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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 "

INTERESTING INSIGHTS HISTORY OF MARIO TOSTI L'Enigma della Collegiata La grande diga sul Tevere La Meridiana della Piazza Grande della Fratta The great dam on the Tiber In 1983 a large number of poles came to light in the Tiber and were photographed by Renato Codovini. From the investigations of Mario, Marco and Matteo Tosti, it has been hypothesized that they formed the basis of the dam, born in the 12th century, up to 6 meters high, which enclosed the Fratta fortress in a basin. From a document of 1527, in fact, we have news of an artificial basin upstream of the bridge over the Tiber whose waters could form a "very clear lake", as it was described in 1565 by Piccolpasso. We leave the floor to the study of the engineers Mario, Marco and Matteo Tosti who have kindly allowed to report on this page. Study published in “L'Ingegnere Umbro” n. 43, December 2002 and reported to us by Alvaro Gragnoli. Photos added by Fabio Mariotti. (edited by Di Mario, Marco and Matteo Tosti) The discovery of a foundation piling. Dredging works on the Tiber bed in 1983 brought to light a large number of piles about 80 meters downstream of the bridge. It was Renato Codovini, unrivaled researcher of local history who noticed them, photographed them and understood their importance as the remains of the foundation of an ancient lock. A few years later, in their valuable thesis ("Discovery of the dam on the Tiber river, Umbertide in the province of Perugia", University of Florence, academic year 1987/1988), Alberto Crocioni and Roberto Codovini extensively documented the structure and the construction technique of the work, characterized by an original checkerboard foundation in oak planks and river stones. Thesis We wanted to deepen the subject, trying to bring engineering to the aid of history, intrigued by the imposing foundation piling in the direction of the river current, for an estimated length of at least 15 m: this clue suggested a huge investment, both financial and technical-organizational and, therefore, a purpose of great strategic importance. We tried to imagine what the clients intended, which could not only be to operate the blades of the nearby mill, which could have been built elsewhere with a much more modest barrier, perhaps on a small tributary of the Tiber. The most plausible and fascinating hypothesis was that the dam served to create a reservoir so large that it permanently flooded the moat all around the city walls; perhaps Cipriano Piccolpasso had not exaggerated in 1565 in using a superlative - “very clear lake” - at the sight of the Fratta river, which he described and represented in the oldest panorama of the place. And this is precisely the thesis we intend to demonstrate, reconstructing the history of the "great dam" and its structural and functional configuration. Archive news There is no direct and detailed information on this work, about which all the writers of local history have been silent. Only the military engineer Piccolpasso, in the aforementioned drawing, traced the structure of the dam, albeit with barely hinted lines, perhaps because at that time it had already lost its importance from a military point of view, which represented the topic of main interest for the author: commendable example of a good engineer who does not waste even an unnecessary pencil stroke. Or a sign of low satisfaction for the reimbursement of expenses requested in the parcel: "30 bajocchi for the horse from Castello alla Fratta, 30 bajocchi for dinner and dinner at Fratta, 10 bajocchi for those who will help me to measure, 30 bajocchi for the horse for Perugia ; and more 50 bajocchi made to give to the femeglia de messer Paulo, called messer Gherardo soldier of fortress for the fatigas of said messer Paolo ”. The surrounding tour of these last 50 bajocchi - delivered to a soldier to give to the family of Mr. Paolo who had struggled - arouses some suspicion, dear engineer Cipriano! Instead, there is indirect information on the existence of the barrier, the oldest of which dates back to a registration dated February 6, 1527, where the expression versus clusam molendini is used, in describing the activities carried out in the buildings adjacent to the barrier, at edge of the river, at the end of Piazza S. Francesco. In fact, in that area the dam made it possible to supply the necessary energy to various factories: the water, conveyed along a derivation canal, through the opening of the respective doors according to agreed shifts, operated the millstone of the Molino di Sant ' Erasmus; he made the wheels of the blacksmiths turn for the grinding of sickles and other irons (swords, spears…); he operated the wooden mallets in the fulling machine, to compress and firm the woolen cloth; it flowed into the public wash basin; finally it returned to the riverbed of the Tiber downstream of the dam. The lack of other more detailed information has prompted us to seek objective elements to find out more. Photo by Fabio Mariotti. La grande diga sul Tevere The simulation of the reservoir First of all, an attempt was made to estimate the extent of the reservoir. In a first phase, the configuration that would have today, in the event of restoration of the dam, was identified after evaluating the height of the dam: for this reason, the level of the floor of the ancient public washhouse of Caminella was taken as a fundamental reference, where in the 1960s the original tank was still visible, even if its use had been converted into a breeding leech for the pharmacy, using the stagnant surface water that was collected there. This reference is certain, as the share has remained unchanged with respect to the period of use; on the other hand, the presence - in the immediate vicinity and at the same level, of the other users of the dam just described, much more relevant - excludes the hypothesis that the wash house, with the abundance of the reservoir, used vein water. The height of the floor of the public wash house, which was equal to 238.25 m asl, can therefore be reasonably assumed as the overflow level of the reservoir, the contours of which have been defined on the basis of the corresponding level curve in the current configuration of the land. The boundaries as determined above were subsequently corrected on the basis of changes made by man and the river over the centuries, of which traces have remained. These elements reasonably lead to the conclusion that, in the period of maximum military efficiency of Fratta Perugina (15th century), the reservoir surrounded the entire islet of the historic center, which could only be accessed through the rampant bridge of the Piaggiala, the drawbridge. della Rocca and the bridge over the Tiber. The height of the barrage The difference between the overflow level at 238 m asl deduced above and the altitude (232 m asl) of the river bed area from which the foundation piles emerge today, allows us to estimate the height of the dam at about six meters: for those times the great Fratta dam was truly a gigantic work. Site plan in a drawing by the authors (1) Public wash house; (2) Molino di Sant'Erasmo; (3) Churches of Santa Croce, San Francesco and San Bernardino; (4) Great dam; (5) Tiber; (6) Bridge over the Tiber; (7) Regghia stream; (8) Rocca, with drawbridge and “calzo de fuora”; (9) The rampant bridge of the Piaggiola, the round tower and the Porta della Campana. The functions of the barrage The significant complexity of the project, the grandeur of the structure and the economic burden of its construction confirm the thesis of a military use of the large dam: its primary utility was to keep the moat around the walls constantly flooded, for safety. of the inhabitants of the castle, and to reduce the stresses on the foundation pillars of the bridge just upstream. The other benefits of an economic nature (supply of energy for production activities and taking fish from the weir), although more important for the well-being of the population, were collateral and irrelevant to the decision to build the work. The birth The non-existence of records relating to these works does not allow us to establish with certainty the period to which they date back. However, the hypothesis is likely that only after the passage to the dominion of Perugina (1189) did the conditions exist to build such an imposing work. Only a city like Perugia could have had the necessary economic capacity, technical-military knowledge and political motivations: this is precisely the period in which it pursued a strengthening as a Municipality, to consolidate its vital space among the great powers of the moment in the Center- Italy, capitalizing on the advantage of equidistance from Florence and Rome. On the contrary, in previous times there were no conditions to justify such a huge effort: at first - until the death of Matilde di Canossa - it was marginality, as a remote border place of the Marquisate of Tuscany, to discourage the investment. Then after the dismemberment of this in many territories dominated by small lords, it was the scarcity of economic resources that made the enterprise impracticable. The same lack of news relating to the construction of the dam, attributable to the disappearance of the Annals of Perugia - from 1190 to 1230 - relating precisely to the presumable period of construction, constitutes a confirmation clue of the thesis that is being supported, as it is not likely that such an impressive work no formal acts have been performed. It can be concluded by affirming that the construction of the great dam can be placed between 1189 (beginning of the dominion of Perugia over Fratta) and 1230 (availability of the Perugian Annals). The overall design system Let us now try to define other details of the dam and its functional organization. The reservoir was divided by a "central guardian", slightly inclined with respect to the flow direction of the river. Between this and the left bank - the western basin - the main current had to flow, which flowed downstream from the top of the dam perpendicular to the bank. The other segment, arranged obliquely so as to extend the length of the front of the jump, was perhaps of a higher height so as to contain the damage on the left bank, of great value for the presence of production activities: the mill, the blacksmiths, the fulling machine; in short, a kind of industrial area of the lower village. The capacity of the reservoir, considering the height of the dam equal to 6 m, the width 70 m and the length of the lake upstream of 1,200 m, was estimated at 250,000 m³. The maximum power obtainable, with a useful flow of the river assumed equal to 10 m ³ / s, has been estimated at 600 Kw, based on the following relationship: P = p Q g Δ H P = power; p = water density; Q = volumetric flow rate; Δ H = geodetic difference in height Assuming a width of the adduction channel to the mill equal to 1 m², a current speed of 2 m / s, a head of 3 m and a reasonable efficiency for those times, the order of magnitude of the useful power can be placed around 100 Kw. For a correct functionality of the military security system, precautions were also taken to prevent the ditch being buried due to the debris deposited by the floods of the Regghia, at the point where it flowed into the reservoir under the Rocca, slowing down its fury. We think that this was precisely the function of the “ … lock of the river of the Regghia alter dicta el Battifosso which is contiguous to the horto della Roccha and to the walls of the said castle… ”. The death Let us now try to clarify how and when the barrier ceased its function. In this regard it is known that on 20 October 1610 two arches of the bridge and the Mulinaccio tower collapsed at the corner of the walls along the river; the contemporaneity of the collapses, just upstream of the great dam, made us suspect that the disaster had originated - with a "domino effect" - from the deterioration of the dam. Archival records confirmed the hypothesis: as early as 1606, in fact, the barrage had shown the urgency of repairs. The question became the subject of a legal dispute on the occasion of another flood, in 1611; the tenant complained that the mill was " spotless and unsuccessful " and the dam had been " badly kept and badly restored ". The subjects called into question - the Bishopric of Gubbio and the Community of Fratta - tried to discharge each other the responsibility and the burden of reparation; the first claimed that the dam had been damaged by the collapse of the bridge; the second claimed the opposite thesis, attributing the expenses to the Bishop, as in fact " it had always been ". It seems to us that - Monsignor forgive us! - the Community was right, as it is really strange that the very heavy debris of the bridge, instead of lying on the bottom of the river, overwhelmed the barrier a hundred meters downstream. However, for our deductions, it is only interesting that the mill did not grind since that time, demonstrating that the dam had just collapsed. But there are many other confirmations: even the blacksmiths were forced to go to other mills in the vicinity that had suitable wheels; but the loss of those of Sant'Erasmo was incurable if, a few decades later (1647), four blacksmiths from Fratta brought 14,000 raw sickles to Rome (hammers were not yet produced in the red Umbria), entrusting the finishing to grinders of the capital . Therefore, even the wheels had finally stopped. Similarly, the activity of the fulling mill was moved to a similar factory, in Pian d'Assino, whose structure is still visible on the left bank of this stream, just upstream of the bridge that crosses it just before flowing into the Tiber. All these facts concur to confirm the dependence of the factories in Piazza San Francesco on the large barrage and the superimposition of their respective periods of operation (from about 1200 to 1611). In short, the dam was born when it was necessary to protect the safety of the castle with a lake and no one wanted to take care of its maintenance since these needs were overcome by the evolution of warfare. For all the time in which it was of military interest - and only for that - it was also a source of work and well-being, respecting a sad priority to which man has always had to submit. The death sentence of the Great Dam was issued for the opposite reason that led to its conception. Here below some photos with Mario Tosti and the Tiber river south of the bridge in the place of the "great dam"; photo compared with the 1565 drawing by Piccolpasso showing the position of the dam. Picture of by Fabio Mariotti. Sources: - " The Great Dam of Fratta Perugia ", by Mario Tosti, Marco Tosti and Matteo Tosti, in “ The Umbrian Engineer ” n. 43, December 2002 - Photos and original article drawings: Renato and Roberto Codovini, Mario, Marco and Matteo Tosti. - Photos added: Fabio Mariotti THE ENIGMA OF THE COLLEGIATE by Mario Tosti (taken from "Pagine Altotiberine" *, n. 45, 2011) * "Pagine Altotiberine" is a series of books published by the historical association Alta Valle del Tevere, which gathers members from our valley. The main objective of the Association is to provide citizens with the possibility of publishing texts on local history, without any charge for the author, who receives five copies of the book that contains his work free of charge. The association is financed by the members' fees, who receive the three books that are published every year for free. The history of the construction The history of the Collegiate Church has been the subject of research that has made it possible to know the events in an exhaustive way. In the first place, they were deepened in the monographic book by Monsignor Pietro Vispi (1) , from which we extracted a summary of the information regarding the origins and construction details of the church. We also submitted to Monsignor Pietro, who kindly made himself available, the thesis supported in these notes, to exclude that any additional information to his knowledge would dismantle some links in the logic of the deductions. The chronicles of the time tell that, on 14 September 1556, "A girl of 7 years old ... who was struppia [crippled] in a cossa [thigh], so that she could not walk without support, while she was praying in front of this image [Editor's note: the Majesty painted in a small chapel near the Collegiate building ], it is said that this spoke to him and incontinent found herself free and healthy, and walked frankly ". A few days later the bishop of Gubbio sent his vicar Cesare Sperelli, who "... visitevit ecclesiolam beate et gloriosa virginis marie vulgo called the madonna della regghia prope et juxta muros castri fratte ..." Therefore: the small church in which a miracle took place stood near the walls of Fratta, in the word "Madonna d ella Regghia". Out of thanks, it was decided to build a temple in the immediate vicinity. From the deed of sale of the land of 15 April 1559 we learn that the owners, Graziani of Perugia, "Give and concede for the Madona and the chapel in writing to the Comonità della Fratta all the reasons that they have above the Capella or true Oratory of the Madona de la regghia in front of the walls of said Castle and also above the houses in the said adjacent Chapel and such a quantity of land contiguous to the said chapel that it will be necessary for the construction of a church to be built in that place in Honore de Dio and Della Glorioss. Virgine Maria provided it does not exceed the containment of the garden contiguous to said Capella ... ". So: the church was surrounded by a group of houses and a vegetable garden. Shortly after, thanks to the copious alms of the people, the construction works of the temple began, with the contribution of various architects: Galeazzo Alessi, Giulio Danti, Bino Sizi, Mariotto da Cortona. A drawing by Piccolpasso shows that in 1565 the construction of La Madona had reached its first register and leads us to believe that the houses adjoining the chapel with the miraculous image, designed to the west of the church, towards the Regghia, were in the area of the current Reggiani palace. The Collegiate was completed in 1597-1599. After about twenty years, in 1619, the original dome showed a lesion: consequently it fell or, more likely, was demolished. Today you can get an idea of the primitive dome from the painting by Bernardino Magi kept in the church of San Bernardino. The reconstruction of the current dome, no longer with a lowered sixth but with a round sixth, with a smaller base diameter, was entrusted to Filippo Fracassini (until 1650) with the architects Rutilio, first, and Beniamino Sermigni, later. In order to consolidate the base of the vault, without compromising “The ornamentation of the interior ... the order of the beautiful columns, to whose transport is to be attributed one hundred and forty-one pairs of oxen were needed in 1623 ”. The lantern on top of the dome was finished in 1664, along with the wooden doors. The clues to the solution of the riddle The above information tells us everything about the reason for the location of the Collegiate Church, about the artists who built it, about its main events; but they do not reveal the reason why the church of the Patrona has been set up in the configuration from which, for over four centuries, it has scrutinized the life of the mortals who alternate around its bulk from the top of the lantern. By asking ourselves this question during a walk with friends around the octagonal church, the intuition emerged that the orientation had been chosen with the intention of offering the best scenery to the faithful who proceeded to the temple. The research that followed led to the emergence of several elements that seem to support this hypothesis, as we will try to demonstrate in the following pages. Starting from the assumption that the orientation of the church could not have been accidental, let us analyze the objective elements of knowledge currently available, from which a reasonable answer to the enigma can be deduced. For this we make constant reference to figure 1, where the essential elements of the church plan and the nearby buildings indicated by historical sources are shown. 1. "In the Italy of the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries ... the formation of sanctuaries on places of miraculous events attributed to the Madonna ... There was also the trend, made known by the solution of the Sanctuary of Loreto (started in 1469 ), to incorporate the pre-existing chapel inside. " (2) 2. The small church outside the walls of Fratta with the miraculous image was adjacent to some buildings, as evidenced in the historical summary reported above. Therefore there were not even the practical conditions to incorporate it, unless the adjacent buildings were demolished. 3. "The attention to the astronomical orientation of places of worship, carefully researched in the Middle Ages, disappears in Renaissance buildings when the introduction of the compass and modern philosophical and scientific theories loosened the bonds of a mythical, magical, mysticism that united the men of the Middle Ages with the observation of the sky, favoring instead the positioning of the building in relation to the urban context. In the case of the Collegiate Church, some measurements were nevertheless carried out to verify the actual orientation of the building with respect to the astronomical cardinal points and to identify any related explanations. The results of the surveys, shown in figure 2, allow us to deduce some considerations. The eight-pointed decoration visible on the floor in the center of the church, similar in shape to the wind rose, is not related to the cardinal points, but is only a decorative element subordinated to the shape of the building, which in some way reflects. The particular historical methods of foundation of the octagonal buildings were also verified: " Generally the orientation of the octagon required that the cardinal directions pass through the vertices of the polygon, a rule that was not always respected during the construction of the baptisteries while it was respected, in the period around 1000, when several octagonal churches were built. " (3) In our case, the orientation of the octagon does not respect the criterion of cardinal points passing through two opposite edges. It would seem to be possible to say that the altar is oriented at the dawn of the winter solstice, with the sun rising behind the celebrant, but there are no openings in the wall that capture and highlight this phenomenon which, consequently, does not seem to have been priority in the plant of the building. In conclusion, it seems unlikely to attribute an astronomical explanation to the orientation of the church. " (4) 4. The sandstone portal to the north, consisting of two columns surmounted by a tympanum, projects perpendicularly to the wall face. Above the tympanum there is a round arch of unloading (platband), made of bricks in a radial arrangement, which is used above the architraves in order to reduce or eliminate the bending stress. 5. The west portal, apparently the twin of the north one, has several peculiarities: it protrudes from the wall facing in an oblique direction, with an angle of about 24 ° with respect to the perpendicular to the wall; the brick arch above the tympanum is not visible on the outside. 6. A panoramic drawing of Fratta (figure 3 shows the detail of the area in question), made in 1565 by the military engineer Cipriano Piccolpasso, does not seem to show the opening to the west of the Collegiate, although the church appears to have been erected until the first register: the signs on the left of the wall are not in the center of the side of the polygon and do not have a regular geometric shape, but seem similar to trees, such as those shown also on the right of the building. It should be noted that the design is to be considered very reliable, as evidenced by the accuracy of the details represented in the other more important buildings. The drawing highlights another important detail: the original path of the Regghia is moved, compared to today, towards the Rocca, confirming the subsequent movement of the river bed and, therefore, the need to build a new bridge, as documented in point 9 following. 7. The differences between the two portals exposed in the three previous points reasonably suggest that the one to the west was opened at a later time, after the construction of the first register. In any case, the anomaly highlighted in the west portal suggests that this had been considered in the alternative to the north one: therefore the importance of the latter must have been truly extraordinary if it had prevailed, for the purposes of choosing the orientation, with respect to to the alternative of enhancing the chapel which had even motivated the work. 8. At the time of the design of the church, the oldest and most important access inside the walls was undoubtedly that of the Porta della Campana, which showed the emblem of the castle (the ancient lily in bas-relief, an ancient weapon of Florentines (5 ) ) and allowed the people to enter the main road network of the valley: the "Strada del Piano", which connected Città di Castello to Perugia, along the left bank of the Tiber, across the bridge over the Carpina, the church of Santa Maria, the Collegiata (in fact), the Madonna del Moro and Ponte Felcino. Therefore, for the inhabitants of the castle of Fratta, the most important way to go to the Collegiata was the one leaving the Porta della Campana, which entered the “Strada del Piano” through the Piaggiola and Boccajolo. It was also the shortest way, because the possible alternative was to go down the Via Retta (the Corso), leave the walls towards Piazza San Francesco and go up to the Collegiate Church on Via Soli. So: for the people of the castle of Fratta it was natural to access the large church outside the walls from the "Strada del Piano". 9. There is news (6) of an old bridge over the Regghia starting from July 1632, from which it is deduced that it was probably composed of masonry heads where wooden beams rested for crossing. The continuous adjustments and renovations in the seventeenth century indicate how much it was subjected to wear. In particular, he had had to work overtime in absorbing the transit of heavy loads of materials coming from the furnaces of the Borgo Superiore, necessary precisely for the "factory" of the church of the Madonna della Regghia. Other consolidation works were carried out in 1726. Furthermore, the state of the bridge was a source of dangers, so the situation became increasingly unsustainable. Finally, in the meeting of April 4, 1770, the City Council took the question head-on: "Being that since some years ... several times thought by the Defenders and by the representatives of this Earth to obviate the dangers that have occurred and that can happen in the future in passing with horses slaughters and some over the bridge that passes over the river Palace under the church of the Most Holy Virgin, which being so narrow and without sides or parapet, it happened several times that horses and oxen were in danger of rushing with loads and wagons, and other hauls. " By cutting off the bull's head, it was decided to redo the now unsafe bridge from scratch, making it wider, with sturdy sides and suitable for bearing greater loads. In confirmation of this intention, the Chapter of the Collegiate gave the Municipality "land for the construction of the new bridge over the Royal Palace in the direction of Montone" (7) . The project was promptly carried out, if in the rough color plan of 1780 by Giuseppe Fabretti (8) (figure 4) the bridge is located in the new position and is connected through a twisted junction to the old route of the “Strada del piano”, which in the meantime had become less and less important, compared to the more recent road on the right bank of the Tiber. The road will only subsequently be rectified and enlarged, forming the current Via Veneto. The construction of the new bridge in a location other than the original one was also determined by the need to expand the square under the Rocca (9) , whose first modest works began in 1803, in order to solve a very old problem. At the end of 1846 the Judiciary of Fratta bought, for this purpose, another piece of land with these reasons: "... the need for this expansion [Editor's note: of the area for the livestock market] is making itself felt every more and openly demonstrated by the last Cattle Fair in which not only the current square was filled with oxen, but even though the adjoining road that leads to the house of Signor Mavarelli and a large part of the Collegiate field that would be occupied by the proposed extension ... ". It is reasonable to think that on that occasion it was decided to move the riverbed of the Regghia away from the tower. The refurbishment of the area was completed in 1880, with the construction of the retaining walls and the raising of the level of the market square. Ernesto Freguglia had just had time to paint the area (1875) in its original configuration, with the clearing still at the level of the bed along the river bank. In this year 2011, a suggestive realization has turned back the hands of time, restoring a condition similar to that of the seventeenth century, demonstrating how man does not disdain to emulate Penelope in adapting the environment to his variable needs. A hypothesis for solving the riddle On the basis of the objective information detailed above, it can be deduced that the configuration of the area of the Collegiate and the surrounding area in the year 1600 (immediately following the completion of the church) was that shown in figure 5, which can be compared with that of figure 6 , relating to the year 2000. For a more immediate perception of the changes undergone over the last four centuries, the situations indicated in the plans are replicated in the drawings of figure 7 - taking advantage of the prodigious pencil of Adriano Bottaccioli, used to photographing scenarios that have now disappeared from our castle - and in figure 8 , in which the changes that led to the current scenario are superimposed. At this point we can deduce a likely explanation for the enigma posed to us, which we set out below. Already in the positioning phase of the new church, it was decided not to incorporate the small chapel with the image of the Virgin, as was customary in that period (point 1), because it was too close to other valuable buildings existing nearby ( point 2). The church was originally conceived with the main entrance - and, initially, probably the only one - corresponding to the current north portal, aligned with the main access road from the castle, as shown in the drawing in figure 7. In this way the scenography that was presented to the faithful on their way to the church (point 8) was of the utmost spectacular. On this portal, at the same time as the construction of the wall, the discharge arch was created above the opening (point 4). It is probable that only later, during the construction of the church, did someone come up with the idea of "uniting" the old chapel and the large church in some way. The goal was achieved with the opening of a second access (not drawn in the overview of the Piccolpasso referred to in point 6) on the side facing the original aedicule, which was obtained by tearing apart the masonry. On the occasion, the platband was not built on the external face, for various possible reasons: either because the engineers were less scrupulous; or because it was more complicated to obtain an aesthetically acceptable result, having to inscribe the arch on an opening obtained by tearing. However, it cannot be excluded that the platband was built at a lower level, so as to be hidden by the sandstone tympanum. Jutting out from the wall, a twin portal to the existing one was built, but with an anomalous angle, in order to orient it towards the original chapel (point 5); in fact the land donated for the construction of the church was in fact "contiguous" to the chapel, as reported in the deed of sale of the land of 1559. The anomalous angle can have two different explanations, depending on whether the construction of the portal was started after or before having decided to demolish the chapel - perhaps due to the precarious state, such as not to justify its restoration - and to move the image of the Virgin inside the church. In the first case, in anticipation of the maintenance of the chapel, the new portal should perhaps have constituted one of the two ends of a portico connecting the new and old structure; faced with the decision to move the effigy and demolish the aedicule, the portico was no longer built, leaving the work unfinished, due to the unexpected disappearance of the final destination. In the hypothesis that the architects of the work were less fickle in their decisions, it seems more likely that the idea of building the anomalous portal was triggered after having decided to demolish the chapel, with the consequent necessary compensation by evoking it forever. in the imagination of the faithful. In any case, in all probability this architectural strangeness remains today to indicate the direction along which the ancient chapel with the Majesty must have been. The opening of the second portal will have involved the need to move the altar, placing it on the side of the octagon opposite the one between the two doors, in order to give a new symmetry to the temple. Conclusion If the one described was really the sequence of decisions and works, the enigma we tried to unravel was born, many decades after the completion of the Collegiate, following the decision to move the route of the "Strada del piano" and to replace the old bridge over the Regghia on the road to the upper Borgo with a new one, in a different position. There were two reasons: the state of decay and danger of the bridge; the need to expand the space around the fortress to be used for the livestock market, after having moved the riverbed of the Regghia and demolished the access ramp to the now obsolete drawbridge. Basically: the orientation of the temple and the presumed location of the original main access road to the church explain each other; with the modification introduced since, during the 18th century, the pre-existing bridge and road were moved to the north-east, the original scenography was canceled, creating the enigma for which this hypothesis of solution was proposed. PS In the recent restructuring of the area surrounding the Rocca, the opportunity was lost to restore the original scenography to the Collegiata, with the simple positioning of the new sidewalk along the route of the ancient Strada del Piano. * * * Thanks to Alvaro Gragnoli who, thanks to his intuition, started the research and to those who made their knowledge available: Giovanni Cangi, humanist engineer, as regards the engineering aspect; Francesco Rosi, architect, expert and passionate about archaeoastronomy; Monsignor Pietro Vispi, parish priest of the Collegiate, precious source of historical information, Adriano Bottaccioli, art director of communication and painter. Note: 1. PIETRO VISPI, The Collegiate Church of Santa Maria della Reggia, Radio Elettra & M SpA School, Città di Castello, 2001 2. LUCA SPORTELLINI, “The Sanctuary of Maria Santissima Assunta in Rasina”, Fabrizio Fabbri Editore, 2011, p. 24 3. A. GASPANI, Astronomy and geometry in the ancient Alpine churches, Priuli and Verlucca editori, 2000, Turin 4. Contribution by FRANCESCO ROSI 5. BELFORTI - MARIOTTI, History of Fratta, year 1780 6. CODOVINI - SCIURPA, Umbertide in the XVIII century, GESP, Città di Castello, 2003, p. 42 7. PIETRO VISPI, The Collegiate Church of Santa Maria della Reggia, Umbertide, 2001, note on p. 60 8. GIUSEPPE FABRETTI, News of the Land of Fratta, (ms BAP 2011) 9. RENATO CODOVINI - ROBERTO SCIURPA, Umbertide in the 19th century, 2001, GESP, Città di Castello, pp. 51, 122, 377. L'Enigma della Collegiata THE SUNDAY OF THE GRANDE PIAZZA DELLA FRATTA by Mario Tosti In the memory of Renato Codovini and Amedeo Massetti With the following notes I propose to shed light on the events of a sundial found in our historic center. I try to demonstrate the hypothesis that it represented the local reference for solar time: the time of Fratta, our local Greenwich mean time. For this mission, she lived in symbiosis with the clock of the Torre della Campana, which stood on top of the Piaggiola. His odyssey began on a window sill in front of the Rocca, on the first floor of the building that housed the headquarters of the Podestà and the hall of the municipal council, in Via Alberti. After a couple of centuries of honorable work, she was evicted and imprisoned under the plaster of the Garibaldi's room in Piazza Fortebraccio. Today he is enjoying his well-deserved retirement in the bucolic Umbrian countryside. For the sake of completeness, I have also tried to reconstruct the evolution of time measurement tools available to the community up to the present day. Let us hope that they continue to measure a time of peace and serenity. THE FINDING Around the middle of the twentieth century, in the course of renovations, a sundial was found under the plaster of the wall in front of the entrance to the room on the ground floor of the building at no. 9 of the current Fortebraccio square, in front of the Rocca (Figure 1). It was Rinaldo Giannelli, owner of the restaurant, who reported it to me, proposing to look for clues about the story. THE SEARCH FOR INFORMATION At first, I had come to a hypothesis that turned out to be incorrect after meeting Mauro Bifani who, together with Manlio Suvieri, was carrying out a research on the sundials of Umbria. I pointed out to him the existence of our find, which has become the subject of his expert analysis. In the book they subsequently published - The ancient hours, Sundials and Roman-style clocks in the municipalities of Umbria, Futura edizioni, 2017 - an entire chapter was dedicated to The sundial of Piazza Grande alla Fratta, in which I was able to integrate with my historical reconstruction of the results of their technical and functional research. STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS The small sundial (36 cm x 36 cm) of Fratta, in octagonal terracotta, at Italic hours, was designed to be used in a horizontal position. Several engravings are visible on its surface. At the top, the date of construction (1658) is engraved. A little below, a motto in Greek and another in Latin are engraved: “ΧΡΟΝΟΧ ΑΝΤΑΧΟ Υ ΑΝΕΜΕΙ” (Time resists winds). “AMBIGUIS ALIX LABILIS HORA VOLAT” (The fleeting hour flies on mysterious wings). In agreement with the authors of the book, I add a different translation reported by Mons. Pietro Vispi, also based on the identification of a Greek "p" partially canceled by a crack in the tile: "ΧΡΟΝΟΣ (Π) ΑΝΤΑΚΟΥ ΔΙΕΠΕΙ" (Time always arranges everything) “ΑΜΒΙGUIS ALIS LABILIS HORA VOLAT” (Time that passes flies with elusive wings). I gladly report the two translations, both fascinating, also to demonstrate the complexity in the interpretation of the thoughts handed down to us from the past. The inscription “AD ALTITUD GRAD 43” confirms that it was built for our latitude. The symbols of the four main zodiac signs are represented: Cancer, Capricorn, Aries and Libra. The names of the winds are engraved on the external frame: Mezzodì, Garbino (term used on the Adriatic coast to indicate the Libeccio wind), Ponente, Maestro, Tramontana, Greco, Levante, Scirocco. THE CLUES Hypotheses on the events of the sundial can be deduced starting from the information concerning the measurement of time in the castle of Fratta and the function of the existing buildings in the area of the discovery (Piazza Fortebraccio, Via Alberti, Piaggiola). A recording dated 1477 refers to a Porta della Campana (figure 2), open towards Montone in the north corner of the castle walls, at the top of the Piaggiola. Originally, a tower 22 meters high rose above the gate. In the 16th century it was raised with a wooden tower of 11 m, at the base of which a niche was obtained, with the painted image of the Madonna. At the top a small loggia was opened to house the public bell. The building became one of the main references for the people, so much so that the entire surrounding district took the name of Terziere della Campana. The donzello of the Municipality was in charge of ringing the big [bell] to signal, in addition to extraordinary events, the canonical hours: Lodi (at dawn), Prima (around 6), Terza (at 9), Sesta (at 12) , Nona (at 15), Vespers (at sunset) and Compline [sic], before going to bed. Where the bell was not within earshot, it was the position of the sun in the sky that marked the time or, if the sky was cloudy, the intensity of the light was enough to mark the slow life of our ancestors. Then, with the spread of mechanical clocks, one was installed below the bell. The task of supervising, maintaining and charging it passed to the moderator of the public clock [moderator: who knows if this name meant inviting the spheres not to be in too much of a hurry?]. It is likely that the imprecision of those first mechanisms made it necessary to put them back at the right time almost daily. This function, in the absence of today's time signals on the radio, could only be performed by a sundial. The symbiosis between the two instruments is confirmed by the coincidence of the presumable period of the installation of the mechanical clock (17th century) and the year (1658) engraved on the Fratta sundial. The room of the discovery (outlined in green in figures 3 and 4) is located on the southern edge of the fifth of buildings of the current Piazza Fortebraccio, originally "Piazza Grande del Comune", in front of the Rocca "(platea comunis dicti castri ante cassarum) . There are several documents that allow us to deduce the evolution of the buildings on the corner between Piazza Fortebraccio and Via Alberti. In the fourteenth century the building in which the sundial was found did not exist, but in its place there was an external ramp (figure 5), which was demolished (figure 6) when it became encumbered for the drawbridge that would lower towards the square from the Rocca under construction: in fact, among the works commissioned to Trocascio (27 May 1385) there was also that of demolishing it and rebuilding it inside ("Eo Trocascio I promise ... remove the staircase of the podesta's palace and remake it inside the said palace or elsewhere, so that it does not harm the cassaro [Rocca] "). Figures 5 and 6 show details regarding the rear building, towards the west, taken from deeds of the notary Nicola di Antonio. First of all it belonged to the Municipality, as shown in a document dated July 1443: "... in the square of said castle, in front of the Palazzo del Podestà and the Rocca (... in the stalls dicti castri ante palatium potestatis et arcem)" ...; in 1448, "in the Town Hall and residence of the said Podestà of the said Castle, in the upper room of the said palace (... in the palatio Communis et residentiae dicti potestatis dicti castri in the upper room dicti palatii) ..." (1). In another act of the following year we speak of the "lower room" (2). He refers to "upper room" in acts of 1464 and 1466 (3). It is therefore assumed that in the building there was a large room on the ground floor (current service entrance to the theater in Via Alberti, 22), which could be used for the meetings of the City Council, and an apartment on the first floor (with entrance at no.20 ) in use by the Podestà, which was accessed by an external staircase. Today the new staircase, whose intrados is visible just to the left of the entrance at no. 22, allows you to go up to the first floor from the entrance to n. 20 of Via Alberti. A map by Anonymous dating back to 1730 (figure 7) shows us that the building where the find was not yet existed. The same indication comes from a drawing by Fabretti of 1780 (see final note), which also highlights the existence of a chapel annexed to the Monastery of the Nuns of Castelvecchio, indicated in figure 4. THE DEDUCTIONS On the basis of the clues described above, I tried to reconstruct the events of our sundial. In the first place, it is presumable that it was not part of the religious complex adjacent to the site of the discovery. In fact, the monastery of the Nuns of S. Maria di Castelvecchio had been suppressed at the end of the fourteenth century, two centuries before the construction of the sundial. Furthermore, the hours engraved on the surface of the octagon - Italic hours for civil use, rather than Italic for bells used for bell towers - support the hypothesis of a civil use and exclude the religious one. A further trace: the small distance - a few tens of meters - of the room where the sundial was found from the civic tower of the Bell (and, later, of the Clock), suggests that the two systems of time measurement were in close symbiosis, confirmed by the coincidence of the respective construction periods. The adjacency to the hall of the municipal council and to the seat of the Podestà suggests that it was exhibited somewhere in the square. The window sill of the "upper room", on the first floor of via Alberti 20, was probably the ideal point (figure 8) on which to display it in the horizontal position for which it was conceived. In fact it was sunny and protected, within reach of the highest authority of the castle. Mauro Bifani confirmed the validity of this hypothesis, found in other situations: inside the Sperelliana library in Gubbio, the sundial originally exhibited on the window is preserved, where traces of the well-oriented seat in which it was positioned remain; also in the Marches there is another, still in its place, which makes a good impression on a window sill. The Platonic marriage between the solar instrument and the mechanical one, not consummated due to the distance of their respective residences, went into crisis in the nineteenth century, for various reasons. The signs of old age arrived for the bell tower: in 1815, due to a subsidence of the foundations, it had been shortened, but with poor results: in 1820 it was completely demolished. But the clock was too important for the inhabitants of Fratta to do without it: at the same time a new tower was built (figure 9) in the central square - Piazza del Grano - in front of the current Town Hall, which had become the new center of gravity of the country. But the purchase of a new watch resulted in the death sentence of the old one, already in bad shape due to worn and rusty wheels. The solution proved to be precarious because, after just half a century, in 1873 it was decided to enlarge the Piazza del Grano to give air to the current Piazza Mazzini; to make room, the fledgling tower was sentenced to death at the bitter age of 53. As can be seen, even in the past, not all choices were far-sighted. Even for the sundial, widowed, the end loomed. To put a load of eleven there was the construction of the building at number 9 of Piazza Fortebraccio, as shown by a plan of the Gregorian Cadastre (figure 10) dating back to the period 1830-1850. From that moment on, the area assumed its current shape. The new construction "blinded" the window of the upper room where the sundial had lived, depriving it of its function. As a result, she was fired and evicted. He found refuge in the room where it was found, downgraded to a simple decorative element, albeit with the advantage of protection from the elements. Subsequently it raged, segregating it under the plaster. In short: in addition to life, the solar instrument and the mechanical one also seemed united in the end. But there was a surprise for the sundial. THE FINAL REST Rediscovered in the third millennium, by the owner the sundial has been moved to its natural environment, outside a pleasant cottage in the sweet Umbrian countryside. Although hanged vertically - contrary to its nature to relax horizontally - and with a random orientation with respect to the cardinal points, it is very happy to have rejoined the sun, remaining an interesting testimony of the history of Fratta. THE HEIRS Since the appetite comes with eating, I was intrigued to know who took over the sundial and the clock her husband, in the task of marking the time of our community after the demolition in 1872 of the ephemeral tower in the square. Nobody could tell us better than Egino Villarini, who joined me at the PC keyboard. In November 1876 the works for the enlargement of the old Piazza del Grano were completed, decided by the Municipality due to the increase in the volume of commercial activities, the growth of the population and the fact that it "was in a cramped confined space. "; last but not least, "the not very decent appearance of the buildings" which impoverished the Sorbello palace, seat of the Municipality. The square (now Piazza Matteotti) took the name of Umberto I. A new bell clock was placed in the center of the building opposite the town hall (Figure 11). It was operated by large stone blocks which, hung from a chain, descended from the top floor to the ground, where the Post Office was located. In more recent times, the task of turning the crank to raise the weights could not fail to be entrusted to Gino Vannoni, watchmaker. It was the engineer Villarini himself who relieved him of his duty by automating the operation. In 1918, the primary school clock (Fig. 12) entered the life of the people of Umbria, with the task of informing the schoolchildren, at a quarter past 8, that it was time to set off and, at 8:30, that the it was closing. Today, clocks are everywhere - on the streets, in the squares, on everyone - to synchronize with the hasty rhythms of modern life. But it would be quite another sensation to respond, as yesterday, to the call from the voice of the school: a solemn rite of the community, testifying to the collective concern reserved for the process of integrating young people into the cycle of social life. Those familiar tolls were then perceived by everyone, thanks to the silence in the town and the concentration of the houses; today they would perhaps be suffocated by the noise of cars and muffled by the remoteness of the suburbs. Yet they could represent the symbol of a cohesive and harmonious community, sickened by decades of excessive individualism. They would be especially appropriate in these times of seclusion. NOTE Regarding the volume of Fabretti, I want to tell a singular detail. Together with Amedeo Massetti we were consulting it in the Augusta Library in Perugia, when we came across a map referring to “Fratta” (figure 13, left), but it appeared totally different from that of our country. We thought it was the result of an error, also likely due to the low quality of the drawing, attributable to a novice author. After various considerations, we discovered the dilemma: the image had been copied against the light on a window pane, but on the wrong side. It was enough to do the opposite operation - this time with the PC - to get the right drawing, but with the name “Fratta” inverted (figure 13, in the center). An enlargement of the plan (figure 13, right) reveals the lack of the building of the find. There is also an interesting detail: a small church is marked with a cross (barely perceptible) - indicating that it was still officiated - annexed to the adjacent monastery of the Nuns of S. Maria di Castelvecchio. NOTES TO THE TEXT: Arch. Notar. di Umbertide, Notary Nicola di Antonio, acts 1448 - 1450, cat. 276/74, card 11 / v Arch. Notar. di Umbertide, Notary Nicola di Antonio, acts 1448 - 1450, cat. 276/74, card 99 / Arch. Notar. di Umbertide, Notary Nicola di Antonio, acts 1464 - 1466, cat. 283/5, cards 10 / r, 120 / v, 225 / v THANKS For this little research, I have made extensive use of the work of friends: Renato Codovini, generous initiator and prompter for all researchers of local history, who exhumed historical documents otherwise destined to remain buried in the archives; Amedeo Massetti, unforgettable friend and perfect citizen; Egino Villarini, an inexhaustible source of the innovations introduced in the country, with the reliability and details of having been the protagonist; Adriano Bottaccioli, who imagined the missing pieces of our country from every point of view, reconstructing them with the artist's ability and with the affection of the ex-emigrant; Mauro Bifani and Manlio Suvieri, who provided the technical information necessary for the reconstruction of a plausible history for our sundial. Fabio Mariotti, who checked the text (once I relied on Amedeo), enriching it with images. La Meridiana della Piazza Grande della Fratta

