunteers grouped in the "Legion of Umbria". The information we have available tells us that he was employed in the extreme southern sector of the Garibaldi array, at Porta Portese (8) , where he was seriously injured on 18 June. On 21 June, the day of St. Louis, his name day, he stopped living for his injuries, at the Pellegrini hospital. He was 42 years old. His remains rest in the Ossario Garibaldino erected on the Janiculum and the plaque commemorating him is clearly visible because it is located immediately above that of Goffredo Mameli. The funeral to Luigi Vibi (9) took place in Rome, in the church of S. Andrea delle Fratte which for the occasion was paved with many inscriptions praising his virtues and value. One of these, placed right at the entrance to the temple, said: “Magnanimous contempt for domestic wealth and of the honors which he was awarded in the city legion very rare careless in times when many foolishly yearn for it mocking his vile age and bodily sickness captain Luigi Vibi da Fratta of Perugia forty-two he fearlessly raised the arms of the last soldier on May 5, 1849 and within the sacred city on the breach and the barricades amidst the lightning of the bullets with ardent valor fighting ouch homeland love! the night of June 21 ended so precious life pierced by igneous lead than to the homeland, to relatives, to friends, to the beneficiaries more vivid ray of sunshine forever darkened but which he added unknowingly to the bliss of the heavens a new child which the name-day saint protector from afar the affectionate paternal right hand stretched out ". The events of Luigi Vibi had a sequel in 1871. Filippo Natali, an Umbertidese employed in the Municipality of Magione, wrote to the Mayor asking that the ashes of the young republican be brought back to the cemetery of Umbertide, from that of S. Spirito, also known as the " One hundred and five ”, where they were. An interminable discussion began within the Municipal Council which recalled other Umbertidesi who died in similar circumstances, such as Giuseppe Mastriforti in Condino in 1866 and Giovan Battista Igi in Mentana in 1867. The discussion continued for a few months. Meanwhile, a kind letter was sent to Filippo Natali expressing "feelings of gratitude for the patriotic inspiration" and the ashes remained where they were. The fruit of the long discussion was a stone, placed in our cemetery, with the following inscription: "Memory to Luigi Vibi of Umbertide honored citizen of proven political faith than fighting for the independence of Italy it fell in Rome on the 21st of June MDCCCXLIX Il Patrio Municipio ". The tombstone does everything possible to make the figure of Luigi Vibi anonymous, dull and neutral. It would have been better to keep quiet. In the fifties, in memory of our heroic fellow citizen, the municipal administration entitled "Largo L. Vibi" the space where his house existed before it was destroyed by the bombing of 25 April 1944. Note: 1. The news was kindly provided by Mr. Giancarlo Vibi di Umbertide, now resident in Perugia. 2. It was formed by Antonio Monadi, Antonio Canci, Giuseppe Rosa, Luigi Batoli, Luigi Menicucci, Tiberio Borgia. 3. This version of the "amazement" does not agree with that supported by the historian Luigi Bonazzi according to which there was a tacit consent on the part of Mons. Ferri. 4. Petronio Reggiani was also from Fratta. On this occasion he also had the task of establishing the Provisional Government in San Giustino, which Reggiani did by appointing the Tifernate Dr. Pietro Dini as Commissioner of that place (Giuseppe Amizie, Storia di Città di Castello in the 19th century - Edit. S . Lapi - year 1902). The Reggiani family gave valid patriots to the Italian Risorgimento, including Petronius, mentioned above. There was also Aristide who participated in the Risorgimento wars and Francesco di Gaetano who took part in the Perugian insurrection of 1859 and was then persecuted until September 1860, that is, until the arrival of the Italian troops (National Register of Noble Families of the Italian State listed below the historical profile - Ass. Historiae Fides, Milan - Edit. Graphics by S. Angelo, by Cesano Boscone - Year 1974, in the library of Dr. Angelo Zeno Reggiani). 5. G. Friendship, Op. Cit. 6. The house near the bridge over the Tiber (now Largo Vibi) was destroyed by the bombing of 25 April 1944. 7. Garibaldi spent the night in Umbertide with the Vibi family. A large walnut bed with columns was placed at his disposal. He said he felt calm because he was in the house of trusted friends and left, leaving as thanks a telescope covered in mahogany and brass, now in the possession of Mr. Giancarlo Vibi (Luigi's great-grandson) who gave us this testimony, without being able to specify the date. Reconstructing the series of events and carefully rereading the book of his Memoirs, it appears that on November 15, 1848, after the unfortunate events of Custoza and Novara, Garibaldi was in Ravenna with a handful of volunteers, waiting to embark to run to the aid of Venice. . But on that very day the assassination of Pellegrino Rossi and the revolt in the Papal State took place. Plans changed. Garibaldi went to Cesena, where he left his volunteers, and went to Rome "to make contact with the Minister of War so that he would put an end, once and for all, to our wandering existence" (from the Memoirs of Garibaldi). Probably on the occasion of this trip to Rome, between the end of November and the beginning of December 1848, Garibaldi passed through the upper Tiber valley and stopped at the Vibi house. In fact, other presences of the hero in Foligno and Cascia also date back to the same period. 8. Porta Portese, or Portuense, as it is next to the river port of old Rome (Ripa Grande). It is located on the right bank of the Tiber. 9. On the terrace of the Pincio, a few tens of meters from the balustrade, a marble bust of Luigi Vibi can still be seen today. Sources: "Umbertide nel Secolo XIX" by Renato Codovini and Roberto Sciurpa - Municipality of Umbertide, 2001 I FOOD OF FRATTA Several "characters" of the noble Cibo family were born in Fratta: Andrea, doctor and professor at the University of Perugia; the lawyer Alessandro, son of Andrea and the jurist Girolamo, a profound and distinguished man of letters. Andrea Cibo Andrea Cibo was born in 1493. He studied medicine and, still very young, taught with great praise at the University of Perugia. Pope, Clement VII, who had achieved the fame of Andrea's great knowledge, called him to Rome and appointed him his doctor, with a large salary and annual income for himself and for his heirs. He was also highly esteemed by the Supreme Pontiff Paul III Farnese, who in the trip he made to Nice, wanted him with him, and in the Pope's meeting with the Emperor Charles V and with Francis I, King of France where the truce of ten years, he was the only one invited to attend the banquet given to those great potentates. He was also a companion of the same Pope on the other solemn journey of Busseto, as shown in a letter written by Carlo Gualterozzi to Bembo on June 18, 1543. letter present in a Code of the Barberini Library. In another letter of October 1553 Aretino calls Andrea Cibo "Safe health of the sick". However, Andrea had so much love for his Fratta that in 1537 he had a hotel built at his expense for the convenience of all those who passed through to go to Perugia and Tuscany. After having served as a doctor for two other Popes, Julius III and Marcellus II, in 1557 he returned to Perugia where he stayed for five years. In 1562 he was recalled to Rome by Pope Pius IV who appointed the general proto-doctor of the health college in Rome. After the death of Pius IV he settled in Perugia where he lived very honorably until his death, which took place on May 17, 1576, at the serious age of eighty-three. The funeral honors dedicated to him by every city order were grandiose and Orazio Cardaneti da Montone, illustrious rhetorician of the 16th century, read a very forbitious and learned prayer. From Guerrini we also know that "He was buried in the Cathedral Church of S. Lorenzo (N, dr of Perugia), where three years before he had placed this modest memory by himself: 1574 ANDREA CIBO AAE 80 POSUIT He left a certain Lucrezia a widow, with whom he had several children, including Lavinia, who in the year 1579 she married Alessandro Degli Oddi. Another son of his was Alexander , who was a great success esteem in legal disciplines. He often lived in Fratta, and in 1610 he stayed there for a long time he retained with Adriana Amerigi the gentlewoman of Perugina his wife for health reasons. Poor Adriana on 21 September of the same year unfortunately had to go there succumb; and was buried in the Church of San Francesco, where still to the right of the entrance main reading is the funerary inscription, which the sad husband placed there ". After 1863, one of the most important streets of the historic center was dedicated to Andrea, formerly via Diritta or Reaale, and today considered somewhat the Corso of our city. * * * * * * Mauro Cibo Mauro Cibo, whose date of birth is unknown, as Guerrini recalls in his History of the land of Fratta, “was another scion of the noble and illustrious Cibo family. From his earliest age he showed a sweetness of character, an unabashedness of morals, an indefatigable love for divine things that finally, after having completed his career with immense profit, decided to retire from the lure of the world. In 1570 he was received as a novice among the Camaldolese hermits in the Sacred Hermitage of Monte Corona. A man of very exemplary, austere life and profound doctrine, he soon acquired the esteem and veneration of all his confreres, so that four times, by the General Chapter, he deserved to be raised to the supreme degree of Major of the whole Order. He always worked for the growth of the Congregation and obtained many privileges and advantages from various popes, Paul V - Clement VIII - Leo XI. He died in Monte Corona in the year 1604. Cesare Crispolti in his "Perugia Augusta", Lancellotti, Jacobilli, all record the praises of the venerable Hermit! " * * * * * * Pompey Food The date of birth of Pompeo Cibo, another illustrious character of this family from Fratta, is unknown. According to Antonio Guerrini “he was a man endowed with nobility of heart, of supreme wisdom and doctrine, teacher and example of all citizen virtues. He was decorated for non-liar merits of the St. Stephen's Cross (1) ; then honorably aggregated to the Perugian nobility. He lived a long life esteemed and loved by all and in February 26, 1641 he passed to eternal peace sincerely mourned by all ”. 1. The Order of Santo Stefano was established on March 15, 1562 by Cosimo I of Tuscany, who was its first grand master. It was named after Santo Stefano I pope and martyr, because on its anniversary (2 August) the Medici troops had achieved two important victories: that of Scannagallo (1554) and that of Montemurlo (1559). The emblem of the Order was the red cross on a white background. It was suppressed by the French in 1809, reconstituted in 1817 and definitively abolished by the provisional government of 1859. (The photo of the symbol of the Order is taken from the site “Santo Stefano Pope and Martyr and his Knights). The photos are from the photographic archive of the Municipality of Umbertide and Fabio Mariotti Sources: - "History of the land of Fratta now Umbertide" by Antonio Guerrini (completed by Genesio Perugini) - Typography Tiberina Umbertide - 1883 - "Umbertide - Man in toponymy" by Bruno Porrozzi - Pro Loco Umbertide Association - 1992 CESARE BARTOLELLI - CRISTOFORO PETROGALLI Two characters from illustrious families of ancient Fratta from the first half of the 1600s. Both played important roles, in different sectors, in the employ of some of the protagonists of the political and ecclesiastical life of the time Cesare Bartolelli Originally from Fratta from a distinguished family, as a young man he waited with great love for the study of civil and canonical laws at the University of Perugia, and in both he obtained a doctoral degree. He was first in Città di Castello as judge where he exercised this office with such prudence and rectitude, as to receive the applause and admiration of the best citizens. Leaving Città di Castello, he went to Rome where for his knowledge and singular merits he was appointed Auditor to Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini, then General Superintendent of all the possessions of this house, soon managing to achieve the highest honors, up to to that of governor of Rome. Pope Clement VIII, who had the highest esteem for him, sent him twice as extraordinary ambassador to Prague to negotiate important negotiations with the Austrian emperor. In 1602, as a reward for his dedication, he was appointed bishop of Forlì. He held that church for thirty-two years, all spent for the good of the population entrusted to his pastoral care. He spent a life of irreproachable customs, all aimed at charity, as a truly apostolic man. He founded the Chapel of the Crucifix in San Salvatore in Perugia and in Fratta he had the Chapel of San Rocco built in an elegant architectural form in our church of San Francesco, with one of the statue of the Saint. Also enriching it with staves and valuable paintings. On the arch of the chapel, surmounted by the noble coat of arms, you can still read his name, a clear demonstration of the affection he always had towards this homeland of his. He died in Forlì on 7 January 1634. * * * * * * CRISTOFORO PETROGALLI Cristoforo Petrogalli was educated to the hard labors of the field by his illustrious uncle Pietro Giacomo Petrogalli, with whom he found himself participating in many feats of arms and in the capture of the fortress of Bona in Barberia where he proved his valor and his courage by saving the insignia of the company of the Perugian captain Carlo della Penna who, due to the death of the standard bearer, would have fallen into the hands of the enemy. For his many merits, Cristoforo was very well received at the court of Tuscany. Francesco de 'Medici, before dying, honored him with his sword and his jacket or chain mail in the shape of a bodice, which warriors wore in battles. He also assigned him a salary of 19 piastres a month and a noble apartment. On 6 October 1637 he was appointed by Cardinal Carlo de 'Medici captain of the broken spears (Ed. In the 16th and 17th centuries , the chosen soldiers, both infantry and cavalry, were called broken spears, who assisted the corporals and sometimes the sergeants in their various Duties. Broken spear was also the name of various militias in the service of sovereigns or high-ranking personalities). Grand Duke Cosimo II, who knew very well the military prowess of this captain of ours, on 21 September 1642 entrusted him with the command of a company of 200 infantry and in the following year, on 23 November, promoted him to the rank of sergeant major in the third of Field Master Count Angelo Maria Stufa. Finally, for his singular merits, from the kind Florence he had the great honor of being enrolled, on January 10, 1644, in the register of his fellow citizens. He died in Florence in 1648. - The photos of Fratta's characters are part of the Gallery of paintings of historical characters of the Municipality of Umbertide - The photos of the church of San Francesco are by Fabio Mariotti - The other photos are taken from "Wikimedia Commons - Wikipedia" Sources: - "History of the land of Fratta now Umbertide" by Antonio Guerrini (completed by Genesio Perugini) - Typography Tiberina Umbertide - 1883 Giovanni Mauri Filippo e Giovan Battista Fracassini Orazio Mancini Giovan Battista Spoletini Fabrizio Stella Giovanni Tommaso Pao(u)lucci GIOVANNI TOMMASO PAO (U) LUCCI Great man of letters from Fratta in the service of the Papacy curated by Fabio Mariotti Antonio Guerrini, in his work "History of the land of Fratta now Umbertide", tells us that "In 1542 Gio. Tommaso Paolucci was born in Fratta. He advanced so much in the study of the Fine Letters, that he was subsequently Secretary of the Cardinals Fulvio della Corgna, Ottavio Acquaviva and Gio. Vincenti Gonzaga. He was also very versed (also) in Mathematics, in Histories, in Greek and Latin Letters. Finally giving himself to the study of Canonical and Civil Laws, he made an admirable profit in them; and in Rome in 1585 he was redeemed (crowned ) of Doctoral Degree in both law. He was tutor of Greek letters to Monsignor Matteo Barberini, who later became pope with the name of Urban VIII. He always continued in the esteem and love of the aforementioned cardinals so that Gonzaga beyond he wanted to raise him to dignity with a large pension, appointing him with a license sent on February 6, 1580 canon of the Church of San Gregorio in Velabro. Later he was conferred the Archpriesthood of Santa Maria in Cosmedin , otherwise known as of the Greek School, with a license sent by the same Cardinal on June 8, 1585 under the pontificate of Sixtus V, that bruised and shy old man, who as soon as he was proclaimed Pope threw down his stick and boldly curled his head! Gio. Thomas wrote to give to the print various works, "Five Volumes of Selected Letters" directed to various rulers, cardinals, Distinguished Prelates, Prelates and Knights; a “Treatise on public things and policies "; a “Summary of political warnings "; various comments on the “Annals and Histories of the Prince of the political writers, Cornelio Tacito ", which remained unpublished in the hands of the heirs. His merit went so much beyond that Clement VIII made him his secretary of the Latin letters, to which honorable officio unfortunately did not come because overwhelmed prematurely by death on 1st December 1599, fifty-seventh year of his age. It was public rumor that out of courtesan envy he was poisoned in S. Maria Maggiore in celebrating the S. Sacrifice. His body was buried in Rome in the Church of S. Maria in Cosmedin, as shown in the Book of the Dead of the said Parish p. 25, aforementioned year ". The municipal administration dedicated the central street of the Fontanelle district to him on 18 December 1960. Sources: - "History of the land of Fratta now Umbertide" by Antonio Guerrini (completed by Genesio Perugini) - Typography Tiberina Umbertide, 1883 FABRIZIO STELLA Distinguished jurist from Fratta between the second half of the 1500s and the first half of the 1600s He was born in Fratta in 1565 distinguishing himself in the legal disciplines. Due to his undoubted abilities he was called to hold administrative positions in various important cities, often disengaging himself in "foreign embassies". Guerrini, in his "History of the land of Fratta", tells that the lawyer Fabrizio Stella was particularly dear to many eminent personalities, including Cardinal Bevilacqua of Ferrara (he was