La vita durante il ventennio fascista ad Umbertide. Memoria della vita di Aristide. Aristide and the twenty years curated by Francesco Deplanu Aristide Guardabassi, the first on the left in the photo was born in 1912, became an adult during the Fascist period. After the military started in 1931, participated in the "Ethiopian enterprise" from 1935 to '36, the era of the "great consensus", then he was recalled in 1941 in the military battalions of the "shirts." black " and died in 1942 at the "mouths of Cattaro" together with a commissioner, Massetti, from Città di Castello affected from "friendly" batteries. The remains of his body were tracked down by the Maggior Suppa of the Italian army only after twenty years and brought back to a now democratic and pacified Umbertide. His funeral, in a very cold March 1960, with the banner of the Municipality in front, climbed on foot to the cemetery with all the citizens in tow, after having crossed a plain that still showed the promiscuous culture of the vine, the last landscape of an ancient world. He had reached the "sixth" elementary and so on long years of military service and then as a "black shirt", volunteer for the AOI and recalled for the Second World War, he had a very long correspondence with his wife, Olinda Guardabassi. Linda, as she was called, responded less to difficulties between work as a "tobacconist" and other jobs to be able to live and raise the little daughter; moreover, like many girls before the war, he was prevented from finishing elementary school because he was "a woman". After the second class, in fact, it had been held home to provide for family needs ... his writing was therefore more tiring. In addition to many documents of the time among the many letters left, where they are substantially absent i references to the "enemy" e to war, there are affections, memories and common life as in an "escape" from a present that is difficult to live and tell. Linda kept everything she had left in her wooden barber box: her compass and sewing supplies, letters, postcards, some documents, the metal plate found with the remains of her body, the newspaper with the 'announcement of death and some letters from friends to alleviate his loss. The barber's box contained about 300 letters, 144 postcards, filled for almost all the space available, and some telegrams written in the decade 1932-42. Almost all the letters are by Aristide some by Linda. The letters are concentrated above all in the second year of the war, as many as 110 letters, when he was recalled and left for the conflict, and in 1942, third year of the war, 52 letters before dying. In particular 68 letters were kept during his military service and 10 postcards; between 1934 and 1936, during the African campaign, 66 letters, 1 telegram and 29 postcards remain; 170 letters, 105 postcards and 3 telegrams remain for the period of the World War: 1932 - 4 letters, 1933 - 61 letters from Vercelli, 10 postcards, 4 edelweiss, 1934 - 3 missives, 1935 - 38 missives 1 telegram and 29 postcards, 1936 - 25 letters, 1939 - 2 telegrams and 15 postcards, 1941 - 110 missives 2 post card, 2 telegrams 70 postcards, 1942 - 59 missives 4 postcards 1 telegram 35 postcards and 1 letter from Alberto Burri to his wife Linda after her death. Interno della cassetta da barbiere In addition, many personal photos were kept in the box, 30 photos of the funeral that took place in the post-war period in Umbertide, various personal and time documents, "Various materials" including, a compass used in the AOI, a needle holder and wooden thread, a branded cigarette holder with still some cigarettes inside, a small santino di Sant'Antonio kept inside a small bussolotto, the identification plate kept in a green canvas bag with the personal data, the flag with which the small chest with the remains of Aristide was displayed in the Collegiate Church for the funeral about twenty years after his death; Linda after many years used to say that only at that moment, when the remains were brought back in a small box, did she really stop hoping for his return ... A decade of alternating correspondence for a few years, after the "unlimited leave" from military service, first from the "African enterprise" and then from the outbreak of the conflict. A very long correspondence in which Aristide wrote almost exclusively of love, affection and everyday life; an aspect that goes hand in hand with the historical moments in which he writes, writes from Vercelli and Biella to the compulsory service of the state, writes from the "steamer" that takes him to Africa for the Empire, sends postcards where the propaganda phrases of the "Fascism" as he greets his Lindina, postcards that have as their theme the geographical map of the AOI or busts of beautiful African girls that the regime shows as trophies, he writes more and more often when he is sent to the coasts of Albania and present-day Montenegro . He wrote from Podgorica, from the "very Italian" Boka Kotorska, until his death at the hands of his own army in an Italy that soon will be divided in two, with the central part and its Umbertide that from that moment will live another story: drama and liberation. In addition to the correspondence, the preserved documents tell us about that moment: the cards of the fascist, workers and women's organizations, the lists of members of the Umbertidese militias of the "black shirts", the recall orders for the lack of behavior of these Umbertidesi militiamen on the part of the Perugian nucleus, an internal propaganda theme made to write to the daughter for the return of the father who will never return ... A remarkable material to be investigated at another time because it is too vast. The affections for the young Linda, first girlfriend then wife and mother of a child seem to be almost the exclusive subject to communicate. Here are some examples as a soldier of Leva in 1933 and then as a husband in '39 and on the day of his death in July '42: "Biella 04/21/1933 - IX EF ("Fascist year and period" Ed.) I reply to yours ("letter" Ed.) With a little nervousness caused by your silence. Lindina you will never imagine how I desire one of yours ("letter" Ed), and not receiving it, the saddest thoughts assault my brain, and the most phantasmagoric visions come before my eyes making me see who knows how many times you that you no longer think of me, that you do not love me, and who knows how many other bad things that my miserable language cannot pronounce ... " "Sora 16-7-39 - VII" ("fascist year" Ed.) Dearest love, with the greatest joy, I reply to your dear letter, which has reached me today. Lindina you will want to excuse me if sometimes in my letters I am a little impulsive, but you must understand, that it is the love I have towards you that makes me insane. Not a minute of the day goes by, that my thoughts are not turned towards you, and I remember all our talks, all our walks, every intimate we had with you and I wonder: what will my Linda do now without me? Maybe he will think of his distant love? And my heart answers yes. " "(Place not present for military reasons) - 29/07/1942 - XX ... I really liked the two conchigline I found in the letter of the 22nd from Imperia. Do you think Linda wanted to be a little bird, and see our daughter how he looked for them, and what he told you when he gave them to you to send them to me. I think of you how happy you will be, that you see Imperia growing like a flower, and that you guide it, and you look at it as you look at an angel. But for my part, I am happy all the same, because when it is joy for you, it is happiness for me too. Perhaps you will be even more worried than me, as despite being happy you have the constant thought for me, and who knows how many times you will repeat a name that with the help of our good God, will return safe and sound. "... He died immediately after the last letter together with his friend Massetti from Città di Castello, the other Umbertidesi present with him in Podgorica buried him. We insert here some images of 1933-34, the love letters and the envelope that Linda carefully preserved with the 6 edelweiss that Aristide had sent him; the letter of departure for the AOI; postcards, front and back from Eritrea with images that are racist and sexist in our eyes today; sheets for the symbols of the 1: 25000 tablets of the IGM, the patriotic propaganda theme made to write in class to the daughter ... 1/1 Linda also replied, although less frequently, moreover only a few letters have survived, those reported in the few licenses by Aristide. The writing is more tiring and with spelling errors that we decided to leave to remember the female condition of the time where compulsory schooling was not respected especially for girls. The last letter visible in the images inserted above was from Linda but he returned only later with the remains of Aristide in 1960; it was probably kept in its uniform. "Arille" was the affectionate way in which he called Aristide, and as usual the family affections dominate the thoughts of the two but the letter also briefly describes the situation of rationing during the war in Umbertide "nothing is found" and the solidarity between women with the wife of another "recalled" who brought food to their little daughter. “Recalled” indicates those who, like Aristide, had obtained “unlimited leave” but were “recalled” to arms with the worsening of the conflict; condition according to Linda suffered by Aristide and the other young people from Umbertide who left in '41. Linda also used to tell how the conflict led Aristide to moments of despair and that once, returning from leave, he seriously asked her to throw all three under the train nearby. "Umbertide 3-5-942 My dearest Aristide For a few days, I have not heard from you, the last of yours on the 22nd, Rille my thoughts vague, that again you will be moved, for another action, this is the thought that does not give me peace, Arille with a contracted heart , and full of hope I never tire of praying our good God, who is so good and merciful, will always watch over you, to make you return as soon as possible to your home, which is always full of your memories, where Imperia remembers its father a hundred, but a hundred times a day, your caresses, your sweet little words, full of fatherly love, Arille when our little one reminds me of your compliments, a knot tightens my tears, my heart no longer knows how to fight it has this great pain, of this your distance, that I do not know what I would give just to let me pass by in a moment to see you, and see the state you are in, Arille in these days that are without news from you the saddest thoughts assail me and make me suffer so much, Arille mirror everything as long as I get a line of comfort from you and relief, explaining the delay of this post. Arillino days ago I sent you the photo Imperia I hope it has reached you. Arille as I told you, indeed you will know, that times are difficult now and nothing can be found, but I tell you that our Imperia has lacked for nothing up to now, because there are the wives of those recalled who are with you that every so much they bring me eggs and flour, today Gigino di Dalai's wife came and brought Imperia 10 eggs and flour, dear kisses Linda and Imperia. " Linda young and still beautiful, with her darker and lighter eyes, peculiarity given by a benign neoplasm to the eye, found herself facing a life in poverty with a small daughter but with great strength and courage; with the bombing of Umbertide he welcomed Pompeo who was one year older than his daughter, who was orphaned by his whole family. They grew up as brothers until he had to send them far away to give them the future by making them come back whenever possible. Linda didn't want to anymore no one close to him waiting secretly and irrationally, in his heart, that Aristide's death had been communicated by mistake; conviction that ended at the return of the petty cash with what remained of his body. In addition to the family story, Aristide's documents tell us about our local history. Among the various documents that you can see in the gallery above, for example, there is one that can shed light, although it is undated, on the composition and structuring of the "umbertidesi fasci" system, part of history for obvious reasons not much in-depth since the war. up to the present day. In the typed document, with the caption "FEDERATION OF THE COMBAT BANDS OF PERUGIA" at the head, continuing underneath with the words "BAND OF UMBERTIDE", the distinction of the city is evident in at least five sectors, since this was the fifth. This "sector" concerned the area of Piazza S. Francesco, Via Secoli, Via Soli, Via Spoletini, Via Stella, Via Cesare Battisti. There was the "head of the sector": Ramaccioni Gino e 3 "nuclei". At the "head" of the first "nucleus" there was just Guardabassi Aristide with the particularity of being registered without the reference to be a "(CN)", or a black shirt. This writing instead appears next to the names of the "head" of the "II nucleus", Ramaccioni Dino, and of the "III nucleus", Pucci Carlo. Thus the list seems to have been written before the '' African enterprise, when Aristide was certainly a "Black Shirt" but was also used later ( 1935-'38) seen that in pencil you can read next to various names of the components of the "nuclei" the military destination of some: Bologna, Africa, Milan, Albania. However the components of this list are 17 in first “nucleus”, 17 the second and 23 the third. Overall, the "V sector" alone therefore counted on 61 belonging to the "Fasci di Umbertide". Here are the names present in the document relating to the "V sector" of the "Fascio di Umbertide": V sector (Piazza S. Francesco - Via Secoli - Via Soli - Via Spoletini - Via Stella - Via Cesare Battisti) Head of Sector - Ramaccioni Gino I Nucleus Head of core Guardabassi Aristide Burzigotti Eugenio Cardinals John Marine limestones Bebi Carlo Bebi Fausto Bico Antonio Cingolani Beetle Martini Adolfo Panzarola Nello Pini Giulio Ramaccioni Fortunato Ramaccioni Silvio Reggiani Francesco Santini Giovanni Tarragoni Ginetto pupils Tarragoni Students Enrico Zurli Arnaldo II Core Head of nucleus Ramaccioni Dino (CN) Alberti Alvaro Alberti Quintilio Angeletti Giuseppe Oreste children Baldelli Dante Ciocchetti Oliviero Corradi Anteo Fiorucci Thales Jets Decio Mancini Carlo Mancini Giuseppe Domenico Pucci Puletti Calisto Ramaccioni Ramiro Renzini Alessandro Renzini Pietro Renzini Oberdan III Core Head of Core Pucci Carlo (CN) Tullini Elmo students Anastasi Amedeo Bartoccini Pietro Becchetti Tito Giuseppe Becchetti Caldari Bruno Andrea Cecchetti Cerrini Renzo Ghisalberti Adolfo Lucaccioni Riccardo Lucaccioni Antonio Mariotti Ettore Giuseppe screeds Palazzetti Nazzareno Paoletti Antonio Paoletti Natale Rondini Aldo Rossi Vincenzo Starnini Warrior Serafino Fiorentino Tosti Quintilio Tognaccini Romeo Other letters speak to us, however, of historical events of national significance such as the departure for the AOI when he writes from from the ship Princess Giovanna: "Sender: Aristide Guardabassi Black Shirt, First Division CC. NN. March 23 202 th Legion, First BTG Second company, East Africa. 08/28/1939 - XIII EF ("Fascist Year and Epoch" Ed.) Dear Linda, first of all, I extend my affection to you, with the best wishes for a goodbye soon (before it is possible). Linda as she announces by telegram that you left on Sunday evening, the last 25th, with the ship Principessa Giovanna, and indeed it was. Our ship has lifted the anchors to head to Massawa in Eritrea, at 5 and 45 minutes, and we will arrive on 2 September the same day. Linda when the ship left the quay, to head towards the East, the immense crowd that filled the port, gave us a warm show of sympathy and affection, (and some faces were covered with tears) that you cannot imagine ... " An analysis of the long correspondence in search of historical elements as well as affective ones could reveal further information on the modalities of life during Fascism in the upper Tiber Valley and in our country. The correspondence is interrupted with the life of Aristide, just a end of July 1942, after 18 years his remains will return to Umbertide. A red envelope Linda kept inside the wooden box contained the last one missive written by Aristide, one page newspaper with the news of the death and the letter from her friend, Alberto Burri, written to Linda at the time of the news of the killing in July 1942. Burri, 3 years younger, was captured in Tunisia the following year, on 8 May 1943, and after several trips he was taken to the concentration camps of the United States . This is the text of the letter: " Dear Madam, You know how great our friendship was and you can understand how I too suffer for the loss of dear Aristide. However, the knowledge that he has left us in fulfilling all his duty as an Italian and a Fascist must help you and help us to bear this pain. He will always be alive in our memory with his eternally smiling face and with his good humor that increased with the difficulties of the moment. He was an excellent soldier and an excellent father, and little Imperia can be proud of him. You like mine Madam best regards. Alberto Burri " alberto burri 1 alberto burri 2 alberto burri 1 1/2 Aristide was one of the 93 dead or missing in the war of our country, but in addition to them the toll of lives for this war was very conspicuous because 70 died under the bombing of 1944 people, 22 were killed in retaliation (in Penetola, Serra Partucci, Civitella Ranieri and Montecastelli), 34 people died as a result of the war, 1 in prison camps and 2 at the front after 8 September as partisans. For those wishing to see their complete list, you can read the precious text by Mario Tosti " Beautiful works. Information, documents, testimonies and images on life and death events that took place in the Municipality of Umbertide during the Second World War ." Municipality of Umbertide, 25 April 1995. In total, therefore, a good two hundred and eighty-two Umbertidesi died during this conflict. Source: - Family archive of the Micucci-Guardabassi family - Oral source Fam. Guardabassi-Deplanu - 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 . Edited by Mario Tosti. Municipality of Umbertide, 25 April 1995. - Photo: Family archive of the Micucci-Guardabassi family

THE HISTORY OF UMBERTIDE AVIS FROM 1959 TO 1995 From the book by Roberto Sciurpa "The blood of Fratta" curated by Fabio Mariotti THE PIONEERS The founder In the summer of 1959 the topic under discussion in the city bars and other meeting places certainly centered on the trial of the year: the Fenaroli crime, committed in September '58, but whose sensational implications were coming to light. in that time. It was talked about all over Italy, with the usual alignments between innocentists and guilty parties, as always happens in sensational and circumstantial trials. But in Umbertide there was a reason for greater interest. If the killing of his wife is not a usual exercise, and therefore makes news on its own, a witness of Umbertian origin and resident in Rome intervened in decisive support of the accusatory thesis. So enigmatic was that trial, which ended with the life imprisonment of Fenaroli and Ghiani, that it had after-effects, to say the least disturbing, even in our days if the revelations reported by Antonio Padellaro, in his book "Do not open to murderers", had a reliable foundation. But there were also those who thought of other things. Mariano Migliorati , in addition to carrying out his activity as a physician led by the Municipality, worked at the local hospital as a surgeon and gynecologist. The hospital of Umbertide, already during Fascism, had been downgraded to an infirmary and this status was still in force. Not having, therefore, a staff of its own, it availed itself of the work of doctors conducted on the explicit and formal assignment of the Municipal Administration. Only in 1969 will it be reclassified to hospital status with the consequent preparation of its own staff and with the possibility of planning adjustments and expansions that are still visible today. Dr. Migliorati was a gruff type in appearance, but good-natured, helpful and generous in substance. He knew how to combine the calm and reflexivity of his character with a decision-making and operational capacity worthy of all respect. He listened patiently, as he peered with a penetrating and understanding gaze that never made one uncomfortable. For these human qualities, as well as for the professional ones of the highest level, he instilled trust and security and was appreciated by all the citizens of Umbria. Not surprisingly, immediately after the Liberation, he was appointed "Mayor" of the city: the first, after the Fascist era. The official document of the Allied Military Governor, who had jurisdiction over the area, is very hasty. It limits itself to saying that Mariano Migliorati was appointed in the first week following the Liberation of Umbertide, which took place on 5 July 1944. Therefore, his appointment and his installation take place between 6 and 12 July 1944. He was 32 years old; was born on September 9, 1912. He remained in office for only a few months and resigned on 2 September 1944 to hold the position of chief physician of surgery at the hospital of Umbertide, a function incompatible with that of mayor since, for the reasons already set out, he would have found himself in the position of controller and controlled. The Allied Military Governor writes verbatim that this task was conferred by the desire of the population. It is an eloquent expression that indicates three things: the choice of the thirty-two year old mayor was prudent, being a very popular and respected character; his resignation was not related to dissent; the young doctor enjoyed such professional appreciation that he was preferred in the irreplaceable role of surgeon, rather than in the alternate role of representative of the community. Migliorati showed no attachment to the armchair and chose, without hesitation, the professional activity, like all those who have a profession, love it and honor it. He will remain in the hospital for a long time, until it is reclassified in 1969. In the summer of 1959, realizing the absolute need for blood, thanks also to his profession, he promoted a committee to set up a first nucleus of donors that could face the emergencies of the Umbertide hospital. The members of the Committee, in addition to him who was its soul, were Raffaele Mancini , Lamberto Beatini , Marta Gandin and Aurelia Nocioni. At the beginning it was a difficult job, both in terms of proselytism and organization, as always happens in the creation of the new, but the tenacity and wisdom of Doctor Mario and his collaborators overcame every obstacle. Along the way, the idea of founding a real section whose aims went beyond local borders took on more and more substance. He worked hard on this project, until 29 October 1969, when, during a visit to one of his patients in Niccone, he realized that the sudden illness he felt would be lethal. Any attempt to rescue was in vain. He left quickly, without disturbing anyone, he who in life and in his profession had chosen to be disturbed. Of Mariano Migliorati, the first mayor of the city after the Liberation, an appreciated and well-liked doctor, a talented gynecologist, a surgeon imposed by the desire of the population, founder of the AVIS section, only the elderly are remembered, even for some of his quick and happy jokes, and among some year will be covered by total oblivion. The younger ones, through no fault of their own, don't know who he was. In the sudden and voluminous urban expansion of our city and in the wide repertoire of street toponymy that had to be imprinted, not an alleyway, not a flowerbed bears his name. (Ed - After the publication of this volume, a street was dedicated to him in the expansion area of the city towards the Fontanelle). The naming of the streets does not respond only to administrative and logistical criteria, much less are they used by the dead since they do not appear to make them a reason for pride or ostentation with others. They have a meaning for the living as a testimony of a value, a document of a reality, a message of perennial relevance, gratitude for a remarkable work. Therefore, it becomes difficult to understand the inspiring logic, at least of a part, of the street toponymy of Umbertide and of certain systematic and deliberate silences which, in a small community, are hardly justifiable and very eloquent. Seven streets are named after Italian regions (Umbria, Tuscany, Piedmont, Marche, Lazio, Lombardy and Calabria) and eleven by cities (Siena, Perugia, Bologna, Rome, Florence, Venice, Novara, Pisa, Genoa, Naples and Turin). Upon immediate reflection, a badly concealed predilection of the Umbertidese community for central and northern Italy would seem to transpire. The flowers (azaleas and geraniums) and the ordinal numbers (3rd - 5th - 23rd - 28th - 33rd - 50th street) have bothered, as in the American metropolises, large yes, but poor in history. I stop here. Doing so dries up the memory and neglects the dutiful and grateful union with those examples that must link the past to the present. Unless the people in charge of managing public affairs have the modesty and the certainty to believe that history begins with them. I did not know Bruto Boldrini, but he should have been a balanced and generous man, as well as a present, wise and appreciated administrator for being the only contemporary Umbertide to have a street named after his name. I am delighted, but the exception proves the rule. In one of the AVIS rooms, hanging on a wall, there is the framed photograph of Doctor Migliorati, with an expression that hints at a thin smile and with the usual serene and penetrating gaze. Every time I look at it, the lines of a poem by Trilussa written in 1942 and full of bitter irony about the society of the time come to mind. It is called Lómo useless and describes the feelings of the poet through the mouth of a fetus, in spirit, which has a hand attached to the nose: "But instead I am drento ar museum, I look at the people and I make marameo. ...". Doctor Mariano Migliorati was not useless, even if he is locked up in the museum of oblivion. The committee The committees have a provisional function, aimed at achieving an objective or establishing stable and definitive bodies that can pursue the established goals and set up the appropriate organizational structure. With this understanding, the Committee, set up by Mariano Migliorati, set to work in that summer of 1959. Its members were well-known and credible personalities in the city environment, engaged in a professional activity that had forced them to the attention and esteem of the population. Marta Gandin and Aurelia Nocioni were the two Principals, respectively of the "G. Pascoli" Middle School and of the "Mavarelli" Professional Training; Raffaele Mancini and Lamberto Beatini, two elementary teachers. Beatini was secretary of the first Umbertide Didactic Circle; Mancini will become one of the second, a few years later, as soon as it is established. Aurelia Nocioni, generous and capable, sensitive to social problems and available to the spirit of service, which she already practiced with the boys in her professional activity, lavished energy and passion in this work. Marta Gandin, determined and strong-willed, was no less, and in the rigor rich in humanity, combined with the strong sense of duty, which has always distinguished her, she re-proposed those family values that were already witnessed by her father's brother, that General Antonio Gandin , Gold Medal, Commander of the Acqui Division, who on 24 September 1943 was murdered by the Germans, together with five thousand soldiers, in the massacre of the island of Kefalonia. Lamberto Beatini, the gentle giant, represents historical continuity. He was present then, in the constitutive phase of AVIS, and is now present in the life of the section, as a member of the Board of Directors, of which he has always been a part since its establishment in various roles, including that of President. The AVIS will not get rid of him easily, fortunately, and we will meet him later. Raffaele Mancini was not only the secretary of the committee, but also the right hand of Doctor Migliorati, and at that time he held the position of councilor of the municipality and of the hospital. In the initial phase, his work was instrumental. It should be remembered that the Umbertide hospital had been downgraded to an infirmary and for its redevelopment to a third category hospital, a substantial strengthening of the two nursing departments (medicine and surgery) then existing was necessary, with the creation of auxiliary services, the increase in hospital stays and building extensions. This objective began to be pursued with great tenacity since 1952 with the Benedetto Guardabassi administration and then continued with that of Alessandro Renzini until 1969, when the coveted recognition was formally granted. The hospital and the citizens of Umbria owe a lot to Renzini, Guardabassi and Mancini because it was precisely to their insistence and their personal sacrifice that our hospital obtained the desired requalification. Naturally, as always happens among humans, once things have been done, everything appears easy, due and taken for granted and to put it in a very significant rural proverb, the cage is made, the bird is dead. Those who most of all had worked to reach the goal and whose docility had been hardened by the obstacles encountered and overcome, did not enjoy the success for long as they were set aside for opportune alternation. Among the auxiliary services to be activated, that of blood donors was also taken into consideration. Mancini aims at a twofold purpose: that of strengthening the hospital for the reasons set out above and the other of constituting in Umbertide a service of high social and human value that was extremely valuable for any hospital emergencies. I spoke at length with Mancini, who in addition to having a fresh memory of past events, also has a good personal archive on the administrative events of which he was the protagonist. And he tells: "Dr. Migliorati, who came from a serious experience in Milan, immediately understood the great importance that a nucleus of local donors could have and, therefore, set to work briskly. The Board of Directors of the institution (the hospital), in perfect agreement with the initiative, made its administrative secretariat available to Migliorati for the necessary bureaucratic acts and invited me to closely follow the interesting attempt. The doctor immediately referred me the most urgent problems to be addressed, such as: - the possibility of visiting the volunteers who wished to register in the hospital outpatient clinic; - a room where to keep the medical records and the register of visits; - the purchase of the necessary material for the bureaucratic formalities. Thus it was that, with the approval of the President and the Council, they too understood the enormous importance of creating a group of donors available to our health facility (not only for the legal recognition of the hospital, but especially for the defense of citizens' health), I flanked, for the bureaucratic part of the work, Dr. Migliorati and his first collaborators: Maestro Lamberto Beatini, 1st Dean of the Middle School, Prof. Marta Gandin and the Dean of Vocational Training, Prof. . Aurelia Nocioni and some other willing people whose name escapes me now. I placed myself at the doctor's complete disposal to perform the functions of secretary and to draw up the first donor records. I had a small room adapted in the mezzanine of the hospital where the folders and other material relating to the nascent service were kept. Thus, the first nucleus of Volunteers was born spontaneously, but marked by great seriousness, which was to give life, then, to the AVIS Section of Umbertide, whose importance and availability are still cited today as a model of solidarity and altruism in the time of need, and also as a model of organizational efficiency. I believe I can affirm that, if in 1969 the Umbertide infirmary could be reclassified as a third category hospital, this is also due to the creation of our AVIS, as a support body of primary importance to the health unit ". The logistical and bureaucratic support, therefore, for the first years, is ensured by Mancini in the name and on behalf of the hospital administration, while the other members of the Committee carried out proselytizing work for a kind of voluntary service that was not so well known and widespread. as it is today. In the fatigue of the first moments, there are also some pleasant episodes. I mention one. During the thorough and meticulous examination, Dr. Migliorati asked an would-be donor if he had ever had mumps. The person concerned, who was unfamiliar with medical terminology because he was a typographer, asked what the mumps were and the doctor made it clear that it was the mumps. The typographer, known for having not really reduced auricles, replied promptly: "Ah, I was born with those!". The seed was now sown, and in fertile soil. This small group of bourgeois, to use a terminology then more in vogue than now, had created the premises for one of the most urgent and indispensable voluntary associations to help life and nourish hope. It must be acknowledged that the school world is in the front row. This school, like a karst river, appears only in moments of acute social crisis as accused of omissions and insensitivity, which generally belong to others, but it is always present in a happy and creative way even when, hidden and silent, it runs through its course. At the end of that year there were seven AVIS members. The magnificent seven The Committee began the search for volunteers starting from the known people who resided in Umbertide, following a centrifugal path. Do not forget the demographic and social situation of the city and its surroundings, described above, because the history of AVIS is closely linked to the evolution of that factor. As the capital of the municipality expands, so does the number of memberships and donations. The phenomenon recurs even today, in the youth sector, in the sense that the settlements of high schools, factories and services, appropriately reached by the AVIS propaganda, have determined a considerable influx of young and very young donors, more tiring in the fragmented reality of a time. The first adhesions, therefore, are those of volunteers close to the members of the Committee or their friends. At the head is Lamberto Beatini who affirmed his Avisian faith not only as an organizer, but also as an active member (he is the only member-donor of the Committee) who periodically underwent regular withdrawals over the following years, until the statutory provisions, relating to age limits, have allowed this. Followed by Bruschi Fernando, a veterinarian, who for professional reasons has left the city to visit it every now and then. Gambucci Luigi is the third, among the first to be called and among the most present and active in the daily life of the Section, even today. Gigetto is one of the pillars of AVIS, alongside a few others, and without his presence and his commitment, perhaps I would not be here writing this story. He works a lot, with dedication and competence, not only now that he is retired, but also before, when he was employed and then director of the local Post Office. Benedetto Guardabassi, the good and combative professor, could not miss it, just as he never missed any appointment in which something had to be built for Umbertide. He too represents a good piece of history, not so much of AVIS because his participatory state, through no fault of his own, did not last long, but of the post-war Umbertide reality. Rondini Aldo, a calm and taciturn traffic policeman, immediately boarded that Avisian train, making an important contribution as the only representative of the municipal employees in the group of seven. Silvestri Francesco, an elementary teacher, fully honored his choice and the always punctual response to the call for withdrawals demonstrates this abundantly. The last of the seven is Valdambrini Mario, an elementary teacher, who with generosity and enthusiasm answered the first call. Also in this case the school world offered strong signals of presence, implementing in practice the values of civic solidarity that in the classrooms it transmitted, in theory, to the pupils. By now the Committee was facilitated in its work, since these first seven donors became, in turn, the best external persuaders to increase the adhesions to the new initiative. And they were also ready in replying to the call for withdrawal if at the end of that year, according to what the individual files tell us, they managed to make a total of ten donations in just a few months. Not only that, but their avisian longevity demonstrates that the initial adhesions were not dictated by short-lived outbursts of enthusiasm if three of them were awarded the gold medal for the fifty donations achieved (Beatini, Gambucci and Silvestri). It is worth mentioning a few other characters who, at this starting point, had an important role, even if they were on the other side of the needle. He was a bleeder and not a donor. I refer to Staccini Mario (Mariolino) and to Lotti Italo. They were the pickers and, very often, also the authors of the donor calls. On the other hand, their work as technicians within the hospital placed them in a privileged observatory in terms of recording emergencies. They too were, in their own way, spreaders of the AVIS novelty and some good bottles of blood will have come out smiling when hearing Mariolino's jokes, to the benefit of the patient's depression. Valuable help was also offered by Franco Natali, the first collaborator of AVIS (1960), who worked generously for the affirmation of the Avisian voluntary service. His popular work continues today within the section. I pionieri La crescita I donatori I pionieri GROWTH Fervor and industriousness After the initial impulse, in 1960 there was a situation of worrying stagnation. The adhesions did not rise according to the hoped rhythm and throughout that year there was only one, that of Mario Cerrini. Donations also suffered a halt: only nine over the entire year, compared to ten in the last part of 1959. It was a physiological phenomenon, typical of the introduction of every novelty and linked to the difficulty in finding information tools for adequate propaganda, to the mental reserves with respect to a form of voluntary work, such as that of the gift of blood, which had not entered the common culture, waiting for the majority, who wanted to realize the following received. This state of affairs continued into the following years as well. In fact, 1961 did not yet allow the leap in quality. There were only two new members, Alpini Mario and Valdambrini Maria, with an evident drop in donations: seven overall, with an average of less than one for each donor. The situation did not improve in 1962 with only one new presence, that of Norberto Conti. On the other hand, donations increased slightly and reached the number of twelve. A sign of recovery occurs in 1963 with four inscriptions (Baldoni Domenico, Foni Raffaele, Sonaglia Luigi and Tognellini Rolando) and 14 samples. With Rolando Tognellini, from Pierantonio, the world of hamlets enters the group. The initiative was not in decline, but its growth was struggling and it was now clear that the difficulties were inherent in the organizational structure. The Committee had carried out its task very well and could not be asked for more, in addition to the promotional launch already given. The fervor and enthusiasm were not subsided, but alone they were not enough to pass from the avant-garde to the system. It was a question of asking for inclusion within the National Association of Blood Volunteers, to have an explicit and formal recognition by the provincial AVIS, to acquire the official Statute and to establish the governing collegial bodies. Among other things, there was to settle all the previous paperwork that went from the regularization of the membership, to the periodic call for withdrawals and the timely registration of the same. In the Garibaldi phase of the beginning, there was limited to the essential: visits to donors, the preparation of their folders and a provisional registration of donations. It also seems obvious to me that he acted like this. It was important to reach the goal and not get lost in the maze of procedures. But, by now, the time had come to take a reflective pause and from it emerged the not inconsiderable element that an efficient Board of Directors, in terms of external visibility and propaganda, would have been much more valid and appropriate than a spontaneous Committee that had operated with merit, but also exhausted the propulsive charge of the initial moment. These aspects were carefully evaluated by the members and Dr. Migliorati himself, meanwhile delegate of the provincial president of AVIS, Mr. Vincenzo Innocenti, was indicating the path that should be taken. Which then was only one and consisted in the preparation of all the requirements to have the recognition as a municipal section. The adhesions reached were not exceptional, just 15 in just over three years, but there was a lot of passion, combined with the desire to go forward in the certainty, not unfounded, of giving life to a Sodality that could reach remarkable levels. The awareness of the goodness of the purpose and the knowledge of the soul of the people of Umbertide, who never back down in times of need and solidarity, moved the intentions of the first donors, who had clearly seen the path to take. On the other hand, the experience and prestige of Doctor Mario, the founding doctor, instilled courage and confidence. Therefore, the time had come to make the qualitative leap, urgent and indispensable. We are moving towards the foundation of the AVIS Section of Umbertide. The birth of the section Foligno has always been at the forefront in the promotion of humanitarian initiatives and the