apostolic legate of Umbria and Perugia, who elected him protector of the city and honorary citizen, from 1600 to 1606 - Ed), as shown by many family letters written to him kept by his heirs. The King of Portugal John IV, founder of the Braganza dynasty, decorated it with the Cross of St. James of Lusitania giving it many privileges, as emerges from the relative diploma. Returning to his homeland at the age of 79, he paid the supreme debt to nature on January 15, 1644 and was buried in the Church of the Conventual Fathers of this land, leaving his descendants legacies of honors and riches, but his family was soon extinct with the death of the three married women Paolucci, Mazzaforti and Savelli. In 1880 the municipal administration dedicated what was once via dell'ologio to Fabrizio Stella. Sources: - "History of the land of Fratta now Umbertide" by Antonio Guerrini (completed by Genesio Perugini) - Typography Tiberina Umbertide - 1883 - "Umbertide - Man in toponymy" by Bruno Porrozzi - Pro Loco Umbertide Association - 1992 GIOVAN BATTISTA SPOLETINI Distinguished jurist, governor of many cities of the Papal State, celebrated in Fratta for his many merits as Father of the Fatherland Giovan Battista Spoletini, a man of great ingenuity and supreme integrity, was born in Fratta in 1557. He graduated in the legal disciplines for which he was profoundly versed; for this he undertook a government career and was appointed by the S. Consulta Governor of the ancient city of Sutri in the year 1592, of Piperno in 1593, of Napi in 1595; then of Acquapendente, Veroli and others. Returning to his homeland, from the height of his wisdom and doctrine, he constantly worked for his good, especially in the circumstance of the ruin of the two arches of the bridge over the Tiber which occurred in the year 1610. They poured the inhabitants of Fratta into the most fierce consternation as their trade languished due to the difficulty of transit to Città di Castello and Tuscany and because with their limited economic resources they saw no hope of being able to reactivate it. It was Spoletini who, inflamed with homeland love, went to Rome several times, with the protection of the distinguished prelates, his ancient acquaintances, eloquently exposing the difficult situation in which his homeland was, obtaining from Paul V Borghese, a shrewd and enterprising Pope , that the Congregation of the Good Government provided for the rebuilding of our bridge, since, by good luck, this Pope knew well the land of Fratta, Perugia, Città di Castello, Montone, Citerna. And since in the allotment made by Monsignor Marini apostolic commissioner in Perugia, Fratta was heavily taxed by a quarter of the total expenditure, our Spoletini went again to Rome and from the Congregation of the Good Government he obtained a different allotment, that is, that divided the total expenditure in twelve ounces, nine were borne by Perugia and its countryside, two by Città di Castello, and the other part for two thirds to Fratta and one third to Montone. One cannot imagine how many oppositions were made by the aforementioned municipalities, and especially by that of Città di Castello, to the point of planning the construction of a wooden bridge; but by the industriousness, wisdom and influence of Spoletini everything was overcome and in 1614 the construction of the bridge with only two arches was contracted out for a cost of seven thousand scudi. The work was quite advanced that a terrible flood occurred which unfortunately devastated what had been carried out! Then new and fiercer oppositions arose and many appeals were made against the contractors, as well as the Spoletini himself who had been appointed Superintendent of the work. Envy and wickedness barbarously joined in slandering Spoletini as a participant in the fraud of bad workmanship so that, in June 1615, an arrest order was issued for him and for the contractors. Spoletini was treated with all due regard to his condition and was confined to a room in the Palazzo Priorale in Perugia with the exhibition of a security of one thousand scudi. In the end, his innocence and honesty were recognized and he was then honorably reinstated not only in his primitive qualification of Over-standing the factory, but for the damage suffered he was decreed an indemnity of 100 scudi to be paid half by the Municipality of Fratta, half from the other Municipalities subject to the Consortium, an indemnity that Spoletini generously did not accept. The contract for the three-arch bridge was therefore renewed for the sum of 6,500 scudi, and in 1619, perfectly completed, it was made passable. Despite the persecution unjustly suffered, Spoletini continued to always be the protector and benefactor of this land, to the point that he was assigned the glorious name of Pater Patriae. His home was in via del Piano. In 1634 Giovan Battista Spoletini ceased to live at the age of 77. All generally mourned for him, because when enmities and envy were cooled above the grave, men are judged without lies there as they really were. With great solemnity he was buried in our Church of San Francesco, where to the right of the Presbytery there is a sepulchral plaque dedicated to him where you can still read the following inscription which recalls the merits and important activities carried out during his life: DOM "Jo Baptista de Spoletinis LVD. Ac Civi Perusino de Fracta, here sub Clemente VIII Pont. Max Civitates Sutrína, Nepesina, Anxuris, et Monti Falisci, Terram Priverni, et Aquepend. Gubernavit et demum in Patriam neglessus, Pontem collapsum summo animi, corporisque labore, summaque vigilantia, oppugnatis contrariis in pristinum restit. curavit Deoq. Jovi obtinuit. Jo Maria filius ad memoriam laborum sui Patris iam septugenarii posuit Ann. Dm. 1637. " After 1863 the street where he lived was dedicated to him, the ancient via del piano which at the time was the main road to go to Perugia. Sources: - "History of the land of Fratta now Umbertide" by Antonio Guerrini (completed by Genesio Perugini) - Typography Tiberina Umbertide - 1883 - "Umbertide - Man in toponymy" by Bruno Porrozzi - Pro Loco Umbertide Association - 1992 - “The talking stones” by Pietro Vispi - Local publishing group - Digital Editor Srl, Umbertide 2021 ORAZIO MANCINI Fratta prelate and diplomat of the second half of the sixteenth century Abbot Mancini was born in Fratta as honest and wealthy parents in the year 1546. As a young boy he completed a full course of studies at the University of Bologna and then went to Rome where, having proved his uncommon talent, he remained for fifty years he was employed as Secretary to the Most Eminent Caraffa, S. Severino and Doria, and with this important office he had the opportunity to attend as many as seven Conclaves. He had very important shops entrusted to him by Philip III, King of Spain, from whom he was remunerated with an annual pension of one thousand scudi a thousand on the rich Archbishopric of Taranto and that of Seville, in addition to six thousand Castilian scudi that the Duke of Lerma, supreme minister, he donated in the name of the King. At the same time he was offered the Bishopric of Cefalù and Girgenti and other large cities of Sicily, which our Mancini modestly gave up. It was also very well accepted by various Supreme Pontiffs and Princes of Italy, especially Ferdinand II, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Duke Charles of Savoy, of whom he was requested as a gentleman and diner of Cardinal Maurizio, his son. At an advanced age and tired from the many hardships sustained, he retired to Perugia where, together with Father Sozio Sozi, he founded the Congregation of the Oratory of San Filippo Neri (1) , starting the construction of the house and the magnificent temple called Chiesa Nuova or Church of San Filippo Neri, the greatest example of the Baroque in Perugia, built between 1627 and 1665 under the direction of the Roman architect Paolo Maruscelli, for the construction of which he employed large revenues from abbeys, pensions and all his patrimonial assets. He died in Perugia in the year 1629, at the age of 86. In a painting that was in the Church of San Giovanni di questo Terra, representing the name of Jesus, one could read at the bottom this writing: "Oratius Mancinus fieri fecit, et donavit Anno 1598." Its name replaced the old denomination of via Porta Nuova after 1863. Note: 1. The Congregation of the oratory originated from community of secular priests gathered in Rome around San Filippo Neri, first at the church of San Girolamo della Carità (1551) and then near that of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini (1564); was erected canonically in 1575 by Pope Gregory XIII, who donated to the oratorians the church of Santa Maria in Vallicella, and its constitutions were approved by Pope Paul V in 1612. Sources: - "History of the land of Fratta now Umbertide" by Antonio Guerrini (completed by Genesio Perugini) - Typography Tiberina Umbertide - 1883 - "Umbertide - Man in toponymy" by Bruno Porrozzi - Pro Loco Umbertide Association - 1992 La famiglia Spunta di Fratta THE SPUNTA DI FRATTA FAMILY The conspicuous family of the Spunta had many characters who, between the 1500s and the mid 1600s, gave prestige and ornament to our city both for skill in arms and in legal and literary matters. The most remote news that has come down to us reminds us of Marino, notary; Paolo, Marino's nephew, official of the Papal State; Francesco, son of Paul, also an official of the Papal State; Alfonso, son of Paolo, man of letters. Marino Check Son of Domenico Spunta, he was born in Fratta in 1480. He was highly indoctrinated especially in the legal disciplines. He worked as a notary public and his deeds are kept in the historic municipal archive of our city in twenty-nine voluminous protocols ranging from 1507 to 1545. "There are few Offices - says an important Jurisconsult - that require such a great set of honesty, knowledge and conciliatory spirit as that of the Notariat". Thirty-eight years of honorable practice in such a delicate and important career, the handling of great and jealous interests concerning the most important village and foreign families are the indubitable testimony of Marino Spunta's mirrored honesty and profound wisdom. The ancient statutes of our community dating back to 1362 were extremely disfigured and damaged by time and long use, for which the General Council recognized the need for them to be reformed and partly renewed "also because the new age from antiquity in many different things , he continually wishes to promote a new rite ». Among the many distinguished men who presided over public shops at that time, Angelo di Antonio Cibo, Antonio di Ser Orsino, Simone de Speranza and Bentivenga di Antonio Dell'Uomo, defenders of the Castle, Ser Paolo di Cristofero Martinelli, public notary and extremely person circumspect, "not that many other virtuous men of the Castle, of good, honest and political amateurs", entrusted our Spunta with the direction of this important work that he successfully completed on February 22, 1521 and which was extensively approved. The date of death of Marino Spunta is not known while it seems that he had a son named Antonio , also a public notary, who exercised from 1538 to 1558 as we can find in the public archives of this Municipality in the twenty-three protocols he left. Paolo Spunta Grandson of Marino, he was born in Fratta on the decline of the 16th century. He was the husband of Madama Orsolina and had many children, including Francesco and Alfonso of whom we will speak later. Paolo by natural inclination dedicated himself to military art and in 1627 he had already risen to the rank of Loco-Lieutenant, conferred on him by Carlo Barberini, General of the Pontifical Troops. Then for the skills demonstrated he passed to the rank of Captain with the appointment of Cardinal Camillo Panfili, General Superintendent of the State Militias. At the same time he occupied many prestigious positions and, among others, by Ottaviano Carafa, general commissioner, was appointed under commissioner for army commissions in the province of Umbria. All this can be found in authentic documents existing in the Mazzaforti family and in their other heirs. Francesco Spunta Even Francesco, son of Paolo, following in his father's footsteps, was very capable in politics and an intrepid and valiant soldier. At a young age he was already appointed standard bearer of his company by Cardinal Camillo Panfili. In the war between Urban VIII and the Florentines he distinguished himself by strenuously defending the Castles of Montalto, Polgeto and Montacuto, repelling the assailants several times and making a good number of prisoners, as can be seen from very extensive documents issued by his Excellency Gio. Battista Bono Governor General of the Weapons in this land. He had frequent times to carry out with his soldiers various expeditions under the command of Mr. Duca Savelli, Lieutenant General of S. Chiesa. Then militating under the Austrian flags, by the Commander Mr. Tommaso Mengrahell he was raised to the distinguished post of Regimental Standard Bearer. Alfonso Check Alfonso, another son of Paul, eclipsed any other for his high merits, especially in Latin literature. He was employed in various Courts and his Majesty Queen Christina Alexandra of Sweden appointed him tutor and secretary of Latin Literature. Cristina, daughter of Gustavo Adolfo and Eleonora Princess of Brandenburg, after the death of her father in Lutzen in 1632, fighting against the Austrians, was proclaimed Queen at the tender age of six. However, it remained for a long time under the tutelage of severe Regents, who, in order to educate it worthily and according to the paternal dispositions, surrounded it with the most renowned tutors of Europe. It is believed that the study of languages was the predominant passion of that young queen. Pierre Bayle, the great philosopher of Carlat, asserts that every day she read some original pages of Tacitus. Therefore our Alfonso being called as tutor and secretary in that magnificent court is the sure proof of his profound doctrine. There he was a companion and friend of the famous S almasio di Semur, of Vossio, Boschart, René Deschartes (Descartes) and of other great ones. The delightful and erudite Cristina devoted entirely to literature and sciences, annoyed by what she called the "splendid servitude of the throne", on June 16, 1654 and at the flourishing age of 28, decided to abdicate the heroic Crown of the Vasa. Our Alfonso spent another five years revered and honored in that splendid Palace, disengaging important embassies; but finally due to his poor health and the turbulence of the Kingdom, with a Diploma of King Charles X of 10 April 1659 he was returned to his homeland, where a year later he ceased to live and where he had extraordinary funeral honors and the lamented general. To Marino Spunta, and ideally to all the other members of the family, what once was dedicated it was via delle Petresche, in the historic center. The photos of the ancient characters are taken from Wikipedia. Sources: - "History of the land of Fratta now Umbertide" by Antonio Guerrini (completed Genesio Perugini) - Typography Tiberina Umbertide - 1883 - “Umbertide - Man in toponymy” by Bruno Porrozzi - Pro Loco Umbertide Association - 1992 FILIPPO AND GIOVAN BATTISTA FRACASSINI The Fracassini family, originally from Monte Acuto, had two important personalities in 1600 who honored the land of Fratta. Filippo, master mason, who made his great skills available for architectural works that we can still admire today. Giovan Battista, distinguished lawyer, judge and governor of important cities of that time. Filippo Fracassini The exact dates of the birth and death of this important descendant of the Fracassini family are not known. In the first half of the seventeenth century Filippo Fracassini was a famous operator in the art of architecture, not so much comforted by science but by his natural talent and passionate exercise. There was no great undertaking in Fratta in those times that was not entrusted to Fracassini. He, together with the master builders Ercolano da Civitella and Francesco Valentini, rebuilt the two arches of the bridge over the Tiber which was demolished by the extraordinary flood of 1610. He was director of the factory of the new Church of Santa Croce, which was erected between the years 1610 and 1647. He reformed the grandiose Temple of the Reggia on the design and direction of another worthy Frattegiano, Bernardino Sermigni, and executed many other works of no less importance, all with a happy outcome. The very learned D. Silvio Fidanza wrote the following epigraph in praise of Fracassini: "DEO CRUCI VIRGINI PHILIPPHUS DE FRACASSINIS SINE LITERIS NUMERIS DISERTISSIMUS PONTEM INFECTUM ARTE REFECIT POST DILUVIUM TRIA MILIA NONGENTA DECEM PRIDIE NONAS SEPTEMBRIS SACRAS AEDES SANCTAE CRUCIS A CRISTI AREE MORTE MARY 1649 JUBILEE 1645 ". On 18 December 1960 the road leading to Preggio was named after him. Giovan Battista Fracassini This distinguished citizen of Fratta, after having obtained a degree in philosophical and legal studies at the University of Perugia, moved to Rome to exercise the office of defender in that Supreme Curia for a long time and with excellent profit. With licenses from the S. Consulta he ruled the government of many important towns and cities, in particular Norcia and Camerino, until in 1680 by Monsignor Ghisleri he was recalled to Norcia as Lieutenant General of the Prefecture. Despite the exercise of these important offices, he never ceased to occupy himself in the functions of lawyer, as can be seen from many cases entrusted to him by Franchetti and brilliantly resolved, by the multiplicity of his writings, reports and votes that were published for the prints. He was Judge in Foligno, Vicar General in S. Sepolcro and Città di Castello. But finding himself at a very advanced age and unable to bear so many hard labors, he returned to his native land where, in the arms of his relatives who loved him so much and friends who greatly esteemed him, he gave his soul back to God in the year 1689. . Sources: - "History of the land of Fratta now Umbertide" by Antonio Guerrini (completed by Genesio Perugini) - Typography Tiberina Umbertide - 1883 - "Umbertide - Man in toponymy" by Bruno Porrozzi - Pro Loco Umbertide Association - 1992 GIOVANNI MAURI In the first half of the 1600s he was, among other things, master of the Order of Minor Conventual Fathers and bishop of Nusco The biography is taken from Guerrini's book, fully preserving the Italian of the time, from the late nineteenth century. Giovanni Mauri was born in this land in 1566. As a young man he professed among the Frs. MM . (Minor Fathers) Conventuals of St. Francis and for the tireless study and continued exercise