coordination of the provincial AVIS, in 1963, was based in the city of San Feliciano where the President Vincenzo Innocenti resided. The same thing happened for AIDO (Italian Association of Organ Donors). In this regard, there is an episode that is worth remembering. In the autumn of 1977, the provincial councilor Hans Schoen, of Foligno, asked me to receive a person in my capacity as councilor for health of the province. "He is worthy of esteem.", He said to me, "He is a priest. Listen to him, then you will tell me." And he added no more. A few days later a priest showed up, already over the years, but still vigorous in appearance, his face with marked features and hollowed out by deep wrinkles. He told me his name was Don Pietro Arcangeli and to take care of the coordination of AIDO on behalf of the Bergamo headquarters. After having illustrated the aims and characteristics of the Association, he solicited my interest in a more stable organizational structure at the provincial level. And we talked about something else. The meeting and subsequent contacts with Don Pietro were a reason for reflection and interior enrichment. His generous humanity and willingness to serve suffering did not arise only from the pastoral mission he had chosen or from the reading and practice of the Gospel, but also from the profound knowledge of another book of the New Testament: the Apocalypse of the Mathausen concentration camp, from which he had had the rare privilege of coming out tried, but alive. Shortly after, the AIDO di Umbertide municipal group was formed and, later, also the provincial AIDO, based in Perugia. Don Pietro left us, giving us the work he had carried out on his own. Hans too is gone and his untimely and unexpected death took away from his family an exemplary father and from politics an intelligent and capable, open and honest servant. But let's get back to our topic. The Perugins arrived later, with the important contribution of the organization and the greater diffusion of the associative image, also due to their proximity to the buildings that count. The first nucleus of Umbertide donors, therefore, made contact with Foligno and in particular with Vincenzo Innocenti, the provincial president of AVIS. On June 2, 1963, the General Assembly of Members was convened at 8.30 at the hospital premises. Vincenzo Innocenti was also present, who assumed the presidency of the Assembly, convened to discuss three items on the agenda: the report by the delegate Dr. Mariano Migliorati, the constitution of the AVIS municipal section of Umbertide, the appointment of the Board of Directors and other corporate offices. Raffaele Mancini, appointed secretary, recorded the progress of the work in a detailed and precise manner. At the opening of the session, the President officially declared the UMBERTIDE MUNICIPAL SECTION AVIS and addressed words of applause to the donor members and thanks to dr. Mariano Migliorati and the members of the promoting committee, who had given life to the Association. Migliorati took the floor and reported on the activity carried out by the Committee, referred to the posters posted in 1961 and the consents and concrete contributions that followed, so much so that he could allow the opening of a postal current account with 125,850 lire, partly already spent for propaganda, the competition held in schools and insurance for members. The organizational situation was also described in detail: 44 the applications presented, 27 the diagnostic tests performed and 17 to be performed, the suitable 19, the unsuitable 8. The balance sheet was somewhat spartan: AVIS only had a refrigerator, donated by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and a wooden cabinet, donated by the Hospital of Umbertide. The report was unanimously approved. It was necessary to proceed to the election of the statutory bodies and here arose the first obstacle that Innocenti solved with intelligent speed. The statutes are made for the established bodies and not for those to be established and, according to the literal application of the rules, it would have been necessary to appoint an electoral commission to prepare for the holding of regular elections, with the loss of other precious time. Being a new institution, Innocenti unified the procedures. The commission was appointed (Cerrini Mario, Silvestri Francesco and Silvestrelli Antonio) which, on the spot, started the electoral operations, after having established that the Board of Directors would consist of five members. Silvestri Francesco, chairman of the commission, directed the voting operations. The Assembly was attended by 17 members, but only 15 voted because Dr. Migliorati and Raffaele Mancini, the only two present on the organizing committee, abstained. I report the names of the seventeen participants in the Assembly and, in parentheses, the votes obtained. It should be noted that, in addition to the presence of Raffaele Mancini as a collaborator, there are some donors who had already undergone the suitability visit with a positive outcome, but were not yet formally registered. It is the practice of the Section, in fact, to start the registration not from the moment of the presentation of the application, but from that of the acquisition of the active participatory status, which begins with the first donation. Present were: Migliorati Mariano, Mancini Raffaele (10), Alpini Mario (2), Beatini Lamberto (12), Cappanna Alberto (6), Ceccagnoli Orlando, Cerrini Mario (4), Faloci Serafino (7), Foni Raffaello, Gambucci Luigi (3), Guardabassi Benedetto (8), Pucci Angelo, Rondini Aldo, Silvestri Francesco (4), Silvestrelli Antonio (5), Sonaglia Celestino (2), Tacconi Mario (7). The five most voted members were elected: Beatini Lamberto, Mancini Raffaele, Guardabassi Benedetto, Faloci Serafino and Tacconi Mario. Another vote and another ballot for the election of the Auditors, with the following results: standing auditors: Alpini Mario, Cerrini Mario and Gambucci Luigi; Alternate auditors: Baldoni Domenico and Silvestrelli Antonio. Without proceeding to vote, the board of arbitrators was appointed by acclamation, consisting of the Mayor of Umbertide, Cavalaglio Umberto, the President of the IRB Celestino Filippi and the Director of the Cassa di Risparmio di Perugia, Umbertide branch, Carlo Bufalari. Again by acclamation, Doctor Mariano Migliorati was given the position of Medical Director. All the elected bodies would remain in office until the end of the year, since the Statute at the time provided for an annual and not a three-year duration for the corporate offices. The Board of Directors met immediately after the closing of the Assembly for the distribution of offices within it and agreed, without many dividing preambles, that Beatini Lamberto was the President, Mancini Raffaele the Secretary and Tacconi Mario the Bursar. From that Sunday of 2 June 1963, the anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic, Umbertide had its AVIS Section, with all the statutory bodies elected and animated by a great operational will, the banner and the Members, who represented the true capital of the newly formed Association. Beatini and his friends on the Board began to work with great determination, especially in the propaganda sector. The results were seen very quickly because the number of members of the Association, from that year onwards, increased dramatically. On the more strictly bureaucratic and administrative level, very little could be done because the lack of an adequate location will prevent, for some time yet, the complete deployment of the available energies. On January 19, 1964, just six months after the first, the Shareholders' Meeting met to proceed with the renewal of the offices. Already the Donors had reached the number of forty and twenty-five of them were present at the meeting. The statutory provisions on the electoral procedure, even in this circumstance, were opportunely disregarded. There was no need to set in motion secret voting mechanisms for the renewal of a Council that had been installed six months earlier and which needed a longer period of time to carry out the announced programs. Antonio Silvestrelli, therefore, proposed the reconfirmation of all the positions assigned by acclamation and the Assembly stood up clapping his hands, while the President, Mr. Adriano Pasquarelli, Vice President of the provincial AVIS, twisting his mouth, timidly made a present that the procedure was not quite regular but, since it was a particular situation, an exception could be made. Headquarters Even after the constitution of the section, the logistical reference was that of the mezzanine at the hospital. There was no better and more the hospital administrators could not offer. A different, even if not definitive, arrangement was necessary. It was not possible to manage a sodality in evident growth and in defense of vital emergencies, with only a refrigerator and a wardrobe. It needed an easily accessible address, a minimum of furniture, a telephone. Until then, the first partners had also fulfilled the commitment of domestic availability, calling each other in case of need. From the very first meetings, therefore, the Board raised the problem of the seat. The situation did not improve when, after leaving the hospital, the section found accommodation in via Leopoldo Grilli, in the building of Mario Codovini, which was used as the headquarters of the ECA. I say accommodation just to be clear and certainly not why it was so in reality. The space reserved for AVIS consisted of a passage corridor and, given the use of the ECA, one can imagine that the traffic was intense, creating evident operational difficulties. The urgency of an adequate and definitive solution is gaining momentum. And both the oral history, narrated by the protagonists, and the documentary one, described in the minutes of the meetings of the time, indicate with what commitment and tenacity this objective was pursued. The problems were twofold: the economic one of finding resources and the functional one, relating to the structural characteristics and location of the headquarters. In terms of economic resources, Beatini and the other members of the Board worked hard on all fronts, soliciting contributions and making savings. In the session of 1 July 1965, the Board decided not to make the social trip to set aside an economy to be allocated to the headquarters. The decision was ratified by the Extraordinary Shareholders' Meeting of the following 25 July. The argument was resumed at the Ordinary Assembly of November 4, 1965 and the need was argued to seek every way to increase the capital of the section (subscriptions, parties, limitation of any superfluous expenditure) in order to be able, by the end of next year , put in concrete terms the problem of the purchase of the registered office. As we can see, following an ancient and healthy popular wisdom, among the sources of income (subscriptions and parties) there is also the limitation of expenses, according to the ineluctable logic that, if the revenues are important, the prudence of the their use. With these criteria, the section will go ahead in an agreement and without hesitation whatsoever. On the other hand, the orientation regarding the structure and location of the headquarters was more vague, at least in this first moment. In the aforementioned Assembly there is talk of purchase and the expression clearly indicates that the intention was to buy a building that already exists and is available on the market. It is no coincidence that in the meeting of the Board of Directors on October 14, 1966, the problem was re-proposed in concrete and more explicit terms. President Beatini, after having communicated that 1,761,940 lire was available, pointed out that in via IV Novembre there was an apartment for sale at the price of 2,500,000 lire negotiable. The building was a little out of the way, but it could have done with us. The Council took note and undertook to submit the proposal to the Assembly. The following November 4, the Assembly was confronted with the problem of the apartment of four rooms which, with the demolition of a base, would become three, obtaining, in compensation, a room of m. 4x9 (little more than a dining room) for meetings. Any other solution would have been more expensive. The Assembly gave a mandate to negotiate, but no one negotiated. Tacconi, the bursar, did not express himself in the circumstance. Obviously, the purchase of the building did not convince anyone for reasons of location and scarcity of surface, much less Tacconi, who was thinking about different solutions. Mario Tacconi, who entered the first Board of Directors and has always been reconfirmed to date, was the soul and mind of AVIS in all circumstances, dividing himself between the position of head of public works of the Municipality and the activity of Avis volunteer. Even now that he is retired and with some health problems, he does not spare himself and his presence and his contribution are decisive for the life of the section. It is an irreplaceable pillar of AVIS. The organizational and functional explosion of the Umbertian Sodality is due to him and a few other executives. Tacconi, therefore, did not express himself at that meeting, because the solution did not convince him. Instead, he will express himself in that of the Board of Directors of 9 February 1967 in which he proposed the construction of a new headquarters, rather than the purchase of an inadequate structure. It was decided to call the Assembly immediately on the 19th of the same month to discuss the proposal. On that occasion, Beatini illustrated the hypothesis of choosing an area in the very central area of the old market, the opportunity of a tailor-made venue, and the like. Then Tacconi intervened who, having seen the building land, as a good surveyor, already had the project in mind. The report says: Tacconi goes on to illustrate, in its general lines, what would be the construction to be carried out and the possible savings that could be realized during the course of the work (to be carried out in economy), taking into account the current of sympathy among the population and the possibility that building contractors, transporters, skilled workers, unskilled workers, etc. can give free services, thus significantly reducing the costs that will be incurred for the construction, up to the coverage of the building. The building itself, which may have a size of m. 12x14, will consist of a hall on the ground floor, several rooms on the upper floor and, taking into account that the land used forms a certain depression with respect to the street level, carrying out the construction so that the floor of the aforementioned hall rises from the floor. of countryside of about m. 2.50, the lower part can be used as a warehouse, or for the heating system in the event that one day this system becomes necessary. In his capacity as financial director, he informed the Assembly that the financial situation of the section was as follows: postal current account 521,545 lire, deposit at the Cassa di Risparmio lire 600,000, deposit at Monte dei Paschi lire 631,360, deposit given to the seller of the land 400,000 lire and so for a total of 2,152,000 lire. He also pointed out that during the course of the work it was possible that the public bodies, given the good performance of the same, decided to intervene with extraordinary contributions. As you can see, the site is meticulously described in its current structure. The Assembly approved the proposal and gave a broad mandate to the Board to proceed with the utmost promptness. The subsequent formalities followed one another with enviable speed, considering the bureaucratic slowness of our public apparatuses. Architect Narciso Mariotti was commissioned to prepare the project, which saw the light in a very short time and, confirming the contributions provided by Tacconi, the professional offered his work completely free of charge. On 6 June 1967, the notary Mario Donati Guerrieri drew up the deed (Repertoire n.76519) with which the owners of the land, Wanda and Giacomina Rosini and Pierina Guardabassi widow Rosini, donated the building area to the AVIS section of Umbertide, whose value was calculated in 400,000 lire. On June 8, 1967, the building permit was granted (F. 59 - P 82) by the Municipality. The excavation work began and on Sunday 23 July 1967, with a solemn ceremony, in the presence of civil authorities (the mayor Cavalaglio) and religious, members and numerous citizens, the first stone was laid. The solidarity competition was unleashed by transporters, companies, workers to the point that a loan was drawn up with the Cassa di Risparmio of only two million which, together with the accumulated savings, allowed the coverage of construction costs . The attachment of the people of Umbria to their Avis section, as well as for reasons of solidarity and culture, is linked to the history of participation, involvement and legitimate pride that began here. The following year there was the official inauguration. It was May 26, 1968. In ten months the work had been completed! The ceremony was solemn and was celebrated in the presence of national and regional AVIS authorities, civilians, religious, and a large presence of citizens who, after Holy Mass, concluded the rite at the table. The headquarters were built, central, beautiful and functional. The furnishings were missing. And the solidarity competition continued with two talented artisans from Pierantonio, Giuseppe Ugolini and Rolando Sonaglia, who offered their free work to create the excellent and robust full-wall wooden shelving, which are visible and appreciable in the premises of the section. A few years later, for the needs of custody of various and voluminous materials, necessary for the planned activities (charity fishing, equipment for stands, etc.), the SEAS company granted the section a large basement of a new building for use, located in via Roma. In 1994, the section became the owner of it for twenty years with the consent of SEAS, the disinterested contribution of the surveyor Gilberto Pazzi and of the lawyer Vittorio Betti, who promoted and followed the issuance of the sentence of misappropriation by the Judicial Authority , renouncing their fees. Starting from the initial refrigerator and wardrobe, generously donated, AVIS now has a heritage worthy of respect, which belongs to all the citizens of Umbria. The affirmation The verification of the affirmation of a Sodality has two parameters of measurement: the number of members and the consensus enjoyed within the territory. The latter, in particular, is crucial in not making it appear an elitist phenomenon, entrusted to enlightened avant-gardes. There is no doubt that the voluntary service of blood donation soon entered the consensus and sympathy of the people of Umbria, who have always supported it in a generous and concrete way. The initial balls, the bicycle ride, the charity fishing, the donor's dinner, the social outing, have always recorded a massive participation of several hundred people, testifying to an attachment that is not episodic and occasional, but the result of a deep conviction and a widespread culture, which has made its way around the drop of blood. The economic contributions that the families of Umbertide pay to AVIS, through the bulletin attached to the Christmas newspaper, are not only the confirmation of a consolidated solidarity, but also the vital food that allows the deployment of initiatives and does not make the volunteers who work there every day. The annual budget of the section, approximately 40,000,000, is made up of three basic items: the proceeds of donations by the ULSS, the voluntary contributions of supporters and benefactors and the proceeds of some initiatives, such as charity fishing. While the former represent, in theory, certain and predictable income, the other two are entrusted to a magnanimity that may not always be certain and predictable. A real paradox occurs in Umbertide: certain entrances become uncertain, certain uncertainties. To be more explicit, it is good to remember that the regional contributions to be paid to the AVIS sections, through the territorial ULSS, established by a formal agreement with the Region in 13,100 lire for each bottle of blood and 17,100 of plasma, are far from timely, and considerable arrears accumulate. While understanding the economic difficulties faced by health care in general, this practice speaks volumes about the exaltation of a voluntary service, much acclaimed in words, but little honored in deeds. And to think that the blood drug, obtained free of charge, represents a considerable economic income in the regional and national health budget, so much so that the Region of Umbria has stipulated an agreement with the SCLAVO company of Siena, to which it entrusts, for a fee, the bottles exceeding the requirements or not usable by the expiration date, for the separation of the various blood products. It is an alarming phenomenon, which does not encourage volunteering, even if it seems consistent with the law of the market economy, which is so fashionable today, and according to which what is free it is worth little, it is due, and, in any case, it does not claim bills. If it depended on the expected and coveted contributions, the AVIS sections would be like Christmas lights, they would work intermittently with long and irregular intervals, to turn off definitively, after the party. It is a bitter observation, but also a solicitation addressed to those in charge, so that the commitments towards the Avisian volunteering, which produces resources, are among the first to be honored. On the other hand, it is a dutiful recognition to the people of Umbria and to their Municipal Administration, without whose substitute role the life of the Association would be difficult. Thanks to this support, the AVIS headquarters are open every weekday, from 3 to 7 pm to deal with emergencies and daily administrative work. This is a considerable amount of time, considering the voluntary nature of the commitment. In the beginning, when operating at the ECA headquarters, the opening hours were only Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 6 to 7 pm. Since November 18, 1963, the section of Umbertide extended its sphere of propaganda and proselytism to the municipalities of Montone and Pietralunga (which has only recently become autonomous) and informed the respective mayors by letter, based on territorial divisions decided by the Council Provincial of AVIS. The territory became increasingly vast and the adhesions more numerous. Therefore, the need arose for a systematic contact between the section and the members, which could not be entrusted to the traditional letter, for economic reasons and lack of personnel. Hence the idea of the bimonthly magazine VITA AVIS which, since 1982, has never failed in appointments, with its 13,000 copies a year, produced in an artisanal way. The reports on the activities carried out, the proposals on the working hypotheses, the invitations for the many types of initiatives, the meeting calls take place through the columns of this modest information tool which, in its simplicity, has proved useful and appropriate in terms of effectiveness and savings. In a world that was becoming computerized, AVIS could not remain tied to the uncertain amanuensis exercises. An adjustment was required to make the whole mechanism of internal procedures faster and safer. The donor cards, the calls for collection, their registration, the achievement of the merit quota, the statistics are entrusted to the electronic system of a software that two talented and willing young people, Luca Inghirami and Fabrizio Bagiacchi of STOA, have elaborated and customized, free of charge, for the needs of the section. Thus the computer has become a precious and faithful collaborator, which anticipates and controls the various work plans. A very happy idea of the Avisian management was that of setting up the library. It does not appear rich in the field of fiction, but it was not, and is not, the intent of anyone the bibliographic enhancement of this literary genre, easily available elsewhere. Instead, it collects the entire series of UTET classics, which ranges from literature to science, from religion to economics. It is a valuable heritage in terms of quality and value, open to all those who need to consult. The TRECCANI Encyclopedia, now increasingly rare, and other encyclopedic works complete the book frame of this pearl of the section. The new headquarters, the consensus received, the clarification of the organizational structure and the provision of complementary subsidies, went hand in hand with the conspicuous increase in donor members. I do not dwell on the analysis, however boring and sterile, of this aspect. I prefer to let the following table speak for itself, which I think is more useful and immediate than any other consideration. The organisms The AVIS has an organization and a structure governed by precise statutory rules that derive from the institutive law n. 49 of February 20, 1950 with which the Association was recognized as a juridical body of law with humanitarian and moral purposes. The regional and provincial, district and section councils refer to the central promotion and coordination body, represented by the National Council and its internal functional divisions. It is a pyramidal organization, necessary to ensure that the apparatus of the Sodality mirrors the political-institutional structure of the territory. The need for contacts, planning and collaboration with Local Authorities is vital for the Association whose operational contents cannot disregard, for example, the situation of the hospital structures and, even more precisely, that of the immunotransfusion services, in charge of medical checks and blood samples. Mirroring, therefore, responds to criteria of functionality and referential parallelism. It is no coincidence that the district councils were born only recently, when, not only in Umbria but also in other regions of the country, the health organization of the territory largely coincided with the size of the districts themselves. The detailed analysis of the skills and work of all the bodies indicated does not fall within the scope of this work. I will limit myself only to saying that the Umbertide section has expressed its representation in each of them, including the highest level, the National Council of AVIS, of which Mario Tacconi was an alternate member for two three-year periods from 1987 to 1992. Systematic, on the other hand, is the presence in the regional and provincial councils, while the presence in the district council is very active which, from its birth onwards (1983), saw Mario Tacconi and Rolando Tognellini alternate as presidents. For our needs it is interesting a review of all the Boards of Directors of the section, which have followed one another from the foundation onwards, not only for a historical reconstruction which, with the passage of time could be more difficult, but also for a dutiful tribute to all those who have lavished energy in a spirit of solidarity and service. YEAR 1963 SHAREHOLDERS 'MEETING of 2 June 1963. PRESENT n. 17, VOTERS n. 15. BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Beatini Lamberto (President), Mancini Raffaele (Secretary), Tacconi Mario (Treasurer), Guardabassi Benedetto (Director), Faloci Serafino (Director). AUDITORS: Alpini Mario (effective), Cerrini Mario (effective), Gambucci Luigi (effective), Baldoni Domenico (alternate), Silvestrelli Antonio (alternate). PROBIVIRI: Cavalaglio Umberto, Filippi Celestino, Bufalari Carlo. HEALTH DIRECTOR: Migliorati Mariano. YEAR 1964 SHAREHOLDERS 'MEETING of January 19, 1964. PRESENT n. 25, VOTERS n. 25. By acclamation, all those elected in their respective bodies are reconfirmed in office. TWO YEARS 1965/1966 SHAREHOLDERS 'MEETING of 4 November 1964. PRESENT n. 30, VOTERS n. 30. Following statutory changes, all bodies have a two-year duration. BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Beatini Lamberto (President), Mancini Raffaele (Secretary), Tacconi Mario (Administrative Secretary), Bruni Giancarlo (Director), Alpini Mario (Director). AUDITORS: Luigi Gambucci, Mario Cerrini, Benedetto Guardabassi. PROBIVIRI: there is no mention in the relative report. HEALTH DIRECTOR: Migliorati Mariano. TWO YEARS 1967/1968 SHAREHOLDERS 'MEETING of 4 November 1966. PRESENT n. 36, VOTERS n. 36. BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Beatini Lamberto (President), Bruni Giancarlo (Vice President), Tacconi Mario (Administrative Secretary), Natali Franco (Secretary), Tosti Mario (Public relations). AUDITORS: Pistoletti Boris, Chicchioni Giuseppe, Dario Dario. PROBIVIRI: Cavalaglio Umberto, Renzini Alessandro, Palazzetti Candido. HEALTH DIRECTOR: Migliorati Mariano. THREE YEARS 1969/1970/1971 SHAREHOLDERS 'MEETING of November 17, 1968. PRESENT n. 26, VOTERS n. 26. Following statutory changes, all the bodies have a three-year duration. BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Beatini Lamberto (President), Bruni Giancarlo (Vice President), Tacconi Mario (Administrative Secretary), Natali Franco (Secretary), Gambucci Luigi (Public relations). AUDITORS: Giuseppe Chicchioni, Boris Pistoletti, Dario Destroyed. PROBIVIRI: Palazzetti Candido, Cavalaglio Umberto, Renzini Alessandro. HEALTH DIRECTOR: Migliorati Mariano. THREE YEARS 1972/1973/1974 ELECTIONS of February 20, 1972. VOTERS n. 79. Considering the high number of members (204), the renewal of corporate offices no longer takes place in the meeting of the ordinary Assembly, but after regular voting, after setting up the polling station which remains open for the whole day. The members of the Board of Directors are raised from five to seven following a regular shareholders' resolution. BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Beatini Lamberto (Chairman), Gambucci Luigi (Deputy Chairman), Tacconi Mario (Administrative Secretary), Natali Franco (Secretary), Tognellini Rolando (Director), Tosti Gualtiero (Director), Mariotti Adriano (Director). AUDITORS: Lisetti Renato, Chicchioni Giuseppe, Pistoletti Boris. PROBIVIRI: Palazzetti Candido, Cavalaglio Umberto, Renzini Alessandro. HEALTH DIRECTOR: Bruni Giancarlo. THREE YEARS 1975/1976/1977 ELECTIONS of 22 February 1975. VOTERS n. 82. BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Beatini Lamberto (Chairman), Luigi Gambucci (Deputy Chairman), Tacconi Mario (Administrative Secretary), Natali Franco (Secretary), Mariotti Adriano (Director), Bei Alberto (Director), Tognellini Rolando (Director). AUDITORS: Lisetti Renato, Chicchioni Giuseppe, Pistoletti Boris. PROBIVIRI: Palazzetti Candido, Cavalaglio Umberto, Renzini Alessandro. HEALTH DIRECTOR: Bruni Giancarlo. THREE YEARS 1978/1979/1980 ELECTIONS of 5 February 1978. VOTERS n. 85. BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Beatini Lamberto (Chairman), Luigi Gambucci (Deputy Chairman), Tacconi Mario (Administrative Secretary), Natali Franco (Secretary), Tognellini Rolando (Director), Tosti Mario (Director), Bistoni Renato (Director). AUDITORS: Lisetti Renato, Chicchioni Giuseppe, Pistoletti Boris. PROBIVIRI: Palazzetti Candido, Renzini Alessandro, Cavalaglio Umberto. HEALTH DIRECTOR: Bruni Giancarlo. THREE YEARS 1981/1982/1983 ELECTIONS of 21 December 1980. Voters n. 275. BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Beatini Lamberto (President), Luigi Gambucci (Vice President), Tacconi Mario (Administrative Secretary), Natali Franco (Secretary), Tacconi Cinzia (Public relations), Tognellini Rolando (Director), Venturi Otello (Director). AUDITORS: Lisetti Renato, Chicchioni Giuseppe, Pistoletti Boris. PROBIVIRI: Palazzetti Candido, Renzini Alessandro, Cavalaglio Umberto. HEALTH DIRECTOR: Bruni Giancarlo. THREE YEARS 1984/1985/1986 ELECTIONS of January 29, 1984. VOTERS n. 82. The ordinary Assembly had previously resolved to raise the number of Directors from seven to nine. BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Beatini Lamberto (President), Gambucci Luigi (Vice President), Tacconi Mario (Administrative Secretary), Natali Franco (Secretary), Tacconi Cinzia (Public relations), Tognellini Rolando (Director), Lisetti Renato (Director), Venturi Otello (Director), Bistoni Renato (Director). AUDITORS: Sciurpa Roberto, Rubolini Renato, Pistoletti Boris. PROBIVIRI: Palazzetti Candido, Cavalaglio Umberto, Montanucci Giuseppe. HEALTH DIRECTOR: Bruni Giancarlo. THREE YEARS 1987/1988/1989 ELECTIONS of 8 February 1987. VOTERS n. ninety two BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Tacconi Mario (President), Tognellini Rolando (Vice President), Gambucci Luigi (Administrative Secretary), Beatini Lamberto (Secretary), Tacconi Cinzia (Press and Propaganda), Bendini Giancarlo (Organization and Development), Venturi Otello (Organization and Development), Bistoni Renato (Director), Lisetti Renato (Director). AUDITORS: Codini Orfeo, Rubolini Renato, Sciurpa Roberto. PROBIVIRI: Broggi Umberto, Cavalaglio Umberto, Palazzetti Candido. HEALTH DIRECTOR: Bruni Giancarlo. THREE YEARS 1990/1991/1992 ELECTIONS of 25 February 1990. VOTERS n. 57. BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Tacconi Mario (President), Tognellini Rolando (Vice President), Gambucci Luigi (Administrative Secretary), Beatini Lamberto (Secretary), Venturi Otello (Propaganda), Bendini Giancarlo (Propaganda), Gianfranceschi Graziano (Propaganda), Bistoni Renato ( Director), Lisetti Renato (Director). AUDITORS: Codini Orfeo, Sciurpa Roberto, Rubolini Renato. PROBIVIRI: Broggi Umberto, Cavalaglio Umberto, Palazzetti Candido. HEALTH DIRECTOR: Bruni Giancarlo. THREE YEARS 1993/1994/1995 ELECTIONS of December 20, 1992. VOTERS n. 288 The Ordinary Shareholders' Meeting had previously resolved to raise the number of Directors from nine to thirteen. BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Tacconi Mario (President), Tognellini Rolando (Vice President), Gambucci Luigi (Administrative Secretary), Beatini Lamberto (Secretary), Sciurpa Roberto (Press and Propaganda), Mariotti Walter (Recreational activities), Tognaccini Marco (Recreational activities) , Venturi Otello (Director), Lisetti Renato (Director), Bendini Giancarlo (Director), Gianfranceschi Graziano (Director), Magrini Sergio (Director), Tosti Paolo (Director). AUDITORS: Codini Orfeo, Bazzarri Luciano, Baldoni Domenico. PROBIVIRI: Broggi Umberto, Cavalaglio Umberto, Palazzetti Candido. HEALTH DIRECTOR: Bruni Giancarlo. La crescita DONORS Solidarity without a name Those who, for various reasons, are involved in the AVIS volunteer work hope to represent the moment. pioneer of the Association and hopes that scientific research, applied to the production of a blood substitute, will soon see his efforts crowned. Not because the practice of Avisin solidarity weighs on the choice of donors, but because it is desirable that a laboratory product is available more immediately and eliminates any possible area of risk that may be inherent in the methods, albeit scrupulous, of current sampling. Unfortunately, the prospect of the production of artificial blood, like any other human organ, is still very far away, the faintest horizons are not seen, and the practice followed today will remain in force for many years. The voluntary service of the donation therefore takes on very particular characteristics. Unlike any other kind of service based on solidarity and civic commitment, it is characterized by its essentiality and indispensability, aimed at life. It is a choice of life, for life; it is a silent pact whereby part of oneself is offered for the survival of others; it is a hidden bond that binds the donor to an ideal of the highest moral and civil profile and not to the recipient. Indeed, the most absolute anonymity must exist between the two. The donor knows this and has made his choice for this reason as well. The ostentation of merit and the solicitation of gratitude for the work done are attitudes that belong to other sectors and to other characters, certainly not to those who give blood with total disinterest. Thus, at the scheduled deadlines and for a lifetime, the generous, heroic volunteer receives the invitation to be taken from the section and fulfills the commitment, honoring a choice made at the time, without disaffection or second thoughts. The reader will be able to see on the following tables, how the average avisine longevity is very high, a sign of a strong ideal, alive and not weakened by the repetitiveness of the routine that flattens life in every field. It is difficult to make an identikit of the donor: it has no face, nor a particular physiognomy. It belongs to every possible social class, to every type of ideology and religious conviction; he chose to serve. Stop. In moments of crisis, such as those that our country is going through, the first values to be overwhelmed are those of support and altruism, the first subjects to suffer are the weak and the marginalized. In Umbertide, AVIS denies this trend line and reaffirms the meaning of human solidarity as a social cement and a lofty message of civilization, which does justice to any convenient individualistic utilitarianism. In this path many meet, over a thousand. And it is comforting, and full of hope, the observation that the young and the very young stand out, alongside numerous representatives of the female sex who, following the example of the first woman from Umbertide (Valdambrini Maria, 1961), have strengthened the ranks that wind behind the banner of the drop of blood. The happy island of Umbertide The title is neither boastful nor triumphal. The data speaks volumes. Every year in Italy about 2,000,000 units of whole blood are donated with a national per capita ratio of 0.03 (3%). In Umbertide, as can be seen from the following tables, the ratio is 0.09 (9%), three times higher than the national average. The more than 25,000 total donations made from the birth of the section to today, based on an average sample quantity of 350 cl, total 9,000 liters of blood. For those who like weight measurements, instead of capacity ones, I point out that it is about 90 quintals. The donations of the section, in the last decade, have been around 1200 on average every year, with a contribution of about 420 liters of blood. For our territory these are significant figures, that if they were extended nationally, we would not have problems with blood imports. Our country, poor in raw materials and therefore dependent on foreign countries for many aspects of its economy, is forced to import solidarity as well! It is a bitter and disheartening observation because it refers to a product that should abound in the Center of Christianity. Blood donations cover only two thirds of the national needs and for about one third it is necessary to resort to foreign support, with the relative fee. In Umbria, the situation is very comforting: self-sufficiency has been achieved on the blood side (red blood cells) and we are rapidly moving towards self-sufficiency on the plasma side. The donation index (donor / donation ratio) is also very good and stands at around 2.06, compared to 1.7 for the national figure. In Europe only France, Germany and Holland equal it, while Portugal surpasses it. The Umbertide Avis has lavished his generosity in many neighboring municipalities and also in distant areas of the national territory. He went where help was needed, as can be seen from the second table. Also in Arabia and Libya there is a trace of Umbertidese blood, following the presence of members who were in those countries for work reasons. At this point I would like to clarify the meaning of a terminology, already used several times. I have repeatedly used expressions such as "avisini umbertidesi", "donatori umbertidesi" and so on. I would like to clarify that these are synthetic lexical conveniences to indicate all the members who refer to the Umbertide section. I am well aware that some donors belong to other municipalities (Montone, Perugia, Lisciano Niccone) and I apologize to them, but I am sure they will understand the technical reasons of linguistics and synthesis to which the writer is subjected. The AVIS COURIER n. 3 of April / May 1995, reports the report given by Dr. Anna Lucia Massaro, Director of the AVIS Center in Turin, in a congress held in Rome at the end of April. The report is full of statistics. I use two that are very significant and show the most recent data on donations and donors. The numbers in the first row indicate the resident population with the relative percentage of the total national population. The numbers in the second row indicate the donations made and the relative percentages with respect to the total of them. The data in the third row indicate the ratio of donations for every 1000 units of the resident population. If the same method were applied to the Umbertide section, in 1994 (1385 donations) the index would be higher than 90. In the following table we can see the increase in the number of donors in the last three years and the tripling of those who have chosen the donation in apheresis. At the same time, a decline in the donation rate of the U.15 is clear. The increase in volunteers has, in any case, compensated for the slight reduction in the donation index which is very important in itself, but not to the point of preferring an increase in the solidarity of a few, instead of its extension to the greatest possible number of citizens. THE COLLABORATORS There are few moments of pause in the life of the section. As soon as you have finished working for one initiative, you begin to trade for the next one. Alongside the statutory obligations, which absorb a considerable amount of time, some demanding and consolidated appointments are now recurring. The donor's dinner, the social outing, the bike ride, the charity fishing and the newspaper are the main ones. Behind each of these deadlines, the purposes of which will be dealt with in another chapter, there is an intense and little-known work, which is well known. The members of the Board of Directors, or rather some of them, dedicate themselves almost full time and with the utmost self-denial to Avis volunteer work, but in some circumstances even their availability would not be sufficient to meet the needs, if not there was the precious contribution of the collaborators. Some of them are former donors, now emeritus, others have never been and contribute with the work performed to the needs of the Sodality. The dinner and the excursion require presence, availability and patience in collecting the memberships, registering the wishes of the participants about the group of friends not to be separated at the table or on the bus, dealing with the restaurant manager or the travel agency. Sometimes it is difficult to please everyone, since we are in the order of a few hundred people (dinner always records 5/600, the trip a little less) and some discontent escapes us, with relative protest. By now in the section we are used to and endure everything with great stoicism, even if some futility could be done without. The bike ride requires a stressful and concentrated effort in a few hours in the preparation of the refreshment baskets, in the assembly of the stand, in the preparation of the lunch at the Pineta Ranieri and so on. Also in this case it is good to keep an eye on some figures to understand the quality and quantity of the work. Participants are never less than seven hundred and the pasta being cooked exceeds two quintals. Charity fishing is the most laborious initiative. It begins in July with the mischief of 20,000 tickets and their housing in the broth ring. We continue with the procurement of prizes and the setting up of the structure to arrive at the most visible phase which consists of the drawing and delivery of prizes. The need for collaboration is essential to be attentive to requests during fishing, to supply the various sectors with prizes and to organize night surveillance shifts. The stand, which was originally set up more in the center, between the Collegiata and the Coletti Bar, has recently been moved (1986) to the square adjacent to the headquarters, precisely for reasons of functionality and speed of service. Even the newspaper, punctual to the scheduled deadlines, requires a lot of work. Drafting and printing are the simplest and most immediate tasks. Then there is the photocopy reproduction (1700 copies every two months and 7000 at Christmas), the folding, the set of addresses, the sorting by destination. I wanted to recall only some of the Avisian obligations and I apologize for having provided a sterile and boring list, but it was necessary to solicit, once again, a wider collaboration also on the part of those who have never been donors and want to be useful, in somehow, for AVIS. Fortunately, there has been no shortage of collaborators in the history of the section and they are the sixteen listed in the following table. At present, there are only 11 assets left, as can be seen. Among these, some offer occasional but timely and important services, such as the assembly of the various stands, others are present on a daily basis and are involved in all sectors. The problem of staff mobility, at AVIS, has been solved for some time and without grumbling. Lisetti Renato belongs to the latter category. He is always present and knows how to do everything, with unique precision and tenacity. He hasn't built eyes on fleas yet, just because he hasn't had a chance. In the Extraordinary Assembly of Christmas 1994 he was awarded the Silver Drop. LEISURE The focus on free time and the proactive role of related initiatives were a constant feature of the section. The logic that inspired this orientation is not competitive with other subjects, more qualified for similar tasks, nor the post-working one to satisfy the needs of the workers. Much more simply, it is the natural and necessary logic of an Association that intends to achieve its objectives. The first is that of the diffusion of nature and tasks. It is a propaganda requirement. In the society of commercials, one can easily grasp the importance of this aspect, which is not linked to the marketing of a visible and perhaps even useful product, which recurs on its own, but to a choice that is not very visible and which, referring to the solidarity, could be considered a problem of others, like the altruist of jokes who, engaged in powerful reflections on the evils of the time, bitterly concluded: "How selfish the world is! Everyone thinks of himself, only I think of me". In truth, the diffusion of the associative image, its indispensability and its tasks should also take place for other channels with greater audiens, such as those of a state television, paid for with the contribution of all. But in a corporate conception of life, based on costs and revenues, there is not much room for these utopias and you have to fend for yourself. For a very short period and on the initiative of the national AVIS, a beautiful and effective television advertisement on Avis volunteering was broadcast. Then nothing more. But AVIS is also the Association of Hope that confidently awaits some Minister of Health who, counting in hand, may realize that donors, after all, are also an investment. In the meantime, we do it alone, organizing those moments of associative life that best respond to the characteristics and requests of a specific territory and witnessing the practice of essential volunteering. The second is connected to the typical needs of each association, which must also look internally and prepare opportunities for meeting between its members and their respective families to strengthen the association ties. The characteristics of our reality have meant that this aspect has never been pursued in a restricted way and the initiatives of the section have always been proposed and open to all, so as not to give the impression of a reserved club. In general, the obsessive attention to the internal dynamics of any type of group, provided that it strengthens its vitality, always goes to the detriment of the consensus and sympathies that must be sought from the outside. Finally, some initiatives aim at creating economic resources, even if modest and marginal, which are essential for normal functioning. This key has already been touched previously. Rather than complaining about the delays of others or pitying around paralyzing difficulties, Avisian creativity has always placed itself in the forefront to overcome arduous obstacles and widespread institutional negligence, finding, among the people, consensus and concrete answers to its appeals. Consistently with the associative nature, which lives to give, it has aimed at its statutory duties, rather than at the rights sanctioned by complementary agreements, albeit important, which it is to be hoped that they will be respected with greater punctuality. Thus, since its inception, the section has organized parties, very fashionable at the time, today a little less so that they have gone into disuse, charity fishing and more. The fruits have been seen and are seen. Not only was the headquarters built, but the vitality of the Sodality is in good health. The party Leafing through the old archive papers gives off a subtle smooth smell. The notes chase each other quickly and the dance steps of the fans embroidering the floor can be glimpsed. Going into more detail, there are those who really dance and those who, arranging themselves as best they can, just squeeze. All around, attentive and inquiring eyes, they analyze clothes and attitudes, commenting on the party. It is the show within the show. The AVIS series of balls is quite long. To be exact, it has 23 editions. Begun in 1964, it was repeated until 1986 with punctual regularity. Inside, two phases can be distinguished: that of TEACINE and that of the PEOPLE'S HOUSE. There are also attempts to replicate Pierantonio (three veglioni) and Montone (one), but they don't last long. Clear sign that organizational investment did not find adequate participation responses. The Teacine phase runs from 1964 to 1979. For the first three years (1964/66), the archive is not of great support. The dates of the parties, the indication of the orchestras and the number of participants are missing. In a separate note, as well as on the relative report, the 1965 collection, equal to 412,000 lire, is reported. More details can be found in subsequent editions. In 1967 the party took place on February 4 with the presence of the singer Maria Doris, accompanied by the pianist Cappellari and the I RILEVATI orchestra. The animator of the party was Tonj Bani who successfully entertained the 420 people present at the Teacine. The two years that followed saw the same PINUCCIO orchestra and the MORITATs and the women's ensemble LE NAIADI on stage. The attendances on February 3, 1968 were 520, while those of January 25 of the following year dropped to 451. In 1970 the participation registered a further decline, despite the presence of a famous orchestra LA BANDA DI DON BACKY with the singer Bruna Lelli. Only 380 were present on that evening of January 24th. The following four years marks the era of LOS TROVADORES with the singer Eliana. It seems that the musical group has received a good approval rating to be reconfirmed four times. Participation also remained high, constant and loyal: 430 present on 1/30/71, 420 on 1/22/72, 480 on 1/7/27 and 575 on 2/23/74. On 3 March 1973 Pierantonio also made his debut with his first AVIS party. Things did not go badly. 