of the most splendid virtues he became Master of that Holy Order and occupied the most luminous offices there. In the year 1626 he was already Procurator General in Rome; in 1629 Apostolic Commissioner and Visitor in Sardinia; in 1634 Inquisitor in Siena and Florence; in 1638 Consultor of the Holy Office in Rome; then Patriarchal Vicar in Constantinople. Famous in preaching, he trod the most distinguished Pergams (Ed. In architecture sacred, a kind of balcony (also called pulpit) which is usually found in churches inside, now leaning against the walls or with columns or pillars, now isolated and supported by small but richly decorated architectural elements, from which the preacher addresses the faithful) of Italy, and was marvelous for his immense erudition and for his robust facondia. Gentle verse, profound mathematician, Master of sweet melodies, and sublime Organist, he often rapt in ecstasy Amuirath IV called the Valiant, who wished to sing and play in his presence above the proud Minarets, gracefully towering on the enchanted shores of the Bosphorus. And he received precious gifts, which on his return to Rome were surprised by Pontiff Barberini himself, to whom Mauri was present with a rich fur coat and an exquisite inestimable work coat. After the highly praised exercise of such delicate and important offices, Urban VIII in 1641 consecrated Mauri as Bishop of Nusco, Principality-Further in the Neapolitan area, where after just four years with the peace of the just, with the sanctity of example, with the blessing of all the His people, who loved him as their Father, fell asleep in the Lord on November 1, 1644. Sources: - "History of the land of Fratta now Umbertide" by Antonio Guerrini (completed by Genesio Perugini) - Typography Tiberina Umbertide - 1883 Giovanni Pachino - Cintio Paulucci Bernardino Sermigni BERNARDINO SERMIGNI Great honor had Fratta from having given birth in 1600 to the architect Bernardino Sermigni, descendant of an ancient and titled family In the year 1640, seeing the dome of the Church of the Reggia at risk of collapse, he immediately set to work, together with Flori , to avert this tragic event. After consulting the architect of the Grand Duke and other corresponding artists, it was finally decided to completely renew the internal order giving it a more noble form, also following the advice of Pietro Burelli , another talented engineer from Fratta. This Temple has an octagonal plan on the outside, circular inside with a diameter of twenty meters; and its height twice the diameter. When you enter the church you are immediately struck by the boldness of the great dome, as if thrown into the air, by the elegant, majestic harmony of the whole. The buttresses of the primitive construction did not oppose vigorous resistance to the considerable thrust of the structure, so it was necessary to strengthen them. And here is the genius of our artist not to stop among the only remedies of arid solidity but also trying to combine this with aesthetics to draw the most pleasant benefit from it. Around the internal walls there is a complete order of sixteen columns, somewhat detached from the wall, on which the exhibits of the corresponding pillars are shown. The intercolumns (Ed. Space between two columns) are odd. In the largest, which is an aerospace (Ed. Temple in which the intercolumniation had a width greater than three diameters) , eight large round arches well decorated with cornices and stuccoes, and with their large recess they make magnificence and convenient to the altars , the orchestra and the two main entrances. The other intercolumniation is somewhat narrower, all divided up by niches, divided between them by the continuing frame of the side shutters. These various intercolumns make up admirably separate groups of coupled columns, which present at the same time speed and the most graceful movement. The order of the colonnade is Doric and has a remarkable height of 9.60 meters. How much philosophy of art in the choice of this order! Our columns, which here support such a laborious office, had to be characterized by the constant character of the most severe robustness. The slight streaks in the large stems have also been suppressed and short grooves indicated only in the collar of the Capitals. The primeval robust height of the architrave has been preserved and the most sensible parsimony in the limbs (Ed. Horizontal Membrature placed in conjunction with columns) . And for this artistic criterion and also to avoid the inconveniences in the cornice mostly resulting from the coupling of the columns, triglyphs are suppressed (Ed. The triglyph is an architectural element of the Doric order frieze of Greek and Roman architecture. stone tile, decorated with vertical grooves) and modiglioni (Ed. The modiglione, also called modione, is a sculpted shelf that supports the upper protruding part of the frame) , following the example of the Farnesina del Peruzzi (Ed. Villa Farnesina in Rome built around the 1505 on a project by the architect Baldassarre Peruzzi) and of the Palazzo Stoppani by Raffaele (Ed. Palazzo Stoppani in Bergamo in 1500). Above the described entablature (Ed. Architectural structure, including the horizontal element of the trilithic system, of the Greek-Roman architectural orders and consists of architrave, frieze and cornice ), which with the right alignment circumscribes the whole Temple, stands the large drum della Cupola shaped as a sumptuous attic. Above each column we see repeated as many pillars, to which the proportional projection of an elegant frame with all purity of art composes the ornament of the relative capitals. In the intermediate spaces there are stupid arches for grandiose windows; various collections for bas-reliefs and paintings. Then, a little higher, another frame, so that the adorned nut, which is created between these frames, constitutes a graceful base for the great dome, which boldly develops elliptically at the top. Here four large windows send streams of light inside. Here ribs that arise from the subordinate orders adorn the grandiose curve of the structure and converging at the top rejoin to raise a lantern, which the magnificent building elegantly crowns. On the outside, the internal architecture is repeated with all simplicity. It was thought for greater beauty to leave the dome naked outside, encrusted with lead, but the seriousness of the expense did not allow it. The construction of the walls is brick, the bands and stucco decorations, the architectural orders are all in pietra serena and executed with the most exquisite stereotomic ( Ed Stereotomìa is the set of geometric knowledge and traditional techniques relating to the tracing and cutting of the blocks and of freestone segments and their assembly and use in complex structures related to architectural constructions) cleanliness. Shortly after 1647 this great Temple was completed again, which are classics artists consider among the most beautiful of the Umbrian districts and that it certifies brightly the valentia of our architect. Sermigni died in 1670, at the age of 70. Sources: - “History of the land of Fratta now Umbertide” by Antonio Guerrini (completed Genesio Perugini) - Typography Tiberina Umbertide - 1883 GIOVANNI PACHINO and CINTIO PAULUCCI Two characters of ancient Fratta who distinguished themselves, the first in the legal disciplines, the second in military art Giovanni Pachino Distinguished jurist, in the first half of the 1400s he was Grand Master of the income of the Duke of Milan Filippo Maria Visconti Giovanni Pachino (or Paghino) was born in Fratta towards the end of the 14th century. I started very young to study and then deepen the legal disciplines, so much so that I earned the nickname of "Splendor of Italian Jurisprudence". He traveled extensively in even distant regions for the desire to know, study and deepen the different customs and customs of other peoples and their laws. Pachino, for his experiences and for his doctrine, was called to the service of authoritative princes and personalities of his time, who repaid him with honors and riches. Shortly before the middle of the 15th century he was called to Milan, to the important court of Filippo Maria Visconti who, for the trust and esteem he had in our fellow citizen, also entrusted him with the prestigious position of Grand Master of all the ducal income. He had a large family. It is probable that, in consideration of a possible dynastic change in Milan, Pachino asked and obtained permission from the Visconti to be able to return to Umbria. This is how he settled in Perugia in 1443, where he became an honorary citizen. In the Perugian Annals of the year 1443 he was defined as “De Castro Fractae Filiorum Umberti egregius et famosissimus legum doctor”. He died in Perugia in 1444. A street was named after Giovanni Pachino, a crossroads of Via Roma. Cintio Paulucci Valent man of arms, he knew how to honor himself by fighting for the Venetian Republic Towards the end of the 16th century, shortly after the formidable battles in Cyprus where Pietro Giacomo Petrogalli worked wonders of great value, another brave warrior of our land was fighting in the employ of the invincible Venice. Cintio Paulucci, a man of perspicacious talent and particularly expert in military art, inspired by the genius of the times, fearlessly threw himself where battles both against Muslims and the most indomitable piracy often raged. Not surprisingly, with a license dated July 27, 1628, he was promoted by the Venetian Republic (1) to the rank of Captain of the Halberdiers (2) . In the year 1632 he was sent to Dalmatia, in Sibenik, as commander of the Italian Company to be then assigned, with another license of 6 June 1636, as Major and Commander General, to Zakynthos (3) , one of the most important islands of the Ionian sea where shortly after he ceased to live full of merits and glory. Tall stature, pleasant appearance, severe eye, spacious forehead, ringed hair, steel armor, halberd in hand, coat of arms with eagle on a red background: this is how Cintio Paulucci was represented in a portrait of his time that unfortunately has not reached us. . Note: 1. The Venetian Republic, starting from the seventeenth century Most Serene Republic of Venice, was a maritime republic with Venice as its capital. Founded according to tradition in 697 by Paoluccio Anafesto, in the course of its one thousand hundred years of history it established itself as one of the major European commercial and naval powers. Initially extended in the area of the Do g ado (a territory currently comparable to the metropolitan city of Venice) in the course of its history it annexed much of north-eastern Italy, Istria, Dalmatia, the coasts of present-day Montenegro and Albania as well as numerous islands in the Adriatic and eastern Ionian seas. At the height of its expansion, between the 13th and 16th centuries, it also ruled the Peloponnese, Crete and most of the Greek islands, as well as several cities and ports in the eastern Mediterranean . 2. Towards the end of the Middle Ages, the European armies increasingly equipped themselves with units of halberdiers, a body of heavy infantry armed with halberds. This was a long shaft that ended in a two-edged blade and, just below, an ax blade was engaged on one side and a large hook on the other. The halberdiers also wore particular helmets called morions, similar to helmets with a rigid and upward-curved brim, pointed at the front and at the back. The most popular models had a crest or ended with a sharp cusp. 3. Zakynthos is a Greek island (405 km²) with a population of approximately 40,000 inhabitants. The island is located in the Ionian Sea, near the coasts of the Peloponnese and is part of the archipelago of the Ionian islands. Zakynthos was at the center of the Spartan-Athenian battles; it was then one of the Ionian islands under Venetian rule, during which the poet Ugo Foscolo was born, who dedicated the sonnet “A Zacinto” to it; in 1953 it was devastated by a disastrous earthquake. Sources: - "History of the land of Fratta now Umbertide" by Antonio Guerrini (completed by Genesio Perugini) - Typography Tiberina Umbertide - 1883 Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan The coat of arms of the Duchy The Sforzesco Castle Costantino Magi - Angelo Martinelli - Francesco Spinetti La famiglia Soli - Sante Pellicciari Cherubino Martelli - Felice Remeri Lavinio Magi - P. Paolo Cristiani LAVINIO MAGI and PIETRO PAOLO CRISTIANI They both chose ecclesiastical careers and were at the helm at different times of the church of Sant'Agata in via dei Priori, one of the oldest churches in Perugia Lavinio Magi Priest of exemplary and pious customs; rich in doctrine, especially in the theological sciences, in the sacred canons and in the liturgy. He was born in Fratta in 1579 from an honorable family. He studied in the Seminary of Città di Castello under the famous Marcantonio Bonciario, distinguished orator called "The Homer of Italy" by Giusto Lipsio, the most profound critic and the most learned polygraph of those times. Lancellotti in the "Perugian History" tells us that the Magi enjoyed the affection of the very learned bishop Napoleone Comitoli (1) , of Cardinals Torres and Baldeschi, who used his work and his wise men in the most delicate matters of their Sacred Ministry advice. He was elected parish priest of the Church of S. Agata in Perugia by Camitoli, a benefit to which the most deserving subjects of the clergy were nominated. He was Master of Ecclesiastical Liturgy of which he wrote a highly appreciated volume. Several times he had the office of Diocesan Visitor (2) , Synodal Examiner (3) and President of the Congregation of Christian Doctrine, whose constitutions he wisely reformed in 1626. He was ecclesiastical superior of the Hospital of Perugia elected with full suffrages, a position he held for six years with much advantage of the Pious Place, especially in the arrangement of all the important ancient and modern writings contained in that voluminous Archive. He was also a very accurate reorganizer of the other no less important Archive of the Noble Collegio della Mercanzia, where ancient and precious memories were found. After many hardships in favor of civil and religious society, at the age of 61, he died of a heart attack on May 31, 1640. Note: 1. He was compared to S. Carlo Borromeo for having been able to bring the renewals of the Council of Trent into the physical and moral structures of the diocese of Perugia with strength and dedication. A man of high principles and of considerable depth, the great artistic and urban development achieved under his episcopate is proof of the energy lavished on the city, such as the complete restoration desired for the church of Sant'Ercolano. He studied canon law and civil law at the University of Bologna , made numerous pastoral visits, was heard in various synods and did his utmost to improve the dioceses of the region. Jurist of the Sacra Rota, he died in Perugia in 1624. 2. In the Catholic Church , an apostolic or diocesan visitor is an ecclesiastical representative with the transitory mission of making a canonical visit of a relatively short duration. The visitor is instructed to investigate a particular circumstance in a diocese or country and to submit a report to the Holy See at the conclusion of the investigation. 3. Within the Catholic curia there is also the so-called "synodal examiner", a theologian appointed by the diocesan prelate to evaluate those who have been selected for sacred orders and to work with parish ministries and preachers. Pietro Paolo Cristiani He was born in Fratta from a wealthy and distinguished family. From an early age he devoted himself to studies with great profit. He graduated in Sacred Sciences having chosen to pursue an ecclesiastical career. For his integrity and doctrine he was appointed Rector of the parish church of S. Agata (1) in Perugia (where Lavinio Magi, another illustrious fellow citizen of ours, had resided about a century earlier) and for 30 years he supported this ministry with great praise. At the same time he was one of the most renowned professors of the University of Perugia, occupying the Chair of Dogmatic Theology. For many years he held the position of Librarian in the city library, arranging it in a more orderly and elegant form. He was synodal examiner of the eminent Ansidei and of Monsignor Fornari and finally Consultor of the Tribunal of the Holy Office. He was the author of many learned literary works, of a famous dialogue entitled "The Grammatico" (taken from an unknown author of 1557) printed in Perugia in 1717 and of some homeland memories existing in the Mariotti Library. Giacinto Visconti, a talented writer of the eighteenth century, sent a letter to P. Calogerà on the works and life of our fellow citizen, a letter that can be found in the library of San Michele in Murano. Pietro Paolo Cristiani died in the year 1737. Note: 1. The church of Sant'Agata, built seven centuries ago around 1317, is located at the beginning of the very central Via dei Priori, arriving there from Corso Vannucci, known by many faithful and lovers of art history as one of the "caskets" more precious than the Franciscan Gothic style present in Umbria. Inside the church, restored and reopened for worship in February 2015, on the walls and vault there are fresco decorations of considerable historical and artistic interest, from the Umbrian-Sienese school. The restoration work made it possible to find significant pictorial parts on the walls such as the image of St. Francis receiving the stigmata, above the well-known and original face of the "Triform Christ", in front of the right side entrance, and of two saints fathers of the Church painted on the lunettes of the vault above the altar. Sources: - "History of the land of Fratta now Umbertide" by Antonio Guerrini (completed by Genesio Perugini) - Typography Tiberina Umbertide - 1883 CHERUBINO MARTELLI and FELICE REMERI Two Franciscan fathers of Fratta who held prestigious positions, the first as Bishop of Spiga, an ancient city of the Hellespont, the second as Guardian in the Sacred Convent of Jerusalem and Guardian of the Sepulcher of Jesus Christ. Cherubino Martelli News of this illustrious fellow citizen of ours, whose date of birth is unknown, was provided by the Perugian father Ottavio Lancellotti in his memoirs entitled "Scorta Sagra" (1) . He was a Father among the Minor Observants of St. Francis and due to the integrity and breadth of his doctrine he occupied the most important offices of that Congregation until the moment when the eminent Cardinal Andrea della Valle, bishop of Malta, wanted him as his theologian. The fame of his profound science and his mirrored virtues quickly reached the Vatican and Pope Leo X, the great "Patron of the Scholars", awarded him the title of Episcopal of Spiga, an ancient city of Hellespont (2) . He died in Cetona (3), land of Tuscany, in 1520 in the odor of holiness. His body was buried in a modest tomb (4) in that church of S. Francesco but (as a chronicle of that place tells us) due to the many prodigies worked towards him the devotion of the faithful increased immensely so that, after exhuming his body and found intact, it was solemnly placed under the main altar in an elegant urn. Note: 1. 2-volume paper manuscript left with will at the Augusta Library in 1654. 2. The Hellespont, today Dardanelli, is the strait that divides the Aegean Sea from the Black Sea. 3. Pretty village in the province of Siena between the Val d'Orcia and the Val di Chiana. In 1418 Cetona was conquered by Braccio Fortebraccio da Montone. 4. Sarcophagus for the dead. Felice Remeri His date of birth is unknown, it is known that he was the son of Bernardino Remeri dalla Fratta and brother of a Luca Remeri, notary of the venerable Apostolic Chamber. Felice from his youth devoted himself to the study of the sacred sciences and became a religious of the Observance of San Francesco. Here he distinguished himself as a supreme theologian and as an exemplary Father, to the point of holding the most important offices of his Congregation. Clement VII (Giulio de 'Medici) with a special Brief (1) appointed him to the prestigious office of Guardian in the Sacred Convent of Jerusalem (2) , where the Sepulcher is kept of Jesus Christ. The notary Benedetto De Sanctis, an 87-year old man of integrity, said and our fellow citizen, who when Father Felice threw himself at the feet of Clement VII for to have the blessing of farewell, so exclaimed the inspired Pontiff "Please God, Friar Felice, may we together with you receive the palm tree in that blessed land of Martyrdom! " Full of sacred fervor he left Italy and after having sailed for a long time in the stormy sea between Candia and Cyprus, he landed in Acre and went to Jerusalem. Crispolti and Jacobilli narrate that “as soon as he arrived there, he stayed four continuous days at the Holy Sepulcher absorbed in the most profound contemplation, and which diluted so in hot tears, little was missing there would not remain lifeless ". Having then fulfilled with the most fervent zeal all the needs relating to his expedition and to his ministry always giving a shining example of illicitness, of moderation, of piety and all other brighter virtues, in the year 1595, many months after his arrival in Jerusalem passed away in the odor of Holiness (3) . His body is still preserved in that Church with great veneration and many are told about it wonders received from God through his intercession. The name of Felice Remeri is therefore found deservedly counted among the other saints of Umbria. Note: 1. Pontifical document with normative value, lower than the papal bull. 2. The Custody of the Holy Land is a priory of Jerusalem , founded as a Province of the Holy Land in 1217 by Saint Francis of Assisi, who had also founded the Franciscan Order in 1209. In 1342 the Franciscans were declared with two papal bulls as custodians officers of the Holy Places on behalf of the Catholic Church. The headquarters of the Custody are located in the Monastery of San Salvatore, a 16th-century Franciscan convent near the New Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem. The heart of the old city of Jerusalem for Christians is the basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, known by the locals as the "church of the resurrection": inside it is found the Calvary, place of the crucifixion and death of Jesus, and the Tomb of Christ, from which the Son of God resurrected on the third day. The two Holy Places are interrelated and inseparable, as is the paschal mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ which was fulfilled there and is continually fulfilled. For eight hundred years the Franciscan friars of the Order of Friars Minor have been the custodians of the Holy Sepulcher, on behalf of the Catholic Church, and have shared ownership of the basilica with the Greek Orthodox Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church. 3. Felice Ranieri (Remeri) from Fratta was the 73rd Guardian of the Sacred Sepulcher from 1593 to 1595 (from Wikipedia). Sources: - "History of the land of Fratta now Umbertide" by Antonio Guerrini (completed by Genesio Perugini) - Typography Tiberina Umbertide - 1883 THE SOLI DI FRATTA FAMILY and SANTE PELLICCIARI Illustrious families of the Fratta of the sixteenth century Giovanni Paolo and Francesco Maria Soli The Soli family was one of the most illustrious and wealthy families in our area. Their building was in via Cibo. They had another more sumptuous one on the Piaggia di Metula (Romeggio area) which was set on fire, with those of other lords of the time, by order of Captain Pallavicino when in 1643 the army of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, during the war against Urban VIII, tried to take over our territory by putting the Castle of Fratta under siege. Giovanni Paolo and Francesco Maria, for their honesty and the virtuous actions were both ascribed by the Reale House of Savoy in the Knightly Order of St. Maurice and Lazarus (1) . With various assets they owned at this land, just east of the Temple of the Royal Palace, they had a Commenda built which on the death of Francesco Maria, without successors, fell back to Religion of those Knights and which was therefore conferred to the noble Bourbon family of Sorbello. John Paul instituted one in his last will Chapel to be officiated in the Collegiate Church and in that of Ponte, now joined to the Prepositure (2) , for which there was a capital of 400 scudi amidst the bishopric of Gubbio, who paid the respective interest. Francesco Maria ceased to live on December 27, 1599 a few years after the death of his brother and thus this noble and generous lineage remained extinct. A street has been named after the Soli brothers in what was once the Borgo Inferiore, the area of today's Piazza San Francesco. Note: 1. The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (also known as the Mauritian Order) is a chivalric order born from the merger of the Chivalric and Religious Order of St. Maurice and the Order for Assistance to the Lepers of St. Lazarus in 1572. With the XIV Transitional and Final Provision of the Italian Constitution, the Mauritian Order ceases to be a dynastic order but is kept as a hospital institution, with the functions and order established by the constitutional law of November 1962. 2. It is a term that designates the office of a parish priest, or provost (provost or provost) with special privileges in a parish. Sante Pellicciari He held important administrative positions in the second half of the sixteenth century at the orders of the General Council of Decemvirs (Priors) of the city of Perugia This compatriot of ours was a man of great ingenuity and proven probity. He was celebrated by Pellini in his "Storia Perugina", where he calls him "Writer of great gravity". He was Secretary of the Decemvirs (1) of the City of Perugia. After many years of honorable service, after having procured many advantages to that illustrious community, after having skillfully disengaged the most difficult tasks in very difficult circumstances, he obtained a rich pension and in addition he was spontaneously decreed by the General Council the privilege of adding the Half Griffin (2) to his noble armies. The same privilege on June 25, 1607 was assigned, in continuity with the father, to his sons Pietro Paolo, Lodovico and Silvestro, faithful imitators of the paternal virtues. The office of Secretary of the Community of Perugia was conferred on the proposal of Pellicciari to another of our no less famous compatriot, Filippo Alberti, his nephew. Full of honors, our saint retired to Fratta, settling in a delightful estate on the eastern slope of the Colle di Romeggio, or Piaggia di Metula, with a garden and a palace of noble architecture, where Francesco de 'Medici stayed on his return from Loreto to Florence. This Prince was treated sumptuously by Sante Pellicciari Junior, grandson of our Sante, who was given a very rich gold necklace as a sign of gratitude for the welcome received. In 1607 Sante Senior ceased to live in Perugia between the late general and his descendants lasted until 1814, becoming extinct with Dr. Luca Pellicciari, professor emeritus of experimental physics at the Perugino University. Note: 1. Also called Priors. Ten magistrates who held the city government in the Middle Ages until the early eighteenth century. 2. Tradition tells that it was the Etruscans, an ancient people also present in Umbria, who brought the griffin to Italy: its myth is in fact represented on urns, sarcophagi and bas-reliefs found in the finds. This symbol was then assumed by the Municipality of Perugia since the Middle Ages, through the members of the Corporations of Arts and Crafts who had the consent to use it in their coats of arms. Sources: - "History of the land of Fratta now Umbertide" by Antonio Guerrini (completed by Genesio Perugini) - Typography Tiberina Umbertide - 1883 COSTANTINO MAGI - ANGELO MARTINELLI - FRANCESCO SPINETTI Three characters who lived in Fratta between the 1600s and the early 1700s and who have proven themselves in various disciplines Constantine Magi Man of distinguished reputation in Fine Arts and in Philosophy. Accredited doctor and rare example of love for one's neighbor. The Magi, provided with sufficient wealth, never left Fratta to practice his art, which indeed for many years in a row and whenever necessary he served his fellow citizens for free, leaving the salary written in the Municipal Table always available. of the poorest and putting at their disposal what else they needed of his patrimony. After the loss of his wife, whom he had loved so much, he decided to embrace an ecclesiastical career. Having become a priest, he always led an exemplary and holy life. He wrote precious memories of his homeland, which for the most part were unfortunately lost due to the neglect of the descendants. In the year 1710, amid the blessings of the people, he died peacefully in the Lord. Angelo Martinelli Angelo Martinelli was born in Fratta on 29 September 1630. His father was Maurizio Martinelli and Fiora Corinti the mother. He became a priest and was parish priest in the Church of S. Luca (1) and Confessor of the Capuchins in Perugia and then of Monastery of S. Maria Nuova i n Fratta, where finally he fixed his abode. He was charitable in the name of the poor of Jesus Christ, so much so that he himself often remained deprived of clothing and food to help them. The exemplarity of his life, the sublimity of his virtues made him so grateful to the Lord who granted him the priceless gift of foreshadowing the future, as he did precisely for his death, as reported in a chronicle of that time. On March 19 of the year 1721, as predicted by him, passed placidly to eternal life. The funeral was solemn and all classes of people. His body was secretly buried enters double chest in the Parish Church of S. Erasmo in Cornu Evangelii (2) . Note: 1. The church of San Luca was built in 1586, on the site of one medieval church, commissioned by Bino Sozi of the Order of the Knights of Malta. It has a sober facade embellished with a beautiful entrance door embellished by materials stone and in particular from a truncated tympanum below which there are beautiful friezes of a religious nature. The interior, articulated in a nave with three spans separated by pillars of Doric style, it preserves a canvas by Giovanni Antonio Scaramuccia and the Madonna delle Grazie, a 15th century fresco. 2. The side of the gospel (in cornu Evangelii in Latin ) is an area of the Western Christian churches. It takes its name from the place where the reading of the gospel takes place in the liturgy. Compared to the high altar, it is located on the left side. Francesco Spinetti Francesco Spinetti, a man of great doctrine in the legal faculties, was born in our land in 1660. After having completed his studies in Rome, where he graduated in law, he also obtained the distinguished degree of Rotal Lawyer. By the Government, connoisseur of his merits, he was appointed Governor of the City of Foligno and then to other important positions. In old age he returned to his homeland with a good pension and stopped living there in the year 1724. Not having a direct succession, he left his consort Lucrezia Beni alone, a woman of singular piety, who had the Oratory of S. Filippo Neri called the New Church built near her house and at her own expense, then suppressed and reduced to home. The lawyer Francesco Spinetti, in addition to a magnificent library, left various manuscripts and especially an elaborate repertory of legal texts, divided into several volumes, which the surviving grandchildren recklessly dispersed. Sources: - "History of the land of Fratta now Umbertide" by Antonio Guerrini (completed by Genesio Perugini) - Typography Tiberina Umbertide - 1883 On the left, the house built on the remains of the church of Sant'Erasmo in the 40s and today Bernardino Magi The works are the mirror of the author's soul. A wise observer investigates the character, the custom, the passions, the character of the writer, and rarely deceives himself. The inert harmony of our elders, which not even a line has left on our famous painter Bernardino Magi, requires an exact observation of his paintings, in order to detect the character of the author, the school to which he belonged, the time in which he painted and the merit of the artist. Bernardino was born in Fratta over the middle of the 16th century from the ancient, conspicuous and wealthy Magi family, as evidenced by the grandiose mansion in the Piazza del Comune, where his descendants lived for a long time. From an early age he showed himself to be inclined to the art of painting. Objects of his meditation were always delightful things, inspiring sweet emotions, sweetness, graces, naturalness and above all beauty, towards which he was enraptured by an irrepressible transport. Either he admired it in the starry sky or in the rising dawn, or in the trembling groves struck by the sun, or in the gray hills where herds and shepherds swarm, or in the laughing prairies, wherever they appeared to him as an object of enchantment. He abhorred only melancholy, fatal, frightening objects. In this he conformed to an affable, sweet, mannered custom, led to love everyone and with equal affection to be paid for it. The parents, having known the inclination of their son and his genius, sent him to Urbino where the name of Federico Barocci (1) resounded high, as the most famous painter of that century. It was Barocci of a frank, kind and courteous character; such the disciple, so that great was the affection, unspeakable the commitment, and tireless study in order to satisfy the desires of the tutor. Hence that exact correction in the drawing, those pleasant attitudes, those figures so well posed, those heads of virgins, those nudes of children of a sweetness that enchant, those compositions of a simplicity and naturalness that fall in love. With what favor he waited to imitate the magical color of the tutor his paintings testify. Frederick did everything to emulate Correggio (2) , making him the most gracious, most agreeable, most lovable painter of the Roman School. Barocci was able to give harmony, a brightness, a truth to his paintings, which arouse wonder. Magi imitated the master so clearly that he was sometimes mistaken for him. For this there is an anecdote concerning the Magi. In the aftermath of the imperial government, the famous artist Agostino Tofanelli, Director of the Academy of Fine Arts, was sent to make a choice of Painting Heads to be transported to the capital. In the Church of S. Maria di Fratta ( Ed. It is probably the small church of S. Maria dei Rimedi which was located in the Mercatale Superiore area, the current end of Piaggiola and Piazza Marconi) observing the painting of Magi placed in his altar noble, considered it original by Barocci and as such had it transported to Rome. This results from the documents of that government and from the testimony of Mr. Giambattista Burelli who was then the Town Hall Secretary. It is true, however, that this painting, when examined better, was judged to belong to the school, not to the hand of Barocci. The painting was recovered by the Magi family and rearranged in the altar to the left of the main entrance. It is a rectangular canvas, 2.20 meters high, 1.60 meters wide. At the top there is the Holy Virgin above an arch of clouds slightly refracted by an area of light, which spreads from the divine head and which flows admirably to give life to the underlying countryside. The Madonna is dressed in a silky pink robe, cloaked in a blue cloth whose edges seem to be jokingly waved by the zephyrs of Heaven. Posing the face with dignified modesty, with the right hand in the act of dispensing a glorious palm, it seems to disengage a great decree of the Eternal. And he supports the Child Jesus with his left arm, who, covering his very delicate naked limbs with a white veil, tightens himself tenderly to the Divine Mother's neck in the eyes, in the horsehair, in the graceful lips. Three Seraphim masterfully arranged around, absorbed in blessed veneration, compose a glory in the style of the great Correggio. At the bottom of the picture there is a varied field of degrading hills well adorned with landscapes, woods, streams, rivers, the most delightful scenes of nature. To the right of the beholder is the profile of the Magdalene, a very charming young man, richly dressed, with her long hair on her shoulders dissolved, with her right knee bent in reverence and offering to Mary that jar of mysterious ointments which deserved the miracle of her conversion. On the left is St. Lawrence, kneeling, with his arms crossed at his breast, dressed in a diaconal tunic, who in the act of receiving the longed-for palm from the Queen of Martyrs, expresses in his animated face all the sacred joy that invades him. In front of the Saint, like a victory trophy, the iron painful grill stands on the ground; and alongside an old prelate (subject of the Magi family!) is about to crown him with the glorious diadem. Distances of admirably true positions, characteristic variety of complexions where the blood flows; a choice of very vague forms; a very pure correction of drawing; a freshness of color that enchants, an overall harmony that captivates. Under the figure of S. Lorenzo there is written by the same brush 1597. In a folder on the frame of the same Altar there is sculpted MDLXXXXII. On the sides of the side columns "RD Luduvicus de Magis". And in the dice of the pedestals on both sides of the Altar the noble weapon of the Magi family, consisting of two hands clasped in faith with a Comet above. In the lateral parts of the High Altar of the same Church there were two tables of the Magi, one copied by the Master, representing Christ on the Cross, St. John and the Virgin; the other a beautiful nativity scene. In the Sacristy there is also a S. Lorenzo and a S. Francesco. In the Church of the Good Death he painted the canvas of S. Antonio Abate. This canvas 2.48 m high, 4.40 wide is located in the altar to the left of the entrance. It is made up of four main figures. On one side we see the Holy Abbot Antonio in pontifical robes, all adorned with graceful golden embroidery. His right knee is bent with dignity to the ground, and all intent on a sacred legend, he opens his lips in the thick of a very soft beard to a smile of holy complacency. On the other side, St. Paul, a venerable old man, kneeling under a poor habit and on a curved stick, praying devoutly in the rosary of Mary. The gaunt tanned face, the absorbed furrowed eyelashes, the bald wrinkled forehead, all express the penitent effects of his religious solitude. Next to it you can see St. John the Baptist in the appearance of a dear young man, who with the gracefulness of the forms, with the floridity of the complexion harmonizes the effect of the most beautiful pictorial antithesis. Then, as seated among very limpid clouds, Mary rises up, who with folded hands holds the Baby Jesus to her breast between a white linen. She has a pink and white robe, a purplish mantle gracefully ruffled by the hand of the Angels. In the lips, in the eyes, in the compassionate attitude, how the divine tenderness transpires, which he feels for his delight! The latter, all joyful, with very vague pupils, almost fixed in an ecstasy of harmless abstraction, carries all the celestial maternal features on his face, charmingly repeated. Twelve Seraphim in splendid various rounds finally crown the glory of the Queen of Heaven. In the rear frame we can read Bernardino Magi painted the year 1596. From this we can deduce the age of his works. In the noble Oratory attached to his home he had repeated the Madonna in the picture of S. Maria in large scale and his apartments were full of his paintings. Bernardino did not want to abandon his beloved Preceptor even in death. He was missing from the living in perhaps not senile age in 1612, in the same year in which the master Federico was kidnapped to the Fine Arts. Note: 1. Federico Barocci, known as Fiori, was born in Urbino between 1528 and 1535. His elegant style makes him considered an important exponent of Italian Mannerism and the art of the Counter-Reformation between Correggio and Caravaggio and is also considered one of the precursors of the Baroque. 