410 people participated, cheered by the complex THE NEW FORMULA. Even two years later (8/2/75), the second Pierantoniese edition held up enough with 320 participants. But the following year (21/2/76) the organizers were disappointed by the 190 appearances alone. And the experience closed. Pierantonio ends and Montone tries. On 11 January 1975, there was the only Montonese edition of the AVIS party with 215 admissions. Too few. It is right to give blood for others, but not in all fields! The twelfth Umbertide edition took place on January 25, 1975, with the MARIOTTINI orchestra and 430 participants. The same orchestra will also be present in the 14th with 520 participants, on January 29, 1977. In the interlude (29/1/76) the Teacine hosted a complex with an interesting and fashionable name, the LIVING CROUP, which attracted 510 people. The series of the first phase is closed by the I MONELLI orchestra which on 28/1/78 and 10/2/79 was followed by 520 and 410 people respectively. By now the construction of the Casa del Popolo was finished. For the very young who will read these pages in a few years and will no longer find the building, I remember that it stood next to the Sports Hall, in the area currently occupied by the COOP, whose needs have left the people homeless. The AVIS section aims at a qualitative leap in the organization of the party. The new structure not only offered much larger spaces than those of the Teacine, but also allowed the possibility of restaurant service. From 1980 onwards there will be a party with dinner (based on fish). The mechanism worked, if we take into account that on March 15, 1980 the participants in the party were 2,070. Even if the call of the Goggi sisters, who animated the evening, was decisive, it alone does not explain the participatory success. The novelty factor also played a role. But it was the beginning of the end. Subsequent editions, prepared with care, maximum commitment and with the hiring of famous names, recorded a constant and worrying decline in attendance. On 17/2/81 with Ivan Graziani, there are 1,645 participants. The following year (13/2/82), with the PIERONI orchestra only 1,030 presences. By now the trend was downward and in the following years there will be a three-digit participation: 930 on 29/1/83, 759 on 4/2/84, 926 on 2/2/85 and 525 on 2/2 / 86. The preparation work was enormous and in remittance, despite the contribution of a massive volunteer, and it was appropriate to suspend the initiative. The last party, which closed the series and the story, was the 23rd, that of February 2, 1986. Tastes were evolving, nightclubs were in full swing, and television was offering competing shows. In this overall picture, the younger Avis people preferred other haunts and the older ones were getting a taste for slippers. The donor's dinner The dance ended, but dinner remained. From 1988 onwards, AVIS organizes this moment of meeting between donors, their families and friends, at carnival, during the month of February each year. It is a real opportunity to be together and in solidarity, without other reasons. From an economic point of view, in consideration of the symbolic price charged to donors, it represents a significant burden for the section's finances. The circumstance always attracts many people, equal to that recorded in the last party, between 500 and 600 people. Such participation posed various organizational problems and required adequate choice solutions, such as the search for a large restaurant, a not too sophisticated menu, quick table service and an affordable price. For now these characteristics have been found at FARO ROSSO, the Montanaldo restaurant in the municipality of Gubbio, which has always given satisfactory answers to the needs represented. The only problem is the distance from Umbertide, but there seem to be no better alternatives and once a year, it is worth facing the inconvenience. Charity fishing The first days of September are those in which the Umbertidese community finds itself, or at least found itself in the recent past, to rediscover its roots. In that period is the Nativity of the Madonna (8 September), Patroness of the town, and around the religious event, recreational and recreational events with an ancient popular flavor have flourished which, framing the Sacred Rites, re-propose ancestral uses. This happens almost everywhere on the feast of the patron saint. But even this dimension of authenticity is disappearing, under the banner of a mercantile and false triduum, represented by the Fairs which, moreover, give abundant signs of tiredness and decline. Among the customs that have remained there is only the bingo in the square and the charity fishing of AVIS, one of the first initiatives of the section that has happily survived since 1964. Its location among the celebratory events of the patron saint wanted to represent a modest but significant contribution of presence and involvement and, in a market season, it remains the only beneficial opportunity. And if luck helps you win something you like, so much the better. AVIS does not skimp in the selection of prizes to be offered, as the history of recent years can confirm. Thus charity fishing is becoming one of the few remaining traditions, despite its youthful thirty years of life. When the location of the structure was changed, from the Collegiata to the square adjacent to the headquarters (1986), serious fears emerged because the Fairs had moved the epicenter of the turnout to another part of the city, while moving further away from the transit area. . The fears turned out to be unfounded and the request and the exhaustion of tickets, with the same timeliness of the past, give hope that the Avisina proposal has become commonplace. It is a hope on which the AVIS counts a lot because fishing represents a source of contribution, even if limited, directed towards the self-financing of the section. The calculation is transparent and within everyone's reach. There are 20,000 tickets and knowing the price, you can establish the collection. According to the provisions in force on the subject and the practice generously followed, the value of the prizes is always much higher than half of the planned revenues. In each edition the net profit exists only thanks to the contribution, never lacking, of a significant number of volunteers and commendable quality. The contribution of the very young of both sexes is very significant, who, instead of going up and down the fairs, lend a hand in the distribution of prizes. The cycling walk The penultimate Sunday of June each year (the last, in case of bad weather), is dedicated to cycling. The event is truly spectacular and sees hundreds of cyclists with the AVIS insignia wind their way along the established route. There is everything: men, women, young people and boys. There are entire families who face the path according to the available energy. It's a walk, not a race, and there are no winners or losers. The organization is accurate with lots of relays, security staff, checkpoints and refreshment points. The vehicles that collect the participants in crisis and the medical ambulance close the colorful serpentine, as in all competitions worthy of respect. The itineraries, in general, are those of the city center and the outskirts of the Municipality for a length of about 20/30 kilometers. Twice the walk crossed its own territorial limits, in 1980 and 1982. In the first case it started from Città di Castello, after having mobilized the Umbrian Central, which transferred participants and bicycles to the Tifernate capital. In the second, the departure took place from Gubbio where the cyclists were transported by bus and the two wheels aboard the four trucks. The event is a good opportunity to make the presence of AVIS visible in the area and to stimulate curiosity and interest, but it is also a valid associative moment that enlivens interpersonal relationships between those who participate in it. The first moment of fatigue is followed by that of relaxation represented by the lunch at the Pineta Ranieri, set up by the AVIS volunteers, and by the musical show in the afternoon. The participation, always high, indicates the goodness of the choice and the growing satisfaction contributes to making the event an Avisian tradition, which has been repeated since 1979. Amateur sports groups Under the banner of AVIS, amateur sports groups have arisen which have contributed to spreading the associative image and its role. The sporting commitment, especially at the level of amateurs, is linked to passion, a little sacrifice and above all to age. When any of these requirements fade, the disintegration of the group is the natural consequence. This is what happened for the AVIS PODISTIC GROUP , founded in 1980 with excellent intentions and interesting initiatives. It remained active only for three years and from 25 April 1982 all traces disappeared. In 1993 the Umbertide AVIS CYCLING GROUP was born, equipped with a regular and lively sporty outfit with the colors and the symbol of the Association and animated by a great desire to do. The Board of Directors has deliberated the initiative with pleasure, with the hope that its presence and its activity will have long and happy results. The social outing The organization of trips for recreational purposes is quite common in all associations. In that of Avis the attention to free time is even greater because it is an important vehicle for the dissemination of voluntary blood work and propaganda, urged on several occasions by the statutory and regulatory provisions. In Umbertide the reminder was collected and also the trips, together with all the other initiatives previously described, became part of the associative practice. The social outing has the charm of escape, of curiosity for a new experience, of cultural and human interest in aspects of the world that are not directly known or not very usual in the flow of our existence. Furthermore, "traveling" realizes a natural necessity in every phase of life and in every epoch of history (Ulysses) because it interprets one of the intimate characteristics of the human soul, the desire for discovery and the thirst for knowledge. A little for these reasons and a little because the AVIS trip has entered the deadlines to be met, the request is always numerous and the participation is high. In some cases, and when it was possible, contact was made with other avisine sections of the areas visited, with the possibility of reciprocal exchange, which allowed a useful and constructive comparison of ideas and experiences. Even the trip, like the other events, is a familiar attraction and it is not always easy to reconcile the individual costs with their global impact within a nucleus that intends to participate fully. In the Extraordinary Christmas Assembly this aspect is the most debated to make the proposed itineraries compatible with the expected costs. The history of Avisi travels has already turned 125 and has allowed the numerous groups of participants to visit interesting cities, landscapes and monuments of our country, with a few trips abroad, as can be seen in the summary table below. All the AVIS trips, with the exception of the first two in 1970, were organized by the TUTTOTURISMO agency of Perugia with competence, high professionalism and general satisfaction of the participants. The Avisini and the Pope The trip that seventy Avisini from Umberto I made to Rome on Saturday 26 April 1980 was quite different. On that day the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, had set a special audience reserved for blood donors, in the Nervi room. The section did not desert the appointment. I apologize to those who consider it inappropriate to mention the event in this chapter, but the others lent themselves even less. On the other hand, free time is also a dimension of the spirit. AVIS AND THE SCHOOL Blood volunteering is not a missionary choice, but a civic commitment of solidarity on which, moreover, every form of social coexistence is based. It therefore affects the level of culture and education and directly calls into question the school, as a privileged place in which educational processes develop in an intentional and systematic way. The same Statute of AVIS, in article 6, explicitly reaffirms this concept and recurring agreements between the National Headquarters and the Minister of Public Education have planned various interventions in the school field. In Umbertide, the section was very prompt in collecting the proposal and schools of all levels have always offered the maximum availability and the widest collaboration. The first initiative addressed to the world of schools took place in 1961, by the Organizing Committee. The section wasn't there yet. Little is known about this "competition", the traces of which appear on a simple sheet of notes (the outline of the intervention of Doctor Mariano Migliorati at the founding Assembly of the section, June 12, 1963) and any type of material produced is missing. More documentation we will have later. It should be noted that the meeting with the school takes place on two tracks with different but convergent and complementary contents. In the first there is the direct relationship with the students, held by some members of the Board and above all by the Health Director, Dr. Giancarlo Bruni, to illustrate the association's purposes and the specific problems of blood. It is a fertile and constructive moment in which the interventions of the pupils enrich and personalize the debate, while building, on the inner level, the conviction of a noble and attractive objective to be kept in mind at the right time. The youthful age, charged with rigorous and disinterested ideal impulses, lends itself very much to a proposal of altruism and self-denial. And there is a sequel. It has been the practice of the section, for many years now, to send wishes for the completion of the eighteenth year of age, to all the young people of the Municipality. The letter, one of the first or the only one, that the recipients find in their hands on the day they come of age, also refreshes the seed thrown in the school desks. It is a kind and very fruitful initiative, if only in terms of human contact. The second consists in announcing drawing competitions or free compositions that stimulate youth creativity and end with the award ceremony for the best works. This sector is well cared for by the district management and in particular by its President, Tognellini Rolando, who dedicates a lot of energy and a lot of passion to it. In truth, Tognellini is also dynamic in the relations of the section (of which he is Vice President) with the outside world, both institutional and private. The second competition was launched in 1966. It was a free composition and there was a large participation. The works judged the best and awarded were those of Riccardini Graziella (class 3 ° B Middle School "F. Mavarelli"), of Boldrini Maura (class 1 ° B Middle School "G. Pascoli") and of Galeati Rita (class 4th Institute Professional for Commerce). It is a pleasure, after many years, to rediscover a piece of history from the past and I propose the compositions in the full text. “Why was this Association born? Why is everything done to spread it among men? These are questions that can only be answered: love of neighbor. By giving only a little of our blood we can give life back to a person who, although unknown, belongs to us because he is part of a large family: Humanity ". Boldrini Maura, 1st B “Who are you illustrious unknown, creator of AVIS? I don't know your name, but I can appreciate you, understanding how important the work that blood donors do. Where and how do you get the idea of such a beneficial initiative for humanity? Perhaps they were scenes of pain similar to those that inspired the well-deserving French officer who, on the fields of San Martino and Solferino, had the idea of founding that noble institution called the Red Cross? Now the white ambulances arrive in the most distant countries of the world to bring help to those who suffer, defying dangers of all kinds. Alongside this work, I place that of blood donors because they too, committed to the defense of human life, run right where life struggles most severely with death. I admire them and, if I can, I will also want to imitate them. It will be the best way to give thanks to God for making me strong. Bloodless bodies abandoned on white hospital beds pass before the eyes of my imagination, I imagine people anxious at those beds and I can therefore understand what satisfaction the blood donor will feel, if he helps to revive those who were about to die. I read in my anthology a phrase that made me meditate: "There is no more sacred good than life" and therefore I feel that it is admirable who runs where life launches its desperate SOS. At the ceremony held in my country in honor of blood donors, next Sunday, I would like all citizens to participate united in a true spirit of brotherhood and understanding for the great pains that illnesses and serious road accidents cause, so that we can all be hit ". Riccardini Graziella, 3rd B “There are particular moments in life when we need to feel close to our neighbor to hear the immeasurable value of a word of comfort, a good gesture, a smile. It is amazing, however, how easily we forget who has lent us a hand. It makes us wonder if altruism still exists or if it was the invention of some unrepentant idealist. No, altruism still exists because there are those who believe in love, in generosity, in neighbor. Our fault, if we can define it that way, is to live in the world, isolated from the world. We are used to looking at what happens outside our family, our environment, with a detached, foreign eye, participating only for pure exteriority in universal pain, without reflecting that there is someone who needs a word, of affection. Perhaps the fault lies with modern society, the frenetic evolution of progress, the intense rhythm with which the hours of our day, always full, are marked. But let's be honest, it's our fault too. We do not seek, as usual, a justification; we admit that we have dried up, that we have become socialists, opportunists, selfish and have forgotten the just, the true human values; we have distanced ourselves from those who suffer without thinking of finding ourselves at any moment in a hospital ward, looking for a friendly look, even just with our eyes, a reassuring and understanding smile. We expect a lot from others, but what do we do? Looking at the question from a religious point of view, the solution is at hand. “Love your neighbor as yourself”; the rest is peaceful. We know this too, but let's not lift a finger. When we are scrupulous we look around in search of a good work to do, but we never find it, perhaps because when something is uncomfortable, we prefer not to see it. This is reality, the worst side of reality, but fortunately there are still those who feel human pain and sacrifice themselves to relieve it. Is it possible to give back to a mother her own dying child, to save a life, a family? Yes, it would be enough for us to feel more human, more alive, more real. It would be enough for us to strengthen those bonds of brotherly love that unite us Christianly and make us feel a part of humanity. Have we ever thought about donating our blood, a part of ourselves to those who need it? Maybe yes, but we considered it almost absurd, beautiful, so beautiful as to make us feel heroes, but absurd. We have all experienced the anguish, the fear of losing a loved one. Amidst tears, with despair in the heart, it is too spontaneous to say to the Lord: "I offer you my life in exchange for his". This is not absurd, it is love, love that knows no selfish limits and repressed generosity, it is love in the evangelical sense of the word. We all have a heart, perhaps we don't listen to it often, because we could find what we are anxiously looking for all our life in a simple, very sweet smile of gratitude from an unknown person. Galeati Rita, 4th Institute Prof. There were numerous similar initiatives in the following years. The last was from 1995 on the theme AVIS, LIFE and the language chosen by the participants was that of drawing. The jury found itself in the embarrassment of having to choose one, because all the works presented were of a high level, both in the expressive technique and in the quality of the contents. The award ceremony took place in solemn form in the "S. Francesco" room on June 3, 1995 and one of the first prizes was awarded to Marcucci Maura (3rd class "F. Mavarelli" Middle School in Pierantonio) for the drawing that is reproduced . The world of school, a privileged sector of the Avisian attention, did not prevent a broader view and in 1967, a poetry competition was launched open to all on the theme MY VALLEY: MEN AND THINGS, PROBLEMS AND ASPIRATIONS. The copy of the announcement, due to the interest and participation it obtained, is reproduced here and the three poems that obtained the first prize ex aequo are also reported. They are by Roselletti Achille , Tosti Mario and Cancian Antonio . THE ABSENT Sooner or later it happens to everyone to wage the last battle of life, the one that no one has ever won. Those who have supplied considerable troops to the battles of others and after a generous militancy, suddenly misses the call, also undergoes this ineluctable fate. It is difficult to closely follow the personal stories of each donor. The number is high, the places of residence are more disparate, the sectional presence of volunteers employed only in the afternoon. It happens, then, that some mournful event becomes known in untimely circumstances to externalize a formal act of condolence. The subject has been debated for a long time and for some time, in the various Directors. On the one hand, systematic silence, even if innocent for failure to communicate the event, could appear as a symptom of indifference and insensitivity, inconsistent with the associative purposes. On the other hand, external participation in pain only in the cases of which we know, could be interpreted as discriminatory attention for some particular partner. The prevailing and practiced orientation is that of not resorting to any formalities, in cases of mourning involving the shareholders. But the Avisian family is not insensitive to a disappearance that also affects it directly and wanted to make a more lasting gesture than a simple crown of flowers. In the city cemetery a stone was erected, three travertine steles of unequal height, the DONOR'S CLIP . The names of the emeritus and active members, of the collaborators and of the founder who left us, are all there, engraved in bronze, and exposed to gratitude and memory. The list is already long and frames many other names of that strip of land where love and hatred, vainglory and humility, generosity and avarice end. The cippus, in its simplicity and harmonious composure, wants to be, in death, the emblem of the life of the avisino. It was conceived and edited by the architect Bazzarri Luciano . The inauguration took place in a solemn form on June 24, 1990. Many will remember that on that Sunday the cycling tour took place, which started after Mass at the Cemetery and the short inaugural ceremony, in the presence of numerous participants already in their starting clothes. . COMMIATO And the story continues. It belongs less and less to the elderly person who writes it and more and more to the young person who reads it. It is natural that this is the case, to reaffirm life with its burdensome commitments, sacrifices, pains, joys and hopes. It is a bit like the physical law of ice formation in the polar cold, which if they were not lighter than the underlying liquid that originates them, they would settle without the possibility of life on earth. The founders of AVIS found those who supported them and then replaced them in their daily organizational work; the first donors were joined by a large group of young people who grabbed the baton to pass it on to others, in the interminable relay race of solidarity. This will also be the case in the future, because the choice of volunteering from Avis has become connatural to the people of Umbria, testifying to the solid roots of human sensitivity and high civicism, not yet completely contaminated by the contemporary categories of prevailing individualism. In giving this modest work to the press, I feel the duty to thank those who gave me a hand: Luigi Gambucc who, with solicitude and concern, provided me with all the archive data, checking them with scrupulous diligence and with the competence of those who the history of AVIS has it in mind. Without his help, these pages would have come to light much later. So much gratitude also to the Publisher, the GESP of Città di Castello and to its owner Paoloni Sandro who, as a good Avisino, wanted to contribute with the utmost generosity by offering the section the free printing of the book, with the participation of Mrs. Franchi Roberta and the Mr. Ascani Ascanio. But I have to thank, in particular, all the people from Umberto I whose hidden and silent effort was a high teaching for me, which made mine lighter. Precisely to contribute, in a minimal part, to the concrete testimony of solidarity that is usually practiced at AVIS, I assign all the copyrights inherent in this volume, except for the right to modify its content, to the AVIS SECTION OF UBERTIDE which, with the offers obtained from its diffusion, it will be able to better meet the economic needs of its many initiatives. I donatori

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

The population over time Le linee di indagine I "numeri" del Piccolpasso Il Giorgi ed il popolamento sparso I "dati" della Diocesi nel 1808 I censimenti del Regno d'Italia Lo spostamento verso la città L'esubero dei lavoratori e la "morte" della mezzadria L'immigrazione L'immigrazione neocomunitaria The radical change in the resident population followed a growing trend motivated by the need to search for a better place to live, a possibility linked to job opportunities. Seasonal jobs and the development of engineering have laid the foundation for being an attractive place. Local emigration is the result of displacement flows from North Africa and South America but also from European "history". The fall of the Berlin wall triggered Albanian emigration to Italy, and today the second "foreign resident population" in Umbertide has Albania as its starting country. The enlargement of the EU in 2006-2007 has given way to an increase in "neucomunitari" residents from Romania, the third place of origin of foreign residents in Umbertide. The first sudden "detachment" of the resident population immigrated to Umbertide, already full-bodied because in a ratio of about 1/16 compared to the total resident, it certainly happened between 2002 and 2006. According to the survey " Umbertide Economy and society: the municipality and the territory " of the Umbra Research Agency, it went from 905 foreigners residing in the municipality to 1666. Based on ISTAT data referring to 31 December 2005, the population from Morocco it reached 501 units (299 males and 202 females). Residents from Albania reached 394 people (210 males and 184 females) ; from Algeria 140 (97 males and 43 females); From UK 77 (38 males and 39 females); from Romania 73 (29 males and 44 females); from South America 80 (32 males and 40 females). The dynamics linked to the enlargement of the European Union have also influenced the radical change in the population of Umbria, especially that relating to 2006-2007 which saw the enlargement extend to Romania and Bulgaria. The enlargement in 2007 led, in fact, to a notable increase of "neo-community" residents in the demography of the Municipality of Umbertide. Above all, the Romanian population increased exponentially: it went from 48 residents (21 males and 27 females) in December 2004 to 234 residents (108 males and 126 females) and in 2016 there were 459 residents (176 males and 283 females). Le linee di indagine (edited by Francesco Deplanu) As regards the demography of the territory, we propose a diachronic path, from the sixteenth century. to date, in search of significant trend lines even if exposed to the diversity of sources and survey times. We believe, however, that we can identify two "lines" of trend: 1) the change of an almost millennial form of settlement, from "scattered" to "centralized", 2) the inversion from being a land of emigration, starting in the 1960s, to being a "land of arrival", from the end of the 21st century. This attempt will not be able to give certain indications. This is because both for the vastness of the time considered that due to the lack of cognitive demographic interests in the surveys that reached us from the sixteenth century to the nineteenth century, as well as the differences in the forms of survey: from the castle to the countryside, from the “fires” to the “people.” As regards the sources, after the "Council of Trent" up to the unification of Italy it is above all the Dioceses and parishes that can give us important information. Only with the Kingdom of Italy and the contemporary ISTAT data of the Italian Republic can we get a less uncertain idea of the evolution of demography as a whole. For centuries the population of Fratta it remained in an extremely limited number. Piccolpasso in 1565 shows us in fact between 300 and 400 inhabitants. Giorgi's map, from a few decades later, always shows us a small amount of population within the walls, but it gives us a new "datum." That is, most of the population lived around the walls, and it was distributed in a "sparse" manner. Settlement that was consequence of an economic system, sharecropping, which will characterize the distribution of the fine population to the second half of the twentieth century. We can dare to find a line of union between the sixteenth and twentieth centuries, regardless of the increase in the population in approaching us, or in the constant division of the population between "countryside" and "city walls". scattered settlement linked to the exploitation of the territories: the system sharecropper. Since then, but concentrated in the last 70-80 years, we can identify two "revolutions" that have changed the use of the territory and the Umbertidese demography. The first great revolution was the crisis and then the end of sharecropping, which led to the abandonment of the countryside and the growth of the urban fabric, as well as the emigration of the population. Emigration lasted until the 1970s; internal and abroad. The second great revolution depended on another change in the production system: mechanization in the primary and secondary sector, which made the local production system attractive for some areas of the world, from seasonal to metalworking jobs. This second major demographic change transformed us from a land of emigration to a land of immigration. Let's start with "order": Piccolpasso in " The plants and portraits of the cities and lands of Umbria under the government of Perugia ", he spoke of 80 fires connected to the castle: " Fratta dei Sigli di Uberto fires about 80. ". Historians in general hazard a number of 4-6 "souls" for "fire", we can consequently think of a population of 320 to 480 people. Piccolpasso, "The plants and portraits of the cities and lands of Umbria subject to the government of Perugia" by G. Cecchini, Publisher of the National Institute of Archeology and Art History, Rome 1963. Image from "Central Institute for the Single Catalog of Italian Libraries and for bibliographic information": https://manus.iccu.sbn.it//opac_viewImagesManuscript.php? ID = 69561 Giorgi's Charter from the mid-16th century it is instead a "thematic map" which had the intent to represent the numerical entity of the "souls" present in the various parishes (two sheets obtained from two copper plates (475 x 680 mm each) of the Diocese of Gubbio. " Diocese of the city of Gubbio, described by the Most Reverend Don Vbaldo Georgii Clerico Evgubino ... " It is the representation of the data that the bishop Mariano Savelli, in 1567, asked to indicate to the parish priests with the number of families belonging to their parish and the distances that separated from the parish church, under the penalty of 50 florins as a fine for “reluctant” parish priests. Perhaps the final figures are at the end of 1570. The Charter (98 x 68 cm) is a real demographic census of the Diocese of Gubbio according to what was established in the Council of Trent, 1563, for the reorganization of the parishes. The Charter was created with data regarding the state of souls, with the location of parish churches, parish churches, inhabited areas, villas. On the map there is a division into squares and rectangles that roughly delimits the parish district, usually with numbers indicating the distance in miles from the parish. In the southern area, where our "Fratta" insists, we see that the percentage of dispersion of the rural population is very high, this suggests to "sharecropping". In contemporary documents there is also talk of "vinea" which indicates the cultivation of the vine practiced on the ground. Surely this spatial distribution of the population, with scattered settlements, speaks to us of a new tranquility of being able to live outside the city walls compared to past centuries and of a productivity of such places. It does not describe the territory, where it is cultivated or wooded, but the distribution of the population. With some precision, however, it is also possible to obtain the number of inhabitants of the various places, as well as of the entire diocese which had more than 20,000 inhabitants, taking into account that each "house" indicated 5 people. In the quadrant of the parishes around “La Fratta” they are identifiable 42 “houses” outside the walls and 22 inside. Within the walls of ancient Fratta, with the parish of San Giovanni in good evidence, considering this "rule" to be true, there are 22 "houses", or about 110 people. walls in the countryside. Since the houses in the quadrant are 42. For the same counting system there are 210 people outside the walls, about 320 people in the parishes of Fratta. Very similar to that of Piccolpasso. "Diocese of the city of Gubbio, described by the Most Reverend Don Vbaldo Georgii Clerico Evgubino ..." Image from "Lithographic copy of Giorgi's map published in 1574" by the Flag-waving Group of Gubbio with the contribution of Enrico Passeri Financial Advisor of the Azimut Group ", 2005 Until the Kingdom of Italy we have no univocal and easy to interpret data while the contemporary age, with its large population movements from the countryside to the city in the post-war period and the immigration flows of the last decades, can be investigated in more detail. These will be the events on which we will focus in order to better understand in which direction the identity of our country can go. For this at the end of the page you will find the references to the subsections of "arrivals", with the first stories of the people who arrived with the immigration phenomenon and of the "departures", with the first stories of our emigrants especially in the period 1950-70. However, we know, for example, that in the register of souls of the Diocese of Gubbio of July 1808 it appears that in the "Fratta" there were 346 inhabitants in the parishes of San Giovanni Battista and of Santa Croce (with Sant'Erasmo) 1051 inhabitants, both urban and rural, there were therefore 1397 souls in total. The source is a post by the local historian Cece di Gubbio . However, it is impossible to compare these data with those of about 50 years later, with the Kingdom of Italy, which present more than 10,000 inhabitants in the municipality of Umbertide. This is because the Diocese does not correspond to the whole territory of the "Comunità di Fratta" Institution (denomination of 1808) and there should be other parishes under the Dioceses of Città di Castello or Perugia, with the relative documents. Other information on the settlement of Umbertide in the nineteenth century comes to us from Renato Codovini thanks to the reworking made by Fabio Mariotti in our section on " Fratta-Umbertide 800 ". During the Napoleonic rule, in 1812 the" Maire "Magnanini communicated as a population of the Community of thicket "about 1,000 inhabitants", to specify after a few days a smaller number, 790 inhabitants. The first more precise indications in the following decade they do not come from a secular source, but from a religious one. Codiovini informs us: " In 1833 we have a first" state of souls ", a statistical survey wanted by the bishop, made by the parish priests house by house and therefore quite reliable. From this we learn that the inhabitants of the town are 825 gathered in 205 families, with an average of 4 people per family. Of these, 140 belong to the parish of S. Erasmo and S. Croce united and 65 families to that of S. Giovanni Battista. ". The fluctuations of the population, however limited, may depend on which parishes or settlements are counted. Certainly the population was not only minor, but was still mainly present in the rural settlements and in the smaller villages of the surrounding area. The evolution of the population from the Kingdom of Italy to today However aggregate, why total, these are the general data of the Umbertidese population from the unification of Italy to today. They serve as a basis for reflecting on the population movement of the last 150 years, even if they do not give us the measure of the significant movement of inhabitants from the countryside to the city. Year Residents 1861 10.184 1871 11.174 1881 11,537 1901 13.007 1911 13,248 1921 14,588 1931 15,647 1936 15.146 1951 16,077 1961 14,497 1971 13,498 1981 14,183 1991 14,379 2001 15,254 2016 16.607 According to prof. Bruno Porrozzi who dealt with it in his book " Umbertide and its Territory. History and images. " In the 1950s our town began to develop towards the south-east of the still well-defined central nucleus near the "Fratta" as the city center is still called by older people . The majority of the population was still in the countryside but would later move to the urban area. In the countryside characterized by polyculture "p greased " from farmhouses, farms and modest hamlets, it was inhabited essentially by families of sharecroppers and other nuclei, linked to some extent with agriculture (blacksmiths, farriers, carpenters, masons, small traders, brokers, etc.); everyone worked to provide the citizens with supplies . "With the birth of an artisanal and industrial development in the 1960s, together with the change in the rules on sharecropping in 1964, the population shifted towards the center. At the beginning of the 1980s, prof. Porrozzi " In the Municipality of Umbertide, sixty-one sharecroppers with one hundred and fifty-nine units currently operate in agriculture, thirty companies with one hundred and twelve permanent employees, fifty-six companies with temporary workers, three hundred and seventy-nine companies directly managed with seven hundred and sixty units. Five cooperatives have been set up (CAU , Molino Popolare Altotiberino, Fratelli Cervi, CIZAUP, Alto Tevere Tobacco Producers), which employ a few dozen permanent workers. ". In this modernized context, the population had chosen to move towards the city center. The synthesis more significant than the changes, however, is not only the doubling over twenty years of downtown population from 4780 a 8629 people, out of about 15,000 inhabitants of the Common, but they are data concerning the work sector from the primary sector compared to the secondary sector . Within 30 years, this relationship is reversed completely; these are the numbers: we passed by 4957 agricultural workers in 1961 just 1359 in '71, and even a 1104 workers in 1981. While in the face of 1363 workers in industry in 1961, you grow up to 1960 employees in '71 and 2249 in 1981; with a clear shift of workers in the service sector not taken into consideration by the data of prof. Bruno Porrozzi, in “ Umbertide and his Territory. History and images ". To understand which sector of the primary sector was affected, let's insert a new graph between sharecroppers and direct farmers even if with only the data of 1970 and 1982: in 1970 there were 1340 sharecroppers and in 1982 alone 159, in 1970 they were counted 918 direct farmers which will be reduced slightly in 1982 or a 760 direct workers. In short, it was the sharecropping that died. The resident population of Umbertide which had reached 16,077 units in 1951, began to abruptly decline. In 1971 only 13,498 residents were registered ("Umbertide economy and society: the Municipality and the territory ", p. 22. AUR data processing on ISTAT data). The need for emigration from 1950 to 1970 If you also consider Giovanni's studio De Santis " Anthropo-geographical features of the << Alta Valle del Tevere >> area" in " The upper Tiber Valley ", extracted from " Umbria Economica" , year III, n. 4 - 1982 printed thanks to the then "Banca Popolare di Spoleto", we can see how from 1951 to 1971 the population of the Municipality of Umbertide decreased by 14.4 percent, from 16,077 to 13,498 a significant migratory flow towards foreign destinations and the Roman area generated by the inability of the production system to "maintain" the population. It influenced greatly in the precarious agricultural production system, innervated for some time from the cultivation of tobacco, the "peronospera tabacina", second Paola Laura Ciabucchi " Shadows and lights of industrial development in the Upper Tiber Valley " which reduced the cultivated area in the Upper Tiber Valley by 50% and reduced the number of employees from 1664 to 217. From that moment there was a need to grow industrial areas in our areas, allowing the current industrial development. Industrial development, which together with seasonal agricultural work and the normal tendency of emigrants to move to where they exist emigrated nuclei of the same areas has favored an inversion of trend in the population leading to the current situation of more than 16,000 inhabitants, substantially identical to 1951. In particular, the evolution of the engineering system, born connected to agricultural production already before the war, saw the birth of several companies and in 1963 the birth of Metalmeccanica Tiberina. The agricultural production system first, with seasonal jobs also linked to the cultivation of tobacco, and today the engineering and "automotive" sector, which grew alongside several large companies in the area, have acted as a catalyst for many people coming both from abroad and from other Italian regions. Current Population Growth: Immigration In fact, in recent decades, in this Umbertidese population has increased the number of "foreign" families; the definition that follows is that of the ISTAT legislation which identifies foreign residents without "citizenship": this research it does not identify the situation of naturalized immigrants, a recent phenomenon. In about 15 years it has rapidly gone from less than a thousand resident foreigners to more than 2700 according to the latest Census which was also distributed with a division by nationality of arrival. For 2020 we only have the aggregate data of 2611 people residing in Umbertide with non-Italian citizenship: Foreign resident population on 1st January 2002- Total 905 Foreign resident population as of January 1 - 2016 -Total 2703 Sources http://demo.istat.it/str2002/index03.html http://demo.istat.it/pop2019/index.html http://www.comuni-italiani.it/054/056/statistiche/popolazione.html Also from the same Istat source of the 2016 census it is possible to know which are the different nationalities of origin of resident foreign citizens: four, Moroccan, Albanian, Romanian and Algerian are over 100 units. In short, a substantial part of the resident population in Umbertide is the bearer of varied histories and cultures. The awareness of how the past has structured the traditions in addition to the rural and urban territory in which they live today should be everyone's heritage, especially from the second generations who, in addition to bringing their own cultural and experience baggage, will have to feel part of the social fabric general as completely as possible. If it is possible to trace a synthesis of these last 40-50 years, it can be seen that in the last decade of the last century, 1980-2000, a stable community residing in Umbertide has materialized, in order of magnitude, Moroccan, Albanian, Algerian and the United Kingdom. In the following twenty years the Moroccan and Albanian communities have grown, while the Algerian ones have remained stable and the United Kingdom; the Romanian community, on the other hand, ranks third in terms of total attendance. As for the flows of the largest community, that of Morocco, emigration to Italy, rather than to France as had traditionally occurred previously, developed after the oil crisis of the 1970s. On the basis of the general indications that should be compared with those of Umbria, there are two main regions from which to leave for Italy: Chaouia and Tadla, located in the central area of Morocco, two of the 16 regions then abolished in 2005. The Moroccan community in our territory has grown steadily, in 2005 there are 501 residents, in 2016 the residents are registered 757 people. Different speech, as written above, for the Algerian community which appears to have decreased since 2005, where there were 126 residents, while to date are indicated in number of 140. Stable in absolute numbers, but relegated by one "place", it now ranks fifth among the nationalities of foreign residents, it is Great Britain, with 77 people in 2005 and 78 residents in 2016. After the data and numbers of the demographic change we can continue in the "memory", with the singles screw e stories of the old and new people from Umberto I. By clicking on the "hot words" highlighted in yellow the first stories of who left and who arrived . SOURCES: - Bruno Porrozzi, Umbertide and his Territory. History and images. Ass. Pro Loco Umbertide, publishing Cartolibreria 10+ 10 of Venti Maurizio, Umbertide - Simona Bellucci, Umbertide in the 20th century: 1943-2000, Nuova Prhomos Editions, 2018. - Paola Laura Ciabucchi " Shadows and lights of industrial development in the Upper Tiber Valley " in " The Upper Tiber Valley ", extracted from "Umbria Economica, year III, n.4 - 1982 print of the "Banca Popolare di Spoleto" (p. 87 -89) - John De Santis " Anthropo-geographical features of the << Alta Valle del Tevere >> area" in " The upper Tiber Valley ", extracted from "Umbria Economica, year III, n.4 - 1982 print of the "Banca Popolare di Spoleto" (p. 55) - AA. VV., “ Umbertide Economy and society: the municipality and the territory ” of the Umbra Research Agency (AUR), 2008. - “Lithographic copy of Giorgi's map published in 1574”, by the Flag-waving Group of Gubbio with the contribution of Enrico Passeri Financial Advisor of the Azimut Group ”, 2005. - Maria Oda Graziani, "The Georgi card", Municipality of Gubbio and Ass. Sbandieratori Gubbio with the contribution of Enrico Passeri Financial Advisor of the Azimut Group, Graphic Art Gubbio, 2005 - http://demo.istat.it/str2002/index03.html - http://demo.istat.it/pop2019/index.html - http://www.comuni-italiani.it/054/056/statistiche/popolazione.html - " THE MOROCCAN MIGRANT AS DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION AGENT IN THE COMMUNITIES OF ORIGIN ", European Commission - Directorate-General for Justice and Home Affairs, Exodus edizioni srl, Milan 2002 (pp. 96 and following can be downloaded at the link: https://www.puntosud.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/migrante-marocchino_ITA.pdf) - h ttp: //leg15.camera.it/cartellecomuni/leg14/RapportoAttivitaCommissioni/testi/14/14_cap05_sch04.htm - https://www.umbertidestoria.net/fratta-umbertide-dell-ottocento - https://manus.iccu.sbn.it//opac_viewImagesManuscript.php?ID=69561 Help us remember umbertidestoria@gmail.com Marc Bloch: «The good historian resembles the ogre in the fairy tale: where he smells human flesh, there he knows that he is his prey. " I "numeri" del Piccolpasso Il Giorgi ed il popolamento sparso I "dati" della Diocesi nel 1808 I censimenti del Regno d'Italia Lo spostamento verso la città L'esubero dei lavoratori e la "morte" della mezzadria L'immigrazione L'immigrazione neocomunitaria