2. Antonio Allegri, known as Corréggio, was one of the most important Renaissance painters of the Parma school. He was the son of a merchant who lived in Correggio, the small town where Antonio was born in 1489 and died in 1534, and from which he took his name. Sources: - "History of the land of Fratta now Umbertide" by Antonio Guerrini (completed by Genesio Perugini) - Typography Tiberina Umbertide - 1883 Bernardino Magi - Muzio Flori Leopoldo Grilli Lodovico Flori LODOVICO FLORI Il gesuita ragioniere di Fratta che proseguì con successo gli studi di contabilità sulla partita doppia intrapresi cento anni prima dal frate toscano Luca Pacioli Lodovico Flori nacque a Fratta il 26 dicembre 1579 da famiglia benestante sebbene di rango modesto. Da giovinetto si dedicò allo studio delle leggi conseguendo il dottorato. All’età di 31 anni, il 25 marzo 1610, entrò nel noviziato della Compagnia di Gesù a Roma dopo i suoi studi di filosofia, teologia e diritto. Concluso il biennio da novizio, nel 1612 si trasferì a Messina dove, nel 1614, fu ordinato sacerdote. Il 1° gennaio 1625 emise i voti solenni e diventò così “coadiutore spirituale” (1) . Non emettendo il quarto voto solenne dei gesuiti, non sarà un “professo” (2) . Fu nominato procuratore della Provincia sicula della Compagnia dal 1617 al 1632, quando lasciò la carica per occuparsi dell’amministrazione della Casa Professa di Palermo dove morì il 24 settembre 1647. Nonostante gli importanti e impegnativi incarichi amministrativi che rivestiva all’interno della Compagnia, Flori continuò a dedicarsi allo studio degli antichi codici e dei 60mila volumi del Collegio Massimo dove abitava. Frutto di tutto ciò furono 18 opere che ci ha lasciato, in parte da lui composte, in parte da lui tradotte, opere che si ritrovano nell’elenco pubblicato dal prof. Vermiglioli nella sua “Biografia degli scrittori perugini”. Tuttavia l’opera più importante del nostro illustre concittadino è senza dubbio il “Trattato del modo di tenere il libro doppio domestico col suo esemplare composto” , trattato per uso delle case e dei collegi della medesima compagnia nel Regno di Sicilia (stampato a Palermo nel 1636 da Decio Cirillo), opera ancora oggi citata, analizzata e studiata. “Fu ai primi del ’600, col sopravvenire della grande crisi, che i dirigenti gesuitici dovettero preoccuparsi seriamente della situazione economica dell’ordine divenuta drammatica e allarmante. Furono perciò promosse inchieste, studi e ricerche nell’intento di stabilire quali mezzi fossero i più idonei per fronteggiare i paurosi disavanzi della gestione patrimoniale” (F. Renda, Bernardo Tanucci e i beni dei gesuiti in Sicilia, 1974, p. 65). Fu in questo clima che i superiori nel 1631, poco prima che lasciasse la carica di procuratore della Provincia, incaricarono Flori di “voler fare una breve instruttione da tenere i libri de i Conti per uso delle nostre Case, e Collegij in questo Regno di Sicilia”. Non sappiamo dove egli abbia appreso la materia contabile, “si può ipotizzare che acquisisca le sue conoscenze all’Università di Perugia, in quello stesso ateneo che più di un secolo prima ha insignito Luca Pacioli del ruolo di docente” (C. Cavazzoni e F. Santini, L’attualità del percorso scientifico di Lodovico Flori […], 2011, p. 605). L’autore avverte che “la buona cura de’ beni temporali è tanto necessaria a chiunque giustamente le possiede, e massime alle Religioni, che dependendo da essa il necessario sostentamento de’ Religiosi, se l’amministratione della robba non va bene, oltre la perdita, e deteroratione di beni, ne seguono infiniti altri inconvenienti». Flori è consapevole che il suo libro descrive una materia non facilmente assimilabile da tutti. “Chi leggerà questo libro, vedrà che in esso si procede a modo di scienza pratica, e che i termini, i principi, le conclusioni e le cose che in esso si deducono sono talmente tra di loro congiunte, che non si possono bene intendere né capire le ultime senza la cognizione delle prime. Chiunque vuole intendere bene questo modo, habbia patienza di leggere da principio tutto il libro”. Il quale si compone di tre parti: la prima ha per titolo “Del modo di formare le partite in Giornale, e riferirle al Libro”; la seconda “Come si debba disporre e ordinare il Libro per ottenerne l’intento che si pretende” e la terza “Dell’uso e Comodità del Libro disposto e ordinato al modo suddetto”. Per la sua opera il Flori rivolge particolare attenzione sia al lavoro del monaco benedettino Angelo Monaco, di cui “si pone ad erede e prosecutore”, che ha adeguato la partita doppia alla realtà operativa dei Collegi del Suo Ordine, sia al “Tractatus de computis et scripturis” della “Summa de Arithmetica, Geometria, Proportioni et Proportionalita” di Luca Pacioli, nel quale il padre francescano “fa uscire il metodo della partita doppia dalla bottega del mercante, lo rielabora in modo astratto e sintetico secondo le sue concezioni di matematico e lo fa assurgere a modello scientifico, rendendolo così “immortale” nel tempo e nello spazio”. Il Pacioli, infatti, considera le aziende centri del progresso economico e sociale che per le loro finalità, devono tenere una ordinata contabilità utilizzando il lavoro di un competente ragioniere e di un computista per tenere correttamente i libri ed i registri contabili per poter misurare la consistenza patrimoniale e le sue variazioni. Utilizzando la codificazione dei suoi principi contabili per risolvere le necessità pratiche richieste dalle aziende e per impostare con corretti ragionamenti la loro conduzione, il Flori ne estende il campo di applicazione alle corporazioni religiose, le cui attività sono ispirate da un comune interesse umano e spinte da uno stesso modo di intendere la realtà operativa. Il 25 giugno 2016 si è svolto a Santa Croce un convegno di studi dedicato a Lodovico Flori, il gesuita ragioniere di Fratta, organizzato dal Centro Studi Mario Pancrazi e da Digital Editor Srl in collaborazione con il Comune e l’Università di Perugia. Nel corso dell’evento è stata presentata la copia anastatica dell’opera del Flori stampata dalla Digital Editor Srl di Umbertide. Note: 1. I “coadiutori spirituali” erano i preti che prendevano i voti semplici, non solenni, e che non pronunciavano il quarto voto al papa. 2. I “professi” erano i preti che avevano pronunciato i tre voti solenni di povertà, castità, e obbedienza e avevano fatto uno speciale voto di ubbidienza al papa. Fonti: - “Storia della terra di Fratta, ora Umbertide” di Antonio Guerrini, completata da Genesio Perugini -Tipografia Tiberina 1883, Umbertide – copia anastatica a cura della Digital Editor Srl 2009 - Umbertide - “Studi su Lodovico Flori” a cura di Gianfranco Cavazzoni – Biblioteca del Centro Studi “Mario Pancrazi” – University Book – Stampa “Digital Editor Srl”, 2016 - Umbertide Massimo Martinelli Massimo Martinelli Fu il maestro della banda musicale di Umbertide, denominata allora “Società Giuseppe Verdi”, dal 1872 al 1898 di Amedeo Massetti Nonostante sia passato ben più di un secolo da quando Massimo Martinelli si dedicò anima e corpo alla banda e all'insegnamento della musica ai ragazzi di Umbertide, non si può non provare ammirazione e vivo affetto nello scoprire e rivivere le sue vicende umane e professionali. Come sempre accade a chi si dedica con entusiasmo ad una missione da cui si sente pervaso, anche al maestro Martinelli toccò subire inevitabili sacrifici e delusioni. La sua dedizione lo portò ad agire talvolta anche con ingenuità e imprudenza, fino a rasentare la sprovvedutezza, esponendolo allo sgomento di coinvolgere anche la famiglia, sprofondata nella povertà dopo un solido benessere. Per la sua candida generosità si è ben meritato il posto d'onore fra i maestri della banda. Ci piace regalargli questo riconoscimento simbolico nella convinzione di restituirgli un granello di quello che egli ci ha dato. Ventiseienne, già preparato musicista, non esitò nel 1872 ad assumere la responsabilità del nuovo Concerto dei giovani, dirigendo poi il gruppo bandistico umbertidese, tra alterne vicende, per 26 anni, fino al 1898. Qualche anziano ricorda che la sua memoria era ancora viva nella banda dei successivi anni Trenta (testimonianza di Eraldo Arcelli), e di aver suonato, negli anni Quaranta, brani musicali da lui composti (testimonianza di Luigi Gambucci). Massimo era nato il 12 marzo del 1846 da Antonio e Margherita Reggiani, in via di Castelnuovo (l'odierna via Cavour) al n. 33 dove aveva anche sede la rinomata attività del padre e dello zio Francesco, "fabricatori d'organi alla Fratta di Perugia". Probabilmente i Martinelli conobbero una notevole sicurezza economica, anche per la proprietà di alcuni terreni appartenenti a Margherita, moglie di Antonio, proveniente da una famiglia di possidenti. L'alta opera artigianale di Antonio e Francesco Martinelli aveva dotato molte chiese delle Marche, dell'Umbria, del Lazio e della Toscana di eccellenti strumenti, una quarantina in tutto, e la loro fabbrica organaria era diventata una delle più importanti e prestigiose dell'Italia centrale. Costruirono, tra gli altri, l'organo a due tastiere per la Cattedrale di San Rufino ad Assisi, quello della Cattedrale di Terni e il grande organo di Santa Maria in Aracoeli a Roma. Massimo frequentò da ragazzino la fabbrica del padre, acquistando abilità con il mestiere e familiarità con le tastiere degli strumenti che lì nascevano; imparò le prime nozioni di musica in famiglia dal genitore e dallo zio Francesco che, oltre ad essere bravi artigiani organari, conoscevano anche la musica e sapevano suonare gli strumenti che costruivano. Il giovane li seguì nei loro frequenti spostamenti e nei lunghi soggiorni di lavoro nelle Marche, potendo così studiare organo e composizione alla cappella musicale di Loreto, diretta da Roberto Amadei. Ebbe forse rapporti di studio anche con Agostino Mercuri, direttore del Civico Istituto Musicale di Perugia, pur se solo di sette anni più grande di lui". E probabile però che le prime nozioni sugli strumenti a fiato, in particolare quelle sul trombone, gli siano venute da Antonio Bernabei, maestro di cappella e direttore del Concerto municipale di Umbertide. È possibile anche che questi gli abbia insegnato i primi elementi di armonia, composizione e contrappunto. Nel 1867, a 21 anni, Massimo fu con Garibaldi a Mentana, dove si ritrovarono 31 giovani di Umbertide. Cinque di questi ragazzi, che divisero con lui l'esaltante esperienza, entreranno nel 1872 a far parte della sua banda appena costituita. Martinelli sposò Maria Censi, dalla quale, il 3 giugno 1874, ebbe una figlia, Chiara Gislena. L' 11 aprile 1876, trentenne, mentre era direttore della "Società Giuseppe Verdi" di Umbertide, inoltrò la domanda per essere ammesso all'Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna ed ottenere un diploma di quel prestigioso istituto. Presentò per questo due composizioni musicali che, nonostante intensamente impegnato alla direzione del Concerto e "al suono del pianoforte e del trombone", era riuscito a scrivere "nelle ore libere da quelle occupazioni". I due brani erano un Notturno concertato dal Flauto, Clarino, Tromba e Trombone con accompagnamento d'orchestra, e una Sinfonia per Flauto, Clarino, Viola e Pianoforte. Nonostante fossero stati da lui definiti "meschini", forse per quel gusto di schermirsi e per quell'eccesso di modestia tipici di certi stili epistolari dell'Ottocento, non erano poi tanto male se la commissione di tre musicisti che li esaminò (tra i quali Antonio Fabbri, direttore dell'Accademia Filarmonica) espresse un giudizio positivo sia sulla "perfetta" conoscenza degli strumenti per i quali erano stati composti, sia sulla struttura armonica delle composizioni. Le opere di Martinelli furono poi presentate all'intero corpo accademico insieme a quelle di altri musicisti che ugualmente avevano fatto richiesta di ammissione, e dopo due votazioni quasi unanimi Massimo, il 28 aprile 1876, venne "aggregato" all'Accademia come “Maestro Compositore Onorario”. Il giovane musicista, per questo esame, aveva esibito a sostegno delle sue capacità di compositore gli attestati di due musicisti famosi (bene cogniti): il professor Agostino Mercuri ed il maestro Roberto Amadei. Mercuri, il 17 dicembre 1872, in una dichiarazione ufficiale redatta su carta intestata del Civico Istituto Musicale di Perugia, scriveva: Il Signor Massimo Martinelli di Umbertide mi ha presentato ad esame alcune sue composizioni, e riduzioni per banda, allo scopo di avere da me un certificato per uso di Concorso. Posso pertanto documentare che dall'esame fatto di quelle partiture, si rileva come il Sig. Martinelli sia fornito di intelligenza, e di cognizioni sufficienti per potere con lode scrivere per Banda, e contemporaneamente dirigerla. Tanto depongo per la verità potendo il Signor Martinelli usare di questa mia dichiarazione in qualunque modo migliore possa giovargli. In fede Prof. Agostino Mercuri E Amadei, il 17 marzo 1873: Richiesto dal giovane Massimo Martinelli di Umbertide, certifico che questi è dotato delle qualità necessarie per dirigere una Banda, comporre e ridurre pezzi di musica per la medesima. Spero che questo mio documento possa essergli utile presso chi da ragione. Roberto Amadei Maestro Compositore e Direttore della Cappella di Loreto Massimo era la giovane guida e l'anima della Società "Verdi", ma all'impegno con cui si dedicava all'insegnamento e alla direzione della banda non corrispondeva un adeguato compenso da parte del Comune. Fu costretto così a lasciare il posto: ai primi di gennaio 1876 dovette lavorare fuori Umbertide, dove rimase probabilmente fino a quando non gli fu affidato il compito di direttore del Concerto municipale, con uno stipendio adeguato al ruolo. Dal 1878 al 1879, oltre che quella di Umbertide, diresse la banda di Montone curandone la scuola di musica, nominato come maestro da quella Società Filarmonica, la cui decisione sarà ratificata dal Consiglio comunale il 28 maggio successivo. Lavorò con professionalità e disinteresse: la Filarmonica montonese gli espresse la propria riconoscenza "e pel molto avanzamento in sì breve tempo della istruzione degli allievi e per la nessuna spesa incontrata dalla Società, essendosi il sig. Martinelli prestato gentilmente". Massimo, nonostante le non floride condizioni economiche, aveva svolto la sua opera gratuitamente. La Filarmonica Artigiana Braccio Fortebracci (o Fortebraccio) lo rielesse anche per l'anno successivo a maggioranza dei voti come maestro di musica, nonostante il montonese Celso Pasqui avesse presentato l'unica domanda per avere questo incarico e risultasse apparentemente il candidato favorito. Durante la direzione di Martinelli, (probabilmente su sua richiesta) il comune di Montone acquistò per la banda alcuni strumenti a percussione, "una Gran cassa con Piatti della più piccola dimensione". Agli inizi del 1883, dopo la crisi della banda di Umbertide, Massimo lavorò come maestro di musica a Foiano della Chiana. Partecipò anche ai concorsi per maestro delle bande di Città di Castello e di Marsciano. Nel 1884 riprese l'insegnamento della musica ad Umbertide per incarico del Comune e nel 1889, ricostituitasi la banda, fu riassunto come direttore. Oltre che alla direzione del gruppo bandistico, lo troviamo spesso anche come organista in importanti manifestazioni religiose in paese e fuori. Martinelli compose opere per banda, per pianoforte ed organo, molte delle quali pubblicate ed eseguite in varie parti d'Italia. E’ nota, tra le altre, “La caccia”, marcia caratteristica (manoscritta, Umbertide 1877). L'Editore De Giorgi, di Milano, pubblicò le sue composizioni “La povera”, polka per banda, e “Sulle rive del Tevere”, valzer per pianoforte a quattro mani che Massimo dedicò alle sorelle "Marietta e Franceschina" Zucchini di Umbertide; un pezzo di virtuosismo che probabilmente le ragazze erano in grado di suonare. Il 3 dicembre 1899 alle 17.30, a soli cinquantatre anni, Massimo Martinelloi si spense nella sua casa al n.33 di via Cavour, plausibilmente stroncato da una grave malattia polmonare. Lasciava la moglie Maria, la figlia Chiara Gislena e la mamma Margherita che cesserà di vivere tre anni dopo. Il giorno successivo si recarono in Comune per la dichiarazione di morte allo Stato Civile il cognato Americo Censi, muratore, e il clarinettista della banda Luigi Bartoccini, sarto. Dal libro di Amedeo Massetti “Due secoli in marcia – Umbertide e la banda” – Maggio 2008 GALLERIA FOTOGRAFICA LEOPOLDO GRILLI La storia di Leopoldo Grilli, figura di spicco dei mazziniani repubblicani umbertidesi, è stata raccontata da Federico Ciarabelli nel suo libro dedicato ai garibaldini locali. Anche se non è citato in alcuna lista come volontario umbertidese, è doveroso riportare alcune note sulla figura di Leopoldo Grilli. Personalità politicamente influente, godeva di grande stima e prestigio. Ebbe un ruolo importante nella costituzione dei primi nuclei delle organizzazioni operaie e democratiche e nel corso della sua vita, oltre a lavorare nella sua caffetteria, svolse un'intensa attività politica, ricoprendo incarichi pubblici tra i quali quello di consigliere comunale e assessore comunale, segretario della Società dei Reduci delle Patrie Battaglie, segretario della Società operaia di mutuo soccorso e consigliere dell'Unione Operaia di Umbertide. Dalle note che seguono, tratte da varie pubblicazioni, emerge chiaramente il suo ruolo sulla scena del movimento repubblicano. Nel Dizionario del Risorgimento Nazionale la voce (1) dedicata a Grilli ci dice che nacque nel 1848 (erroneamente indicando Umbertide come luogo di nascita) e che combatté nelle file garibaldine sui monti del Tirolo nel 1866 e nel 1867 a Mentana. Mazziniano convinto e ardente, soffrì lunghe persecuzioni, l'esilio e il carcere. Fu assessore comunale a Umbertide, membro della Congregazione di Carità e segretario-cassiere della società operaia di mutuo soccorso. Leopoldo Grilli nacque a Sigillo il 24 aprile 1848 da Antonio e Maria Polidori. Il suo trasferimento a Umbertide ebbe luogo nel 1870 dove, il 21 giugno 1874, sposò Francesca Natali (nata il 1° giugno 1853). Alcune informazioni sulle vicende di Grilli sono state pubblicate da Bistoni (2): oltre alle campagne italiane del 1866 e 1867 partecipò anche alla campagna di Garibaldi in Francia nel 1870. Dalla medesima fonte è possibile avere informazioni sul processo e il mandato di arresto che obbligò Grilli all'esilio a Lugano. La mattina dell'8 febbraio 1878 vennero trovati affissi sui muri di Umbertide dei manifesti che, come è scritto nel rapporto dei carabinieri, erano istiganti alla rivolta, alla guerra civile, all'odio contro la monarchia e il governo. Le indagini furono rivolte subito in direzione del Circolo Pensiero e Azione, di cui era presidente Leopoldo Grilli. Vennero spiccati mandati di cattura per varie persone e il 20 febbraio, con un grande dispiegamento di forze dell'ordine, furono avviate le attività per l'arresto simultaneo dei ricercati. Quasi tutti furono catturati facilmente, ma i guai per i carabinieri si verificarono nel tentativo di arrestare Grilli. Un carabiniere e una guardia, poco dopo le sei del mattino, si presentano alla caffetteria appena aperta. La moglie e la suocera di Grilli iniziarono a gridare e a chiedere aiuto. Si unirono allora altri carabinieri, ma un gruppo di operai che si recavano al lavoro, armati dei loro strumenti (pale, badili), risposero alle grida e gli scontri che ne seguirono consentirono a Grilli di sfuggire all'arresto e a dileguarsi. Dalle indagini successive si venne a sapere che Grilli, grazie all'aiuto di Ernesto Nathan (3), riuscì a riparare in Svizzera dove lavorò presso la farmacia Fontana di Lugano. Dell'esilio svizzero abbiamo informazioni attraverso un testo dedicato a Carlo Cafiero curato da Gian Carlo Maffei (4). Il nostro concittadino entrò a far parte del “gruppo di Lugano”, originariamente composto dal Cafiero (5) stesso, Egisto Marzoli. Filippo Boschiero, Florido Matteucci (6) e Gaetano Grassi (del gruppo facevano parte altri componenti di varie nazionalità). Grilli era giunto a Lugano il 20 febbraio 1880 e si era messo, come lui stesso afferma, in relazione amichevole con Cafiero. Nel mese di maggio 1881 le autorità ticinesi registrarono come ancora presenti a Lugano tre o quattro internazionalisti-anarchici e cioè Cafiero, Grilli e Apostolo Paolides. Il gruppo di Lugano aveva suscitato nelle autorità svizzere molte preoccupazioni, anche perché la prefettura di Milano comunicò di temere un'azione di quel gruppo volta a turbare l'ordine pubblico in occasione della esposizione nazionale nella città lombarda. Così nel maggio 1881 Cafiero, Paolides e Grilli vengono interrogati una prima volta. Le indagini e i controlli sul gruppo e sui movimenti di persone a loro legati si svolsero costantemente per tutti i mesi successivi, ma la situazione mutò a settembre 1881. A seguito dei ulteriori controlli le autorità, temendo che il gruppo, rinforzato da nuovi arrivi, fosse in procinto di compiere un attentato, alle 2:30 del mattino del 5 settembre procedettero all'arresto di Cafiero e di tutti coloro che si trovavano con lui. Ad alimentare la tensione si aggiunsero voci circa la preparazione di un attentato contro Umberto I, che allarmarono ancora di più le autorità svizzere. La loro preoccupazione salì quando a Lugano l'8 settembre, giunsero altre persone accolte alla stazione da Grilli e altri. I controlli e le indagini non ebbero conseguenze e tutti furono scagionati. La situazione a Lugano si era fatta però troppo pesante per questi personaggi e quindi Cafiero si spostò a Locarno e gli altri rientrarono in Italia. Per Grilli la situazione giudiziaria italiana si era conclusa il 3 maggio 1880 quando la camera di consiglio presso il tribunale di Perugia decise (in relazione ai fatti umbertidesi del 1878) di non procedere per insufficienza di indizi, revocando tutti gli ordini di cattura. Rientrato a Umbertide Grilli continuò le sue attività politiche, amministrative e sociali fino alla sua morte, avvenuta il 22 settembre 1912, che fu annunciata da alcuni organi di stampa. Da “Il Popolo” organo dei repubblicani umbro-sabini: Leopoldo Grilli Muoio nella fede di Giuseppe Mazzini: così, nelle sue ultime lettere, il vecchio e ardente Mazziniano. Il lutto degli amici di Umbertide è lutto dell'intero partito repubblicano dell'Umbria. Le nostre bandiere sia abbrunano ancora: dopo Domenico Benedetti Roncalli: Luigi Soleri; dopo Luigi Soleri: Leopoldo Grilli. Sono i validi soldati del vecchio partito d'azione che ci abbandonano. Leopoldo Grilli - tenace è immutato assertore della fede mazziniana - fu, nelle cospirazioni repubblicane e sui campi della patria, con Garibaldi, uomo di azione; e anima aperta: fiero, ribelle. Non conobbe i comodi opportunismi. Conobbe sacrifici, disillusioni, dolori. Fu contro il parlamentarismo; e tale rimase, senza piegure [sic] a blandizie di avversari o di amici: anche tutto solo, chiaro nella sua fede e nelle sue speranze. Educazione ed armi! In questo binomio riassunse gl'ideali della sua fede profonda. Alla memoria purissima del vecchio mazziniano, che mai ripiegò un lembo della bandiera adorata, va il nostro pensiero di dolore... ricordando ed augurando. E, soprattutto, promettendo (7). Da “La Democrazia”, quotidiano della provincia dell'Umbria: Nelle ore pomeridiane di ieri, si è spento, dopo breve malattia, in Umbertide nella ancor vegeta età di 64 anni LEOPOLDO GRILLI una delle più belle e caratteristiche figure della democrazia umbra. Repubblicano ardente e convinto, mantenne fede costante al suo ideale fino alla morte. Combatté giovanissimo nelle file garibaldine sui monti del Tirolo e a Mentana; partecipò poi a tutte le cospirazioni repubblicane che furono provocate ed alimentate dall'inconsulto spirito reazionario dei bigotti della monarchia, destri e sinistri, che, dal 1870 al 1898, più volte riuscirono a mettere in pericolo il trono. Fu anch'Esso ferocemente perseguitato, ed affrontò con indomita fermezza l'esilio e il carcere. Convinto che il parlamentarismo fosse un semplice strumento di corruzione, che le alleanze con gli altri partiti costituissero un pericolo di deviazione. Egli si mantenne fedele alla tattica intransigente, rimanendo completamente appartato da tutte le lotte politiche e amministrative combattutesi in questi 25 anni. La sua opera, che avrebbe potuto essere preziosa per il paese, andò quindi perduta in uno sterile isolamento; ma per la fermezza del suo carattere, per la sua proverbiale onestà, per l'integrità indiscussa e indiscutibile di tutta la sua vita laboriosa e semplice, Egli fu stimato e rispettato anche dagli avversari. Fu anzi col voto di questi eletto più volte a membro della Congregazione di Carità, unico uffizio che accettò, non senza riluttanza, e nel quale egli dette prova constante di premuroso zelo e di intelligente operosità. La sua morte apre un grande vuoto nelle file della democrazia umbertidese; poiché sparisce con Leopoldo Grilli un luminoso esempio di virtù e di carattere (8). Note: 1. Giustiniano degli Azzi Vitelleschi. “Grilli Leopoldo”. In Dizionario del Risorgimento Nazionale. Vol. 3, Le persone, E-Q Milano: Vallardi, 1933, pag.260. 2. Bistoni, Origini del movimento operaio nel Perugino, pp. 325-329. 3. Ernesto Nathan (Londra 1845 – Roma 1921), discepolo di Giuseppe Mazzini, fu Gran Maestro della Massoneria Italiana e nei primi anni del ‘900 sindaco di Roma. Altre informazioni su http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/ernesto-nathan (Dizionario-Biografico). 4. Carlo Cafiero. Dossier Cafiero. A cura di Gian Carlo Maffei. Con introd. Di Pier Carlo Masini. Bergamo: Biblioteca M. Nettlau, 1972. 5. Carlo Cafiero (Barletta 1846 – Nocera Inferiore 1892) di ricca famiglia pulgliese era diplomatico di carriera. E’ stato uomo politico socialista. Conobbe Marx ed Engels e si votò alla diffusione del socialismo rinunciando ai suoi beni. Tradusse e pubblicò un Compendio del Capitale di Marx divenendone così il primo divulgatore in Italia. Prese parte ai moti di Benevento del 1877 per cui scontò 18 mesi di carcere. Fu una figura preminente del socialismo anarchico. Per maggiori informazioni http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/ carlo-cafiero_ (Dizionario-Biografico)/ . 6. Florido Matteucci (Città di Castello 1858 – dopo il 1924) Anarchico, partecipò alla rivolta nel Matese. Fu presente a vari congressi degli anarchici e internazionalisti, sostenendo le tesi insurrezionaliste. Varie volte processato e condannato, fu attivo in Italia, Francia, Svizzera e in Egitto. Scrisse per molti giornali e riviste. Nel 1885 partì per l’Argentina dove fondò un giornale. Divenne massone e successivamente si ritirò dalla vita politica senza rinnegare le sue idee. Sono sconosciuti la data e il luogo di morte. 7. “Leopoldo Grilli”. In Il Popolo 597 (29 set. 1912). 8. “Necrologico Leopoldo Grilli”. In: La Democrazioa 218 (23 set. 1912). Dal libro di Federico Ciarabelli “Umbertidesi nel Risorgimento – Note su cento patrioti” Digital Editor Srl – Umbertide, Settembre 2021. Una lapide marmorea, posta sul muro esterno della sua casa in piazza Matteotti, dice: “In questa casa visse cospirò educò Leopoldo Grilli morto nella fede di Mazzini il 22 settembre 1912”. Il 18 dicembre 1960 l’Amministrazione comunale dedicò a Leopoldo Grilli l’attuale via, posta vicino alla sua casa natale. Dal libro di Bruno Porrozzi “L’uomo nella toponomastica” – Ass. Pro-Loco Umbertide, 1992.

Write a title here. Click to edit and add your own. This is a paragraph area where you can add your own text. Just click “Edit Text” or double click here to add your own content and make changes to the font. It's a great place to tell a story about your business and let users know more about you. Track Name Artist Name 00:00 / 01:04 Arrivi e Partenze Il popolamento di Umbertide.... Partenze Settimio Presciutti A cura di Loredana Presciutti "Settimio Presciutti nasce nel 1924 e sposa nel 1951 Annunziata Bomboletti più giovane di tre anni, nata nel 1927... Carlos Tonanni A cura di Francesco Deplanu Jaboticabal, in Brasile, in 50 anni passò da essere un villaggio ad una città: era una “parrocchia” nel 1848, venne smembrata dal distretto di “São Bento de Araraquara” e passò ad avere lo status di “città” nel 1902. ... Gino Monsignori A cura di Miriam Monsignori Mio padre, Gino Monsignori, nell’estate del 1954 è un giovanotto ambizioso di appena 22 anni che desidera... Carlo Becchetti A cura di Francesco Deplanu Carlo Becchetti, nato nel 1936 in una famiglia mezzadrile, con un il fratello Primo di 14 anni più grande, emigrò in Svizzera per poi tornare. Write a title here. Click to edit and add your own. This is a paragraph area where you can add your own text. Just click “Edit Text” or double click here to add your own content and make changes to the font. It's a great place to tell a story about your business and let users know more about you. Il popolamento di Umbertide.... Arrivi Ashley Amerson Product Manager Brad Grecco Marketing Associate Kelly Parker HR Representative Marcus Harris Account Director

TEXTS and LINKS to CONSULT In this section you will find the references to the printed texts published and to the online resources of Umbertide history. Like the whole site, this list is also up for grabs. Please let us know about new or escaped "resources" to be included in "Bibliography" and "Sitography". BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Antonio Guerrini: History of the land of Fratta now Umbertide from its origins to the year 1845 (for Antonio Guerrini completed by Genesio Perugini) - Tip. Tiberina Umbertide, 1883 2. Francesco Mavarelli: Historical information and praise from the Company of Disciplinati of S. Maria Nuova and S. Croce in the Land of Fratta (Umbertide) - Stab. Tipografico Tiberino, 1899 3. Francesco Mavarelli: On the art of blacksmiths in the land of Fratta (Umbertide) - Memories and documents - Stab. Tipografico Tiberino, 1903 4. Umberto Pesci: History of Umbertide - Tip. R. Fruttini, Gualdo Tadino, 1932 5. Giulio Briziarelli: Umbertide and Umbertidesi in history - Unione Arti Grafiche, Città di Castello, 1959 6. Bruno Porrozzi: Our Castles - History and legend - Ed. Italian Red Cross, Subcommittee of Umbertide, 1959 7. Bruno Porrozzi: Umbertide in images from the 16th century to the present day - Ed. Pro Loco, Umbertide, 1977 8. Bruno Porrozzi: Statutes of the Fratta dei Figliuoli di Uberto (Umbertide) of 1521 - Ed. Pro Loco Umbertide, 1980 9. Bruno Porrozzi: Umbertide and its territory: history and images - Ed. Pro Loco, Umbertide, 1983 10. Bruno Porrozzi: Umbria, city region - Ed. Politecnico Perugino, Umbertide, 1986 11. Bruno Porrozzi: Umbertide - Origin and aspects of socio-health services - Ed. Mavarelli Middle School, Umbertide, 1988 12. Controstudio: Recovery and Restoration Project of the Teatro dei Riuniti in Umbertide - Ed. Tema, 1990 13. Bruno Porrozzi: Umbertide - Man in toponymy - Ed. Pro Loco, Urnbertide, 1992 14. Nicola Lucarelli: Domenico Bruni (1758 - 1821) - Biography of an emasculated singer - Ed. Municipality of Umbertide, 1992 15. Bruno Porrozzi: Umbertide - Rights of the former Preggio hospital - Ed. Pro Loco, Umbertide, 1993 16. Raffaele Mancini: ... At midnight we bet on the rising of the sun (San Faustino south) - Ed. Nuova Phromos, Città di Castello, 1993 17. Walter Orebaugh - Carol Jose: The Consul (An American diplomat joins the Italian Resistance) - Ed. Centro Socio Culturale S. Francesco Umbertide, Nuova Prhomos Città di Castello, 1994 18. Renato Codovini - Pietro Vispi: Luca Signorelli's paintings at Fratta Perugina - Polyglot Printing House of the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, 1994 19. Mario Tosti: Beautiful works! (Information, documents, testimonies and images on life and death events that occurred in the Municipality of Umbertide during the Second World War) - Ed. Municipality of Umbertide, 1995 20. Bruno Porrozzi: Umbertide - The Middle School from 1860 to today - E. Pro Loco, Umbertide, 1995 21. Mario Tosti: Five cypresses - June 24, 1944 Retaliation in Serra Partucci - Local publishing group, 2013 22. Maria Cecilia Moretti - Lorena Beneduce Filippini - Fausto Minciarelli: The Tiber and Umbertide (edited by Sestilio Polimanti) - Tipolitografìa Petruzzi, Città di Castello, 1995 23. Renato Codovini - Pietro Víspi: The living room and the work of Pico della Mirandola in Umbertide 24. Gian Luca Radicchia: The Sacred Hermitage of Monte Corona - Ed. Guerra, Perugia, 1997 25. Bruno Porrozzi: Umbertide - The work of Francesco Mavarelli - Ed. Pro Loco, Umbertide, 1998 26. Simona Bellucci: Le Tabacchine (A city, a factory: the Umbertide plant) - Ed. Municipality of Umbertide, 1998 27. Bruno Porrozzi: Umbertide - Me ne sgulìno (Essential vocabulary, idioms, nicknames, sayings, proverbs, aphorisms and ... more in the Umbertidese dialect) - Ed. Pro Loco, Umbertide, 1999 28. Pietro Bottaccíoli, Luigi Marioli - Anna Rita Vagnarelli: Pilgrims on the roads of Romualdo and Francesco - Ed. GESP, Città di Castello, 1999 29. Bruno Porrozzi: Statutes and Orders of the Fraternity of Santa Croce in Fratta (Umbertide) from 1567 to 1741 - Ed. Pro Loco, Umbertide, 2001 30. Roberto Sciurpa: Umbertide from the origins to the sixteenth century - Petruzzi Editore, Città di Castello, 2007 31. Renato Codovini - Roberto Sciurpa: Umbertide in the 17th century - Ed. GESP, Città di Castello, 2004 32. Renato Codovini - Roberto Sciurpa: Umbertide in the XVIII century - Ed. GESP, Città di Castello, 2003 33. Renato Codovini - Roberto Sciurpa: Umbertide in the 19th century - Ed. GESP, Città di Castello, 2001 34. Roberto Sciurpa: Umbertide in the 20th century 1900 - 1946 - Ed. GESP, Città di Castello, 2005 35. Roberto Sciurpa: Avis - Solidarity citizenship 36. Giovanni Bottaccioli: Penetola, not all the dead die - Municipality of Umbertide, 2005 37. Marilena De Vecchi Ranieri: Civitella Ranieri - a thousand years of history, by the "Uguccione Ranieri di Sorbello Foundation" 38. Between memory and history - the allies in Perugia and Umbria - Perugia, 1998 a edited by the "Uguccione Ranieri di Sorbello Foundation" 39. Giuseppe Cozzari: The Burelli family of Umbertide 40. Raffaele Mancini: Letter to a brother - Municipality of Umbertide, 1998 41. Edited by Luana Cenciaioli: Umbrians and Etruscans - border people in Monte Acuto and in the territory of Umbertide - Municipality of Umbertide, 1998 42. Angelo Boldrini: My diary (edited by his daughter Roberta) - Nuova Phromos, 1992 43. Alberto Briganti: Beyond the clouds, the serene - Nuovo Studio Tecna - Rome, 1994 44. Alessandro Cancian: Umbertide 1944 - 1946 - Municipality of Umbertide, 1994 45. Bruno Guerri - Giulio Pieroni: Proposal for the recovery of the historic core - Municipality of Umbertide, 1994 46. Luca Bruni: Letters from the Russian front - Municipality of Umbertide, 1994 47. By Prof. Claudia Picottini and class III A 2004-05 of the middle school “Mavarelli-Pascoli: Grandfather, tell me about the war - Municipality of Umbertide, 2005 48. Simona Bellucci: Tobacco and tobacconists - Tobacco Museum - San Giustino, 2009 49. Giovanni Cornolò - Giuseppe Severi: The Umbrian Central Railway - Arcipelago Edizioni - Milan, 2004 50. Umbria Research Agency: Umbertide. Economy and society: the municipality and the territory - Perugia, 2008 51. Angelo Galmacci: Verna - between history and legend ... - Municipality of Umbertide 52. Edda Corgnolini: I'll tell you, I've told you, I'll tell you again - Municipality of Umbertide, 2004 53. M. Enrica Sacchi De Angelis: The castles of Santa Giuliana .... - University of Perugia, 1984 54. Francesco Alunni Pierucci: Socialism in Umbria (1860-1920) - Perugia, 1960 55. Luca Sportellini: The Sanctuary of Maria Santissima Assunta in Rasina - Fabrizio Fabbri Editore, 2011 56. Renato Codovini: Jewish presence in Fratta Perugina in the 14th and 15th centuries - Local Publishing Group, 2011 57. Renato Codovini: The Conventual Franciscan friars of Fratta Perugina - Umbertide 2011 58. Renato Codovini: Study of a Lombard military surveillance tower and a house annexed to it in the eighth century - Umbertide, 2012 59. Pietro Vispi: The Collegiate Church of Santa Maria della Reggia - Umbertide, 2001 60. Simona Bellucci, The incomplete modernization. Farmers and owners of Umbertide between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Edimont, Vittà di Castello, 2004. 