L'arrivo degli aerei e la prima ondata La prima sosta e la seconda ondata CRONACA, MINUTO PER MINUTO, DEL BOMBARDAMENTO DI UMBERTIDE DEL 25 APRILE 1944 di Mario Tosti dal suo libro “IL NOSTRO CALVARIO” con la collaborazione di trecentoquarantacinque testimoni L’ARRIVO DEGLI AEREI L’udito come difesa: perché sono i rumori ad annunciare i fatti. Dalla cadenza degli scarponi, dal bussare alle porte, al sibilo sinistro degli aerei. I rumori hanno un linguaggio diverso, secondo i tempi; e quelli del tempo di guerra sono udibili immediatamente per un vigile senso di attesa e di allerta(1). Un brontolio lontano annuncia l’approssimarsi di aerei. Prima stazione Gesù davanti a Pilato è condannato a morte Gesù innocente è abbandonato dal potere imperiale. Crucifige! Crucifige! Il paese impotente è lasciato in balia dell’arbitrio della barbarie. 1) Eliana Pirazzoli, dattiloscritto, 1986 L’attacco I quattro aerei che, stanchi del carosello, avevano accennato a lasciare il girotondo, hanno davvero deciso di dirigersi verso il paese(1). Dei primi due(2), uno vira verso il Faldo(3); l’altro, abbassatosi sulle schioppe, segue il Tevere(4) verso Montecorona(5). Entrambi puntano verso Sud, come per tornare da dove sono venuti. Gli altri due li seguono a distanza. La maggior parte di quanti si erano fermati ad assistere allo spettacolo, vedendo gli aerei scomparire dietro i tetti, verso Pian d’Assino, riprendono il cammino interrotto, pensando che lo spettacolo sia finito. Non sanno che è il prologo di una tragedia immane. Altri cominciano a capire. I due aerei, scesi minacciosi da Montaguto, hanno attirato l’attenzione della Vera (Vibi) che, dalla finestra sul Tevere, stava buttando sul fiume i fondi del caffè appena colato, per non sporcare il lavandino di marmo bianco. Corre verso la camera della mamma che è a letto, inferma(6). Anche i ragazzini cominciano a capire. Lamberto (Maccarelli) stava piantando i fagioli nell’orto con il nonno; ha riconosciuto che sono degli Alleati quegli apparecchi che continuano a volare da diversi minuti sopra la sua testa nel cielo bellissimo, di pieno sole. Capisce che stanno per bombardare. Corre in cas per avvertire la mamma e la sorella che fanno le maglie: dapprima le donne ninnano un po’. Si radunano tutti nell’atrio in fondo alle scale. Il nonno vorrebbe uscire verso la bottega di Conti. Lo convincono a restare lì. L’Antonina, la mamma di Lamberto, comincia a piangere. Il nonno Giuseppe (Fiorucci) la consola: “Sta tranquilla, ‘ché i travi en de ferro...”(7). 1) Fabrizio Boldrini, Domenico Mariotti, Francesco Martinelli 2) Amedeo Faloci 3) Franco Mischianti 4) Paolo Mazzanti 5) Franco Mischianti 6) Vera Vibi 7) Lamberto Maccarelli LA PRIMA ONDATA (1) I due aerei, giunti sopra Montecorona, virano verso Poggio Manente. Il primo, pilotato dal capo-pattuglia Jandrell, punta il muso rosso verso il ponte sul Tevere. Segue la traiettoria ottimale secondo la tecnica militare: deve essere obliqua rispetto all'asse della strada, di quel tanto necessario ad indirizzare gli ordigni alla base del ponte, in modo che l'onda d'urto si espanda dal basso all'alto, per aggredire l'arco lungo la direttrice di minor resistenza; centrare la carreggiata raramente genera danni irreparabili rispetto alla transitabilità della campata(2). La direzione di avvicinamento deve lasciare il sole dietro le spalle, per evitare abbagliamenti. In questo caso, la traiettoria così determinata ha anche il vantaggio che il tratto più basso della picchiata, sviluppandosi sopra i tetti, mantiene il bombardiere fuori del tiro di eventuali armi antiaeree, che i ricognitori possono aver sospettato ai margini del centro storico. Nei piloti è del tutto marginale la preoccupazione per l'incolumità dei civili. Non sono bastati decenni di dittatura, quattro anni di guerra e di miseria, per risparmiare ad un paese inerme il colpo di grazia. Si è deciso di infierire. Ecce homo. Dalla stazione, già quasi deserta(3), si riesce a vedere la testa del pilota con la cuffia di cuoio(4) che sfreccia sopra la casa del contadino della "Commenda", la rivendita di vino e latte di Civitella(5). Il cacciabombardiere compare all'improvviso alla gente in piazza, che guarda in su, attratta dal rombo crescente, paralizzata, nelle gambe e nella mente: piomba in picchiata(6) verso di loro, nero contro il cielo pieno di luce. Crepita la mitragliatrice, per dissuadere l'antiaerea che non c'è. Adriano Zurli, militare dell'aeronautica, non appena ha sentito un paio di raffiche, si è reso conto del pericolo; insieme a Gigi de Torello (Luigi Carlini) salta negli orti dietro le case di Via Roma e fugge risalendo la Regghia(7). Ugo Forni, arruolato in aviazione, è in casa di Mogi (Alessandro Romitelli), il gestore del Dopolavoro della ferrovia. Quando ha sentito il crescendo della picchiata, ha fatto riparare tutta la gente del caseggiato nel fondo della Lisa (Baldoni)(8). Anche Secondo, alla Caminella, esperto perché convalescente per ferite riportate in prima linea, capisce che stanno per bombardare(9). Seconda stazione Gesù si carica la croce sulle spalle Prima scarica La vista delle bombe All'improvviso due cilindri luccicanti, simili a grossi maiali(10), abbandonano la pancia del "picchiatello"; fanno un paio di capriole(11), come se vogliano indugiare; poi precipitano, lasciando una scia rossastra(12) in mezzo ad un frastuono assordante. Brizio (Boldrini) ed i suoi amici le guardano più curiosi che impauriti(15). "Ma queste en bombe!!" urla all'improvviso la Pomeìna (Armando Silvioni), facendo gelare il sangue(16) a quanti sono in piazza. "Bombardano!" ripete Sganapìno (Giuseppe Galmacci) guardando in alto(17). Sembrano una coppia d'uova(18). "Buttono ji ovi d'oca!", conferma puntando l'indice un ragazzino, più esperto di pollai che di macchine da guerra, dalla collina della Serra(19). Anche al Faldo, vedendo cadere quei cavulìni, non sanno paragonarli ad altro di conosciuto che ad una coppia d'ovi d'oca: comuni, innocue uova, solo più grosse del normale. Le bombe non hanno mai abitato qui(20). La Pia (Gagliardini), in casa dietro le scuole, visti cadere dall'aereo che si abbassa quei due cavolini, incuriosita chiede ad Alfredo (Briganti): "Che ha lasciato cadere quell'apparecchio?". "Fuggi, sono bombe. Fuggi via!(21)". A Muzio (Venti) sembrano dei bijittìni, uguali a quelli che hanno buttato nei giorni scorsi per avvertire la gente del pericolo(22). Ognuno, da dovunque li guardi, ha la sensazione che gli ordigni puntino sulla propria testa. Tuttora sono in pochi - perlopiù giovani - ad avere l'istinto di fuggire. I ragazzini delle magistrali scattano dove le gambe li portano, rispondendo ciascuno alla propria indole e prestanza. Nino (Grassini) si rifugia dentro il locale più vicino: il negozio di alimentari di Palchetti, in piazza, a pochi metri da dove si trovava(24). Brizio (Boldrini) sfreccia veloce verso Piazza Mazzini, gira per il mercato, mentre Sergio (Celestini) gli grida qualcosa correndo al di là della Regghia(25): per la velocità - lui è l'ala sinistra della Tiberis, un fulmine! - non è riuscito a curvare verso il mercato ed è filato dritto verso la piazza della Collegiata. Bruno (Burberi) indugia qualche attimo. Ramiro, quando era arrivato a casa tutto trafelato per aver visto i ricognitori, aveva trovato Bruno Righetti che voleva fare una saldatura su un pezzetto di macchina per cucire: gli aveva detto del pericolo e che avrebbe riparato il pezzetto se stava fuori a far da sentinella; prima però era salito in casa per avvertire la mamma e per mangiare un boccone. Mentre stava portandosi alla bocca un pescetto in bianco, la mamma, che nel frattempo era andata in terrazza, con voce eccitatissima gli ha urlato. "Ramiro, che è `sto rumore?". Lasciando il pesce, lui è stolzato in terrazza ed ha visto, all'apparente distanza di trenta metri, la sagoma di due ordigni che lasciavano una scia rossastra; sente il fischio delle bombe ed il rombo dell'aereo in picchiata, che non può vedere a causa del sole che ha di fronte(26). La grossa bomba / che pare d'argento, / per i riflessi della luce del sole / girando su se stessa, / piomba giù(27). La maggior parte della gente è rimasta bloccata, attonita(28): non riesce ancora a credere che stia arrivando la morte sul paese; sugli amici; sui famigliari; su di sé! Gli ordigni sembrano ancora galleggiare sopra le teste della gente in piazza, come sostenuti dalla volontà delle persone atterrite. Poi planano via, fino a scomparire sibilando dietro la casa di Burelli(29), verso il Tevere. Al di sopra delle bombe sta sopraggiungendo anche l'aereo che le ha sganciate, preceduto dal crepitio delle pallottole delle mitraglie sui tetti(30) e dal ruggito parossistico dei motori che vogliono risalire; anche la fusoliera, adesso diventata d'argento nel riflettere i raggi del sole, scompare dietro le case. Galeno è sulla soglia del suo "salone"(31), attonito, col camice bianco ed il pettine in mano(32). Forse cerca il suo amore(33). Due amichette vestite da piccole italiane non sono ancora tornate a casa dalla scuola; si sono fermate a parlare lungo il Corso. Hanno alzato lo sguardo verso l'aereo che è appena passato proprio sopra le loro teste. Tutte contente esclamano: "Oh ... quant'è bello!"(34). Il boato Qualche attimo di silenzio, ancora nell'illusione che nulla sia vero, che si sia trattato di un'allucinazione, che tutto sia finito. Invece, un tuono(35), un boato immane, indicibile, più sconvolgente di un terremoto, scuote tutto: case, corpi, sentimenti, ragione. Quando sentii il rumore / lo credetti un tuono dapprima / ma lungo e nero e sempre / più forte. / Un grido di cielo squarciato / rauco interminabile / adunco / sopra le case dentro la terra / nel soffitto nei pavimenti nei muri / in ogni più piccola cosa / e dentro di me(36). Le due bombe si sono schiantate sulla riva destra del Tevere(37), a nord della campata centrale del ponte(38), all'altezza dell'osteria di Lisetti in via Spunta(39). Il terribile rumore investe l'Elena (Boriosi) sul portone di casa, dove è appena arrivata, dopo essere ridiscesa di corsa per le scale, con il libro che la sorella Rina intendeva restituire alla Gina Borgarelli(40). Sono le 9 e 45. È iniziata la più grande tragedia della storia del paese(41). L'onda d'urto Lo spostamento d'aria dispiega la sua forza tremenda. Fa sbalzare Toto (Antonio Silvestrelli) dentro la barbieria dello zio Virgilio (Occhirossi), in direzione opposta a quella che intendeva percorrere verso le volte della parrucchieria di fronte(43). Nell'osteria di Via Spunta vola via il cappello di Natale (Bucaioni), che stava innaffiando la colazione con un bicchiere di vino; lui resta lì, immobile, rendendosi conto di essere sotto un muro robustissimo(44). Si spalanca la porta della cucina a piano terra in Via Mancini; cadono detriti dal soffitto sulla farina che la Batazzi sta impastando sopra la spianatòra(45). Frullano all'improvviso le pagine del vocabolario di latino, sotto gli occhi dell'Ornella (Duranti) e della Wilma (Borri)(46). Il verdone in gabbia le guarda, ammutolito. Il terrore fa perdere il lume della ragione alla Lidia (Tonanni), una sartina che sta provando un vestito alla sora Virginia (Santini), in Piazza San Francesco. "Io voglio mori' co' la mi' mamma!", arùga verso la cliente, quasi come sia lei la responsabile di quel pandemonio. E la Virginia, poveretta, a giustificarsi: "Sta calma! ... Guarda... che ci sei venuta da te!"(48). Nello stesso momento, in Via Soli, la mamma della Lidia, 1'Annetta (Taticchi), e la Martina (Maddoli) sono sbattute per terra(49)". La Marietta (Beatini) è impietrita davanti alla porta della cartoleria di Tommasi; vi cerca rifugio proprio mentre la lastra di vetro della vetrina le cade davanti, frantumata dalle vibrazioni(50). Tutti i vetri si rompono: quelli del Corso(51), del Comune(52), delle scuole elementari "Garibaldi"(53), delle case al mercato(54). La terra trema. Sempre più gente strilla: "Bombàrdono, bombàrdono"(55). I sassi e le schegge I ciottoli del pitrìccio sono catapultati dappertutto. Cadono sassi fino all'ultimo piano dell'abitazione di Lorenzo (Andreani) in via Cibo, dove la mamma stava accudendo alle faccende di casa, verso il Tevere(56). Precipitano in piazza(57); sulla torre(58); davanti alle chiese di piazza San Francesco, alla pompina della Caminella(59). Una svecciata di sassi raggiunge Bruno (Burberi), che si è deciso a scappare verso la Collegiata; cerca protezione svoltando nel primo vicolo, Via Alberti, e s'infila nel negozio di verdura della Pierina(60). Brecce saltano sui tetti di Via Mancini, emulando il precedente crepitio delle pallottole sparate dalle mitraglie(61) degli aerei verso i camion tedeschi davanti al Capponi(62). Una gragnola di sassi neri colpisce le vetrine del Bar Giardino, sotto lo sguardo attonito delle due bambine - Giovanna e Carla - assorte nello scartare quel torroncino per cui avevano interrotto il loro cammino verso la tempesta del vicolo di San Giovanni (63). Giorgio (Toraci) e Renato (Pecorini), in Via Alberti, di fronte al forno di Bucitino, stavano giocando con le figurine di carta del presepio, che si possono ribaltare dai fogli dove sono incollate. Sobbalzano allibiti al rumore delle sassate sui coppi del tetto. La Madonna che stavano sollevando dal foglio, si strappa e resta lì, abbandonata a terra. Fuggono per le scale, per ripararsi in una nicchia molto robusta(64). Una pioggia di ghiaia cade sulla casa del Faldo, dietro la quale hanno fatto riparare gli anziani, sdraiati nel fosso(65). Verso il "Mulinello", una scheggia spezza il grosso ramo di un noce(66). Un masso enorme si schianta fra Via Stella e la Collegiata, a qualche metro da Franco (Mischianti), che è sbalzato a terra. Si mette al coperto, rifugiandosi nella barbieria di Palazzoli in Piazza Mazzini(67). Una pietra. colpisce la bicicletta di Umberto (Dominici), l'apprendista fotografo, che sta correndo davanti alla chiesa(68). In direzione opposta Maria Maddalena (Marzani), con la lettera per il fratello al fronte, sta svoltando in bicicletta verso Reggiani, in mezzo ad una bufera di sassi e ad un frastuono indescrivibile(69). Non può scappare Guerriero de l'Elena (Boldrini), che ha fatto salina; si trova nei fondi del Sellàro, lungo la Regghia, insieme ad Elio (Caprini), a Osvaldo (Baroni) ed al Ministro (Alfiero Silvioni). Il rumore dello scoppio e dei sassi che cadono sui bandoni della stalla ha fatto imbizzarrire i cavalli, che sferrano coppie di calci, impedendo ogni possibilità di fuga. Un macigno cade vicino e sfascia un carro(70). La nube Le colonne di fumo, scaturite dalla radice del lampo dell'esplosione, si fondono fra loro in una nube, che si gonfia sempre più lenta e minacciosa man mano che cresce a dismisura. Un gran polverone(71) segue la tempesta iniziale di sassi ed invade il paese. Il terrore Il boato ha risvegliato tutti quelli che hanno assistito alla scena, sbigottiti, pietrificati; finalmente scappano. Anche molti di quanti l'hanno solo sentito, intuiscono e fuggono verso punti più sicuri. Nella sartoria di Palmiro (Maccarelli) all'inizio del ponte sul Tevere, presi dal loro lavoro, gli apprendisti non avevano dato importanza al rumore degli aerei, anche perché li avevano sentiti spesso. Scossi dal gran boato della bomba caduta vicino a loro, tutti sono usciti di corsa, spaventatissimi(72). La vetrina della bottega di calzature economiche, nello stesso palazzo, si è frantumata e le scarpe esposte sono volate verso le commesse, che non avevano posto tanta attenzione a quel ronzio; si mettono a correre, tenendosi per mano, in direzione della piazza; ma quasi subito il fumo le separa; si perdono(73). Baldo (Ubaldo Gambucci) è lì davanti, perso; accenna ad andare dentro la bottega di mercerie, dove sono la Menchina e l'Adriana del Sellàro (Cecchetti); va in qua e in là, senza decidersi(74). Suo figlio Gigetto (Luigi Gambucci) stava facendo firmare un mandato ad un cliente di Montecastelli, Eusebi, allo sportello dell'Ufficio Postale. Tutti hanno l'istinto di scappare, ma si fermano titubanti sul portone, non osando avventurarsi fuori, in quell'inferno di pietre; Gigetto trattiene a forza 1'Itala (Boldrini), tirandola dentro per un braccio(75). Sopraggiunge l'Elda (Bebi Ceccarelli), la direttrice dell'ufficio, con le figlie: è rimasta attardata, per portar via dalla cassaforte gli stipendi dei maestri(76). Vorrebbe uscire, mentre la figlia Marianella vuole rimanere al coperto. Di fronte alla Posta, in Comune, la Peppa (Ceccarelli), che era andata a ritirare la tessera per la carne della macelleria Bebi, fugge per le scale con la Piera e l'Ada (Bruni)(77). II Commissario fa chiudere il portone, impedendo a chiunque di uscire(78). L'atrio del municipio s'intasa di persone accalcate. Peppino (Grilli) e Pietro de Sciuscìno (Bartoccini) si ritrovano sulle spalle di Agostino (Bico)(79). La Lea (Rapo), che stava spolverando, aveva visto gli aerei andare verso Montecorona; quando uno di essi era riapparso lasciando cadere due "ovini", lei è fuggita in cucina tirando per un braccio il nonno. Lui completamente sordo, non si era accorto di niente: stava cercando di accendere il fuoco nel focolare, per cuocere il dolce per il compleanno della nipotina. Per festeggiare l'evento, la mamma aveva già disposto sulla spianatora tutto l'occorrente per il dolce delle quattro tazze - di farina bianca, gialla, latte, zucchero - da cuocere con la teglia coperta, i carboni sotto e sopra. Ora fuggono per le scale(80). La Dora (Silvestrelli) aspettava il dottor Valdinoci che avrebbe dovuto visitare il babbo, a letto con una gran febbre. Aspettava anche le frittelle che la mamma stava cocendo con un po' di pasta del pane, prima di portare le file nel locale per la lievitazione al forno di Quadrio Bebi. Vista la bella giornata, aveva aperto la finestra della camera del babbo per cambiare l'aria; vi si era affacciata, verso il fiume. All'improvviso ha sentito uno strano rumore sempre più forte; ha visto un oggetto o due venire dal cielo; poi lo scoppio. Tutti, di corsa, si sono rifugiati nel passetto delle scale, sotto gli architravi, come da tempo stabilito. Vi hanno trovato Lazzaro (Bottaccioli) con la Stella, che pregano ad alta voce(81). II fratello della Dora, Spinelli (Renato Silvestrelli), ed il Boca (Vantaggi) sono partiti come frecce - il primo in bicicletta, il secondo a piedi - verso Via Roma; si ficcano entrambi sotto un vecchio banco da lavoro nel bugigattolo da ciclista(82). La Sunta (Baruffi) corre verso Fornacìno, senza zoccoli, che ha perso per strada(83). Anche Rolando (Paneni) ha scalciato via gli zoccoli e fugge scalzo verso il macello(84). Un carrettiere, sorpreso davanti alla Collegiata, scappa abbandonando il carretto ed il mulo che lo trainava(85): ha ben altro cui pensare che rispettare la regola di legare la bestia dietro il carro! Don Luigi si è alzato di scatto e si è rifugiato di corsa in un adito che dalla chiesa conduce alla sagrestia. Chiama nel suo improvvisato rifugio altre persone che sono entrate in chiesa, spaventate dalla bomba e da un'intensa raffica di mitraglia. In tutto sono in cinque: tre uomini ed una giovane donna che, stringendosi al collo un bambino, grida e piange disperatamente(86). In cima alla Piaggiola, dove avevano continuato a lavorare tranquillamente - "Tanto ... gli aerei sono tedeschi" - Renato (Caseti) si precipita per le scale, cavalcando il boato e scavalcando la ringhiera. Corre verso la Pompina e si allontana, verso Santafede ed il Fosso di Lazzaro(87). Nello stesso punto, lo scoppio ha sorpreso l'Elvira (Rossi), nipote di Quadrio. Era uscita da casa con la cognata Peppa (Giuseppa Gallicchi) per comprare la conserva nel negozio dello zio, perché avevano dato i punti della tessera annonaria; ne avrebbe approfittato per salire al piano sopra la bottega per fare una visita allo zio malato. Ma ha deciso - quando uno non deve morire, non deve morire! - di passare prima, con sua cognata, a prendere i buoni in Comune per ritirare le uova dalla Sandra (Migliorati). "Uh, Peppa, è il bombardamento!", adesso urla. La sora Adalgisa (Castelletti) le fa entrare dentro il negozio di argenteria. L'Elvira, incinta dell'Anna di sette mesi, si inginocchia: "Pater nostro, salve regina, rechemetèrna..." ...ma finché [Dio] non ha voluto, [il bombardamento] non ha smesso. Fuori vede tutta la gente correre: sembrano impazziti quelli che a frotte fuggono con le mani sui capelli(88). Fiordo, il carrettiere, si butta dentro la buca dove stava scavando la rena(89). Nella bottega di Quadrio, Amleto, che aiutava a vendere nella bottega del suocero, ha capito; aggrappato al bancone con le mani, le braccia tese ed i polsi in avanti, grida a tutti: "State fermi ... calma ... è il bombardamento"(90). Mentre si sente fortissimo il rombo dell'aereo che rimonta dopo la picchiata, Ramiro ha già preso la mamma per la mano e fugge per le scale, urlando continuamente: "Via! Via! Piano! Piano!". Dopo aver sostato qualche secondo dentro 1' entrone, si dirige verso il Roccolo; mette la mamma al riparo in un fosso asciutto e prosegue verso la collina per osservare cosa facciano gli apparecchi(91). È curioso di verificare, in particolare, se le bombe scoppiano come le disegna Walter Molino nelle tavole della "Domenica del Corriere": con questo intento, tiene spalancate le palpebre degli occhi fra i pollici e gli indici, per evitare che l'istinto le faccia chiudere al momento della deflagrazione(92). Alle ceramiche Pucci, `l Moro, il muratore che lavorava sul tetto, era stato incaricato di stare in allerta e di dare l'allarme appena avesse visto arrivare degli aerei. Ma le bombe sono state più rapide della sentinella. Tutto il personale è scappato e vede l'inferno sopra il paese. Le schegge arrivano fin laggiù. Una quarantina d' operai si riversano verso i campi fra la strada ed il Tevere, cercando di allontanarsi più possibile(93). Altri si riparano, tutti rannicchiati, tra cumuli di argilla. Una grossa lamiera, scagliata chissà da dove, dopo aver volteggiato in aria, si abbatte latrando a pochi metri dal riparo del ragioniere (Martinelli)(94). Menco de Fornacìno (Domenico Fornaci) si rifugia nel sottoscale, fra gli attrezzi da lavoro(95). I bambini La Giovanna (Pazzi), uscita da scuola, è sotto il portone di casa per ripararsi dai calcinacci, senza rendersi conto di cosa sia quel can-can, con tutta la Qente che fugge verso la Piaggiola. Qualcuno la fa rifugiare dentro la casa della maestra Peppina, in cima alla salita(96). In fondo alla Piaggiola, Stefanino (Marsigliotti) passa di corsa davanti al negozio del babbo; gli urla che va fuori del paese, senza riuscire a farsi sentire. Si unisce alla folla che fugge verso il Roccolo(97). La Marisa, che ha fatto salina, aveva ripreso la strada di casa verso la Piaggiola e la piazza, perché a quell'ora la scuola doveva essere finita. Un signore, di fronte a questo finimondo, la dissuade dal proseguire per il centro e le grida di andare verso la campagna(98). Un altro signore prende per mano un bambino che sotto la torre - imbambolato - non sa che fare(99). Lorenzo (Andreani), che stava tornando a casa con il mazzettino di odori dell'orto della zia Lucia, è rimasto annichilito in mezzo alla strada. La mamma di Tonino (Traversini), un suo compagno di scuola, l'afferra per la mano e lo tira dentro un portone per farlo riparare(100). Massimo (Valdambrini), sei anni, era solo vicino a casa; la mamma era a fare spesa ed il babbo al lavoro. Lo prende la moglie di Annibale (Trentini); insieme corrono verso Pinzaglia e Navarri, lungo la "cupa"(101). A1 contrario, davanti alla caserma dei carabinieri, è un ragazzo ad aiutare la mamma, che si è bloccata, terrorizzata: le gambe le si piegano e non si regge in piedi per la paura(102). Un bambino della Badia, appena scappato da scuola, è rimasto solo; si è rifugiato in un androne vicino all'asilo. Spaurato, piange - a bocca larga - come una vite tagliata. Due donne, che sono scese per le scale appena dopo aver sentito il boato che sembrava venire dalla stazione, lo rincuorano(103). La Rita (Tosti) insieme a due amiche - Maria (Tosti) e Paola (Corbucci) - stavano attraversando il ponte sul Tevere per tornare a casa al Corvatto, dopo aver lasciato le scuole elementari. Si erano messe ad ammirare gli aerei che giravano alti sopra le loro teste. Quando la bomba è caduta sul pietriccio, fra la fine del ponte ed il Molinaccio, scagliando sassi tutt'intorno in mezzo ad un rumore tremendo, la Rita si è messa a correre verso casa tenendo per mano le sue compagne. Ferruccio (Bartolini) e Serafino (Pucci), che si trovano vicini a loro, urlano di buttarsi a terra. Ma la Rita vuole tornare a casa per non far preoccupare la mamma malata; continua a correre con le sue compagne, senza ascoltare lo stradino del Comune che grida di buttarsi nel fosso(104). Alla quarta elementare, nella scuola delle monache, il dettato era stato interrotto all'improvviso dagli apparecchi sempre più bassi e dal fischio della bomba. Tutte le scolare erano corse alle finestre verso Via Spoletini per guardare. "Via, via! Lontano dalle finestre" ha gridato suor Letizia, ammaestrata dai bombardamenti cui aveva assistito a Roma(105). Le ragazze della quinta, sedute in fondo all'aula grande vicino al terrazzo, dove sono state radunate insieme ad altre classi per la momentanea assenza di alcune maestre, si sono alzate di colpo e gridano, con le mani alla testa: "La mi' mammina!"(106). Le fanno fuggire tutte verso il patóllo, facendole riparare sotto la capanna dei Carbonari. Una bambina si acquatta sotto la bura di un carro, con le mani sulle orecchie per attutire i botti ed i fischi. In un cantone prega inginocchiata Suor Filomena, la cuoca"(107). Poco lontano, Maria (Bico Corradi), con l'Elda febbricitante in braccio, è riparata sotto una grossa nicchia con la signora Renzini: tutte pregano e dicono le litanie(108). Dalle elementari di Via Garibaldi, le ultime classi ancora rimaste dentro l'edificio si riversano fuori della scuola dall'uscita verso l'asilo, opposta al lato dove è caduta la bomba. Anche i bambini che si trovavano a scuola al piano terra della palazzina con la torretta in Via Fratta, scappano verso Civitella(109). Lo scoppio della bomba ha frantumato il vetro della finestrina a mezzaluna sopra il portone in fondo alle scale dell'Avviamento, che è caduto davanti alla marea di scolari che stava fuggendo. Tutti insieme hanno fanno dietro-front: chi era primo della fila si è ritrovato ad essere l'ultimo. A furia di spintoni e gomitate risalgono le scale ed escono a valanga dalla porta posteriore della scuola, diretti verso il Tevere. Qualcuno grida di stare nascosti, perché potrebbero mitragliare. La professoressa Simoncini si raccomanda di aspettarla ed a modo suo cerca di correre, sgambettando, ma inutilmente(110). Celestino (Caldari) non è più un bambino: ha 49 anni. Gli dicono di fuggire, vedendolo immobile. Lui risponde, serafico: "A mo so' vecchio... chi me tocca!"(111). Ostinata inconsapevolezza Tanti di quelli che hanno solo sentito lo schianto senza aver visto nulla, non si rendono ancora conto di cosa stia succedendo. Continuano a rifiutare la realtà. Qualcuno pensa a quello spericolato di Bice Pucci, che ha voluto salutare la zia Mariannina rasentando più del solito i tetti con il suo aereo(114). "Che matti!!! Ne sarà caduto uno sul pietriccio!", pensa Alfredo (Ciarabelli), il renitente alla leva nascosto da un paio di mesi nella casa dei Grilli, fra Via Cibo e Via Mariotti(113). Tanti altri immaginano la stessa cosa(114). "È caduto 'n apparecchio tul Tevere", si spiegano dentro il negozio di alimentari della Rosina de Pistulino (Tosti), nella strada che porta alla torre. Ma la Rosina intuisce la verità e fa riparare tutti dietro un buzzo di conserva, tra i vetri sbriciolati a terra(115). L'Argentina (Ramaccioni) continua tranquillamente a cucire, nella sua casa vicina alla pompina, credendo che ne abbiano combinata un'altra delle loro i tedeschi accampati all'inizio della strada dei cipressi(116). "Ma ch'è ... tona? Eppure era sereno!", commenta rivolta al nipote la nonna, appena tornata dal forno, mentre va ad aprire gli scuri per vedere cosa stia succedendo(117). “... vecchia rode tozzi! ["la Vecchia" rode i tozzi di pane secco]" ripete un bambino di quasi due anni: ha collegato il rumore delle bombe a quello dei tuoni, che crede siano causati da una vecchia che sgranocchia pane indurito(118). "Forse bombardano a Castello!", cerca di raccapezzarsi una ragazzina nei pressi della stazione, guardandosi intorno spaesata senza aver neppure fatto caso agli aerei. Non le passa nemmeno per la testa che il nostro paesino inerme giustifichi un'operazione militare(119). Consapevolezza In fondo al Corso - dove hanno sentito gli aerei, visto le bombe, sentito il boato, l'onda d'urto, i vetri rotti, i sassi - tutti hanno capito. Le domande sbigottite, che rimbalzano ovunque, fanno precipitare tutti nella tragica verità: "Bombàrdono, scappàmo!" grida terrorizzato Bruno (Villarini) dalla finestra(120), con il coro di tutte le scolare dietro; la Rina de Schiantino, che corre per strada insieme a tutti i colleghi della sartoria di Maccario, gli fa eco: "Scappàmo! Bombàrdono!„(121). "Bombàrdono!" urla Peppone de Pùmmene (Giuseppe Agea) sopra il ponte della Regghia della Via Tiberina (122), mentre scappa verso la Collegiata(123). Davanti al macello la gente che fugge verso la collina del Roccolo grida, come in un coro stonato: "Via, via ... che bombàrdono!!"(124). "Bombàrdono!" "Bombàrdono!" "Bombàrdono!", urlano dappertutto, come un'eco ossessionante, mentre fuggono, impazziti. Chi dentro il portone più vicino. Chi verso spazi aperti, lontano dalle case: verso il Roccolo, la Regghia, Civitella, Taschino, la Carninella. Bombardano!!! Bombardano. Davvero! Anche nel nostro paese inerme. Anche qui è arrivato il fuoco violento di un mondo impazzito. Anche qui si può morire, senza ragione, come in ogni parte del mondo quando l'uomo perde la ragione. "Ne arriva un altro! Scappiamo!". Seconda scarica Terza stazione La prima caduta di Gesù sotto la croce Il tenente Pienaar punta il suo falco pellegrino sul ponte del fiume e sgancia la seconda coppia di bombe. La casa di Bruno Gli ordigni sono(125) per Bruno (Villarini), il sarto, e per le sue scolare, che si stanno scapicollando giù per le scale. La Gigina (Mischianti), sulla cinquantina, l'unica attempata del gruppo, lascia passare gli altri che possono correre più veloci: "Fuggite voialtri che sete più giovini e aéte più da campà'!"(126). Sua figlia la scavalca insieme alle amiche, tenendo in braccio la nipote del fidanzato: un batuffolo di capelli ricci che stava per portare all'asilo(127). Tenera anticipazione dell'essere mamma(128). Sono arrivati all'ultima rampa di scale, quando l'apocalisse sopra di loro cresce fino al parossismo: una bomba centra la casa(129), che precipita seppellendo tutti nel buio della morte. Per loro tutto è finito! Cessano di vivere la Giulia, la Cecilia, la Ida, la Rina, la Viulìna(130), la piccolissima Anna Paola; e Bruno(131). Non c'è più "filo" per allungare la trama delle loro vite(132). Solo la mamma Gigina, sbalzata verso Via Cibo dalla finestra delle scale(133), trova miracolosamente scampo sotto un trave, in cima alla collina di macerie. Dentro la stessa bara di sassi muoiono Angelo, il calzolaio, e la moglie Luisa, che abitavano al piano inferiore(135). Lui era il "medico delle scarpe", che andava a piedi a lavorare con la valigetta, non avendo né una bottega né un piccolo laboratorio in casa. Il suo organetto ha rantolato l'ultima nota, schiacciato in mezzo alle pietre; i nipoti non saranno più rallegrati dalle sue melodie(136). La Felicina è schiacciata da una trave proprio sullo scalino del negozio di alimentari, preso in affitto dalla Pastàra all'angolo fra Via Spunta ed il Corso(137). I1 crollo coinvolge anche le due abitazioni adiacenti. Demolisce un'ala della casa verso il ponte, dove la Vera (Vibi) assiste terrorizzata a quest'inferno abbracciata alla mamma, a letto inferma; la polvere impedisce di vedere cosa accada; diventa difficile respirare(138). Nel portone a piano terra sono rimasti intrappolati Nello del Flemma e l'Armida de Caldaro, che ha finito il tempo per partorire(139). Dalla bottega del calzolaio del ponte, lì di fronte, nessuno può scappare. Il banchetto da lavoro è saltato e tutti sono restati senza parole, come imbambolati; un polverone ha invaso tutto e non si vede più niente. "Semo armasti chiusi dentro!", sussurra Aldo (Frambois) posando una mano sulla spalla di Peppino (Lisetti), apprendista come lui, che ha cercato nel buio, tastoni(140). Nell'edificio verso piazza, i genitori del maestro Bernacchi sono sprofondati nel baratro che si è aperto sotto di loro, mentre lui, Benedetto, stava porgendo una tazza di caffè alla moglie Marianna, malata, chinandosi verso il letto su cui era coricata(141). Silvano, il nipotino, è salvo solo perché l'angolo estremo del pavimento su cui si trovava ha resistito; è rimasto in piedi sopra due mattoni, miracolosamente restati al loro posto, di fronte al vuoto, tra fumo, polvere, calcinacci. Ma non può respirare; allora tenta di spostarsi; mette un piede in avanti; sprofonda come in una voragine; si aggrappa e scivola... si aggrappa e scivola... sempre più giù(142). Per fortuna la seconda bomba della coppiòla non è esplosa(143). La Polda, colpita alla testa da uno sciacquone caduto dal piano superiore, spira(144) dietro il portone d'ingresso della stessa casa, dove si era recata per aiutare la suocera Peppa. Pochi attimi prima, nello stesso punto si trovava il figlio Gigino, che era dal barbiere (Taticchi) quando è caduta 1a prima bomba. D'istinto si era dato a correre verso il Corso anziché verso Piazza San Francesco, che era la via naturale di fuga; si era rifugiato dietro quel portone dove abitavano i nonni, in via Cibo, per ripararsi dai sassi; dopo qualche attimo, non sentendosi sicuro, era corso verso piazza"(145). Anche l'altro figlio, Peppino, vent'anni, era dentro la barbieria con i1 fratello; come lui, è fuggito per il Corso, verso piazza. Vuole allontanarsi dalle case: si precipita dentro il bar Pazzi, corre verso il retro, salta negli orti, si lascia cadere sulla sponda del Tevere; e poi di corsa verso il Faldo, inseguito dai botti delle bombe(146). Nella barbieria di Gilì (Virgilio Occhirossi) tutti erano corsi verso Via Spunta, sul retro, che dava l'impressione di essere il punto più protetto; ma quando Toto (Antonio Silvestrelli) era giunto sulla porta, la seconda coppia di bombe è esplosa proprio in fondo al vicolo; lo spostamento d'aria gli ha sbattuto violentemente la porta sul petto; per un attimo si è sentito mancare'(147). La moglie di Schiupitino si è riparata nel retrobottega del negozio di alimentari al Corso, sotto un arco, con la figlia Emma. Con loro c'è Mario (Mariano Vestrelli), il falegname, che si è raccomandato: "Dite con me `l paternostro ... 'ché morimo tutti!"(148). Lo spostamento d'aria ha scardinato il braccio di chiusura della porta, rompendogli le coste ed interrompendo la sua preghiera(149). La maggior parte dei sarti di Maccario ha seguito Fausto (Ciocchetti) perché lui sa meglio come comportarsi sotto le bombe, dopo tre anni di guerra: è da poco tornato dalla Croazia, in licenza prolungata perché ha da poco perso il fratello maggiore(150). Ma lui, prima di essere soldato, è fratello di Peppino, che lavora nel salone di Galeno: anziché correre in direzione della Caminella, verso i campi liberi, si dirige verso la barbieria(151). II percorso è ancora del tutto sgombro(152). Come la mandria dietro al capobranco, i suoi compagni lo seguono in Via Mariotti, sotto l'arco di Fiordo: la Rina de Schiantino (Santini), Mario (Lozzi), Peppino (Rapo), di soli quattordici anni. In particolare non si stacca da lui la Nunziatina (Bendini), che di Fausto è innamorata(153). La fuga ed il destino si stanno sgranando lungo gli anelli di una catena d' affetti. L'Elda (Bartocci) si è divisa dai compagni. Ha imboccato il vicolo di San Giovanni, per rifugiarsi nell'ingresso dell'albergo Capponi: nel fitto fumo nero, intravede due soldati che hanno indossato la maschera antigas. La donna di servizio dell'albergo accende una candela che rischiara un po' 1'ambiente(156). Nella bottega di Quadrio tutto è diventato scuro. Amleto accende un fiammifero cercando di aprire la porta del retrobottega. "Ho la mia famiglia di sopra!!" pensa a voce alta. Ma la porta non si apre, perché dal lucernaio posteriore è venuto giù qualcosa(157). Davanti alla porta del suo forno s'intravede, tra il fumo, la sagoma di Luciano, il nipote di Quadrio. Non ha seguito gli amici nella corsa verso 1a salvezza: non l'hanno potuto tenere. "Vado a casa ad avvertire la mi' mamma!", ha insistito(158). Ora, per sollecitare la fuga dei familiari, li chiama urlando dalla strada, in mezzo al caos della gente che scappa alle sue spalle. Mentre la Lea (Rapo) fuggiva, il boato della seconda bomba, ancora più tremendo della prima, ha fatto volare lontano il cappello del nonno, che si preoccupa di riprenderlo; incrocia la mamma e la sorella Mariolina che stanno correndo verso casa. Tutti insieme rientrano e si rifugiano sotto il letto matrimoniale(159). L'Ornella e la Wilma, abbandonato sul tavolo il vocabolario di latino, sono corse verso la finestra sulla piazza ed hanno visto una colonna di fumo salire dal Tevere(160). Peppino (Baiocco), l'apprendista di Bruno, si è acquattato nell'orto sopra il Tevere, sul retro della trattoria di Ntonio de Ragno; da lì ha visto volare mattoni e pietre della sartoria dove intendeva salire un minuto fa, per riunirsi alla sorella Giulia. Ma era tornato indietro; al rumore degli aerei aveva ripreso il portone per salire; poi era rivoltato di nuovo, proprio nel momento in cui una lasca impressionante aveva fatto sobbalzare tutto. Era fuggito verso piazza dove si stava già diffondendo un gran polverone(161). È il finimondo(162). E una macchia rossa, in alto, / coprì il sole / il cielo gli alberi il fiume / i giochi i volti i sorrisi i baci / i miei occhi / la mia mente(163). Consapevolezza tardiva Alfredo (Ciarabelli) si era diretto in cucina per vedere dalla finestra verso il Corso se era davvero caduto un aereo; quando ha sentito il secondo boato, ancora più grosso, ha capito e non si muove più: è come stordito. Non ricorderà niente di quello che sta per succedere(164). Finalmente tutti hanno capito. Ma ormai nessuno ha più scelte. Chi si trova all'aperto, continua a fuggire a perdifiato, spinto dal terrore. Chi non è già riuscito a guadagnare l'aria oppure, al contrario, ha avuto l'istinto di ripararsi dentro un portone, resta paralizzato dove si trova, aspettando immobile che quest'inferno finisca al più presto(165). Invece è solo l'inizio. La corsa di Brizio (Boldrini) è arrivata sotto la torre(166). Sergio (Celestini), davanti alla Collegiata, ha sentito il babbo chiamarlo dal lato di Via Roma; è corso verso di lui, ma ha proseguito la fuga imboccando il ponte della Regghia verso la piattaforma. Il fronte d'urto della seconda bomba lo ha sbalzato in aria per un salto senza fine; ha l'impressione che gli sia scoppiata dietro le spalle, davanti alla Collegiata(167). Da Peppolètta, si radunano tutti nella cantina scavata sotto il livello della strada, dove il babbo aveva messo anche un'accetta, nel caso fosse stato necessario aprire un varco verso la Regghia'(168). I piloti si sono resi conto di aver mancato l'obiettivo per pochi metri(169). Forse non si rendono conto di aver colpito a morte il Borgo di San Giovanni, che è caduto per la prima volta nella sua storia millenaria: in sacrificio per l'umanità, come Cristo. Terza scarica Il tenente Lombard ripete l'esatta traiettoria del collega che l'ha preceduto. La casa dell'Elena La terza coppia di bombe precipita sibilando; esplode(170) a pochi metri dalla seconda, sulla casa dell'Elena (Boldrini), dove non c'è più nessuno. Saltano in aria le ricevute delle cambiali e le bombe a mano celate nella scatola di scarpe presa in consegna qualche settimana prima, nella convinzione che contenesse solo libri. Gliel'aveva data Tonino (Taticchi), comunista, quando era stato avvertito di un'imminente ispezione da Milio (Ramaccioni), anticomunista ma amico(171). Quarta stazione Gesù incontra sua madre Madre e figlia - la Delma e la Franca - incontrano l a morte, travolte dai detriti, nel fondo dei Fiorucci dove si erano rifugiate(172), mentre fuggivano dalla loro casa di fronte, all'inizio del vicolo di San Giovanni(173). La Delma non ha saputo trarre frutto dagli insegnamenti della mamma Abigaille, capace di interpretare i sogni e prevedere il futuro ai clienti del botteghino del lotto, che gestiva con la sorella Desdemona al Corso(174). Sotto il vicino arco di Fiordo cadono tramortiti a terra Ciocchetta e la Nunziatina(175), i giovani sarti innamorati(176); i loro compagni di fuga - Peppino, Mario e la Rina - senza rendersi conto di cosa possa essere accaduto, storditi ma illesi, li trascinano dentro la porta di un fondo appena spalancata dallo spostamento d'aria(177). La mamma e la sorella di Orlando (Bucaioni), il pescatore di ranocchie, sono fuggite verso il ponte; quando sono state in fondo al vicolo di San Giovanni, la mamma si è rifugiata nel portone di Ciarabelli e la sorella in quello precedente, l'ingresso dell'albergo Capponi. La mamma si è sporta un attimo per controllare se la figlia fosse al sicuro, rimanendo ferita in modo non grave per il crollo della casa dell'Elena(180). Sotto i detriti è rimasta leggermente intrappolata la Tuta (Lozzi), insieme al carretto con la biancheria che stava riportando dal fiume(181). Toto (Antonio Silvestrelli), dopo essersi ripreso dallo stordimento per la seconda bomba, era uscito dal retro della barbieria di Gilì (Virgilio Occhirossi); con gli altri ha cercato di fuggire in Via Spunta verso il ponte, proprio in direzione del nuovo scoppio. Rientrati precipitosamente nella barbieria, sentono un lamento provenire dall'esterno: fra la polvere trovano una fiolina (Giuseppina Mariotti) che piange, accucciata in un cantuccio dove la nonna l'ha fatta riparare (182). Brizio sta girando per la Fontesanta, dietro la casa di Broccatelli(183). I piloti scrivono sul diario di aver colpito i binari appena ad est del ponte: è segno che già non vedono più l'area intorno all'obiettivo(184). Difatti, dalla collina del cimitero è scomparso alla vista il campanone sopra le poste, avvolto dal fumo(185). Quarta scarica Tocca al tenente Mitchell ripetere la traiettoria che ha portato a sfiorare per due volte il ponte; si butta in picchiata, colpendo a pochi metri da dove sono esplose le bombe precedenti, vicino alla testata est. La casa di Moscione Mitchell centra la casa mediana della schiera verso ponente del vicolo di San Giovanni: quella di Peppe de Mosciòne (Bernacchi), operaio alla fornace. Gli ordigni sterminano tutta la sua famiglia: cinque f iglioli - Anna Maria, Raffaele, Benedetto, Valentino, Angela(186) - insieme alla loro mamma, la Sunta(187). "Un gelo s'apprese al loro volo ... e lasciarono cadere le a1i"(188). Erano tutti secchi come filigèlli, forse per costituzione; forse per la miseria. Eppure, nonostante l'apparenza, la donna allattava sia l'Anna Maria, sua figlia, che un altro bimbo, Brunello (Giancarlo Bruni), come balia. Per questo, ogni giorno venivano a prenderla a casa e la portavano di là dal Tevere, per attaccare il figlio di latte al suo seno; cercavano di nutrirla con abbondanza affinché il latte bastasse per entrambi i bambini(189). Le bombe hanno demolito anche le due case adiacenti. In quella verso la piazza, muore un'altra Sunta, la moglie di Selleri, il calzolaio(190). Dopo aver riempito le brocche alla pompa degli archi di piazza, era salita dalla Bruna (Brunori), una vicina di casa. «Quando hanno sentito gli scoppi, si sono buttate entrambe per terra, ma il pavimento è sprofondato sotto di loro(191). Sono precipitate dal terzo piano. La Bruna ha avuto la fortuna che alcune travi, dopo aver attutito la caduta, hanno formato una specie di tetto che l'ha riparata dai calcinacci. Così si è ritrovata nella stalla, vicino alla sua giovane amica ed alla cavalla(192) di Vitorio (Vittorio Giulioni): entrambe morte»(193). Nella casa vicina, ancor più verso piazza, Luciano (Bebi) è entrato nel portone, vedendo che i suoi tardano a scendere. È salito al primo piano e dalla porta grida: "Mamma! Mamma! Fuggi! Teta! Scappàte!"(194). Ma Quadrio è a letto: non se la sentono di lasciarlo solo e l'aiutano ad alzarsi. Intanto suo genero Amleto, il radiotelegrafista, con la freddezza del militare di carriera abituato al pericolo, cerca di portare in salvo verso la torre la suocera, che stava servendo in bottega(195) la Rina de Sciuscìno (Bartoccini)(195). Dalla porta del forno, perché quella della bottega - verso il ponte - è bloccata, scappa la Maria (Migliorati), insieme alla Rina. Mentre corre fra detriti e sassi si accorge che è rimasta senza una scarpa. La Maria vorrebbe dirigersi verso casa, che è vicino alle monache, ma in piazza della Collegiata il bancario Martinelli le dice di andare verso il mercato, non verso la ferrovia, perché è pericoloso(197). Nella casa adiacente a quella di Mosciòne, verso il ponte, muoiono Pasqualino e Angelino, i due figli(198) della Sunta, che la moglie del calzolaio aveva lasciato a letto. Soli, in mezzo al cataclisma, aggrediti dall'orco. La casa di Ulisse Nella casa di fronte, quella di Ulisse, a metà della schiera verso sud del vicolo di San Giovanni, si riversano le macerie delle case dirimpettaie. All'ultimo piano, la mamma Adele ha fatto riparare sotto l'architrave di cucina Gino de Bargiacca (Igino Corbucci), costretto dalla nascita su una sedia. Nel trambusto, il ragazzino si ritrova a terra sotto il tavolo(199). I suoi muscoli atrofizzati si caricano di un'altra croce. Quinta stazione Simone di Cirene aiuta Gesù a portare la croce L' androne a piano terra è pieno di gente, scesa dai piani superiori o entrata da fuori. Vi si è appena rifugiata l'Elda (Bartocci), la sartina di Maccario, che, separatasi dagli altri colleghi, non si sentiva sicura dentro l'albergo Capponi. Proprio sulla soglia ha incontrato la moglie di Paolino, il ferroviere, con la figlia Argentina di quattro anni in braccio ed il trippone con il nascituro; la bambina non riusciva a respirare per la polvere del crollo precedente; allora la mamma Marcella ha deciso di uscire(200) proprio nel momento in cui le case di fronte sono crollate su di loro(201). Anche dentro l'androne di Ulisse (Violini) è arrivata la morte: l'ingegnere romano che stava passeggiando nel vicolo(202), riparatosi lì dentro, è stato scaraventato dallo spostamento d'aria in fondo al piccolo corridoio di fronte al portone(203). La Sandra (Violini), che cuciva nel suo appartamento, era scesa in fondo alle scale - il babbo Ulisse aveva istruito così le figlie - dove ci sono muri e volte robustissimi. Ha visto l'Augusta, un'anziana vicina di casa che si era riparata dentro il portone di fronte, quello dei Brunori, dall'altra parte del vicolo. "Augusta, venite di qua... ch'è più robusto!", le ha detto. "No cocca! A mo' sto di qui!", ha risposto lei(204), un attimo prima di essere seppellita(205). Accanto all'Augusta, un gruppo di persone è sommerso dal crollo dei piani superiori: la Mimma(206), che abita lì dal '34, quando lei ed il marito Astorre (Coletti) erano venuti a casaiòlo lasciando il podere di Palazzone(207); la Cesira (Ceccagnoli), rifugiatasi dentro l'androne insieme all'Adriana (Fileni), che stava accompagnando all'asilo; Bronzone (Antonio Feligioni), sfollato da Milano. 1) Gianna Feligioni 2) Franco Pucci 3) Rolando Fiorucci 4) Giuseppe Feligioni 5) Francesco Martinelli 6) Orlando Bucaioni 7) Luigi Carlini 8) Tita romitelli 9)Domenico Fornaci 10) Francesco Martinelli 11) Mario Tacconi 12) Giuseppe Feligioni, Willelmo Ramaccioni 13) Ramiro Nanni, Come io, Ramiro, vissi il bombardamento… , manoscritto del 1979 14) Fotomontaggio di Valerio Rosi su disegno base di Adriano Bottaccioli ed immagine del cruscotto del P40 fornita da Andrea Gragnoli 15) Fabrizio Boldrini 16) Bruno Burberi 17) Antonio Silvestrelli 18) Franco Villarini 19) Nello Minelli 20) Marino Giulietti 21) Pia Gagliardini 22) Fotomontaggio di Valerio Rosi su disegno base di Adriano Bottaccioli ed immagine del cruscotto del P40 fornita da Andrea Gragnoli 23) Muzio Venti 24) Egidio Grassini 25) Fabrizio Boldrini 26) Ramiro Nanni, Come io, Ramiro, vissi il bombardamento… , manoscritto del 1979 27) Olimpio Ciarapica, da una poesia del 1952 28) Silvana Bartoccioli 29) Fabrizio Boldrini 30) Maria luisa Rapo 31) Classe III E, Scuola Media Statale Mavarelli-Pascoli, Voci della memoria , Comune di Umbertide e Centro Culturale San Francesco, Umbertide, 2002 32) Fabrizio Boldrini 33) Classe III E, Scuola Media Statale Mavarelli-Pascoli, Voci della memoria , Comune di Umbertide e Centro Culturale San Francesco, Umbertide, 2002 34) Irma Mariotti, intervista raccolta da Leonardo Tosti il 25 aprile 1994 35) Olimpio Ciarapica, da una poesia del 1952 36) Maria Letizia Giontella, “Poesia a tre voci e tre cori” , Comune di Umbertide, Concorso Nazionale XXV aprile, Centro Culturale San Francesco, 1983 37) Dante Mariucci, testimonianza raccolta dalla nipote Francesca – V elementare - 1985; Franco Mischianti, Renato Silvestrelli, Franco Villarini 38) PRO, London, Operation Record Book, Detail of work carried out by 5 S.A.A.F., 239º stormo aereo “Wing Desert Air Force”, 5º squadrone aereo 39) Orlando Bucaioni 40) Elena Boriosi 41) Olimpio Ciarapica, da una poesia del 1952 42) Fotomontaggio di Valerio Rosi su disegno base di Adriano Bottaccioli ed immagine dell’aereo fornita da Andrea Gragnoli 43) Antonio Silvestrelli 44) Orlando Bucaioni 45) Dina Batazzi 46) Ornella Duranti 47) Fotomontaggio di Valerio Rosi su disegno base di Adriano Bottaccioli ed immagine dell’aereo fornita da Andrea Gragnoli 48) Lidia Tonanni 49) Bruno Tonanni 50) Fabrizio Boldrini 51) Romano Baldi 52) Domenico Baldoni 53) Italo Lotti, Domenico Manuali, Giovanni Migliorati 54) Cesira Baldelli 55) Irma Mariotti, intervista raccolta da Leonardo Tosti il 25 aprile 1994 56) Lorenzo Andreani 57) Fabrizio Boldrini 58) Franco Anastasi 59) Gianna Burzigotti 60) Bruno Burberi 61) Maria Luisa Rapo 62) Renato Silvestrelli 63) Giovanna Mancini 64) Giorgio Toraci 65) Dante Mariucci, testimonianza raccolta dalla nipote Francesca – V elementare – 1985 66) Italo Ciocchetti 67) Franco Mischianti 68) Umberto Dominici 69) Maddalena Maria Marzani 70) Guerriero Boldrini 71) Orlando Bucaioni 72) Elda Bartocci 73) Ada locchi 74) Adriana e Domenica Cecchetti; testimonianza indiretta del fratello Giuseppe 75) Luigi Gambucci 76) Dina Conti, Luigi Gambucci 77) Giuseppa Ceccarelli 78) Piera Bruni 79) Lidia Corradi 80) Lea Rapo 81) Dora Silvestrelli 82) Renato Silvestrelli 83) Assunta Baruffi 84) Rolando Paneni 85) Ada Locchi 86) Don Luigi Cozzari, lettera per il 1º anniversario, 1945 87) Renato Caseti 88) Elvira Rossi 89) Giancarlo Guasticchi 90) Maria Migliorati 91) Ramiro Nanni, Come io, Ramiro, vissi il bombardamento …, manoscritto del 1979 92) Giovanni Bico 93) Giuseppe Mattioni 94) Francesco Martinelli 95) Domenico Fornaci 96) Giovanna Pazzi 97) Stefano Marsigliotti 98) Marisa Pazzi 99) Emilio Panzarola 100) Lorenzo Andreani 101) Massimo Valdambrini 102) Franco Caldari 103) Ines Guasticchi 104) Rita Tosti (la mamma è morta qualche mese dopo) 105) Giovanna Bottaccioli 106) Lidia Corradi 107) Giovanna Bottaccioli 108) Lidia Corradi 109) Giovanni Duranti 110) Margherita Tosti, manoscritto del 1985 111) Annunziata Caldari 112) Luigi Gambucci 113) Alfredo Ciarabelli 114) Aldo Fiorucci 115) Ines Biti 116) Luciano Ramaccioni 117) Emilio Gargagli 118) Mario Tosti 119) Marcella Casi 120) Egino Villarini 121) Rina Santini 122) Lea Rapo 123) Giuseppe Agea, testimonianza indiretta della figlia Elisabetta 124) Emilio Gargagli 125) Flora Grandi, lettera dell’11 settembre 2003; Franco Mischianti 126) Ines Guasticchi, Franco Mischianti, Egino Villarini 127) Guerriero Massetti 128) Classe III E, Scuola Media Statale Mavarelli-Pascoli, Voci della memoria , Comune di Umbertide e Centro Culturale San Francesco, Umbertide, 2002 129) Orlando Bucaioni, Franco Mischianti 130) Flora Grandi, lettera dell’11 settembre 2003; Nella Palchetti Palazzetti 131) Vittime: Giulia Baiocco, Cecilia Boldrini, Giuseppina Grandi, Anna Paola Massetti, Ida Mischianti, Rina Romitelli, Bruno Villarini 132) Classe III E, Scuola Media Statale Mavarelli-Pascoli, Voci della memoria , Comune di Umbertide e Centro Culturale San Francesco, Umbertide, 2002 133) Franco Mischianti 134) In alto: Fotomontaggio di Valerio Rosi su disegno base di Adriano Bottaccioli In basso: pianta d’Umbertide, con il bersaglio, la fiammata dello scoppio nel punto di caduta della seconda coppia di bombe ed il fumo della prima 135) Vittime: Angelo Mischianti, Luisa Rondini 136) Classe III E, Scuola Media Statale Mavarelli-Pascoli, Voci della memoria , Comune di Umbertide e Centro Culturale San Francesco, Umbertide, 2002 137) Vittima: Felicia Montanucci 138) Vera Vibi 139) Anna Caldari 140) Giuseppe Lisetti 141) Vittime: Benedetto Bernacchi, Marianna Manuali 142) Silvano Bernacchi 143) Renato Silvestrelli, Silvana Bernacchi 144) Vittima: Leopolda Sabbiniani 145) Luigi Romitelli 146) Giuseppe Romitelli 147) Antonio Silvestrelli 148) Emma Gagliardini 149) Guerriero Gagliardini 150) Carolina Frati 151) Classe III E, Scuola Media Statale Mavarelli-Pascoli, Voci della memoria , Comune di Umbertide e Centro Culturale San Francesco, Umbertide, 2002 152) Giuseppe Rapo 153) Classe III E, Scuola Media Statale Mavarelli-Pascoli, Voci della memoria , Comune di Umbertide e Centro Culturale San Francesco, Umbertide, 2002 154-155) Foto gentilmente messa a disposizione da Gianfranco Ciocchetti 156) Elda Bartocci 157) Maria Migliorati 158) Fernanda Martinelli 159) Lea Rapo 160) Ornella Duranti 161) Giuseppe Baiocco 162) Sergio Ceccacci 163) Maria Letizia Giontella, “Poesia a tre voci e tre cori” , Comune di Umbertide, Concorso Nazionale XXV aprile, Centro Culturale San Francesco, 1983 164) Alfredo Ciarabelli 165) Egidio Grassini 166) Fabrizio Boldrini 167) Sergio Celestini 168)Sergio Ceccacci 169) PRO, London, Operation Record Book, Detail of work carried out by 5 S.A.A.F., 239º stormo aereo “Wing Desert Air Force”, 5º squadrone aereo 170) Silvano Bernacchi 171) Fabrizio Boldrini 172) Vittime: Delma Tognaccini, Franca Fagioli 173) Adriana Ciarabelli, Annunziata Fiorucci 174) Classe III E, Scuola Media Statale Mavarelli-Pascoli, Voci della memoria , Comune di Umbertide e Centro Culturale San Francesco, Umbertide, 2002 175) Amelia Lozzi 176) Vittime: Annunziata Bendini, Fausto Ciocchetti 177) Giuseppe Rapo 178) Fotomontaggio di Valerio Rosi su disegno base di Adriano Bottaccioli. In basso: pianta d’Umbertide, con il bersaglio, la fiammata della terza coppia di bombe ed il fumo di quelle precedenti 179) In alto: Fotomontaggio di Valerio Rosi su disegno base di Adriano Bottaccioli. In basso: pianta d’Umbertide, con il bersaglio, la fiammata della quarta coppia di bombe ed il fumo di quelle precedenti 180) Orlando Bucaioni 181) Amelia Lozzi 182) Antonio Silvestrelli 183) Fabrizio Boldrini 184) PRO, London, Operation Record Book, Detail of work carried out by 5 S.A.A.F., 239º stormo aereo “Wing Desert Air Force”, 5º squadrone aereo 185) Domenico Mariotti 186) Vittime: Anna Maria, Raffaele, Benedetto, Valentino Bernacchi, Angelo Palazzetti 187) Vittima: Asssunta Palazzetti 188) Classe III E, Scuola Media Statale Mavarelli-Pascoli, Voci della memoria , Comune di Umbertide e Centro Culturale San Francesco, Umbertide, 2002 189) Giancarlo Bruni 190) Vittima: Assunta Caprini 191) Wanda Guardabassi 192) Vittorio Giulioni, testimonianza indiretta di Fernando Marchetti 193) Bruna Brunori, testimonianza raccolta dal nipote Matteo – V elementare – 1985 194) Fernando Martinelli 195) Francesco Martinelli 196) Virginia Tosti 197) Maria Migliorati 198) Vittime: Angelo Selleri, Pasquale Selleri 199) Elisabetta Bellarosa 200) Elda Bartocci 201) Vittime: Marcella Mazzanti, Argentina Merli 202) Vittima: Alfonso Ferrari 203) Margherita Violini 204) Vittima: Augusta Orlandi 205) Margherita Violini 206) Vittima: Giulia Pierotti 207) Rina Alunno Violini THE THIRD WAVE (1) The last four "picchiatelli" must lighten the load, now only ballast that prevents the return to base. Lieutenant Jandrell has decided to keep the Regghia bridge as a target, between the Collegiata and the square, which can still be glimpsed from above. Less and less convinced, the pilots start to unhook their bulky appendages, almost reluctantly. It's 9:53. Ninth discharge The bombs that Lieutenant McLachlan drops - they seem the violins playing "Rapastello" (2) - crash into Via Guidalotti (3). A bomb demolishes the house of Tommasi, the veterinarian (4). Inside is his mother - Sora Rosa, elderly and heavy - who had refused to follow her great-grandchildren with their mother Rachel, fled as soon as they heard the first bombs (5). Sora Checca, her daughter-in-law, remained with her. Afraid of it devices closer and closer, they were facing the window in Via Guidalotti to ask for help. On the road Hamlet was running; he, shocked, had whispered that his family members were already all dead; he had headed the appointment towards the end, under the father-in-law's house Quadrio (6). Finally Sister Rosa was convinced to escape. For the already damaged staircase (7), Sora Checca tried to get off, pulling her mother-in-law by the hand. For the shock wave, the first was ruined by hitting the face on the wall; the second (8) is dead (9). The other bomb stuck, unexploded (12), in front to the adjacent shoe shop, from where Paris (Giovanni Miccioni) he had already fled at the first outbreak, to look for his daughter Peppina at school (13), followed by Peppolétta (Ceccacci) (14). The other two shoemakers had stood still, petrified. The explosion in the house next door sparked inside the shop its tremendous strength. Selleri, seated in front of the work desk, was thrown from the chair e stripped of clothing (15). Tenth station Jesus is stripped The shoemaker is all crevelàto (16). It loses blood from the ears, eyes and body, due to the displacement of air and the rubble (17). His colleague Pierucci, the Carbonaro (18), remained dazed, but unable to move. From inside the Palazzoli barbershop, Menchino (Pucci) he despairs: "Oh God ... I committed it!" (19). It just has saw the bomb hit his representative office building sentance of agricultural machinery, from where he had left when the planes had arrived, to go and taste the usual breakfast: a fried egg (20). Tenth discharge Lieutenant Powell is already in a dive when he notices that the cloud of the last outbreak adjacent to the bridge on the Regghia it has almost completely hidden the objective. Recall the plane ahead of time, resulting in lengthen the trajectory of the bombs. The pair of bombs falls on the rubble of the houses of the hamlet of San Giovanni already demolished: he digs two craters on the mass of debris from the Bucaioni house (21) and resets the amount he was still standing. It is the coup de grace for Selleri's little sons, the shoemaker: they are pulverized. Without realizing what is happening, Peppino (Rapo), the little tailor apprentice who had stayed close to his two wounded comrades, it is covered with rubble up in the chest (23). A few tens of meters, under the bed marriage, her sister Lea cries out: "Mom! Amàzzime you ... don't make me 'mad' from them! "(24). The Borgo di San Giovanni, which has become a hellish volcano, gasps in the last spasms of agony. The bombs, burst at the base of the pre-existing cloud, they do to erupt into the sky a black, gigantic mushroom, above the crater. Towards the Calvary the lens of Doctor Balducci's camera opens, which has reached the fields beyond the Milordìno's house. The image of the dying country is fixed on his film. Eleventh Station Jesus is crucified The third stop Even the bridge in the square cannot be seen anymore from the sky. Lieutenant Jandrell no longer knows what to fish for. Upon returning to the airport from the field of Cutella, he will have to show some scalps in the game bag! He can't go back empty-handed. On the ground, the prolonged silence due to the uncertainty of the squadron once again stimulates to flee. Whoever is in the area of the Collegiata has the feeling that the danger has gone away: the last bomb has gone off inside the historic center, further back than that previous, that from Via Guidalotti had thrown stones all around them. The instinct is to get out of cover. Pierucci, the shoemaker, recovering from his daze, separates from Selleri, who cannot get up from his banquet. He leaves the shop and he goes, swaying like a drunk, towards the tower and the market. From the barbershop in Palazzoli, where he had placed himself under cover, peeps out Franco (Mischianti). He does not hear planes arriving; runs towards the market, passing in front of the still intact octagonal church (26). Elisa (Pucci) follows him, with the hairdresser's white cloth still on her shoulders (27). Many notice her for that unusual outfit, drawing encouragement to imitate her. Palmiro (Santarelli), one of the pupils who remained behind the sacristy of the Collegiate, is convinced: he runs away with her, towards the market (28). Other comrades follow him, taking different directions. Ines (Biti), the clerk of the Fornaci fabric shop, has also decided to flee, who saw Elisa running across the square. He tries to convince Checchina (Fornaci) that it is not necessary to stay indoors, although the vaults of the shop should be safe: "Better outside than under the rubble !!". Calmly, Ines takes off her apron, closes the door with the padlock. Together they run towards the market, with the speed allowed by the shorter leg than the other of the young lady (29). 1) Gianna Feligioni. 2) Lauro Beccafichi. 3) Fabrizio Boldrini. 4) Franco Anastasi, Renato Silvestrelli. 5) Venanzia Riccardini. 6) Paola Banelli. 7) Venanzia Riccardini. 8) Victim: Rosa Boncristiani. 9) Umberto Tommasi. 10) Above: photomontage by Valerio Rosi based on a drawing by Adriano Bottaccioli and image of the P40 dashboard provided by Andrea Gragnoli. Below: Umbertide plant, with the target and the smoke of the bombs already fallen. 11) Above: photomontage by Valerio Rosi based on a drawing by Adriano Bottaccioli. Below: Umbertide plant, with the target, the blaze of the ninth pair of bombs and the smoke of the previous ones. 12) Piero Baldelli. 13) Giuseppina Miccioni. 14) Cesare Ceccacci. 15) Victim: Giuseppe Selleri. 16) Orlando Bucaioni. 17) Pompeo Selleri. 18) To Ines Biti. 19) Elisa Manarini. 20) Elisabetta Bartoccioni. 21) Orlando Bucaioni. 22) Above: photomontage by Valerio Rosi, with cloud derived from the photo by Roberto Balducci, on an image taken from the Photo Library of the Municipal Archives. Below: Umbertide plant, with the target, the blaze of the tenth pair of bombs and the smoke of the previous ones. 23) Giuseppe Rapo. 24) Maria Luisa Rapo. 25) Bruno Porrozzi, Umbertide in the images, Pro Loco Umbertide Association, 1977, p. 91. Photo Roberto Balducci. 26) Franco Mischianti. 27) Ines Biti, Palmiro Santarelli. 28) Palmiro Santarelli. 29) Ines Biti. THE FOURTH WAVE Now even the bridge in the square has been completely engulfed by the smoke of the bomb that exploded a few meters away. Lieutenant Jandrell has no choice: he decides to aim against the Regghia bridge that leads to Santa Maria. Better than nothing! Eleventh discharge Lieutenant Stubbs obeys the squadron leader: swoops towards the goal, anxious to get rid of the load. The bombs fall in front of the Collegiate Church (1), very close to the target: one remains unexploded, while the other touches the sacristy of Pòngolo, breaking up (2) a clove. A huge crater opens onto the square (3). Don Luigi and his companions startle with fear, for the roar of nearby bombs and the noise deafening of the windows that break and shatter to the ground; the walls of the antisagresty and the house above, collapsing, they darken around them (4). A splinter, shot off by the explosion (5), mows Pierucci, the shoemaker, who was continuing to pace, unsteady, to get away from the Paris shop: he collapses lifeless (6) on the ground towards the tower, near a plant (7). Perhaps, while the bombs were falling, he would have thought about when, in 1921, he was forced under threat of a revolver, shouting: "Long live the Fascio, long live Italy (8). He was the first to suffer the arrogance of fascism and the last to be mowed. The elementary school kids, who were still left behind the Collegiate and the sacristy for the sense of security given by the their bulk (11), are hit by the tremendous crash, very close. The others, who had recently left that shelter, are taken in full from shock wave. Palmiro (Santarelli), blocked in the escape from the noise of the plane in beaten, he protected himself behind a tree trunk in the market (12). Carlo (Porrozzi) has just turned at the corner of Via Roma where Zurli's shop is. It is invested from a huge heat; he feels himself being lifted and catapulted several meters. He falls to the ground, injuring himself at knees (13). Vittorino (Tognaccini) is run over from behind from the blast of the explosion, as he runs towards Uncle Giosuè's tavern (14). Mario (Alpini) is hit in the side by a big guy stone; keep running up the Piaggiola towards the shoe shop - between Piazza delle Erbe and Via Grilli - of the father, who lowered the shutter up almost at the bottom. He went to the market, having seen that from Via Guidalotti one could not pass because they had hit the house near the Busattis (15). Ines (Benizi), who helps the Viglino at home, rides madly towards Piazza Marconi; the Maria Pia is perched on the handlebars; the Lucilla (Corbucci) le chases on foot, recommending to wait for her (16). Maestro Marsigliotti, all dusty for him burst, tries to take cover inside the door of the first house in Via Roma, towards the Regghia (17). A brick has landed on the pot in the kitchen of Via Bremizia, where Ersilia (Cecchetti Pinzaglia) he had put the broth back; he made the lid shine and fell among the boiled meat (18). In the notary's house, his daughter Maria (Zampa Leonardi) and the woman who helps her around the house they went down to the basement to take refuge in a dark basement. Cats around to them, as they did not realize what was happening. The bomb dropped in front of the sacristy shook the house like an earthquake: Maria imagines what oscillation there must have been now on the upper floors, which had already swayed frighteningly under their feet when the first bombs fell, much further away (19). La Dina (Galmacci) arrived at the bottom of the Piaggiola: the blast of air threw her into the door of Palazzo Baglioni; he finds himself without a coat and without shoes (20). The oratorians who watched from Santa Maria were hit with particular violence by the shock wave, which found fewer obstacles than the others in its path; Peppino (Gagliardini), who had leaned out of the ditch just at that moment, went all black (21). Twelfth discharge It is up to Lieutenant Wright to deliver the final blow. The last two bombs hit the house of the Gagliardini (22), even at almost half kilometer from the original goal of the bridge on the Tiber. The shock wave makes theirs fly bed (23) above Mariotti's roof, verso Via Roma (24). In the nearby house of the podestà Guardabassi, at the corner of Via Roma and Via XX Settembre, a little girl is thrown from the terrace inside the flight of stairs: roll up, arrive until the end. The old mayor assures us that those just fallen are the last bombs: maybe he counted the planes and the blasts. You can escape (25). Miss Fornaci and her saleswoman, Ines, they turned the stone cippus round that limits the passage to the market to pedestrians only; when the plane arrived they stooped down behind the wall towards the stream, under the first plant towards the Regghia. The fighter-bomber it rises, with a deafening roar, barely above their heads (26). The blast sent the doors open of the basements of the house where the master Marsigliotti had just found shelter; if it they were just looking for the keys, to take refuge there more safely. Every good thing came into view: lard, oil, flour and other gold, hidden there to escape the clutter. There is no time to think about the famine suffered in the past months, not even in the face of that abundance so close. The tragedy has re-established the scale of values. But for a short time: tomorrow there will be nothing left (27). Menco de Trivilino (Domenico Baldoni) from the post office arrived at the curve of the Marro, towards San Benedetto. As he glances back towards the smoke-filled town, he realizes that the last few pilots have seen nothing; they unhooked blindly. Antonio (Baroni), displaced by Capeccio, runs in the opposite direction in search of his mother who had gone to the center of the town wounded to death (29). Roberto Balducci has moved further towards the pine forest of Civitella. Photograph the last newborn mushroom, which emerges next to the pre-existing gigantic cloud (30) already dilated. It is the symbol of our ordeal. It's 9:54 am. The agony of the Borgo di San Giovanni was consumed in nine minutes (31). The heart of our country has been erased (32): it has now become a tomb. Twelfth Station Jesus dies on the cross Jesus died again: on the Calvary of St. John, next to dozens of crosses from which as many victims of ignorance, selfishness and violence dangle. The sun went out and darkened on the earth. Final strafing The rumbling of the bombs stopped. The silence that replaces them sharpens the feeling of deafness. From the temporary shelters on the outskirts, people come out who had not managed to escape: only now do they feel like doing so, encouraged by the absence of explosions. Man gradually regains possession of his rational abilities, overcoming the unconsciousness of the animal instinct. The primal terror experienced in the midst of the storm, in the eye of the storm, is gradually taking over, along with awareness, fear and dismay. From the Santa Croce area they all pour towards the Caminella and the Tiber; they instinctively lie down on the ground near Baldino, who is deaf and has not realized what is happening. He looks astonished at that stream of desperate people pouring towards the river, asking himself repeatedly aloud: "Ma ndu'va all these people?!" (33). Many crouch in a ditch full of nettles, without feeling the slightest discomfort. To get further away from hell, they climb over the embankment that separates them from the neighboring farmer - Secondo - while the low-flying planes still pass, strafing. A boy rolls to the ground and pretends to be dead (34). The final strafing is not a surprise for the pilot colonel Bice Pucci who, shortly before, in directing people to the Tiber, had recommended to Lidia (Tonanni): "Take off your red shirt ... after the machine gun bombardment ... "(35). In the bullfight of Piazza San Francesco the roles have been reversed: it is the sacrificial bulls who wear the muleta to incite the matadors. The red robe has also become a further concern for Vera (Vibi); if it is thrown on before going down - with yes and one shoe - along the pile of rubble which, from the terrace on the first floor of her house, slopes down to the street. She managed to support her mother (36), partially paralyzed, in her nightgown. While they are machine-gunning, he goes towards San Francesco, up to the Caminella, where he makes his mother sit under a tree (37). The crackling of the machine guns that followed the explosions of the bombs (38) is a further scar. At the Filippi furnace, at the bottom of the Piaggiola, they hear the gusts (39). Romolo (Romitelli), the tinsmith, swears: "Listen to these filthy ... they also machine guns!" (40). If it makes sense, in the inhuman logic of war, to destroy a bridge - and whoever has the misfortune of being nearby - with the aim of harming the enemy, it really has no justification for raging against defenseless people. Some foiled have the courage to justify everything: war is war. The planes leave Five or six planes, before leaving, go to the Hornbeam to unload some shiny objects. "Oh my God! ... they are bombing again!", The seminarians looking out from the Montone wall scream in dismay, before realizing that they are tanks (41). «Also in Monestevole, between the houses of Palombi and Ferranti, two planes, zigzagging in the sky, drop two large envelopes. As soon as they are unhooked, they look like bottles to the kids on top of the Valcinella toppétto. They believe they are bombs. They plug their ears, but as soon as they touch the ground they raise a small cloud of dust; there is a muffled thump, not a pop. The distance is considerable, but they run to see. In their pre-adolescent minds, this is a day of wonders, of celebration. They run from one hill to another, as if exalted. And it is not their discouragement or bewilderment; on the contrary, they feel the sweet sensation of being the protagonists of unusual and, in their own way, heroic events. Perhaps in Umbertide there will also be some dead; but they are not affected in their affections. The country is far away, stranger. Eight kilometers, in their eyes, are one stellar distance. Sweaty, out of breath, here they are where did those two big envelopes, close by to the house of Pulcinelli. They find two soldiers on the spot fascists, who, having found that it is empty containers, they leave again; but first they shoot you with the gun a few shots, perhaps to poke around thickness of the metal. The kids have the green light for watch. They are strange, very elongated, armed stems of pipes, electric wires, unions. They can contain a few quintals of gasoline. Maybe even more. The comments are wasted. Tonino says: "But these English have had judgment ... the drums did not drop them where they are grazing beasts, but here where there is nothing ". The petrol scattered around puts you in a good mood. It seems to smell the threshing. It is indeed a day of wonders "(42). Airplanes make a final low-flying turn (44) to check what happened; maybe they try disgust for having broken the quiet of those brown roofs of ancient, and the idyllic texture of those lace of vines stretched out among the stuccoes on the fields. Finally, get rid of any ballast - even the weights on the conscience - take a ride, all together, for, regain altitude. Then, in single file they disappear southwards, behind Montecorona (45). The fly-blind game is over. Umbertide is all landed (46). From this moment they will be remembered as "the twelve apostles" (47). Strange apostles, who have fulfilled their mission - of death or of freedom? - leaving 67 dead, three dying (48) and thousands of survivors with the death in the soul, scattered along the Calvary of San Giovanni. It's 5:10 am. The line of red-billed peregrine falcons points south. Perhaps he blushed more: from the shame of the evil they have sown. Doves crouched under the foliage of Elceto "hold the olive branch between their beaks that they cannot bring back to town after the flood: the time has not yet come for them to take off again. The Kittyhawk enterprise will not go down in history as a stage of progress: of course, the Wright brothers did not imagine the exploits of their great-grandchildren! In the flight diary the pilots note: "239 Stormo Wing DesertAir Force, 5th Air Squadron Operation no. 225 of 25 April 1944 A bomb narrowly missed the central section of the bridge to the north. A bomb narrowly missed the eastern access of the bridge to the south. A bomb hit the railroad tracks in the east access area of the bridge, interrupting the line. The other bombs fell in the inhabited area to the west of the country, east of the bridge. Leave seven houses on fire. Light anti-aircraft shots from Perugia airport [Sant'Egidio]. Visibility: haze Total flight time: 26 00 hours ". This is all for the war technicians: terribly little for those who have suffered, helpless, their exhibition. But war is also a drama for the pilots. Several of them, who are bringing death, will lose their lives in other missions (49); like Lieutenant Facer, who is about to expire after being shot down, just the day before yesterday, in the Fabriano sky. Others will see the end in the face, managing to escape it by a miracle, like Captain Pienaar, who in three months, on August 15, 1944, will live a bad adventure. At 4:41 pm, he will take off on a mission with his navigator, Lt. AR Lockhart-Ross. Arriving a few kilometers north-east of Lechfeld, at 9150 meters above sea level, he will veer left and right to ensure there is no danger. It will dive at 90 degrees towards Gunzburg-Leipheim airport, near the Danube, a few kilometers from Ulm. Suddenly it will frame a twin-engine aircraft fast approaching its tail in the rearview mirror. Pushed to the maximum the power, it will release the tanks of long range in order to exploit to the maximum the superior speed of its "Mosquito"; it will begin to turn to starboard rather than port, as is normally done when aiming for the target. As soon as this maneuver starts, it will suffer fire from the 30 mm cannon of the German plane, from a distance of about 120 meters. Captain Pienaar will see pieces of his plane fly away. Hit on the left aileron and rudder, his "Mosquito" will have a sudden deviation and will begin to spiral under the acceleration of gravity. The pilot will try to recall the aircraft, but the jammed valves will not respond to commands. When the attacker has approached 500 meters at very high speed, he will not be able to tack to starboard. Subjected to no less than a dozen unsuccessful attacks by the Messerschmitt 262, at extraordinary speed, Pienaar will see it rise and disappear against the sun each time. Fortunately, the navigator will be able to identify the route of the German plane from a trail of white vapor left behind. With the strength of desperation the South African pilot will dive into a large cumulus cloud, managing to disappear from the sight of the German. For 40 minutes the life of the two men inside the "Mosquito" will hang by a thread. With all the instruments out of order, they will be able to fly over the Alps by just 150 meters. Despite the blocked valves, the broken radio, the useless landing gear, the plane will be able to land on its belly in Udine, with only 67 liters of fuel in the tank, enough for seven minutes of flight. Pienaar and Lockhart-Ross, will be decorated for the extraordinary feat (50). But also the pilots of the 5th squadron who, like him, will return home safely will be victims of the war. Not only for the time they will have spent in lands far away from their country and from their loved ones. Afflicted by hardships and fears. Kind to obey the orders of others, perhaps without sharing them, perhaps without understanding them, perhaps without even asking the problem of judging the effects of their actions. They will also be victims for the time they will have to live, if they reflect on the terrible tragedies caused by their raids; if they imagine the victims' judgment. Who knows if any of them, even at this moment, during the flight back to Base Camp will turn a thought to those ants who are now chaotically crossing, as if mad, around the coordinates of the target? You / soldier of the night / who go / from one border of a country to another / from shore to shore / from river to river / listen ... (51) . Chances are they have neither the time nor the inclination - poor pilots! - to listen to our laments, while they are risking their lives, hanging from those trabiccoli. They are certainly not dabbling in pleasure flights. Lieutenant MWV Odenaal will be scanning the horizon to identify as soon as possible if another plane will go up, in attack action, from Perugia airport, like the Bf 110 of three weeks ago. Passing over Spoleto, they will all turn a thought to Lieutenant DR Barret, their companion whom they saw plunging towards death, on his first and last mission. Lieutenant Stubb, flying over the Rieti airport, will experience the bad feeling of last April 8 when, with his plane hit, he returned with his heart in his throat to the base. Two days later the same thing happened to him during a raid on a bridge. He and Captain Odenaal were hit by anti-aircraft. Not to mention Captain Spies who, not even a month ago, was forced to make a crash landing and spent a couple of weeks avoiding falling into the hands of the Germans. In short, there is no one among them who has not recently had nasty surprises: it is unlikely that there is room within their conscience to worry about others. It is likely that they are concerned only with avoiding attacks and arriving safely on the ground, in time to have lunch. They are not posing any problems above all because they are the last wheel of a perverse mechanism, forced to obey a distant, invisible engine. The gear cannot oppose the motion of the system: it cannot think, decide. He has no conscience; therefore it has no responsibility. It is the perverse engine that is primarily responsible; when it was started, no one can stop it until it has overwhelmed and crushed everything and everyone, in a pulp of flesh and blood, where nothing is more recognizable and judgeable. Every single tragedy is the inevitable result of the state of war: of every war, at any time. Because war is the negation of civilization, of law, of values, of feelings. In addition, to make its effects even more perverse are the soldiers and their infernal machines, which make mistakes and fail more often than you think. Violence is seldom efficient: evil cannot give birth to good. For completely opposite reasons, even the inhabitants of Fratta today have no time to think about anything else: they have to save their skin and bury the dead. But in the future, coldly, they will look for the reasons for too many inexplicable facts: the bombs scattered over the country, without any apparent logic; the trajectory of the dive, which crossed the inhabited center; the final strafing; the seven houses on fire, helpless, strategically insignificant, flaunted as macabre booty in the flight log of the raiders. Victims will be able to interpret these absurdities as the result of Lieutenant Jandrell's eagerness to show that he managed to do some damage to make a career; at the cost of telling some bombs. But they can also think the worst: the choice of fatal trajectories for civilians, the scattered bombs, the machine guns against the flies, the trophy of the burning houses could be the signs of an abominable terrorist bombing (54)! The fundamental rule of the war right to preserve the safety of civilians could appear to be circumvented. If that had been the case, all twelve apostles would have betrayed Jesus - humanity - by becoming accomplices in his crucifixion. Twelve Judas! With the mitigating factor - for individuals - of having acted without their own will and, in any case, not on their own initiative. April 25, / day of pretended glories, / of questionable and non-existent magnitudes for many, / day of upheaval, grief and ruin for others. / The helpless and defenseless country. / Death, rushing and hissing from the sky, / is satisfied in a few moments, / with an orgy of the blood of innocent victims. / A black cloud has enveloped Umbertide. / When the impiety has ceased / heaps of ruins / have obliterated hearths, houses / and many friends and people. ... like shadows they vanished / from a reality that was yesterday / and now no longer exists. / They were men, who wanted to live / who would have done without war / and the glories and manias of the Nation. / They have been erased for the mistakes of others / for the drunkenness of greatness of a wrong society / which reduces men to slaves and defenseless / without care of their intentions, / freedom and will (55). 1) Fabrizio Boldrini. 2) Emma Gagliardini. 3) Roman Children. 4) Don Luigi Cozzari, letter for the 1st anniversary. 5) Cesare Ceccacci, Renato Silvestrelli. 6) Victim: Antonio Alunni Pierucci. 7) Umberto Tommasi. 8) Francesco Pierucci, 1921/22 - Fascist violence and crimes in Umbria, Caldari Typography, Umbertide, 1975, p. 42. 9) Above: photomontage by Valerio Rosi based on a drawing by Adriano Bottaccioli, with an image of the P40 dashboard provided by Andrea Gragnoli. Below: Umbertide plant, with a still different target and the smoke of bombs already dropped. 10) Above: photomontage by Valerio Rosi based on a drawing by Adriano Bottaccioli. Below: Umbertide plant, with the target, the blaze of the eleventh pair of bombs and the smoke of the previous ones. 11) Avellino Giulianelli, Domenico Manuali. 12) Palmiro Santarelli. 13) Carlo Porrozzi. 14) Vittorio Tognaccini. 15) Mario Alpini. 16) Maria Pia Viglino. 17) Franco Villarini. 18) Maurizio Pucci. 19) Maria Zampa. 20) Dorina Galmacci. 21) Warrior Gagliardini. 22) Saints Improved. 23) Warrior Gagliardini. 24) Emma Gagliardini. 25) Ornella Bellarosa. 26) Ines Biti. 27) Franco Villarini. 28) Bruno Porrozzi, Umbertide and its territory , Pro Loco Umberride Association, 1983, p. 73. 29) Domenico Baldoni. 30) Giuseppe Lisetti. 31) Ramiro Nanni, Like I, Ramiro, I experienced the bombing. .., manuscript from 1979. 32) Elena Boriosi. 33-34) Amedeo Faloci. 35) Lidia Tonanni. 36) Giuseppe Lisetti. 37) Vera Vibi. 38) Silvano Bernacchi. 39) Giorgio Toraci. 40) Bruno Burberi. 41) Luigi Braconi. 42) Mario Bartocci, manuscript from 1986. 43) Above: photomontage by Valerio Rosi based on a drawing by Adriano Bottaccioli. Below: Umbertide plant covered entirely by the smoke of the exploded bombs. 44) Luigi Braconi. 45) Fabrizio Boldrini, Luigi Braconi. 46) Amelia Picciolli. 47) Bruno Tonanni. 48) Registry of the municipal registry. 49) Letter from Lieutenant Mitcbell to Mario Tosti dated March 1986. Beautiful works! , Municipality of Umbertide, 1995, p. 53. 50) MJ Martin, Neil D. Orpen, South African Forces World War II ; Eagles victorious: operations of 'the South African Forces, Air ops in Italy , Cape Town, Purnell, 1977. 51) Maddalena Rosi, "You", National Competition 25th April , Municipality of Umbertide and S. Francesco socio-cultural center, 2002. 52) PRO: Public Record Office, London, Operation Record Book, Detail of work carried out , SAAF, 239th "Wing Desert Air Force", 5th air squadron; Taken from: Mario Tosti (curator), Beautiful works !, Municipality of Umbertide, 1995, p. 50. 53) Edda Vetturini, "Memories of wartime (Bastia Umbra 1940/45)", Proceedings - Properziana del Subasio Academy - Assisi, Series VI n. 22, 1994. 54) Sante Migliorati, Egino Villarini. 