61. Mario Tosti: “Our ordeal” - Ed. Petruzzi - Città di Castello, 2005 62. Giovanna Benni: Castle and rural lordships in the Upper Tiber valley between the Early and Late Middle Ages. The territory of Umbertide (Perugia, Italy) Oxford, John and Erica Hedges 2006 pp. VIII-198 tables papers (British Archaeological Reports (BAR). International Series 1506. Notebooks on Medieval Topography. Documentary and Field Research 4), 2006. 63. Amedeo Massetti: Two centuries on the march - Umbertide and the band - Petruzzi Editore, Città di Castello, 2007 64. Mario and Menco. The doctors of the past ..., - Silvano Conti, Edimont, 2007 65. Paola Avorio: “Three walnuts” - Ed. Petruzzi - Città di Castello - 2011 66. Scortecci Donatella (edited by): The middle and upper valley of the Tiber from Antiquity to the Middle Ages: proceedings of the study day ; Umbertide, May 26, 2012 - Daidalos, 2014. Of this latest publication we insert specifically the internal sections that see several young Umbertidesi as authors: The historical-archaeological landscape of the Upper Tiber Valley between Antiquity and the Middle Ages Scortecci, Donatella. • p. 3-18 For an Archaeological Map of Umbria in the framework of the Regional Landscape Plan Ciarapica, Ambra • Manconi, Dorica. • p. 19-28 The centuriate landscape of Tifernum Tiberinum and Perusia: first considerations Waiters, Paolo • Mattioli, Tommaso. • p. 29-62 Settlement news from the Sansepolcro area. Population dynamics from the Paleolithic to the Early Middle Ages Laurenzi, Gian Piero. • p. 63-100 The ancient road system in the Upper Tiber valley Boldrini, Luca. • p. 101-143 Umbertide, the Tiber and the territory Cenciaioli, Luana. • p. 145-162 Old and new acquisitions in Umbertide: the testimonies from the territory and the excavation of Piazza del Mercato Occhilupo, Sergio. • p. 163-184 A small Villanovan burial ground in San Martino in Campo di Perugia near the Tiber Occhilupo, Sergio. • p. 185-196 The temple in loc. Caipicchi (Nogna) Fiorini, Lucio • Di Miceli, Andrea. • p. 197-216 The reuse of play buildings in post-Roman Umbria Marcattili, Francesco. • p. 217-236 The Upper Tiber Valley between the Early and Late Middle Ages: urban settlement and rural landscape. Benni, Giovanna. • p. 237-288 The castle of Certalto between written sources and material data Pascolini, Alessio. • p. 289-322 67. Sestilio Polimanti: "Vocabulary of the dialect of Umbertide and its territory. Collection of lexicons, proverbs, idioms, nicknames, stornelli and toponyms", Nuova Prhomos, 2018. 68. Simona Bellucci: Umbertide in the 20th century 1943-2000, Nuova Prhomos, 2018. 69. Angelo Angeletti: “If only the stones are left to speak”, Digital book Srl, Città di Castello, 2019. 70. Pietro Vispi (and photo by Paolo Ippoliti): "Talking stones." If they keep silent, the stones will cry. "., Local publishing group, Umbertide, 2021. NB: For the dissemination of the history of Umbertide, with an in-depth study of the popular traditions of our area, we recall the project with the 25 issues of the " Calendar of Umbertide ". Calendars published from 1992 to 2016 by Adriano Bottaccioli, Fabio Mariotti, Amedeo Massetti, Walter Rondoni, Mario Tosti. SITOGRAPHY Historic portal of the Municipality of Umbertide: http://www.umbertideturismo.it/Storia-History-Imphotos-e-video-Images-and-videos-Manifestazioni-Events-Musei-Museums-Monumenti-Monuments-Tevere-Tiber Umbertide GAAT website: http://www.netemedia.net/gaat/umbertide.htm Santa Croce Museum: https://www.sistemamuseo.it/ita/2/musei/54/umbertide-umbria-museo-comunale-di-santa-croce/ Historical Association of the Upper Tiber Valley: https://sites.google.com/site/altoteverestorica/Attivit SIUSA (Unified Information System for Archival Superintendencies) on Umbertide: http://siusa.archivi.beniculturali.it/cgi-bin/pagina.pl?TipoPag=prodente&Chiave=50311&RicProgetto=reg-umb&fbclid=IwAR2ydRABe1Uw3MxVbj3WkZrexe4eu0lBSPZe_991_1LwwGoww Ranieri di Sorbello Foundation: http://www.fondazioneranieri.org/it/la-fondazione/ Statutes of the Fratta : http://www.cemir.it/easyne2/Download.aspx?Code=CEMIR&filename=Archivi/CEMIR/PDF/0000/624.PDF NB: information on the Bibliography up to 2001 comes from from the site: http://www.umbertideturismo.it/content/download/238724/2541781/file/Libri%20sulla%20storia%20di%20Fratta%20-%20Umbertide.pdf Help us remember umbertidestoria@gmail.com EH Carr "Change is certain. Progress is not "

The crosses in the fields curated by Francesco Deplanu We are made of history ... of millenary traditions handed down from gesture to gesture ... One shot shows us a field at the end of the harvest in the southern area of Umbertide, in front of the so-called “Skyscraper”. If we look at this photo from an economic history perspective, we can see a productive world modified by mechanization. Change that we can immediately identify in the "round bales". Mechanization began well before, in the early 1900s and led to a sharp decrease in workers in the fields. This contributed to a radical change in the type of settlement: from scattered to centralized. Here it meant the beginning of a clear growth of the city settlement and also the extension of the inhabited area in a southerly direction, especially starting in the 60s ... up to "eating" the "fields" and the houses rural. If we place ourselves in the respective "immaterial culture", however, we also see a folkloristic-religious sign, of a simple religiosity that has been handed down for centuries: the " feast of the holy cross " or " Inventio Crucis ". A cross intertwined with blessed olive branches to protect the harvest, to "guarantee" one's life, manage the fear of the future to protect one's labors. In short, a propitiatory rite. The origin dates back to the recovery by the Emperor Heraclius of the "True Cross" from the hands of the Persians in 628 AD, but it is claimed that, with the celebration of this "recovery", a festivity of the spring period already present since the fourth century after Christ has definitively crystallized, in short, more than two centuries earlier. It was celebrated in May or September? In central-northern Italy, the "feast of the holy cross" is usually "celebrated" on May 3, although the religious feast is located in September. In fact, in the Gallican custom, starting from the 7th century AD. C., the feast of the Cross was held on May 3 but the feast in this month, already formally secondary to the Catholic rite, the Roman liturgical calendar was removed in 1960/1962, following the reforms of the "Missale Romanum" which took place with John XXIII. But it wasn't there the recovery of nature in September ... and in the countryside they continued to celebrate in May. These spring rituals, functional to propitiate the trend of agricultural life, took place during the period of the " Rogations ", or two holidays: the greater on April 25 and the lesser of three days in May, where with prayers and processions the deity was asked for clemency for the harvest. This is attested in different parts of Umbria, for example in Trevi, as well as in numerous areas of Italy. Today the processions of the " rogations " have completely disappeared ... however "the crosses in the fields" remain, even in our countryside. The current state of archival research it does not allow us to attest in what period the rituality of the "feast of the holy cross" was defined in a stable form in the area around Umbertide; there remains even the doubt that for the less recent past there may be a "secular" documentation that reports this aspect, because it belongs to the culture of the humble of those who could not write or had a "voice". Rather, the diocesan archive for past centuries should be investigated, as well as the secondary elements present in photographic sources from the early 1900s. and finally the oral sources. Fortunately, the memory remains by prof. Angeletti in his 2019 text " If only the stones speak " that fixed some moments of the "rogazioni" in Montemigiano, above Niccone, during the period of the world conflict. We are also certain that in the "Fratta" the rituality of the "rogations" existed for some time since in the period of French domination, and then specifically Napoleonic, the "Seminary", dependent on the Diocese of Gubbio, closed to celebrate the days dedicated to this holiday. Cesarina Giovannoni, in her unpublished graduation work “ Events of an Umbrian country in the French age. Fratta (now Umbertide) from 1796 to 1814 ", in fact, it lists these holiday periods. In a note, a "Table of holidays in the schools dependent on the Episcopal Seminary of Gubbio" appears, where it is indicated that the school was closed for the month of May for “ The three days of the Rogations, on the 15th eve of St. Ubaldo but only after lunch and for the feast of the saint, on the 26th for the feast of San Filippo Neri ”. In April the 25th of the month was already indicated as a holiday for the " Feast of San Marco Evangelista ". There persistence of the tradition of the "cross in the fields" is also visible in this other photo, near Niccone along the road that leads to Mercatale di Cortona, between the Niccone stream and the state road. Here we see how in a similar way the historical changes, that is, the cultivation of tobacco and modern irrigation technology, have not made this millennial custom disappear. The "holy cross" stands out on the hills with the Montalto castle in evidence. And then several crosses are visible in various plots that rise towards the Castle of Civitella Ranieri ... to propitiate the harvest of different types of crops. In the northern area of Umbertide known as the "Petrelle" it can be seen in the grasses ... and also in the first meters after the limit with the Municipality of Montone, at the crossroads of S. Lorenzo, you can see a cross between the fruit trees. But the custom is present throughout the territory as they are also found near the town of Spedalicchio di Umbertide, in the plain and at the beginning of the road that climbs towards S. Anna. Finally they can be seen again in the plain south of Umbertide, near the stadium and with Monte Corona in the background. But always observing in the perspective of "immaterial culture" we see how rites and traditions adapt, overwriting previous customs, even with deeply different cultural and religious systems. In fact, propitiating the divinity to protect the fruit of one's work is an action ancestral. In short, we are a complex stratification of "stories" ... Stories that have the common dominator in the connection between the material life and the spirituality of the men who have inhabited this territory, linked by the need to survive. In fact, ingratiating yourself with the divinity to protect the fruit of your work is not an urgent need that dates back only to the origins of Western Christianity: the " rogations " in fact incorporated the " Ambarvali " of the Roman period (a term that we can translate as "around the field ": etymology: from Latin ambarvalĭa, neutral term pl., comp. of the pref. ămb- 'around' and a derivative of ărvum 'field'). It was Pope Liberius in the fourth century after Christ who pushed to replace and incorporate in the Christian religious and ritual sentiment the festivities of the "Ambarvali" which continued to take place in the countryside on April 25 and early May. For the date of April 25 another Roman holiday is connectable and "superimposable" and was always linked to another "propitiation", that is a functional ritual to remove the scourge of rust: the Robigalia . This time, these rituals took place in a wood dedicated to the secondary divinity goddess with a double aspect of the “rust of wheat” (Robigus). Like most of the geniuses of vegetation and rustic life he was fatal and at the same time propitious, male or female. In this case, the sacrifice of animals was present in ancient Rome. In short, various propitiatory rites in the same period of the year and with the same dates, in the period of the "masses", date back to the Roman cultural system and refer to the same function. Detail of the inscription (also reachable by clicking on the image) from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Inscrição_dos_sacerdotes_arvais.jpg What we can see is that even in the pre-existing "pagan" rites of the Roman world the request addressed to the deities was the dominant feature. We insert here a translation of the inscription relating to the "Ambarvali" in ancient Latin where you can see the request to the "cruel Mars" to "pass over", or to save the harvest. The Latin text of the above inscription can be found in several online sources, the Italian translation is taken, however, from the wikipedia page cited at the bottom, together with the image of the inscription of "carmen arvale" present only in the Portuguese wikipedia. « [...] enos Lases iuvate snow lue rue Marmar [si] ns incurrere in pleores Satur fu fere Mars limen sali sta berber. [sem] unis alternnei advocapit conctos enos Marmor iuvato. Triumpe triumpe triumpe "Oh Lari help us, do not allow Mars, that the ruin falls on many, Be sated, cruel Mars. Go beyond the threshold. Stand still there. Call upon all the gods of the harvest. Help us oh Mars. Triumph, triumph, triumph, triumph and triumph ! Similar invocations were also present in the "Rogations" which were still established liturgically until a few decades ago. In the "Blessing" of the Roman ritual of the CEI we can still read them among the "Other blessings for special occasions" (Appendix 1), specifically in the "supplications", to which they had to be answered every time "hear us Lord", the phrases: " Give us a forgiving season", "Give us the fruits of the earth", “Give everyone wisdom prosperity and health ". As far as we know during the Rogations in Monteleone di Orvieto the "invocations" for the blessing of the waters were declaimed ": " From lightning and storms, deliver us, O Lord; from the scourge of the earthquake, deliver us O Lord; from plague, hunger and war, deliver us O Lord; for the mystery of your holy Incarnation, deliver us O Lord. " This latest news comes by Fernando Corgna who wrote " Monteleone d'Orvieto: History of the town, of the churches and of social and religious life ". In Umbertide Prof. Angelo Angeletti tells some aspects related to the "invocations" that were recited during the processions between Montemigiano and Niccone when he was a child, in the period between the Second World War: << in spring the Rogations were made which had St. Vincent as patron saint, celebrated, honored and invoked to implore good harvests and to avert the many calamities that could put bread at risk; for this reason, in April, in the most delicate period for the countryside, the Rogations were recited ... >>. During the ceremonies, the men of the countryside listened to the Latin of the litanies and responded more heartily to what they heard precisely, that is the fear for the harvest, or that they really managed to understand in the language of the liturgy: << There were other things that left me perplexed: they were the litanies sung during the procession to which people responded in unison "Free nos Domine! " But when the priest sang "A plague, a fame et bello" the "Libera nos" dropped in pitch almost to become little more than a murmur because, after the invocation to keep away the plague and hunger on which everyone was dying. chord, that "beautiful" sounded somewhat out of tune; much clearer and more shared was the "Libera nos", when the priest sang "a fl agello terraemotus, a sudden death" and everyone, absolutely everyone, would have liked to respond a hundred times to the invocation "a folgore et storm": that was the prayer really important sung by men and women as they watched their fields and vineyards. >>. That deliver us from "beautiful", or rather from "war", was not understood, while it was well understood the reference to natural disasters. We are stratifications of stories ... always in our territory, in fact, we can see that the same need for propitiation of products by one's own work is easily traceable also in the previous agro-pastoral economy society of the period between the fifth and fourth centuries BC. Here the bronzes of the Umbrian-Etruscan world, found in Monte Acuto, in the shape of bovine, sheep and other animals served as " thanks and request for protection for the donor's breeding " Luana Cencaioli quotes, reporting the opinion of D. Monarchi in his work on the “ Votive bloodline of Grotta Bella ”. We conclude by showing below the entrance to the sanctuary of Monte Acuto seen from the south and from below. In the votive cabinet, the traces of which have been identified inside the "enclosure", immediately after the entrance highlighted in the photo, the votive statuettes now preserved in the Museum of Santa Croce in Umbertide were recovered. The need for "propitiation", or to invoke protection for the livestock that is found in the "bronzetti of Monte Acuto", belongs to that same need to protect ourselves from the uncertain and frightening future that has taken on different forms over time based on one's own religious reference system… and which we find in our “crosses of the fields”. PHOTOS: Francesco Deplanu, images taken between May and June 2020. SOURCES: - Roman Church Liturgy: http://www.liturgia.maranatha.it/Benedizione/a1/A2page.htm -Carmen Arvale: https://latin.packhum.org/loc/149/1/0#0 http://www.mikoflohr.org/data/texts/CIL_6_2104/ https://it.qwe.wiki/wiki/Carmen_Arvale https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Inscrição_dos_sacerdotes_arvais.jpg -Rogations and Ambarvali: Angelo Angeletti: “If only the stones are left to speak”, Digital book Srl, Città di Castello, 2019 (pp. 54-55). https://www.garzantilinguistica.it/ricerca/?q=ambarvali http://www.treccani.it/encyclopedia/rogazioni_%28Encyclopedia-Italiana%29/ https://www.storiaromanaebizantina.it/ambarvali/ http://www.webdiocesi.chiesacattolica.it/cci_new/documenti_diocesi/207/2016-05/12-451/CAL_LIT_estrà_SULLE_ROGAZIONI_pag170_171.pdf https://storiediterritori.com/2020/05/18/un-tempo-questa-era-la-settimana-delle-rogazioni/ https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tradizioni_di_Monteleone_d%27Orvieto Robigalia http://www.treccani.it/encyclopedia/robigalie_%28Encyclopedia-Italiana%29/ -Unpublished thesis by Cesarina Giovannoni: “ Events of an Umbrian town in the French age. Fratta (now Umbertide) from 1796 to 1814 ; "1968. (p. 38). - “ Umbrians and Etruscans. Border peoples in Monte Acuto and in the territory of Umbertide ”, edited by Luana Cenciaioli, Ministry for Cultural and Environmental Heritage Archaeological Superintendence for Umbria - Municipality of Umbertide, 1996; (p. 41-44). Help us remember umbertidestoria@gmail.com