55) Olimpio Ciarapica, from a poem of 1952. La terza e quarta ondata THE FIRST STOP The last plane of the first quartet has rejoined the others, who continue to turn above Romeggio. They delay (1), to evaluate the result of the attack and reflect on what to do. The hurricane of piercing hisses, followed by explosions (2), momentarily subsided. It's 9:46. Brizio (Boldrini), having arrived at the market, at the corner of Broccatelli's house, turn towards the Fontesanta. He turns, looking towards the center: behind the fortress, a large, gray, dense cloud has swallowed other bombs which inflate it, spreading it over the town. He feels the need to sit down: his legs begin to tremble; slowly he catches his breath (3). Sitting on the side of the road, the desperate Lina (Foni Roselletti) cries, screams, invokes her hired husband: "Teo is in the square!". They try to console her, assuring her that there were no cars in the square (4). The archpriest, Don Luigi, curled up in the corridor towards the sacristy of the Collegiate, listens, wondering in terror if the sequence of bomb blasts - fallen, now near and far - is over (5). La Cesira (Romitelli), who had escaped from the Quadrio oven at the first outbreak, had thrown herself to the ground at each dive, as her son had suggested (6); now she runs quickly home. In the same way Menco de Traversino (Domenico Traversini) flees by the tree; he had dropped the spade in the garden of Sor Dino (Ramaccioni) and had fled towards the station, throwing himself to the ground at the arrival of each hiss and resuming running after the explosion. He is headed for the Migno-Migno, where he recently married his wife (7). A safer refuge Franco del Capoguardia (Anastasi) noted that the pairs of bombs fall at regular intervals, of about thirty seconds one from the other (8); after three blows he deduced that, if the neighbor had spared him, he would have had time to flee towards the tower. Thirty seconds have lasted three hours since then. Hearing the last boom not far away, he fled from the Duty Office in Via Guidalotti to the tower, followed by all the others (9). Even the receiver was convinced, thinking: "The heads of all the people who flee, certainly think more than mine alone (10)". They were lucky, because they decided to escape at just the right time, during the truce. The silence between one bomb and the next, more prolonged than the previous ones, pushes anyone who has been blocked by that hellish noise outdoors: whoever can escape by the shortest route towards the air and the light. Others are looking for a safer place. Tommasi, from the stationery shop below, yells at Ornella (Duranti) and Wilma (Borri) to get off, to take refuge in the vaulted room on the ground floor. The two girls obey, although Sora Checca (Duranti) had for some time instructed her daughter, showing her the main wall where to take shelter (11). Escape from the crater In the post office they are all crowded in front of the exit: customers, employees and the Ceccarellis. La Menchina della Posta (Domenica Burzacchi Lotti), mindful of her husband's recommendation to take shelter as soon as possible in a place covered by vaults or arches or architraves, runs away towards the vault of Via Grilli (12). The Ceccarellis run out in the opposite direction, towards the Collegiate. Gigetto (Gambucci) instead stops; he rethought the special package containing the money for the salaries of the masters (13), which Peppe della Fascina (Giuseppe Venti) brought with the cart from the station to the post office (14); climbs the stairs to close the safe (15). Outside the Quadrio oven, the people flee towards the square, extricating themselves among the debris that clutter the road: they are almost mad. Maria (Guasticchi Feligioni) - she does not imagine that her husband, Bronzone, is buried a few meters from her - desperately asks for help to get the old Lazzaro de Botaciólo down the stairs, in whose house she had been housed together with her displaced family from Milan. He sees a friend of his pass - Baldo (Ubaldo Gambucci) - who, in the midst of all that confusion, does not hear it (16). Panic has taken over; everyone becomes deaf, even in the brain, responding to the instinct of survival. Upstream (17) Luciano (Bebi) went down the stairs to check that the way out remains free; precedes the mother who is slow to follow him. The door is stuck. From the street Amleto, the radio-telegraph naval marshal yells at him to open the door: "Open ... open ... (18)". From the inside, Luciano replies that he can't do it, because something has fallen that blocks the exit (19). Meanwhile, Quadrio's daughters try to escape from the back in their nightgowns (20); Father hears their cries for help. He calls all the Saints, but no one answers (21). The radio operator hears screams coming from the next door, towards the square. They are the Capucìni - the parents and their daughter Lidia (Mariotti) - who have come down from the upper floors in flames and beg to open. The door is stuck. Finally Hamlet manages to force the opening; accompanies them through the arch of Via Mancini and the arches of the slaughterhouse in the square (22) to put them all in via Alberti (23), up to the Rocca (24). A blond boy (Umberto Bellarosa), who was fleeing from the "Tiberina" towards the Collegiate Church, arrived in front of Reggiani, could not resist returning home, upstream, in Via Mancini. Look under the arch: the old woman de Piandàna, with the bread table on her head, goes here and there like a sleepwalker, in the midst of the dust that obscures everything (25). Giovannino (Migliorati) also had the instinct to return to his house, in front of the nuns, after abandoning the teacher and his companions who fled in the opposite direction, towards the station. When he turns towards Via Spoletini, someone pushes him inside the door of the house before the level crossing (26). Nina and her husband, Valentino (Ciammarughi), were working the field near the Ramaccioni, near the Tiber. When the bombs arrived, the first thought was to go to the nuns' kindergarten, a few tens of meters from home, where Pierina, the daughter, was. They ran across the field to rejoin the child. Arriving at the school garden net, he can't get over it because of how upset he is; his wife gives him some insult as he climbs the net which, under the weight of both of them, lies down to the ground letting them pass. They immediately see their daughter walking towards them, completely calm, not at all frightened by the noise and confusion (28). Instead, a little fiery with red hair (Fausto Fagioli) cries and cries, because his mother has not come to get him: it almost seems that he has the presentiment of having lost her, together with his sister Franca (29). Even Linda (Guardabassi), when the hum of the airplanes became more insistent, fled in the middle of the fields towards the nuns' kindergarten where she had left her daughter. For the great fear of the bombs dropped above her head, when she found herself in front of the Carbonaro gorge she went straight and overtook it with a jump. Arriving at the kindergarten, Imperia sua is not found, until she escapes from under Sister Adele's skirt, where she has found ample refuge (30). Escape from the periphery From the outskirts of the historic center everyone flees to the countryside. The Boca and Spinelli do not feel safe under the counter in the cyclist's closet. They go out to flee to the countryside. The first starts running towards Peppolétta, with his head down; he notices a fountain pen on the ground but does not pick it up, remembering that at school they taught that it can disguise a bomb (33). The second, who runs away next to him, at the height of the road that leads from Via Roma to the station, because of his speed he cannot avoid a cyclist - Cannéto (Ruggero Bartolini) - who is shouting: "Oh God i mi 'fiulini !! ". Both of them tumble to the ground. Nearby the General (Mario Giornelli), standing on his chariot, whips the mule towards the countryside. Ennio (Montagnini) and Santino (Migliorati), who took shelter behind the wall of the house of the teacher Checca, call Spinelli (Renato Silvestrelli). "Lie down like the rest of us and lie on your stomach". He obeys, trying to take the position they taught in school (34). Umberto (Dominici) flees to the mechanic's shop in Peppino (Rondoni), at the beginning of Via Roma, where his younger brother Claudio works; takes him by the hand; together they run towards the Regghia joining the multitude of terrified people who pour into the countryside (35). The tide becomes more and more impressive (36). The terror is so immense that the wife of Misquicqueri (Nello Migliorati), who ran away from home with her daughter Francesca a few months old wrapped in a blanket, only when she stopped towards the Roccolo, out of breath for the race, she realized that she had lost his creature on the street. Desperate, she retraces the journey backwards until she finds it, on the ground: there are no bombs capable of detaining her (37). It went better for Maurizio, by a year. All frightened, he was wrapped in a cloth by his sister - Gianna (Feligioni), a young seamstress - who carries him in her arms running along the Piaggiola towards the market (38). Adriana (Ciarabelli), who was surprised by the bombs inside the restaurant of Ntonio de Ragno (39), escapes along the same road. He joins the crowd running towards the Madonna del Giglio, where Nellino de Pajalunga's father cries, despairing because his mules have escaped (40). Many people covered in dust and bloody arrive at the ditch of Santafede (41). Each small street is swarming with people who arrive, out of breath and shocked, from the square and the market (42). Maria and Santina de Pistulino (Tosti) are all white, candid, from dust (43). Little Luciana de Zùmbola (Sonaglia) was thrown to the ground by a blast of air. She is hurt, but the fear is stronger than the pain: she gets up and, turning back, she sees a large white cloud towards the square (44). Celso (Mola) reached the top of the Roccolo hill: he ran along the Regghia, through a green wheat field two palms high, with a short white nightgown; he tried to crouch down to hide his intimacies, but each subsequent outburst dissolved his modesty and pushed him to other sgalànci (45). From the station area, a girl runs away along the road of the oaks that leads in the direction of the pine forest, up to the Navarri farm. Following his father's instructions, he put the gold chains in his pocket and loaded the ham on his shoulder. He throws himself into the ditch where Marino de Caldaro has his work to do to force his wife Maria to crouch: she wants to keep her head up to look, without realizing that the ants are invading her (46). Rolando del Buffè, who had fled with his mother from the station, has already arrived at Caldarelli's house (47). Powerless from the periphery From the outskirts we witness, helpless, the agony of the country devastated by the blazes and the red-hot winds of its convulsions. Roberto Balducci, the doctor, has fled from his house near the station, towards the fields, in the direction of Civitella; he took his camera, sensing that the most terrible tragedy in the history of the country is unfolding. Massimo (Valdambrini), a child sheltered between the two crags where the Cupa is collected towards Pinzaglia and Navarri, is still speechless for the tremendous spectacle just interrupted: the hisses of the bombs that hurt the ears and the brain, the crashes of the explosions that they made everything tremble; the whistles of the splinters that reached up there; the shades and the planks that flew in the air (48). "Keep your head down!", Repeatedly recommend teachers to schoolchildren who have repaired in the small trenches dug in the lawn behind the elementary schools (49). Next to them Bruno de Chiocca (Tarragoni), who has come out of the school where all his companions have remained, peers in the direction of the square, embracing the trunk of the walnut that shelters him (50). From the church of Santa Maria the boys of the oratory watch astonished, crouched in the ditch between the football pitch and the house of Pippo del Caporale (Renato Caporali). Don Giovanni (Dottarelli) had them repaired below the edge of the field, recommending that they lie down with their stomach raised off the ground (51). Every now and then they take a look at the town that disappears more and more, in the midst of clouds of dust. Guerriero de Schiupitìno (Gagliardini) looks with binoculars; his brother Peppino felt the ends of his hair brushed by the movement of the air of the bombs (52) that sparkled and rotated before falling (53). From the loggia on the hill, other children enjoy the show, heedless of the anguished faces of adults (54). The Simoncini girls who escaped from the goodwill took shelter of a crag for a while; Zina (Corbucci) instead has crouched in the middle of a field and someone yells at her to move from there, because they could see her. They take them into the stable of Secondo, a farmer near the Tiber. Professor Ciangottini says to stay calm and to pray: then they begin to say the Hail Mary, all together, aloud, or only within themselves (55). Other boys of the same school, who escaped through the arch of Piazza San Francesco, sought shelter behind the embankments and in the holes of the sand miners, to admire the planes from safety as they swooped down from Civitella, dropped the bombs and went up to Corvatto , veering towards Montalto to rejoin all the others (56). Rodolfo (Panzarola), on the other hand, realizes that the show is the most tragic thing that can happen; he feels anguish and anger for this havoc against his country (57). Emilio (Baldassarri) does not go for the thin and fords the river at a run, to run home towards the Niccone (58). In his house in Piazza San Francesco, in front of the school, a boy is not at all afraid; he would like to see what happens, but his mother does not intend to leave the cellars of Ciammarughi, where they took refuge after hearing the loud noise and the stone-throwing on the roof. The son, impatient and eager to see, tries to convince her with a subtle blackmail: "Yes, I die [if I die], it's your fault!". He won it: they go out. When they arrive at the Caminella, they find a group of Neapolitans screaming like obsessed (59). Ermelinda (Rondoni Valdambrini) prays behind the bank of Secondo: she is quite right! She must thank God for being able, when she heard the first blow, to escape like a hare from the tobacconist's in the square, where she had gone to buy salt: the second bomb fell behind her, as she ran over the Regghia bridge. towards Piazza San Francesco. As soon as she crouched behind the shelter, she heard the whistle of a splinter that crashed to the ground, touching her head (60). From Ceramiche Rometti, Pietro (Corgnolini), a sixteen-year-old boy, saw the planes circling in a row, one after the other, swooping down on the town from the east and, in the ascent after the dive, disappear behind the flames and clouds of smoke rising to the sky after the explosion. He is not afraid: he is not realizing what is happening and what effects may follow (61). Rina had prepared the cake for breakfast, at the Palazzone farm, near the Gamboni lock; he was dusting it from the ashes on the loggia, summoning the men who were hoeing the grass in the garden. At the sound of planes and bombs, she ran to the window on the opposite side of the house to look toward the center. He witnesses the collapse in dismay (62). Don Luigi is standing at the door of the sacristy (63). He has looked out to scrutinize the movements of the planes, but immediately withdraws when he hears them approaching again (64). The archpriest does not imagine that they are called Kitryhawk, "peregrine falcons": he would shudder at the mere thought that a bird of prey could be attributed the qualities of a pilgrim. The train that was coming from Pierantonio stopped shortly after the toll booths on the straight. It is full of people: in addition to the students there are people heading to a fair in the Upper Tiber. Everyone rushed out; the crowd was such that someone broke the windows to get out. A carabinieri marshal has stationed himself on a stack of crossbeams: pathetically points in the air a "91-38 musket with fixed bayonet" towards the planes that are turning again from the top of Montecorona to strike towards the center of Umbertide, almost in the direction parallel to the straight (65). In fact, the squadron has made its decision: another quartet of steel birds, each with its own pair of 500-pound bombs (66), is about to rage, taking over from the one who has just returned to formation. 1) Luigi Gambucci. 2) Candido Palazzetti, Umbertide , Scholastic Patronage, Umbertide, 1958. 3-4) Fabrizio Boldrini. 5) Don Luigi Cozzari, letter for the 1st anniversary. 6) Tita Romitelli. 7) Domenico Traversini. 8) Franco Anastasi, Ramiro Nanni, How I, Ramiro, lived the bombing .... 1979 manuscript. 9) Franco Anastasi. 10) Luigi Gambucci. 11) Ornella Duranti. 12) Italo Lotti. 13) Luigi Gambucci. 14) Muzio Venti. 15) Luigi Gambucci. 16) Ines Guasticchi. 17) Giovanni Migliorati. 18) Adriana Fileni. 19) Francesco Martinelli. 20) Linda Micucci. 21) Adriana Fileni. 22) Domenico Mariotti. 23) Warrior Boldrini. 24) Lidia Mariotti. 25) Umberto Bellarosa. 26) Giovanni Migliorati. 27) Photo kindly made available by Adriana Fileni. 28) Piera Ciammarughi. 29) Concetta Mariotti. 30) Linda Micucci. 31-32) Photo kindly made available by Adriana Fileni. 33) Bruno Advantages. 34) Renato Silvestrelli. 35) Umberto Dominici. 36) Luigi Carlini. 37) Anna Migliorati. 38) Gianna Feligioni. 39) Adriana Ciarabelli. 40) Emilio Gargagli. 41) Ada Locchi. 42 Luciana Sonaglia. 43) Italo Lotti. 44) Luciana Sonaglia. 45) Graziella Gagliardini. 46) Anna Bartocci. 47) Rolando Fiorucci. 48) Massimo Valdambrini. 49) Maria Duranti. 50) Bruno Tarragoni Alumni. 51) Giorgio Pacciarini. 52) Giuseppe Gagliardini. 53) Willemo Ramaccioni. 54) Angelo Chiavini. Testimony taken from Yesterday, today ... the thread of memory , Lucignolo Aggregation Center - Committee of Memory, Umbertide, 2003. 55) Margherita Tosti, manuscript of 1985. 56) Giuseppe Golini. 57) Rodolfo Panzarola. 58) Giuseppe Golini. 59) Mario Destroyed. 60) Ermelinda Rondoni. 61) Pietro Corgnolini. 62) Rina Alunno Violins. 63) Maria Migliorati. 64) Don Luigi Cozzari, letter for the 1st anniversary. 65) Rolando Tognellini. 66) Ramiro Nanni, How I, Ramiro, lived the bombing ... , manuscript of 1979. THE SECOND WAVE (1) The clouds of dust raised by the first four bombs, falls north of the longitudinal axis of the bridge, yes moved to the south-east, pushed by a slight north wind; have risen right on the most critical point of the dive. Neither the railway bridge nor those of the national road on the Tiber and on the Regghia. The pilots, who they could see them clearly when they arrived now they can only picture them under the blanket of smoke. For hit the target should go into it: a leap into dark. Too risky! You have to give up any big target of the national road. Lieutenant Jandrell is irritated: he has failed his own mission on the last day he wanted to wear a success as Commanding Officer of Base Camp. Command to fall back on a new goal, even of minor importance, as long as it is visible (2): the bridge over the Regghia that connects the square to the Collegiata. Fifth discharge Captain Spies, in a wide circle, went over the Serra, where does the dive start. Ramiro has come to the smooth [on the edge] of the farmhouse Fontesanta; thinks the squadron commander delayed the continuation of the attack because he has saw many people running away (3). But this concern is perhaps incompatible with the precautions that pilots they must have to protect their skin (5). The fighter-bomber drops black, similar things beak-tailed suppositories (5), which strike the wing east of the post office building. La Ines (Biti), left the shelter of the conservatory buzzo in the shop of Rosina de Pistulìno (Tosti), it was barely returned to the Fornaci fabric shop. He was about to take the bag and the keys from the desk to close the shop and leave, despite the refusal of Miss Francesca (Fornaci), the Checchina. From behind the glass door towards the square, he sees the post building collapse: it is hit by a very strong explosion, a terrible gust and a lot of smoke (9). The corner between the square and the alley of San Giovanni crumbles, burying Galen, the barber, the foreign customer and the two apprentices Peppini: fiolo de Poggione (10) and `l Roscìno (11), blond, curly, with the serum above the cheekbones (12), which after a few moments followed the fate of Fausto, the elder brother who wanted to go to his aid (13). All the people present in the affected building had just come down the stairs from the floors above the barbershop (14). Italo's mother (Grandolini) is missing, who went to mass (15). There is Lina (Violini), a mathematics student in Pisa, with her father Severino; the shock wave makes her heart burst. The father, protected by a beam, feels the desperate grip of his daughter (16) who expires embraced at his ankles (17). Lodina (Donnini), the wife of the head of the bank's office, came down from the mezzanine floor together with her children - the youngest child in her arms and the other by the hand (18) - and Maria (Giovannoni), a young girl who 'helps around the house. The children die immediately (19), close to the mother, who remains almost unharmed. The girl is thrown under Lina's body (20). In the central part of the building still standing, Gigetto (Luigi Gambucci) was climbing towards the safe of the Post Office; in front of him the bombs, which fell very close, have ripped from hinge a stair window, which is ruined on the landing. Everything has gone black; dark full. It is the darkness of death that in that at the same moment he grabbed his father Baldo (Ubaldo Gambucci) (21), a few tens of meters. For a moment he was unable to take that step in more than he has rescued one of his mates escape, around the corner of Via Stella. His watch was blocked by the swarm of splinters very small that have hit it, instantly of death: 9.50 am (22). Next to Baldo (Gambucci) the boy from twenty years old (24), possibly a Jew, who had just separated from their father in front of the Capponi Hotel where they are guests (25). A few meters away lies Virginia (27); math's teacher. He had tried to join the flight of the women of the family Ceccarelli (28), who were thrown by the blast on the wall of the buildings in front of the post office, all shot to death (29). Sixth station Veronica wipes the face of Jesus It is carnage. How many tears, on how many faces, must be dried! Better luck fell to Picchiottino: his cage is was thrown from the window to under the table (30). Looks speechless; even less than men do realizes what ever is upsetting the quiet tran of greenfinch. A bottle of perfume flew from Galen's barbershop to land - miraculously intact - on the roof of the Sor Igi's house, at Corso (31). The dust storm has invaded the fruit shop della Pierina in Via Alberti, obscuring it; then Bruno (Burberi) seeks escape towards Piaggiola (32). Sixth discharge Seventh station Jesus falls the second time Those who have remained in the Borgo di San Giovanni now find themselves permanently trapped, closed by the rubble at the top and at the end of the alley: he can only wait for the end of the lottery of death. Everything is shrouded in smoke. Luciano feels trapped (33): he searches desperately protection by fixing the head inside the mixer bread, near the door (34). Above him, Lieutenant Jooste drops two bombs that do not hit the house but, rushing into the alley of San Giovanni, they undermine it from below (35): the terrible explosion guts the oven e the shop, on which the upper floors collapse. Above the tomb of the young people (36) land the elderly, lingered in the escape; Quadrio fell with his bed from the upper floors, gliding over the debris (37). He and Fernanda, mother of Luciano (Bebi), are only wounded, covered by a few rubble. The shock wave also demolishes the house next to the oven, towards the square, and dig the one in front. Under the first die, embracing each other (38), the spouses (39) who manage the Virgil's trattoria. Crouched in a corner she remained s epolta la Bettina (40), who had taken refuge from them (41). From the top floor she sinks into the restaurant and the embroiderer ends her days (42). In the house opposite, Amalia dies, the little girl who has recently returned to the village from the icy refuge of San Cassiano. Spira in the arms of the grandfather, who remained protected under a beam (43). Grandmother Marianna also lost her life (44), with the inseparable tobacco paper in her pocket to smell (45). Seventh discharge Another plane, flown by Captain Odenaal, after a dive almost parallel to the straight, drops a couple of bombs over the station, which continue towards the center and crash into Via Guidalotti, behind the house of the teacher Elide (Franchi), the wife of the band director musical (46). The intersection between Via Alberti and the alley is hit that connects Via Guidalotti to Piazza delle Erbe: the rear part of the Porrini house crumbles (47) and the Marzani, where they die embraced (48) the Barbagianni spouses (49). The corners of the osteria delle Balille and the Venanzia inn (51). Here they also pour the rubble of the building opposite, imprisoning how many had gathered at the bottom of the stairs (52). "The Franks had run away from the kitchen, when they had seen all the glass fall on them for the outbreak at the post office; they had taken the fiola - Giuliana, one year old - from the high chair. The purse with the money, ready on a nail in the back the door remained in place. They had crowded in behind the door, together with the patrons of the inn, terrified. They wanted to escape to the market. Two German soldiers they had stopped him, making it clear that it would be too dangerous. Elvira (Nanni), who had gone up to take the bag, did not have time to get back down and was blocked by the rubble on the landing, under a beam that made a hut. It is on the second floor, in the collapsed corner, towards piazza delle Erbe (53). Linda (54), displaced from Turin with her sister Mafalda, who works at the Ration Cards Office of the Municipality (55), did not understand the law: she wanted to go out at all costs, because she had the eldest daughter, Silvana, at school . She managed to escape, holding her youngest son, Giancarlo, three years old, by the hand. But it was overwhelmed by the rubble just outside the door. From inside the door you can hear the moans of the fiolo, close to the mother who shows no signs of life "(56). Eighth station Encounter between Jesus and the women of Jerusalem Women beat their breasts and moan to Him. "Do not weep over me. Weep over yourselves and your children" (57). Linda can no longer cry, neither about herself nor about her children. The same fate befell another woman, the butcher's wife (58). She, Maria, had spoken from the window of the house with Quinto, her husband, who was facing that of the town hall opposite. When the planes arrived, he had tried to get out of the house; Elvira (Caprini) had tried to hold her back, but to no avail. She passed, running from Via Alberti towards the square, in front of the shoe shop in Via Grilli, while the owner, Lilo (Angelo Alpini), was lowering the shutter to protect himself. He had tried to pull her by the hand: "'ndu gite, vinite [where you go, come] inside, ché càdon le bombe!". There had been nothing to do. "No! I have da gì da la mi 'Giovanna", she insisted, resuming the race towards elementary school, where she thought her eldest daughter was (59). He did not know that they had had it repaired in the house of the teacher Peppina, just a stone's throw away. After a few meters; Maria was mowed right under the vault: a splinter (60) of the bomb dropped at the corner of Piazza delle Erbe passed it from side to side, also wounding the mother of Chirico, the head of the railway depot, who stood behind (61). The veterinarian and the mother of Maestro Pino, leaning their hands against the wall, protected Ornella and Wilma with their bodies from all the stationery stuff that fell on the floor from the shelves (62). In the back room of the Palchetti food shop, a few meters from the explosion, everything has become dark; on the shoulders of Nino (Egidio Grassini), lying on the ground as they had taught at school, pats of lard fell from the ceiling. Several times he had tried to get up to go out in the back, in Piazza dell'Erbe, but the hiss of successive bombs had blocked him to the ground, as if crushed by the shock of the explosion (63). Nearby, other people, who had been locked in Municipality, they had looked for a way out through the woodshed overlooking Piazza delle Erbe; but to no avail, because the door was jammed. The displacement of air of the last bomb opened the door wide. Neither they immediately take the opportunity to escape through the vault; among them Gigino (Fagioli), wounded in the forehead, again he does not know that he has lost his wife and daughter. They pass by to Pazzi's wife, who is asking for help, agonizing; but, taken by terror, they do not stop (64). She is on the ground (65), leaning with her back against the wall near the urinal; leaking blood (65) that is runny on the plaster of the wall, leaving indelible traces as a warning to the survivors. Maria has not no longer even the strength to speak. Plead with it look an acquaintance to bring the little one to safety Gabriella, the daughter he has in his neck (67). The Steak is that takes the daughter, waiting for the opportune time to bring her to safety towards the countryside (68). Maria does understand that she would like to be taken back, out of the vault, on the opposite side of the outbreak. Down there, the Menchina della Posta and others, recovered from daze (69), they try to please her, dragging his heavy body outside the vault, in Via Grilli (70). Even the elderly woman who had been injured by the same splinter, try to get busy. They ask her to do more strength, to pull with both hands; she responds with his Neapolitan accent: "Nun` o tengo cchiù [I don't have it anymore] "He has a torn arm (71). Eighth discharge The pair of bombs dropped by Lieutenant Hooper falls behind the rubble of the Quadrio kiln and demolishes the house of Simonucci, the Town Accountant. All those who took shelter from the upper floors remain buried at the bottom of the staircase in Via Mariotti, towards the vault, thinking it was the safest place. In vain Marinetta (Trotta) tried to convince them to run away (73). Bengasina (74) dies with Polda, the girl who helps her with housework (75). Near them, three other women lose their lives: Gina, a teacher of literature, cheerful, cheerful, smiling; aunt Esterina, rustic, scapeciàta, grumpy (76); Giovannina, who had gone to class (77). The collapse overwhelms other inhabitants of the building, on the upper floors: an embroiderer and her son (78), who has returned for a few days on military leave from Spoleto, in aviation as a reconnaissance photographer (79). Hamlet, who had unsuccessfully tried to get in touch with his family from the alley of San Giovanni, was no longer able to return to the entrance to the oven, because a mountain of rubble now prevented access from the square. So he tried to enter from the back of the house, through the arch where there is the Maurino (Luigi Fagioli) staircase. He fell (80) there, hit by a ledge (81). A hero (82). First he sacrificed himself for the others, bringing them to safety. Then he thought, in vain, also about his family. In the end he fell, like Jesus, who redeemed all men. Ninth station Jesus falls for the third time In the nearby hairdresser, where Gina (Borgarelli) sought consolation for her terror every time there were alarms, Velia curled up under an arch, helpless in the face of the flames and gusts of dust released from the crater of Via Mariotti, through the small door towards the back of the Corso (83). When the first bombs fell he was washing Elisa (Pucci )'s head (84). Loredana (Trentini) was waiting to do her hair, obeying her mother who had been scolding her for a few days: "Me sembri` na capeciòna, with all `sti ciùrci". They were all paralyzed by the tremendous noise of the planes and by the glass of the door that fell to the ground (85). The external wall of the building at the rear of the hairdresser's, connected to Simonucci's house through a passage above the arch, collapsed, causing the kitchen of Tilde, wife of Paris (Giovanni Miccioni) to fall. Luckily she had gone to drain the lupins in the toilet, towards the Corso, instead of on the kitchen sink, as always (86). The second stop The second aircraft quartet also rejoined the formation. It's 9:51. The storm broke out six minutes ago. The dust cloud has invaded the entire historic center; up there, from the cockpits, you can no longer see anything. Lieutenant Jandrell realizes the mission is compromised. He consults with the other pilots. The opinions excited to decide on what to do, exchanged through the radio, grant a longer respite (87): on the ground, whoever can take advantage of it. At the same time in Città di Castello the alarm bellowed (88). From the crater La Velia sees that no one is moving from the pharmacy opposite; remains curled up under a hairdresser's arch, trying to squat even more (89). Instead Loredana (Trentini) and Elisa (Pucci), taking advantage of the prolongation of the quiet, sometimes leave the place. The first runs away, towards the Piaggiola, dodging a woman with a clique of hair behind her head, on the ground there at the vault, who seems to be dead. She is Pazzi's wife. Dina (Galmacci) cannot avoid beating her up. Taking advantage of the momentary silence, she comes running from the vault, after having escaped from the back room of Palchetti, in piazza delle Erbe (90). Elisa flees in the opposite direction, towards the Collegiate Church. Menchino (Domenico Pucci), her husband's cousin, sees her running with curlers on her head in the direction of home, instinctively to reunite with her son Franco, a few months old; he makes her enter the Palazzoli barbershop at the corner of the Reggiani palace, already full of people, pulling her by the arm: "Where are you going? Can't you see that bombs are falling everywhere!" (91). Others take refuge in the shops adjacent to the barbershop, where Eusebia sells the shards and Grattasassi the fabrics (92). Opposite, at the beginning of the bridge towards the Piazza, where Tonino's (Grilli) Shell petrol station was, some German soldiers got out of a truck. They shout: "Korre! Korre!" (93). On the opposite side of the square, some of the schoolchildren crouched behind the Collegiate Church run away, each to his home. Another boy, frightened by the tiles falling all over the place, runs away from the Boca basement towards the platform; he passes by a German who is cursing, pointing his gun at the sky. He throws himself in the middle of the nearby cornfield, for fear that the pilots will notice the soldier's intentions and shoot at him (94). The children Many children have watched bewildered at the end of the world (95). When he saw the first plane above the square drop things that looked like shaving soaps, the cylindrical ones, Simonello (Simonelli) felt his mother Giuseppa (Migliorati) dragged into the door of the teacher Lina (Barbagianni). Another twenty people took shelter there. Many have prayed. Father John did nothing but shout "Calm, calm" interspersed with curses, while he closed the door which opened at each explosion. Simonello asked several times: "Mom, will we die?", But he was not so afraid, because he felt safe under his protruding belly for the little sister who is about to be born (96). In the arms of an adult, in front of a window in Via Roma, Maurizio (Burelli), who has just turned two, has just imprinted in his mind the indelible image of a threatening plane and a terrifying din (97). With each bomb explosion, little Laura jumped on the bed, together with the knock of a window (98). Another girl cries, Dora (Silvestrelli); so far he has trembled with fear, like his house on the Corso where it is sheltered (99). Peppe (Magrini) is in bed - he has a fever - and listens, motionless and wide-eyed (100). Quinto de Pistulino (Tosti) is seated at the end of Via Soli, a few tens of meters from the crater, on the edge of a stuffed demijohn, supporting his twenty-month-old son. He keeps it dangling between his legs, squeezing his chest with his hands, to protect him from the impressive roars that make everything vibrate, even in the bowels (101). An enormous mushroom of smoke has engulfed the country and rises higher and higher (102); it is blown by the wind towards the "alberata" [Via Cesare Battisti], the tobacco factory, the Tiber (103). Yet, there is still someone who refuses to accept the tragedy: Santino has to forcefully persuade his mother Ida, a janitor in the kindergarten, to take refuge inside; she is lingering to withdraw the flower shards from the windows for fear that, falling, they will be ruined (104). In the crater of San Giovanni, night fell everywhere; ahead of time. Those who are not already dead can barely breathe from the dust and debris. Wait for the end (105). 1) Gianna Feligioni. 2) Avellino Giulianelli. 3) Ramiro Nanni, How I, Ramiro, lived the bombing ... , manuscript from 1979. 4) Giuseppe Cozzari. 5) Marinella Roselli. 6 Above: photomontage by Valerio Rosi based on a drawing by Adriano Bottaccioli. Below: Umbertide plant, with the smoke of the bombs already fallen. 7) Top left: photomontage by Valerio Rosi based on a drawing by Adriano Bottaccioli, with an image of the P40 dashboard provided by Andrea Gragnoli. Bottom left: Umbertide plant, with the target and the smoke of the bombs already fallen. 8) Top right: photomontage by Valerio Rosi based on a drawing by Adriano Bottaccioli. Bottom right: Umbertide plant, with the target, the blaze of the fifth pair of bombs and the smoke of the previous ones. 9) Ines Biti. 10) Annunziata Caldari. 11) Maria Luisa Rapo. 12) Class III E, Mavarelli-Pascoli State Middle School, Voices of memory , Municipality of Umbertide and San Francesco Cultural Center, Umbertide, 2002. 13) Italo Ciocchetti. 14) Victims: Galeno Monfeli, Mario Arrunategni Rivas, Giuseppe Ciocchetti, Giuseppe Pierini. 15) Francesco Martinelli. 16 Victim: Lina Violini. 17) Margherita Violins. 18) Elda Villarini. 19) Victims: Domenico Donnini, Gianfranco Donnini. 20) Maria Giovannoni. 21) Victim: Ubaldo Gambucci. 22) Luigi Gambucci. 23) Photograph kindly provided by Luigi Gambucci. The watch was recovered from the pocket of father Ubaldo, a victim of the bombing. 24) Victim: Licinio Leonessa. 25) Franco Caldari. 26) Above: photomontage by Valerio Rosi based on a drawing by Adriano Bottaccioli. Below: Umbertide plant, with the target, the blaze of the sixth pair of bombs and the smoke of the previous ones. 27) Victim: Virginia Cozzari. 28) Dina Bebi. 29) Victims: Elda Bebi, Marianella Ceccarelli, Rosanna Ceccarelli, Giulia Bartoccioli. 30) Ornella Duranti, Margherita Tosti. 31) Giovanni Angioletti. 32) Bruno Burberi. 33) Francesco Martinelli. 34) Fernanda Martinelli. 35) 'Domenico Mariotti. 36) Victims: Luciano Bebi, Maria Domenica Bebi, Tecla Bebi, Anna Banelli. 37) Adriana Fileni, Domenico Mariotti. 38) Pia Galmacci. 39) Victims: Veronica Cozzari, Realino Galmacci. 40) Victim: Elisabetta Boldrini. 41) Dorina Galmacci. 42) Victim: Assunta Porrini. 43) Mario Cambiotti. 44) Victims: Amalia Cambiotti, Marianna Mastriforti. 45) Maria Luisa Rapo. 46) Bruno Tonanni. 47) Sergio Celestini. 48) Magdalene Maria Marzani. 49) Victims: Antonio Barbagianni, Zarelia Tognaccini. 50) Above: photomontage by Valerio Rosi based on a drawing by Adriano Bottaccioli. Below: Umbertide plant, with the target, the blaze of the seventh pair of bombs and the smoke of the previous ones. 51) Fausta Olimpia Pieroni. 52-53) Walter Biagioli. 54) Victim: Rosalinda Renga. 55) Piera Bruni. 56) Maria Chiasserini. 57) Luke 23, 28. 58) Sergio Celestini. 59) Mario Alpini. 60) Mario Alpini, Annunziata Caldari. 61) Giovanna Pazzi. 62) Ornella Duranti. 63) Egidio Grassini. 64) Giuseppa Ceccarelli. 65) Victim: Maria Renzini. 66) Ramnusia Nanni. 67) Paola Banelli. 68) Giovanna Pazzi. 69) Italo Lotti. 70) Mario Alpini, Sergio Celestini. 71) Italo Lotti. 72) Above: photomontage by Valerio Rosi based on a drawing by Adriano Bottaccioli. Below: Umbertide plant, with the target, the blaze of the eighth pair of bombs and the smoke of the previous ones. 73) Joy Simonucci. 74) Elena Boriosi. 75) Victims: Bengasina Renato, Elvira Mortini. 76) Class III E, Mavarelli-Pascoli State Middle School, Voices of memory , Municipality of Umbertide and San Francesco Cultural Center, Umbertide, 2002. 77) Victims: Armede Gina Borgarelli, Ester Borgarelli, Giovanna Pambuffetti. 78) Victims: Neodemia Barattini, Mario Scartocci. 79) Class III E, Mavarelli-Pascoli State Middle School, Voices of memory, Municipality of Umbertide and San Francesco Cultural Center, Umbertide, 2002; Fernando Scartocci. 80) Victim: Amleto Banelli. 81) Domenico Mariotti. 82) Elio Caldari. 83) Velia Nanni. 84) Elisa Manarini. 85) Loredana Trentini. 86) Giuseppina Miccioni. 87) Domenico Manuali. 88) Alvaro Tacchini (curator), Venanzio Gabriotti - Diary , Institute of Political and Social History Venanzio Gabriotti, Petruzzi Editore, Città di Castello, 1998, p. 192. 89) Velia Nanni. 90) Dorina Galmacci. 91) Elisa Manarini. 92) Celestino Filippi. 93) Maria Migliorati. 94) Luigi Guiducci. 95) Giuseppe Magrini. 96) Simonello Simonelli. 97) Maurizio Burelli. 98) Laura Corbucci. 99 Dora Silvestrelli. 100) Giuseppe Magrini. 101) Mario Tosti. 102) Renato Silvestrelli. 103) Sergio Ceccacci. 104) Saints Improved. 105) Silvano Bernacchi, Vera Vibi.

LA FRATTA DEL QUATTROCENTO a cura di Fabio Mariotti Notizie generali, le strade e la Rocca La Fratta del Quattrocento è per lo Stato della Chiesa, specialmente nell'ultima parte del secolo, un punto di vitale importanza strategica. Posta al confine con i possedimenti fiorentini, funge da baluardo settentrionale per la difesa di Perugia. La zona urbana è formata da tre nuclei ben definiti. Il primo, costituito dal centro cittadino racchiuso nelle mura castellane e diviso in terzieri: "della Greppa", la parte tra l'attuale via Cibo e il Tevere, dalla Piaggiola fino al ponte verso San Francesco; "Superiore" detto anche "della Campana" (dalla campana posta sulla torre in cima alla Piaggiola), dalle mura a nord, quindi dalla Rocca, verso il centro fino alla chiesa di San Giovanni; il terzo, "Inferiore" o di "Porta Nuova", che dal centro raggiungeva le mura verso sud, lungo il corso della Reggia fino alla porta di uscita del ponte sul Tevere. Il secondo nucleo, del "Borgo Superiore", posto al di fuori delle mura settentrionali, oltre la porta della campana e la discesa dell'attuale Piaggiola, era divisibile in due parti. Una veniva detta il "Mercatale", l'odierna piazza Marconi, il piazzale del sagrato della chiesa di Sant'Erasmo; la zona poi si spingeva verso la chiesa di Sant'Andrea (dove sorgerà nel 1877 il vecchio ospedale) fino alle fornaci. L’altra parte era il "Castel Nuovo", comprendeva l’attuale Boccaiolo (via Bovicelli) e la zona vicina, ove si trovava anche la chiesa di Santa Maria dei Meriti. II terzo nucleo, anch'esso fuori delle mura, detto "Borgo Inferiore", era situato a sud di Fratta, oltre la Reggia e prospiciente il Tevere (attuale piazza San Francesco). Cuore di questa zona era il "sodo dei frati" o "pratale", lo spiazzo su cui si affacciavano la chiesa e il convento di San Francesco, la chiesetta di Santa Maria (poi detta Santa Croce), possesso dell'omonima confraternita di Disciplinati. Nel borgo c'erano numerose officine di fabbri ed anche un mulino di proprietà del vescovo di Gubbio. Fratta godeva di libertà di fiera; erano fiorenti le arti della merceria e spezieria, il commercio del cuoio, del "bambage", del vino, degli artefatti in ferro, della ceramica. Esisteva un discreto servizio postale che utilizzava cursori, corrieri, fanti di procaccio e "cavallai" di posta i quali potevano effettuare un buon lavoro in quanto il paese non era molto distante dalle grandi vie di comunicazione. L’istruzione era a cura della comunità di Fratta, ai cui rappresentanti i genitori si rivolgevano per iscrivere i ragazzi, pagando la retta del maestro. La spesa era relativa al numero e al tipo delle materie di insegnamento: latino, aritmetica, religione e geografia. Nel 1486 la magistratura locale fa un invito all'istruzione aperto anche ai non possidenti. Esistevano sette ospedali, annessi alle chiese, per i poveri, i pellegrini e i malati non abbienti; ben dodici luoghi di culto, fra chiese e cappelle. A Fratta, nel Quattrocento, viveva una comunità ebraica di una ventina di persone, qui insediata fin dal secolo precedente. Le strade di comunicazione Nel Quattrocento la nostra Fratta era fuori dai grandi percorsi viari dello Stato Romano che partivano da Roma nei secoli XVI e XVIII, e se erano così allora, all'inizio del Quattrocento non erano certo più numerose e meglio percorribili. Comunque verso nord partiva una sola strada di grande comunicazione, che dopo il lago di Bracciano (Baccano) si ramificava in due bretelle: - una proseguiva in direzione di Firenze, via Bolsena, Siena, San Casciano; - l'altra strada si dirigeva verso Fano, via Terni, Foligno, Nocera, Cagli. Quest'ultima aveva una diramazione da Foligno e da qui iniziava una strada che passava per Perugia, il lago Trasimeno, la Val di Chiana, la valle dell'Arno centrale, fino a raggiungere anch'essa Firenze. Erano percorse dalla maggior parte della gente allora in movimento: eserciti, cavalcate, grandi carri a quattro ruote dei mercanti, pellegrini, religiosi, cortei di principi, cardinali, governatori che si spostavano da una città all'altra, mendicanti, uomini dei servizi di posta che correvano a piedi o a cavallo di stazione in stazione. Fratta si trovava in posizione isolata e non vedeva molto di questo transito se non saltuariamente e, comunque, in misura molto ridotta. Il nostro castello aveva bisogno di comunicazione con la città di Perugia e ciò era possibile attraverso la pianura del Tevere. La città dominante svolgeva un'attività di tutela dei mulini sul Tevere (Ponte Felcino, Ponte Pattoli ed altri), per cui questi dovevano essere senz'altro allacciati a Perugia con una strada carrabile. Considerato questo e anche che Fratta era il castello del confine nord di Perugia, dunque tenuto sempre militarmente approntato, è facile capire che dovesse esserci una via da Fratta a Ponte Pattoli, a Perugia. Oltre questa strada (che sarà detta poi “del piano”), Fratta era unita a Perugia anche da un percorso montano, non carrabile, per soli pedoni e cavalli in quanto l'asprezza dei luoghi (diverse salite) ne sconsigliavano il passaggio, specie d'inverno, ai carri piccoli. Iniziava oltre il ponte sul Tevere, sulla sinistra (odierna strada per la Badia di Montecorona). Dopo circa trecento metri lasciava, sulla destra, la stradetta che saliva a Romeggio (bivio visibile anche oggi) e proseguiva diritta. Passava sotto e nei pressi dell'odierno Palazzo del Sole (abitazione Ramaccioni), poi si inerpicava, come ai giorni nostri, verso la base di Monte Acuto. Alla Villa di Monte Acuto svoltava a sinistra, lungo la base del monte, passava a lato della casa-torre di osservazione (ancora esistente - gruppo di casa Ferranti), passava a lato dell'ospedale di Galera (in piedi ma disabitato) ed arrivava al pianoro di Galera (apprezzabile come complesso abbandonato) ed arrivava alla casaforte di confine con Perugia (non utilizzata). Da qui scendeva alla Nese, passando a lato di quell'ospedale (lebbrosario?) e proseguiva per la Villa di Pantano e Cenerente, da dove iniziava la salita finale per Perugia. Altra strada era quella di Montone, ma non volendo transitare per quel territorio, si poteva percorrere la via che portava al torrente Niccone, subito dopo il ponte del Tevere. Dal Niccone, passato il fiume sulla barca oltre Montecastelli, ci si ritrovava sulla via tracciata da Città di Castello, in pianura ed abbastanza transitabile. Infine c'era la strada per la Toscana, alla foce del Niccone sul Tevere. In proporzione al grande traffico nazionale, molto limitato appariva il transito nelle nostre zone ma, considerata l'importanza commerciale di Fratta, c'era comunque sempre un movimento di persone e merci che ne aiutava molto gli abitanti, alla ricerca delle soluzioni dei loro problemi quotidiani. Lavori alla Rocca La Rocca di Fratta fu voluta nell'anno 1374 e disegnata, molto probabilmente, dall'architetto Matteo Gattapone da Gubbio. Venne posta ad est delle mura castellane, unico tratto sprovvisto di forti, sia per aumentare la difesa del castello dalla parte di Perugia, sia per allungare meglio lo sguardo su tutta la pianura del Tevere verso Montecorona. La Rocca consisteva, all'inizio, in un semplice parallelepipedo esterno alla cinta che, nella zona sud, aveva un'alta torre sopraelevata di una quarantina di metri dal prato sottostante. Questo volume fu costruito nel primo ciclo dei lavori, dal 1375 al 1384, mentre il completamento, come voleva il disegno originario, avvenne con un ulteriore intervento tra il 1385 e il 1386, quando fu unita alle mura castellane. Così la Rocca si presenta all'inizio del Quattrocento. Ha i lati contrapposti lunghi dodici metri e quelli perpendicolari, sette. Per il passaggio delle persone è collegata al castello di Fratta da una porta (visibile ed agibile anche oggi) munita di ponte levatoio che faceva perno sul forte, cadeva sulle mura castellane sostenuto da una sola trave e passava sopra un tetto realizzato nella seconda fase dei lavori (1385-86). Nel punto di battuta era stato costruito, interno al borgo, un piccolo edificio merlato detto "chiostro" in cui c'era un posto di guardia, essendo questa zona militare sorvegliata per impedire l'accesso anche agli abitanti di Fratta. La Rocca aveva poi un'altra entrata fornita di ponte levatoio. Conduceva all'esterno del castello, verso il prato sottostante. Era la "porta del soccorso", elemento comune a tutti i forti e le rocche. Serviva, in tempo di guerra, a far rientrare qualche soldato rimasto fuori o in altri casi straordinari. Questo secondo ponte levatoio era sostenuto da una sola trave il cui vano è ancora esistente e visibile dalla zona sottostante. Poggiava sopra un alto muro di pietra, rimasto fino alla metà dell'Ottocento. Fra il muro e la torre passava il letto naturale del torrente Reggia. Da qui iniziava la strada, in forte discesa, verso il prato sottostante. Il tutto era chiamato "calzo de