RUGGERO CANE RANIERI by Alvaro Gragnoli Story of a captain of fortune, Ruggero Cane Ranieri, and of a large family of Fratta Perugina. The Counts of Civitella Ranieri and Montegualandro, patricians of Perugia, nobles of Velletri and Marquesses of Sorbello. Background Little is known about the origins of Fratta, today Umbertide (1), as well as other small towns in the Upper Tiber Valley. It can be assumed that until the fall of the Roman Empire it was nothing more than a small village located near the Tiber, from which it obtained fish and water for the cultivation of the surrounding fertile lands. Precisely because the Roman Empire guaranteed security, it certainly did not need any particular defenses, so it can also be assumed that its location was not the current one. The discovery of some Roman tombs near the current S. Maria di Sette could suggest that the small village could be found in those parts, but the researches of historians (2) have not led to certain conclusions. With the fall of the Western Roman Empire following the barbarian invasions, it is presumable that the survivors take refuge in a place that adds a natural defense to what the inhabitants could have opposed. The islet placed at the confluence of the Reggia torrent on the Tiber is proposed as the ideal place. In the struggle that pits the Lombards, intent on conquering Italy, against the Byzantines determined to defend the territory that connects Rome to Ravenna, the area finds itself as a natural outpost on the line of an unstable border. Traces of fortifications, which emerged during the restoration of the fortress, were found in the basement of the current Teatro dei Riuniti, and can be attributed to the Lombards. But the lack of any document does not allow, to date, nothing but suppositions albeit supported by archaeological elements of difficult dating. The coat of arms of the Ranieri family On the right, the portal on the walls with the ancient coat of arms The arrival in Italy of the Ranieri family Certainly around the year one thousand the territory that goes from the borders with Gubbio to Lake Trasimeno was granted as a fief to the Ranieri family who arrived in Italy following the emperor Ottone. And it is one of these, Umberto, (or Uberto) who in the late 10th century. the construction of the castle of Civitella begins, which will take the name of the family, and the re-foundation of the Fratta is attributed to him (3). The first document of which we have memory bears the date of 12 February 1189 and is an act with which the Marquis Ugolino di Uguccione Ranieri subdues the castle of Fratta and all its lands in Perugia (4). At that time the Ranieri lineage is very powerful and has already divided, due to the succession, into the three branches of Gubbio, Orvieto and Perugia. In 1206, in Perugia, Monaldo and Glotto dei Ranieri donated the land of Monteluce for the construction of a female monastery that would be part of the Franciscan movement and of S. Chiara. The influence of the family is now very strong and has taken a notable position in the struggles for the power of that city. He is at the side of the Baglioni against the Raspanti and their allies Michelotti and pays a painful toll of blood when the Raspanti, previously ousted, regain power at the end of the century. XIV, killing about 300 people and, among others, many members of the Ranieri family. The destruction of the castle of Civitella The castle of Civitella alla Fratta, stronghold of the Ranieri, was completely destroyed. Ruggero Cane, son of Constantine, has not yet returned to Perugia from exile where he is and, "The misfortune of his own did not occur, because God reserved it for great & heroic enterprises, after having enriched it with all those qualities, which can adorn the soul and the person in excellence, of a Knight" (5) By Ruggero Cane Ranieri, a great military leader and certainly the man who gave more prestige to the family, we do not know the place or date of birth, because his parents had not returned to Perugia from the exile they had been forced to by their rivals since 1361, but we can assume it can be placed around 1380. In 1398 the collaboration in arms begins with the Fortebraccio da Montone arm He embarked on a career in arms and in 1398 he was alongside Braccio Fortebraccio da Montone (6) in the service of Macerata. He has already gained considerable experience in commanding mercenary troops if in 1402 we find him in the service of Nicolò d'Este with 300 horses. Take part in the battle of Casalecchio di Reno won by the Visconti against Bologna. It then passes to the service of the Malatesta of Rimini and then of Florence. In 1407, after having fought for the king of Naples Ladislao d'Angiò with 1500 knights, he was called by Braccio Fortebraccio to the siege of Ascoli Piceno, and made a "miserable havoc on the life and possessions of the Ascolani, leaving them a bloody memory of brutal cupidity "(7). In 1412, called by Carlo Malatesta, he was in the service of Venice, in command of fifty cavalry squads (8) in the war that opposed the Republic to Prince Sigismund of Hungary, for control of the Alpine passes and Dalmatia. The troops of the Hungarians are under the command of a great captain who has escaped from Florence, Filippo Scolari (Pipo Spano Fiorentino) (9) and are achieving notable successes. Arm Fortebraccio da Montone In the battle of Motta di Livenza, August 1412, Carlo Malatesta is wounded and his troops, believing him dead, disband and flee towards the Tagliamento, leaving the way open for the conquest of Venice. Roger engages in a furious battle on the bridge over the Livenza river (10). As a modern Orazio Coclite has it destroyed behind him to prevent any escape route for his soldiers, and thus allows Carlo Malatesta to rearrange his troops and counterattack the Hungarians who, now certain of victory, have abandoned themselves to looting, making them massacre. More than 1500 Hungarians and Bohemians are killed along with their commander general and five out of six Hungarian flags are captured. ... ..the whole Italian camp runs in dismay: the Hungarian follows them as a sure winner and the tall lion flies with the wind: In this peril a pure man of arms Rogier Can perugin not already a coward he made a wall of his body in Venice. To the river he ran and raised his banner, spoiling the bridge, so that everyone stopped; and among them he seemed a leopard ... (11). He did not have the same luck in the siege of Feltre in November of the same year. He commands 1000 horses and 500 infantrymen but is beaten by the arrival of Marsilio da Ferrara in command of 800 horses, and by the Feltresi who have come out to counterattack. In 1417 he is again in the service of Braccio da Montone who, having become lord of Perugia with the battle of S. Egidio (12), is besieging Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome and whose troops are decimated by the plague, but is forced to leave the city with the arrival of the Angevin troops called by Pope Martin V. Always in the service of Braccio in 1419 he attacks Gubbio to take it away from the Montefeltro. He manages to enter the city through a door opened to him by Cecciolo Gabrielli who, however, is immediately locked up after his entry along with 50 horsemen. The result is a violent fight in the streets but still manages to save himself. A few days later he occupied Assisi and then placed himself at the siege of Spoleto. The following year Pope Martin V appoints him governor of Montalboddo, today Ostra, in the Marche region. In 1421 he marries with great pomp with Giuditta Colonna with whom he will have two daughters, one of whom, Marzia, will marry Malatesta Baglioni. Secondly married Altavilla di Ottaviano degli Ubaldini (13) who will give him two daughters and a son. In June 1424, with the death of Braccio in the battle of L'Aquila (14), he was advisor to his son, Oddo, but then accompanied him to Montone because Perugia wanted to return to papal power. In the same year, the inhabitants of Ostra kicked out their representatives from the city and put their trust in the Montefeltro family. In August the city of Perugia appoints him as its ambassador to the Pope to agree on the return of the city under his banner and protection. Once Perugia returned under the dominion of the Pope, we find him among the five members of the Arbitrio, demonstrating the prestige achieved. Vincenzo Armanni, in one of his letters addressed from Gubbio on December 28, 1668 to Michele Giustiniani, as well as extolling the noble origins and military skills, writes of Ruggero: " He still honored, faithful, and frequent services to Bernabò Visconti Duca of Milan in very important affairs, in which he was often employed, & in those maximally, which he had to negotiate twice with the Pope in Rome, who was sent Ambassador there ". Venice endows him with a notable pension in recognition of the great services rendered to that Republic. With weapons and diplomacy, Ruggero Cane regains possession of the territory of Civitella and in 1433 begins the reconstruction of the castle but will not see the end because death takes him in Perugia in April 1441, two months after the sumptuous marriage. of Constantine, the only legitimate male child, with Pantasilea daughter of Ranuccio Farnese. His funeral was equally sumptuous as a chronicler recounts it: “ On April 18, if el corrupt (the funeral weeping ed.) Of the death of Rugiere de Costantino dei Ranieri was commenced; I went around the city 25 servants on horseback all dressed in flags, first the standard white with the red cross, and the one who wore it was all armed as when he was captain of the Venetians, and you can with their arms. and on the 21st of the dictum made and corrupted great, and out dressed among men and women 70 persons; and buried in Santo Lorenzo, and placed the flags in the choir. and on the 22nd of the dict I made him a sequio with all the religious orders, which was a very beautiful thing ”(15) demonstrating the great esteem he enjoyed, his portrait was placed in the Baglioni room in Perugia (16). On his tombstone was affixed the inscription: O RUGGERO CANE RANIERI AMONG THE CAPTAINS OF VENTURE MISTY MEMORY YOU WOULD BE IF HE CAUGHT THE MUDLANGES OF THE HUNGARIANS THEY DID NOT HAVE CRYED YOU TERRIBLE AND GREETED VENICE HIS LIBERATOR (17) Plaque dedicated to Ruggero C. Ranieri in the castle of Civitella Around 1480 in Perugia the struggles between the nobles for power are rekindled. This time the Ranieri, increasingly powerful (18), are allies of the Oddi and adversaries of the Baglioni. The latter prevail, kill some components of their rivals and damage the fortifications of the castle of Civitella not yet completed by their son Constantine. In 1495 the Ranieri, with the help of the Duke of Urbino, regain possession of the castle and Raniero, grandson of Ruggero Cane, manages to complete the reconstruction. A date affixed to an old door, 1519, suggests that it is the date of completion. The lordship of the Ranieri over the castle of Civitella is confirmed by various popes in different eras; from Martin V in 1426 to Clement X in 1671 (19). The history of the Ranieri family e its importance in Italy and in Europe The story of the Ranieri family, told through the documents preserved up to 1951 in Umbertide in the family property and then transferred to the State Archives of Perugia (20), reveals to us how important it was in Italy and in Europe. Here we want to mention some such as Tancredi, who died in 1645, who was an officer in Flanders for the Archduke of Austria Matthias of Habsburg in 1610 and governor of Romagna; Constantine IV known as the Ferrarese was lieutenant general of cavalry and governor of the papal arms in Ferrara, where he later died; Constantine V (+1742) known as the Traveler who fought in Gaeta and took part in the defense of Turin with the Austrian general W. Philipp Lorenz von Daunn, was Innocent XIII's waiter of honor and chamber gentleman of the Grand Duke of Tuscany. Giovanni Antonio, in 1859 took Altavilla Bourbon of the Marquis of Sorbello (21) as his wife and in 1906 Ruggero inherited from his maternal grandfather, for himself and his descendants, the surname and arms of the Bourbon del Monte di Sorbello, which he passed on to his sons. In 1995 the “Uguccione Ranieri di Sorbello Foundation” was founded in New York in memory of Uguccione Ranieri di Sorbello (1906-1969), journalist, writer and diplomat. A trust to enhance the cultural heritage of the Ranieri di Sorbello family through historical-cultural initiatives and events. Since 2012, all the activities of this foundation have passed to the "Ranieri di Sorbello Foundation" based in Perugia. Currently, in the castle of Civitella Ranieri in Umbertide, during the summer, artists from all over the world and of the most varied disciplines are hosted, giving them the opportunity to express their potential. This is possible thanks to the “Civitella Ranieri Foundation” founded by Ursula Coming and directed since 2007 by Dana Prescott. Since its inception it has hosted over 800 fellows and guests from all over the world. View from the top of the castle of Civitella Ranieri today NOTE: 1. The name was changed in 1863 following a resolution of the municipal council on the directive of the Ministry of the Interior to avoid misunderstandings between too many municipalities with the same name. The council initially decided on the name "Umberta" but sparked half a revolt among the population. A new council was convened and this time the name "Umbertide" was well accepted by all. 2. See “History of the land of Fratta now Umbertide” by Antonio Guerrini- Tipografia Tiberina- Umbertide 1883; and “History of Umbertide” by Priest Umberto Pesci - R. Fruttini Typography - Gualdo Tadino 1932. 3. Vincenzo Armanni, in his "Of the letters of Mr. Vincenzo Armanni written in his own name", published in Macerata in 1674 for the types of Giuseppe Piccini, on page 297 et seq., Speaks extensively of the Ranieri family present in our area since 970. He speaks of it as a very powerful family, like the Baglioni of Perugia and owner of many castles in various parts of Umbria. In their honor Fratta will carry, and still carries, the initials FOU, (Fratta Oppidum Uberti) in the city coat of arms. 4. U. Pisces op. cit. page 10 5. see Armanni's letter cited above note 3 6. He will always remain his faithful ally "nor can one say how fruitfully with valor, and with the council he assisted in the most arduous undertakings to the arms of Braccio Fortebraccio, that great leader of armies and famous conqueror of the city" (V.Armanni letter a M. Giustiniani quoted) Ariodante Fabretti; Biographies of Capitani Venturieri dell'Umbria; vol. 1 °; 1842-Angiolo Fumi- Montepulciano- 7. Ariodante Fabretti; Biographies of Capitani Venturieri dell'Umbria; vol. 1 °; 1842-Angiolo Fumi- Montepulciano- 8. Cesare Crispolti; “Perugia Augusta” - Perugia MDCXLIII- Heirs Tomasi & Zecchini- page 314 9. In his "Perugia Augusta", Cesare Crispolti claims that he had been bribed by Venice and that, on returning to Hungary, King Sigismund had him killed by pouring molten gold into his mouth, almost a Dante's retaliation, to punish him for his greed for gold. The accusation and the heartbreaking death are disproved by history. The Scolari, great and ferocious leader in the service of Sigismund of Hungary, led the war against the Turks of the Ottoman Empire again in 1417 and in 1422 the year in which he died. In recognition of the great services performed, he was buried in a chapel next to the one that hosted the royals of Hungary. 10. Armanni p. 316. For Fabretti it is the Tagliamento 11. Ariodante Fabretti op.cit. Page 167 12. It took place on 12 July 1416, a sunny and very hot day, in S. Egidio near Perugia and it was not just a clash between two armies but two schools of thought on how to conduct a battle. Braccio's opponent, Carlo I Malatesta, was a follower of the Sforza school which provided for massive and continuous attacks with heavy cavalry. Braccio's tactic, called “braccesca” from his name, involved continuous and fast attacks on the opponent's weak points with small groups that then returned and replaced by others. Thus he always kept his opponent busy while his troops had the opportunity to cool off and rest. After seven hours of continuous skirmishes, the army of the Malatesta, now tired and thirsty, was overwhelmed. Braccio thus crowned his dream of becoming the lord of Perugia. 13. The Armanni op.cit., Pages 301-302, underlines this marriage to demonstrate the importance of the Ranieri family which was related to a lineage whose nobility was equal to that of Charlemagne, like the king himself he recognized. 14. In that battle Braccio was seriously wounded and died a few days later refusing any treatment and closing himself in stubborn silence. Manzoni, in the tragedy "Il Conte di Carmagnola", referring to Braccio, will make Nicolò Piccinino say: "... that for all he is still called with wonder and terror ..." 15. A.Fabretti- op.cit. p. 298 16. A. Fabretti- op.cit. page 168 17. A. Fabretti- op.cit. page 297 18. G. Vincioli. Historical-critical memories of Perugia in portraits of 24 illustrious men in arms and of 24 cardinals of the same city. Foligno 1730 p. 105 19. Vincioli page 107 20. The documents of the Sorbello marquises are found in the “Ranieri Sorbello Foundation” in Perugia 21. The castle is located in the Niccone valley and was part of the possessions of the Bourbons of Monte Santa Maria Tiberina Published on nr. 57/58 of "PAGES ALTOTIBERINE" published by the "Historical Association of the Upper Tiber Valley" year 2016 Help us remember umbertidestoria@gmail.com