fuora". Nel gennaio 1405 fu costruita la grande volta in muratura che univa (e unisce tuttora ) la Rocca alle mura castellane, al posto del tetto sotto il ponte levatoio. Fu pure innalzato il tratto di mura castellane prospiciente alla piazza del Comune (ora piazza Fortebracci), elevato di circa tre metri e munito di feritoie. Fu tolto il ponte levatoio ovest e restò solo quello "del soccorso", in funzione fino alla fine del Settecento. Nel 1495 la Fratta era occupata dai fuorusciti perugini della famiglia Degli Oddi. Erano combattuti dai Baglioni che portarono qui l'assedio fino a che, l' 11 settembre 1495, Fratta si arrese alle forze di Perugia. La città dominante, riavuto il nostro castello, pensò bene di restaurarlo e di aumentarne le difese militari, affinché potesse resistere ad altri eventuali attacchi. Dal 1495 al 1499 vennero eretti i torrioni laterali circolari merlati, uno a nord e uno a sud, e la Rocca assunse l'aspetto attuale. Per la costruzione dei torrioni si dovette abbattere il "chiostro" ed un tratto di mura (per costruire il torrione nord), mentre sul lato della piazza del Comune venne aperta una nuova porta d'ingresso. Foto della Rocca di Fabio Mariotti (quella antica dall'Archivio fotografico storico del Comune di Umbertide) Fonti: - Calendario di Umbertide 2004 – Ed. Comune di Umbertide – 2004 - Renato Codovini: Storia di Umbertide - Il Secolo XV. Dattiloscritto inedito, 1992 - A. Guerrini: Storia della terra di Fratta ora Umbertide dalle sue origini fino all'anno 1845 - Tipografia Tiberina, Umbertide, 1883 - M.G. Moretti: Salute e spezierie alla Fratta (Sec. XV - XX): Breve introduzione alla mostra, Umbertide, Biblioteca Comunale, 27 settembre - 12 ottobre 2002. Dream Service, Umbertide, 2002 - P. Vispi: Il soggiorno e l'opera di Pico della Mirandola ad Umbertide - Ed. Comune di Umbertide, 1996 L'economia e la libertà di fiera L’economia del territorio di Fratta nel XV secolo è basata su una modesta attività agricola e su una fiorente attività artigianale. Già nei primi del Quattrocento assistiamo a timidi insediamenti stabili in campagna di lavoratori agricoli che si recano a lavorare terre alquanto distanti dal borgo. Terre via via "rancate", cioè messe a coltura. Ma i tempi sono ancora insicuri, la pericolosità direttamente proporzionale alla distanza dalle mura del castello. II passaggio di eserciti che razziavano il bestiame e le colture, insieme a bande di malviventi rendevamo molto rischiosa la coltivazione della campagna. I lavoratori agricoli, quindi, non potevano produrre grosse quantità dei vari generi. Solamente due secoli dopo, in pieno Seicento, la coltura del grano aveva ancora una rendita di tre o quattro parti contro una di seme seminato. L’attività artigianale nel castello di Fratta era, invece, più progredita e produttiva, regolata anche negli statuti del 1362. Era un'economia prevalentemente corporativa, a compartimenti stagni, con ogni Arte strettamente osservante di quelle regole che si era data con il proprio ordinamento, comprensivo anche delle pene per i trasgressori. Ma era l'aspetto religioso il collante che univa i componenti. La produttività degli artigiani era soltanto sufficiente ai loro immediati bisogni, ma a volte poteva superare il limite dello stretto necessario e dar loro qualche soddisfazione in più. Notevoli risultati davano le fornaci di laterizio che producevano materiali da costruzione. Altre piccole attività, con laboratorio e bottega annessi, sfornavano vasellame di terracotta d'ogni genere, necessario alla vita quotidiana della famiglia del borgo e di quella contadina. Vari molini da cereali e da olio, avvalendosi della forza motrice dell'acqua dei fiumi e dei torrenti, occupavano un discreto numero di persone. C'era poi la lavorazione dei panni di lana, per mezzo della gualchiera e la rifinitura di prodotti in metallo che per l'affilatura usava ruote in pietra, anch'esse mosse dall'acqua. Tutti questi meccanismi si trovavano all'interno dei maggiori mulini ed utilizzavano la stessa acqua che muoveva le grandi macine dei cereali. La gualchiera. L’arte dei panni di lana Anche in Fratta si esercitava l'arte della lana, seppur per un prodotto minore che doveva soddisfare soltanto i bisogni del luogo. Il panno lavorato serviva per cucire i vestiti di uso comune, indossati dalla maggior parte degli abitanti, quasi tutti poveri. La lavorazione era possibile in quanto nei maggiori mulini c'era sempre la "gualchiera", meccanismo fornito di grosse "martelle" di legno che, mosse dall'acqua della diga, battevano la lana opportunamente trattata (acqua bollente e un qualche collante). Probabilmente, si trattava di una postazione per ogni mulino, locata a terzi per più anni. In un atto notarile del 12 novembre 1464 si parla del “Mulino dei Calvi” con la gualchiera ad esso annessa che serviva a "gualcare i panni di lana": si trovava in aderenza a questo molino, era affittata tre anni. La notizia dell'esistenza, vicino a Fratta, di tale gualchiera, e fuso per cui serviva, sono le notizie più antiche sull'argomento. L’insieme delle altre Arti fabbricava gli oggetti necessari alla vita della collettività; erano fabbri, falegnami, magnani, pittori, sarti, panacuocoli (fornai), indoratori. Tutte persone che oggi chiameremmo operatori economici ed avevano molto spesso un grande limite nella difficoltà di reperire i capitali necessari. Non essendoci ancora istituti di credito come intendiamo oggi, dovevano far ricorso, in caso di necessità, al prestito dei "banchi" degli ebrei. A Fratta ce n'erano una ventina ed alcuni di questi esercitavano appunto l'attività di banchieri. Sebbene avversati dalla popolazione e dalla legislazione della città di Perugia valida anche in Fratta, riuscivano sempre a svolgere il loro lavoro in senso positivo e la stessa comunità perugina faceva ricorso alla "prestanza" ebrea in caso di bisogno. Obbligati a portare un disco giallo sui vestiti, esclusi dai pubblici uffici, era negata agli ebrei anche la possibilità di acquistare beni immobili, di fabbricare carte da gioco e dadi. Non restava loro che dedicarsi ai prestiti su interesse e lo studio della medicina. Il commercio del cuoio Era molto praticato nella nostra Fratta, come nell'alta valle del Tevere e nel Perugino. II grande commercio del cuoio aveva la sede principale, per il centro Italia, nelle città di Pisa e di Ancona. Pisa lo importava dalla Spagna (da Cordova, pelli cordovane), dalla Francia meridionale e dal Maghreb (Tunisia, Algeria e Marocco). Ancona lo importava invece dalla cosiddetta Morea (Medio Oriente), dalle isole dell'Egeo e dai Paesi rivieraschi del Mar Nero. Da queste due città poi, a mezzo di grandi carri a quattro ruote, il cuoio arrivava a Perugia (via lago Trasimeno e via Fabriano). Qui si riforniva Fratta in limitate quantità, incrementate dalla stessa merce proveniente da Città di Castello, i cui mercanti erano direttamente collegati con le "strade del cuoio" marchigiane. Il commercio del "bambage" Anche il bambage (o bambagio) arrivava dai Paesi del medio oriente (Turchia, Cipro, Siria, Egitto), con le navi fino ad Ancona; poi i mercanti lo introducevano nel territorio perugino. Con il bambage, sottoprodotto del cotone, si fabbricavano veli da donna per la testa, per il collo e per le spalle. Coloro che trattavano tale prodotto erano detti "bambagiari" e facevano parte dell'Arte omonima. Avevano botteghe per commerciare sia il bambage puro che i suoi derivati, quali ad esempio le passamanerie, vendute dai merciai. L’Arte della merceria All'Arte della merceria erano iscritti coloro che commerciavano in generi relativi soprattutto all'abbigliamento: filati per cucire (vengono nominati "refe"), gomitoli e matasse, fazzoletti (per la testa, il collo, le spalle), veletti (per cappelli), "camicie", calze di lana, cappelli, nastri d'ogni tipo, spille, orecchini, aghi (fatti a mano) e quant'altro relativo al vestire. Non troviamo fazzoletti per il naso (ancora da inventare), maglie (si confezionavano in casa, sul telaio domestico), giacche, pastrani e mantelli (li cuciva il sarto). Non esistevano però botteghe specializzate in un unico tipo di merce. Era facile quindi trovare, in quella del merciaio, stoffe, paludamenti (per l'addobbo di chiese, tendaggi per la casa), ma anche cera, candele, "facole", radici saponarie. L’Arte della "spetiaria" Chi esercitava l'Arte della spetiaria aveva una bottega, chiamata anche aromataria, dove vendeva i generi che anche oggi chiamiamo spezie, ma con una gamma più vasta, essendo maggiore l'uso di tali generi. Molti servivano per la farmacopea. In queste botteghe, comunque, molti prodotti esulavano dal campo speziario, comprendendo i generi più disparati, anticipando i bazar ed i moderni supermercati. I calzolai C'erano, nel Quattrocento, in Fratta, diversi calzolai (calceolarius) iscritti alla relativa Arte e semplici ciabattini. L’attività dei calzolai consisteva nel costruire e vendere le scarpe, per cui avevano bisogno di comprare cuoio, pellami ed attrezzi d'uso. Il ciabattino (sutor), più semplicemente, si adattava ad accomodare le calzature, senza entrare nel commercio delle stesse. Nell'archivio storico comunale esiste un contratto del 4 settembre 1448 con il quale il padre affida il figlio di minore età ad un calzolaio per imparare il mestiere. Il ragazzo doveva andare a vivere in casa del calzolaio il quale, a sua volta, si impegnava a formarlo e a dargli vitto e alloggio. Il ragazzo è Mariotto, figlio di Domenico di Ercolano da Pietramelina; il calzolaio è Nardo di Francesco, di Fratta. Domenico di Ercolano si impegna a far restare Mariotto per un anno presso Nardo di Francesco e di non mandarlo da altri calzolai. Garantisce che Mariotto sarà sempre sottomesso e obbediente come deve comportarsi ogni buon discepolo. Nardo, di sua parte, si obbliga ad istruirlo nell'arte della calzoleria, a dargli un salario di tre fiorini e mezzo per tutto l'anno, oltre il vitto e l'alloggio. Le monete Nel Quattrocento, nell'Italia centrale si usavano, per i grandi importi, monete d'oro, fiorini e ducati, insieme ai loro sottomultipli e alle tante monete dei vari Stati esistenti. Il fiorino veniva rapportato ai bolognini (moneta bolognese di piccolo taglio). Se era integro (cioè di giusto peso, non limato per appropriarsi di una parte del suo oro come spesso accadeva), valeva quaranta bolognini. Se invece aveva un peso inferiore a quello di conio, veniva considerato in proporzione a quanto mancava. Il fiorino era anche quotato in "soldi": cento se integro. Il fiorino fiorentino veniva a volte ragguagliato alla lira perugina. Verso la metà del secolo c'è parità tra le due monete. Troviamo infatti, nel 1464, una somma di undicimila fiorini che, qualche riga sotto dello stesso documento, diventano undicimila lire. Il "soldo" (sottomultiplo del fiorino) viene rapportato talora al "denaro" (moneta perugina sottomultipla della lira). Abbiamo infine un'altra misura monetaria, la "libra". Ce ne volevano cinque per un fiorino. A Fratta si adoperavano indistintamente sia i fiorini, sia i ducati (ma anche altre monete). In un atto notarile, "la pena" da darsi a chi non sta ai patti viene stabilita in "100 ducati d'oro", nonostante in Fratta prevalesse l'uso dei conteggi in fiorini. Nel 1471 troviamo il "carlino", di basso valore, di origine napoletana. Valeva dodici baiocchi. Sempre in quest'anno esiste anche il "ducato d'oro largo": ha il valore di un fiorino e 75 baiocchi circa. . . . Libertà di fiera Mercati settimanali e fiere si svolgevano a Fratta fin dal XIV secolo, regolamentati dagli Statuti del 1362. Nel 1400 sembra esserci solo la fiera di Sant'Erasmo, che si svolgeva il 2 giugno, giorno della festa del santo, davanti all'antica e omonima pieve, nell'odierna piazza Marconi. Come negli altri castelli e ville del territorio, era soggetta ad una tassazione imposta da Perugia (città dominante), che poi la comunità di Fratta riversava sui commercianti intervenuti, recuperando così la somma versata. La tassa della fiera comportava per i mercanti un certo onere, imponeva loro di fare una scelta sul venire o meno a Fratta, a seconda del vantaggio. In pratica, condizionava l'affluenza della gente a queste manifestazioni. In considerazione di ciò, la comunità di Fratta cercò di liberare la fiera dalla "gabella", allo scopo di aumentare il concorso di venditori, quindi avere la maggior quantità e varietà di merci, prezzi più bassi (legge della concorrenza), in definitiva un vantaggio per la popolazione, oltre maggior guadagno per osti, marescalchi, "carradori", botteghe in genere. Il risultato venne raggiunto a partire dal 1441, quando ne fece richiesta a Perugia. L’approvazione arrivò dal cardinale Firmano (Domenico da Fermo), delegato apostolico per l'Umbria e la relativa concessione, detta "privilegio", riguardava la fiera annuale del 2 giugno, probabilmente l'unica del secolo. Fratta non doveva più pagare la tassa come le altre comunità dello Stato Romano e di riflesso non chiese più nulla ai commercianti. La concessione venne rilasciata per due giorni consecutivi, tanto durava la fiera di Sant'Erasmo dal 1441. Nel 1444, il 31 ottobre, lo stesso cardinale Domenico da Fermo ribadisce la concessione (che doveva essere rinnovata annualmente) e permette di allungare la fiera a quattro giorni consecutivi: dal primo (vigilia della festa del Santo) al 4 giugno, decisione che il Comune accettò di buon grado. Il 30 ottobre 1445, papa Eugenio IV conferma il "privilegio" specificando che 1'esenzione è "tam entrando quam in exeundo", sia all'entrata in Fratta, sia all'uscita a fine manifestazione e riguarda tutte le persone che intervengono con le bestie e con le merci ("cum eorum animalibus et mercantiis"). Il provvedimento rimane esteso anche agli abitanti di Fratta che prendessero parte a questa fiera che in quei quattro giorni “solemniter celebratur”. Fratta fu informata del provvedimento del Papa dal cardinale legato di Perugia, Domenico da Fermo. Nel XVI secolo, invece, la durata dell'evento fu portata ad otto ed anche dieci giorni. Foto di Fabio Mariotti (quella del calzolaio dall'Archivio fotografico storico del Comune di Umbertide) Fonti: - Calendario di Umbertide 2004 – Ed. Comune di Umbertide – 2004 - Renato Codovini: Storia di Umbertide - Il Secolo XV. Dattiloscritto inedito, 1992 - A. Guerrini: Storia della terra di Fratta ora Umbertide dalle sue origini fino all'anno 1845 - Tipografia Tiberina, Umbertide, 1883 - M.G. Moretti: Salute e spezierie alla Fratta (Sec. XV - XX): Breve introduzione alla mostra, Umbertide, Biblioteca Comunale, 27 settembre - 12 ottobre 2002. Dream Service, Umbertide, 2002 - P. Vispi: Il soggiorno e l'opera di Pico della Mirandola ad Umbertide - Ed. Comune di Umbertide, 1996 La comunità ebraica Il progressivo formarsi di una piccola comunità ebraica alla Fratta probabilmente risale verso la fine del XII secolo, allorché una forte corrente migratoria di mercanti israeliti da Roma tende a diffondersi dapprima nelle città umbre, per poi espandersi verso tutto il nord Italia. C'erano grossi insediamenti e una consolidata tradizione ebraica a Perugia, Città di Castello e Gubbio. A Perugia, nel rione di Porta Sant'Angelo al quale si era aggregata la comunità ebraica di Fratta, c'era una delle due sinagoghe della città e si contavano il maggior numero di abitazioni israelite. Il periodo però non è tranquillo per il mondo israelitico italiano. Agli inizi del 1485, infatti, giunge anche in Umbria Bernardino da Feltre, che aveva imperversato nel nord Italia per ottenere la soppressione dei banchi ebrei a favore dei nascenti Monti di Pietà. Egli predica, fortemente spalleggiato dall'Ordine dei Minori, una violenta crociata antisraelitica che ottiene buoni successi. Da quel periodo comincia ad assottigliarsi a Gubbio la presenza degli ebrei. Anche Perugia e Fratta non furono immuni da forme di intolleranza, che però non raggiunsero gli eccessi registrati altrove. La comunità ebraica frattigiana, per quanto piccola (una ventina di persone), doveva avere una certa importanza economica. Già nel 1398, infatti, un certo Beniamino di Aleuccio della Fratta esercitava l’attività di banchiere a Mantova. Vi sono presenze documentate di ebrei umbertidesi dopo la metà del 1400. Abitava a Fratta, ad esempio, un ragguardevole banchiere, Dattilo di Salomone: di lui esistono testimonianze di una cospicua attività e sappiamo che in giudizio veniva rappresentato dal fratello Manuele. Il suo nome e quello della sua famiglia ricorrono più volte nella storia perugina come il gruppo finanziario di maggiore importanza. Probabilmente parenti con il finanziere Dattilo, e anche loro abitanti in Fratta, erano Salomone, Elia e Davide "Dactoli". Quest'ultimo firma, anche a nome dei fratelli, una petizione alla magistratura perugina nel 1483. Altra attività, oltre quella bancaria, nella quale molti ebrei godevano di grande considerazione, era l'arte medica. Nella Fratta della seconda metà del Quattrocento vi esercitarono in due. Il primo fu Manuele da Monticolo. Abitava in una casa in affitto nel Terziere Superiore (zona della Rocca) e la sua presenza è documentata dal 1477. Fra il 1484 e il 1486 c'è in Fratta Manuele di Angelo, da Padova. Questi in precedenza aveva esercitato a Montone e qui aveva abitato in una lussuosa dimora, di proprietà dei monaci di Camporeggiano, posta accanto al palazzo del conte Carlo Fortebracci, signore del posto. Di questo secondo medico rimangono testimonianze sia nell'archivio comunale di Umbertide sia in quello di Gubbio. L’attività di alcuni ebrei a Fratta era quindi a un livello ragguardevole. Ma se coloro che influenzavano la vita sociale cittadina godevano di libertà e considerazione, probabilmente non tutti avevano vita facile. C'era infatti una forte attività denigratoria contro di loro da parte dei frati minori francescani. La legislazione romana, applicata dalla Magistratura di Perugia, aveva imposto loro, già dal secolo precedente, un contrassegno sugli abiti. Consisteva in un tondo di stoffa gialla del diametro di una quindicina di centimetri che dovevano cucire sul davanti per farsi riconoscere e differenziarsi dai cristiani. Le donne, invece, dovevano essere contraddistinte da un certo tipo di veletta in testa e portare orecchini a cerchio. Tutti sapevano che era bene mostrarsi il meno possibile, ma in occasione di funerali, per arrivare al luogo della sepoltura, dovevano attraversare alcune strade scegliendole tra le meno frequentate e comunque evitando il centro del paese. Ma anche qui trovavano spesso "cristiani" che li aspettavano per dileggiarli e gettar loro addosso pietre. Questa manifestazione, detta "la sassaiola", in uso a Perugia già all'inizio del secolo (a Fratta non esiste certezza in merito), proseguirà per tutto quello successivo. Fonti: Calendario di Umbertide 2004 – Ed. Comune di Umbertide – 2004 Renato Codovini: Storia di Umbertide - Il Secolo XV. Dattiloscritto inedito, 1992 A. Guerrini: Storia della terra di Fratta ora Umbertide dalle sue origini fino all'anno 1845 - Tipografia Tiberina, Umbertide, 1883 Gli ospedali, la peste e le guerre Nel Quattrocento troviamo in Fratta sette ospedali. Appartengono a chiese o confraternite e sono tutti di piccole dimensioni, due o tre ambienti in modeste case, spesso incorporati alle chiese stesse. Di solito vi prestano la loro opera i padri Agostiniani, uno o due frati. Qui vengono ricoverati i malati poveri del paese e i viaggiatori che hanno bisogno di cure durante il passaggio a Fratta. Sant'Antonio Si trovava in Castel Nuovo, in fondo alla Piaggiola. Ne abbiamo notizia nel 1400 e nel 1404. Nel 1411 si unì all'ospedale di Santa Maria Nuova, sito anch'esso in Castel Nuovo. Aveva alcuni beni, due appezzamenti di terreno lavorativo in Villa Galera (Monte Acuto), ai vocaboli Vignale e Fossato e possedeva anche una terra al vocabolo Seripole, al confine col torrente Reggia. Santa Maria Situato anch'esso in fondo alla Piaggiola, era legalmente "unito" alla chiesa di "Pieve di Santa Maria di Castel Nuovo", almeno fin dall'anno 1397. Confinava da un lato con "le cose della chiesa" (un orto: ) e dall'altro con il "foveo" della Comunità, il fossato lungo le mura castellane (zona palazzo Baglioni). Santa Maria e Sant'Antonio Si fondono nel 1411. Nel 1423 decidono di iscrivere le loro proprietà al catasto di Perugia. La registrazione viene fatta da Giovanni Corbelli di Fratta, rettore e governatore degli ospedali, tramite un suo procuratore, Francesco di Simone. Possiedono una casa nel Borgo Superiore di Castel Nuovo e quattro appezzamenti di terreno nel comune di Montone, al vocabolo Buschi. Santa Croce E' situato nel Borgo Inferiore, nell'odierna via Soli. Risale alla prima metà del Trecento. Appartiene all'omonima confraternita che ha una quarantina di proprietà immobiliari. E' così grande il numero dei beni, che mette in difficoltà anche l'ufficio del catasto di Perugia allorché Bartolomeo di ser Nicola, procuratore della confraternita, si reca a registrarne alcuni. L’ufficiale del catasto si vede costretto a riportare l'elenco in un nuovo libro, appositamente iniziato, in quanto nel foglio riferito alla confraternita non c'era più posto. Fraternita del Corpo di Cristo o del Buon Gesù Era anche questo nel Borgo Inferiore, aderente al lato sud della chiesa di San Bernardino, non ancora costruita all'inizio del secolo. Ne abbiamo notizia nel 1448 quando, il 15 aprile, i frati di San Francesco cedono una loro casa vicina al chiostro del convento ai Disciplinati della Fraternita di Cristo. Fra le clausole, i compratori sono obbligati a "edificare un ospedale per i poveri di Cristo". Nel 1477 l'ospedale riceve un lascito di 5 fiorini per acquistare dei letti. San Giovanni Entro le mura castellane, nel Terziere di Porta Nuova, a confine della chiesa di San Giovanni (odierna via Mancini). Il 4 giugno 1455 il vescovo di Gubbio, Antonio Severi, tratta con la comunità di Fratta la cessione di un rimbocco posto fra la chiesa di San Giovanni e la casa dell'ospedale. Le sei persone nominate dal Comune per trattare la questione cedono tale pezzo di via al Vescovado a patto che serva "per i poveri dell'ospedale" e che nel termine dei sei anni il lavoro di ampliamento sia compiuto. Si trattava quindi di unire, con una nuova costruzione, la casa dell'ospedale alla chiesa di San Giovanni, in modo da ingrandire l'ospedale. Sant'Erasmo Si trovava nel Borgo Superiore, nella zona centrale detta il "Mercatale", aderente alla chiesa omonima. L’edificio è tuttora visibile nella sua interezza, anche se adibito ad abitazione. Era tenuto dai frati di Sant'Agostino, che facevano da infermieri. Aveva dei terreni in proprietà ed era il più grande ospedale di Fratta. I medici Nel Quattrocento, in Fratta esiste la figura del medico generico, detto "fisico" e quella del chirurgo, il "cerusico". Uno di questi svolgeva la funzione di medico "condotto", assunto dalla comunità che ne stabiliva diritti e doveri in un contratto notarile dal quale risultavano i casi nei quali poteva farsi pagare dai clienti e le visite ai molti poveri che doveva effettuare gratuitamente. Nell'eventualità in cui il medico aveva a che fare con una malattia molto grave o allora sconosciuta, poteva ricorrere alla clausola "pro corpore mortuo": per contratto non si assumeva responsabilità se l'ammalato moriva. In altri casi prospettava alla famiglia del malato (pagante) due somme alternative: se il congiunto guariva, avrebbe avuto la somma maggiore; se invece la cura non aveva effetto e il paziente passava a miglior vita, si sarebbe accontentato della somma minore. In questo secolo lavorano in Fratta soltanto medici ebrei. Uno di questi, maestro Manuele da Monticolo (Bolzano), operò in Fratta dal 1447. Negli anni 1484 e 1485 opera un altro "fisico" ebreo, Manuele da Pavia. Nel 1485 arriva l'israelita Emanuele di Angelo, da Padova, che abitava a Perugia. Forse ci si chiederà come mai le comunità assumessero medici ebrei. Perchè venivano pagati la metà di un medico cristiano. Il salario infatti era di 25 fiorini l’anno per un ebreo, 50 o 60 per un cristiano. Era la conseguenza dell'ostracismo dello Stato Romano verso gli ebrei e non delle differenti capacità professionali dei medici. Gli ebrei valevano come i cristiani, quando non erano addirittura più abili e più preparati. La peste La peste, presente di continuo a brevi intervalli, era la peggiore malattia che potesse capitare in questo secolo. Abbiamo poche notizie relative al nostro paese, ma siccome il contagio colpiva vaste zone, quando l'epidemia si manifestava a Città di Castello e a Perugia, sicuramente Fratta non ne era immune. Nel 1438, ad esempio, un farmacista di Fratta scrive un elenco di medicamenti da usarsi contro la peste, tra i quali, principalmente, 1'aceto. Nel 1400 la peste colpisce l'Italia centrale, soprattutto la Toscana. A Perugia e nel contado morirono 35mila (!) persone e migliaia di decessi si contarono anche a Città di Castello. Stando così le cose, pure a Fratta ci saranno stati molti contagi e conseguentemente parecchie vittime. Nel 1411 e nel 1417 la peste imperversa di nuovo. Nell'ultimo anno colpisce particolarmente Anghiari. Nel 1429 tornò a Perugia e in tutto il suo territorio, Fratta compresa. A seguito di questo la Magistratura perugina ordinò per la prima volta di controllare la salubrità delle carni in vendita nelle "beccherie". Nel 1435 scoppiò l'epidemia a Città di Castello, da marzo a novembre, ed alla fine perirono mille tifernati. Nel 1438 peste a Fratta, dove il nostro bravo farmacista descrive i rimedi che secondo lui avrebbero evitato la malattia. Un'altra ondata di contagio arrivò dieci anni più tardi e nel 1463 il morbo colpì ancora duramente Città di Castello. L’anno dopo la peste invase tutto il territorio di Perugia e il 14 settembre 1464 a Montone il Consiglio decide di "ricorrere ai santi del Paradiso per esserne liberati". Sei anni dopo, però, il feudo di Braccio Fortebracci sarà di nuovo sotto il contagio. Dal 1467 al 1476 1a peste torna ad intervalli regolari nell'intero Perugino. Nel 1478 abbiamo la notizia della peste a Fratta. Città di Castello non ne fu immune e contò cinquecento morti. L’anno successivo, a ottobre, ricominciò la pestilenza. Colpì in particolare Gubbio e Perugia. Durò tre anni e nella sola città di Sant'Ubaldo morirono quattromila persone. Nel luglio del 1468 scoppiò ancora a Perugia. Qui dimorava Pico della Mirandola che fu costretto ad abbandonare la città e a rifugiarsi a Fratta dove, in quel il momento, il morbo non si era manifestato. Questa tremenda epidemia tormentò la nostra zona e l'Italia intera ancora per molti secoli, senza che alcuna cura potesse aiutare le popolazioni. L’aceto ed altre sostanze di sapore aspro, considerate i rimedi più efficaci (anche in un grande trattato del 1610 presente nella biblioteca Vaticana), con i quali si lavavano gli abiti, i cibi e ci si cospargeva il corpo, servivano solo, purtroppo, a rendere ancor più dura la vita del tempo. Le guerre Ladislao, re di Napoli, sconvolgeva i territori dell'Italia centrale, intenzionato a conquistarne buona parte. II 25 giugno 1408 entra in Perugia. I Fiorentini ed il Papa tentano di contrastarlo con ogni mezzo e i Toscani chiamano Lodovico d'Angiò (incoronato re di Napoli dal Papa) per contrapporlo a Ladislao. Lodovico entrò negli stati della Chiesa con Malatesta da Pesaro, Angiolo della Pergola e Braccio Fortebracci. Quest'ultimo, prima di unirsi al d'Angiò, si era portato a Città di Castello e nei pressi di Fratta aveva sconfitto Giulio Cesare da Capua, capitano del re Ladislao, forte di duemila cavalieri. Nel 1411 Braccio Fortebracci tornò in Umbria, sorprese Montone e Fratta seminando distruzione e spavento, si diresse poi verso Perugia, che conquistò nel 1416, due anni dopo la morte di Ladislao. Scomparso Martino V nel 1431, Niccolò Fortebracci, nipote di Braccio, giunse a Città di Castello e in pochi giorni s'impadronì di gran parte dell'alta valle del Tevere. I perugini tentarono con ogni mezzo di dissuaderlo, ma alla fine tutto risultò vano. Più efficace si rivelò l'annuncio dell'arrivo di un esercito inviato dai Fiorentini ed altri alleati, tra i quali i conti di Montefeltro: oltre quattromila cavalli e molti fanti stavano dirigendosi verso il territorio tifernate, ma Niccolò Fortebracci non ne attese l'arrivo ritirando le forze a Montone, dove provvide a organizzare la difesa. E quando il 18 luglio 1431 seppe che i Fiorentini erano rientrati in Toscana, uscì da Montone, piombò sui castelli vicini conquistandoli. Il 12 agosto giunse alla Fratta Niccolò Piccinino con centocinquanta cavalli, diretto in Romagna; l'anno seguente arriveranno tremila fanti e cavalieri al comando di Francesco Sforza, in lotta con Niccolò Fortebracci, e notevoli danni provocheranno agli abitanti. Successivamente si aggiungeranno i soldati di Francesco Piccinino e dell'arcivescovo di Napoli governatore di Perugia, i quali, in contrasto tra loro, transiteranno per il territorio di Fratta e apporteranno lutti e violenze. Fratta vide giungere nel suo territorio, nel 1475, una gran moltitudine di persone per una sommossa scoppiata nel territorio tifernate. Nel 1479 si riaccese violenta la lotta tra Perugia e Fiorentini ed il nostro territorio subì ingenti danni. Molti castelli vennero distrutti, gli abitanti crudelmente uccisi. Capitano dell'esercito fiorentino era Niccolò Vitelli, scomunicato dal Papa. Dal 1488, alle lotte tra popolani (raspanti) e nobili (beccherini) a Perugia se ne aggiunsero altre, coinvolte le famiglie Baglioni e Degli Oddi, con disastrose conseguenze per tutti. I Degli Oddi furono cacciati, ma tentarono di procurarsi alleati e soldati, specialmente nel Ducato di Urbino, per rientrare in città. La venuta in Italia di Carlo VIII e la politica del Papa offrirono loro l'occasione per tentare di recuperare Perugia. I luoghi di rifugio dei fuorusciti erano tre: il territorio dei duchi di Urbino, parenti di alcuni Papi, di Siena e Fratta, dove volsero inizialmente le armi i Baglioni, informati che in questa zona avevano trovato asilo i Degli Oddi. Era l’anno 1495: all'abbazia di San Salvatore di Monte Acuto (Montecorona) giunsero Guido ed Astorre Baglioni con mille fanti e duecento cavalli; si riorganizzarono in fretta, andando a piazzare le artiglierie nei pressi della chiesetta di San Pietro di Romeggio. Ai primi colpi, gli uomini del Baglioni si resero conto che i proietti facevano più danno alle case che alle mura di Fratta, essendo queste a terrapieno. D'altra parte numerose erano le sortite degli assediati che quotidianamente riuscivano a ricevere aiuti da Assisi, Urbino, Matelica, Siena, Foligno e da altre terre amiche. I Folignati, intanto, si erano fatti promotori della formazione di un esercito che, verso la fine di agosto, al comando di Niccolò e Sforza Degli Oddi, si stava dirigendo alla Fratta. I Baglioni, conosciuta l'iniziativa, abbandonarono l'assedio di Fratta e ritornarono a Perugia, inseguiti dai nemici fino a Corciano. La battaglia fu combattuta il 4 settembre 1495 con vittoria dei Baglioni. Fratta, una settimana dopo, temendo rappresaglie per aver dato ospitalità ai Degli Oddi, tornò a sottomettersi ai Perugini. Fonti: Calendario di Umbertide 2004 – Ed. Comune di Umbertide – 2004 Renato Codovini: Storia di Umbertide - Il Secolo XV. Dattiloscritto inedito, 1992 A. Guerrini: Storia della terra di Fratta ora Umbertide dalle sue origini fino all'anno 1845 - Tipografia Tiberina, Umbertide, 1883 PICO DELLA MIRANDOLA A FRATTA Arrivò nell’antico borgo fortificato nell’estate 1486 Giovanni Pico della Mirandola e Fratta: un connubio che dette risultati fecondi. Il grande umanista, originario appunto di Mirandola, in provincia di Modena, celebre per le capacità intellettuali e la prodigiosa memoria, arrivò nell'estate del 1486, spinto da un'epidemia di peste scoppiata a Perugia dove si era rifugiato in seguito alla burrascosa vicenda amorosa con la moglie di Giuliano di Mariotto de' Medici, fiorentino. II borgo fortificato di Fratta offriva garanzie di un buon isolamento sanitario dal contagio, essendo completamente circondato dalle acque ed avendo soltanto due ingressi (la porta del torrione decagonale all'inizio del ponte sul Tevere e la porta della Campana), dai quali era facile controllare ogni persona che entrasse. A Fratta trovò un ambiente sereno, tranquillo nonostante gli echi delle lotte politiche tra Perugia, il Papato, Firenze e Città di Castello. Non è fuori luogo pensare che alloggiasse in una qualche casa del Terziere Superiore, a contatto con la folta e ricca comunità israelitica locale. Opportunità unica per uno studioso di cultura e di lingua ebraica. Di pari passo, Pico migliorò le proprie conoscenze anche in aramaico ed arabo per approfondire quelli che chiamava i tesori delle letterature orientali: Zoroastro, gli Oracoli dei Maghi, gli scritti di Esra e Melchiar. Rapporti molto intensi con quel mondo, quantunque anche a Fratta spirassero i venti della crociata antisemitica promossa dal frate minore Bernardino da Feltre. Sono dello stesso periodo "Commento alla canzone d'amore" di Girolamo Benivieni, "Elogio della pace" e lettere a personaggi di chiara fama: Taddeo Ugolini, Marsilio Ficino, Domenico Benivieni. Alcune lettere scritte da Pico durante la sua permanenza a Fratta si traducono in uno spaccato della vita sociale del tempo. Intanto, completa l"'Oratio de dignitate hominis", considerata il manifesto del Rinascimento. Secondo fico, la dignità dell'uomo è nell'assoluta libertà di scelta, nell'essere aperto a qualsiasi possibilità di vita. Nessuno ha una "natura" predeterminata da leggi, stretta entro limiti precisi. Libero "fabbro" di se stesso, a differenza delle altre creature, l'uomo può scegliere tra decadere al rango dei bruti o sollevarsi al divino, attuando in sé, ancora mortale, la congiunzione del finito e dell'infinito. Concezione "rivoluzionaria", nata all'ombra della Rocca e maturata da fonti eterogenee quali Platone, Aristotele, Ermete Trismegisto, Tommaso d'Aquino, la Cabala. Poco prima della morte, avvenuta nel 1494 a soli 31 anni, Pico della Mirandola si accostò alla predicazione di Girolamo Savonarola, alla cui difesa si dedicò appassionatamente, scrivendo due opere rivolte alle autorità ecclesiastiche ed una lettera intesa a sollevare l'opinione pubblica. Tutto inutile: il 23 maggio 1498 fra' Savonarola venne condannato ed arso a Firenze, accusato di eresia. Il soggiorno di Pico a Fratta fu quindi fecondo. E c'è da essere orgogliosi che abbia scritto proprio qui il manifesto del Rinascimento e la più alta celebrazione della centralità e libertà dell'uomo nel suo rapporto con Dio. Testi presi direttamente dal volume di Pietro Vispi “Il soggiorno e l’opera di G. Pico della Mirandola ad Umbertide” Dalla prefazione (o meglio non prefazione, come la definisce l’autore Gianni Codovini) “All’Autore (e non solo) Innanzitutto un grazie per averci restituito un pagina veramente alta della nostra Fratta, nonché per averci consegnato un rigoroso esempio di ricerca storica e un coerente metodo di lavoro, che sembra derivato non solo dai suoi profondi studi teologici e giuridici, ma anche mutuato da una persona - Renato Codovini - alla quale la città di Umbertide, ed io stesso in primis, dobbiamo gratitudine e stima, tanto per il suo essere l'inarrivabile fonte archivistica locale quanto per il suo meticoloso e discreto modo di orientare giovani studiosi ed esperti ricercatori nello studio storico e documentario. Non credo di allontanarmi dal vero, o perlomeno di non far violenza alla volontà dell'Autore se affermo che, Don Pietro Vispi, con l'abituale sensibilità intellettuale che conosciamo ed apprezziamo, riconosce il debito metodologico nei confronti di Renato Codovini in quella affettuosa e bella dedica in calce al libro che, credo, tutti condividano. Nel congedarmi dall'Autore e dal Lettore, consegno una mia impressione generale che vado sempre più confermando, che è quella poi di un intellettuale a me caro, Benedetto Croce: «ogni vera storia è storia contemporanea»(1). Condizione prima ed essenziale della storia - scrive Croce - è che il fatto, che si prende a narrare, vibri nell'animo dello storico. Ne consegue che ogni storia «se è davvero storia se cioè ha un senso e non suoni come discorso a vuoto», è contemporanea, sia che prenda in esame eventi remoti sia che consideri fatti vicini o presenti. Tale la morale generale che ho rafforzato leggendo il prezioso libro di Pietro Vispi.” Umbertide, settembre 1995 Umbertide, Tishri 5756. Gianni Codovini Note: 1. Vds. B. Croce, “Teoria e Storia”; Laterza, Bari, 1976, pp. 1-5, ma anche “La storia come pensiero e azione”, Laterza, Bari; 1938, pp. 170-172. Il soggiorno a Perugia ed in Fratta “Il periodo di tempo che riguarda il soggiorno perugino e poi a Fratta è in verità molto breve, ma, se rapportato alla brevissima vita del conte, e soprattutto poi a quanto e come in questo breve lasso egli abbia prodotto, potremmo quasi dire che sia stato uno dei più importanti vissuti da Pico. Come già detto nelle brevi note biografiche, nella primavera del 1486 Pico è di ritorno da Parigi e, dopo aver sostato qualche tempo a Firenze, volendo, pare, dirigersi alla volta di Roma, allorché fu in Arezzo, il 10 di maggio, si trovò invischiato nella non chiara faccenda del rapimento di Margherita, moglie di Mariotto de' Medici. Come sappiamo, l'intervento del Magnifico mise fuori dai guai Pico, che, o per già deciso programma, o per altra ragione a noi sconosciuta, si ritira a Perugia. Nasce abbastanza spontanea la domanda: come mai Perugia? Una risposta potrebbe essere data guardando bene gli interessi di Pico contemporanei all'avvenimento. Giovanni aveva finora studiato con estrema profondità la filosofia specialmente aristotelica e averroistica, ma proprio questo studio “chiariva al Pico l'urgenza di risolvere il problema dei rapporti fra le sempre più ardite sue dottrine e la religione cattolica, quale è insegnata dalla Chiesa di Roma. Sotto l'incalzare di questo problema, anche i suoi studi orientali prendono un indirizzo nuovo. Finora sotto la guida di Elia, aveva soprattutto studiato il pensiero arabo nel suo più grande esponente: Averroè. Ora si volge verso pensatori che abbiano fatto oggetto di riflessione l'esperienza religiosa e, partito da Maimonide, si addentra nel campo del pensiero ebraico finché, affascinato dalle più esuberanti correnti mistiche, nelle immaginose interpretazioni simboliche dei testi scritturali crede di aver trovato una soluzione ai suoi problemi e una via di uscita per le sue difficoltà"(1). Così egli comincia a studiare la Cabbala(2), utilizzando questa non tanto dal punto di vista dottrinario, quanto invece come metodo esegetico scritturale. La confidenza con i testi dell'ebraismo era nata già a Padova attraverso l'iniziazione avuta dal del Medigo e continuò poi a Firenze, diventando vera attrazione, in seguito all'amicizia sorta col Mitridate; anzi, abbiamo certa notizia dell'organizzazione, proprio in casa di Pico, di convegni di ebrei per discutere i rapporti di interconnessione filosofica fra ebraismo e cristianesimo. I due maestri però non proponevano a Giovanni la stessa ottica; l'uno, Elia, israelita ortodosso, conosceva la Cabbala ma la rigettava come sapere spurio, l'altro, convertito al cristianesimo, era invece un fervente cabbalista. La differenza tra i due fu la causa di una reciproca inimicizia che durò tutta la vita; Pico comunque non interruppe i rapporti né con l'uno né con l'altro. Il giovane conte resta dunque affascinato “dalla dottrina misteriosa, che Elia e Mitridate gli espongono; con notevole spesa egli si procura quei libri che legge con indefessa fatica; il risultato di tali letture è che Pico trova addirittura nei documenti della cabbala , oltre a dottrine filosofiche degne di Pitagora e di Platone, la conferma piena dei fondamentali misteri del cristianesimo, tanto osteggiati dagli ebrei intransigenti”(3). Perugia, per quanto diremo nel capitolo seguente, era il luogo adatto ed ideale per la conoscenza e l'approfondimento dei testi cabalistici, luogo con una forte e colta comunità israelitica, centro di produzione di codici e città qualificata da uno Studio di ormai antico prestigio. Del soggiorno perugino abbiamo molte testimonianze ricavabili dagli scritti di Pico, di Elia(4), del Ficino, e proprio a Perugia Giovanni fu raggiunto da Elia del Medigo; un ricco e fecondo colloquio intercorse tra i due, ma fu presto interrotto: nel luglio a Perugia scoppia un'epidemia di peste che consiglia l'allontanamento dalla città. Il rifugio, da Pico, fu trovato in Fratta. Noi non sappiamo i motivi precisi della scelta, ma forse, proprio la presenza nel piccolo centro di una qualificata comunità ebraica, oltre il tranquillo isolamento anche sanitario, che il munito nucleo urbano poteva offrire, non dovrebbero essere stati argomenti ignorati da Pico. Va poi sottolineato un particolare che, per quanto accidentale, ci ha molto incuriosito: nell' Oratio, allorché Pico afferma che la cabbala stessa diviene strumento di confutazione per gli ebrei... “integralisti”, egli ci dice di aver convinto alla dottrina trinitaria cristiana un coltissimo israelita, esperto di cabbala, di nome Dattilo(5). Sappiamo noi per certo, e lo illustreremo nel capitoletto apposito, che di sicuro uno dei massimi esponenti della comunità ebraica perugina, originario ed abitante di Fratta, era, all'epoca di Pico, proprio un certo Dattilo di Salomone, facoltoso banchiere. È solo sicuramente una pura coincidenza, quella appena descritta, e da questa non vogliamo certamente trarre conclusioni indimostrabili; essa tuttavia è causa di legittime suggestive fantasie. Due parole vogliamo spenderle a chiusura di questa parte per dimostrare come la Fratta, nella quale Pico si trattiene, sia l'attuale Umbertide. È vera la constatazione che di “Fracta” o “Fratta” la toponomastica del perugino ne annovera più di una: Fracta Filiorum Azzonis (Collazzone), Fracta Filiorum Fusci (Castiglion Fosco), Fratta di Guido (F. Todina), Fratta Cornia (nei pressi di Lisciano Niccone), ecc., però, nessuna mai viene citata in alcun documento senza la specificazione patronimica. L'unica Fratta, per antonomasia, in quanto anche centro senza dubbio più ragguardevole degli altri, e massima fortezza perugina, è Fracta Filiorum Uberti, che nella seconda metà dell'ottocento muterà il proprio nome in quello di Umbertide. Già dal 1145, in un diploma di Eugenio III, pubblicato negli annali camaldolesi(6) - e sempre in seguito, così come del resto fa lo stesso Pico e come sempre si riscontra nella cartografia ufficiale pontificia - Fracta Filiorum Uberti viene indicata col solo termine di "Fratta" o Fracta" senza il timore di cadere in equivoci di interpretazione o di definizione toponomastica. Giunge pertanto Pico nella nostra regione, desideroso di studi, di approfondimenti personali, di serenità, in previsione del grande progetto romano. Egli trova una realtà ambientale ed umana che certamente gli aggrada e lo stimola se qui rimane fino all'immediata vigilia della, purtroppo mai sostenuta, disputa.” Pietro Vispi Note: 1. E. Garin, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Vita e Dottrina, Firenze, 1937, p. 27. 2. La Cabbala, o Cabala, significa “tradizione”, e divenne una delle componenti culturali del Rinascimento. Essa non è di facile definizione, consiste sostanzialmente in una forma di misticismo giudaico tuttora non molto studiato. Tale misticismo ebbe buona diffusione nel Rinascimento, e specialmente nel mondo cristiano fu utilizzato come metodo di esegesi biblica. La chiesa è sempre risultata diffidente nei confronti della cabbala tanto che dalla controriforma in qua essa venne vietata, così come tutti i testi di origine ebraica. 3. G. Di Napoli, op. cit., 55. 4. Cfr. Heliae Hebrei Cretensis, questio de ente et essentia et uno. Venetiis, 1546, fol. 142/r (volume contenente Super octos libros Aristotelis…, di Giovanni di Jandun) 5. Cfr. Oratio…, Trad. di E. Garin, fol. 139/r., Firenze, 1942. Foto di Fabio Mariotti Disegno di Adriano Bottaccioli Fonti: - Calendario di Umbertide 2004 – Ed. Comune di Umbertide – 2004 - Renato Codovini: Storia di Umbertide - Il Secolo XV. Dattiloscritto inedito, 1992 - Pietro Vispi: Il soggiorno e l’opera di G. Pico della Mirandola ad Umbertide – Ed. Comune di Umbertide - 1996 Disegno di A. Bottaccioli (Calendario di Umbertide 2004) La Rocca nel 1912 ed oggi. Nella foto più antica si può vedere il torrione laterale ancora coperto e le facciate della case diverse da oggi La zona dove si pensa esistesse la gualchiera Disegno di A. Bottaccioli (Calendario di Umbertide 2004) Disegno di A. Bottaccioli (Calendario di Umbertide 2004) 1911. Il calzolaio a Montecorona Disegno di A. Bottaccioli (Calendario di Umbertide 2004) Disegni di Adriano Bottaccioli (Calendario di Umbertide 2004) Disegno di A. Bottaccioli (Calendario di Umbertide 2004) Disegni di A. Bottaccioli (Calendario di Umbertide 2004) L'Abbazia di Montecorona La chiesa di Romeggio Disegno di A. Bottaccioli (Calendario di Umbertide 2004) Disegno di A. Bottaccioli (Calendario di Umbertide 2004)

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

THE HISTORY OF THE UMBERTIDE MUNICIPAL OFFICES Curated by Fabio Mariotti The ancient municipal offices of Fratta In 1189 Fratta was subjected to the jurisdiction of Perugia and had its own magistracies. The first seat of the Municipality, from the last years of the twelfth century until at least 1381, was at the end of the current Via Alberti, in the corner building between the door and the inner door of the Campana, at the top of the Piaggiola. Subsequently the town hall moved in front of the Rocca (now Piazza Fortebracci), in the building adjacent to the current theater, set back a few meters from today. In 1435, with the suppression of the monastery of the nuns of Santa Maria di Castelvecchio which had its seat there, the Municipality appropriated some rooms of the building of the present theater where the mayor's residence was also. In 1449 in the town hall there is a "lower room", used for prisons until 1815, when they will be moved to the Rocca. The municipal council met in the "upper room". The venue, in subsequent years, will also be granted for theatrical performances. After 1500 a large wooden drawbridge anchored to iron hooks was lowered in the town square, built in the rear (west) part of the Rocca. A large sundial was placed on the facade of the town hall. In 1760 the spaces used for municipal services began to prove insufficient, but only a few years later it was possible to find a suitable location. In 1787 Cardinal Angelelli suppressed the convent of Santa Maria Nuova, at the end of the Piaggiola, and the Municipality settled in those large rooms; at the beginning in the wing towards the Tiber, then the complex was renovated in the part along the road. The schools were also located on the first floor: they will remain there until the early decades of the twentieth century. The history of the current Palazzo Comunale At the end of the seventeenth century a disordered agglomeration of huts occupied the area where the Palazzo Comunale stands today. Today's Piazza Matteotti was only a small open space and did not symbolize the center of local power, which then gravitated around the Rocca. The Marquises of Sorbello had the buildings located in the area of the current municipal residence by way of emphyteusis "up to the third generation", on the basis of a contract with the Bishop's canteen of Gubbio, owner of the buildings. On the basis of this contract, the old huts were demolished and the construction of the building began which was completed on April 29, 1720. From this date the building took the name of "Palazzo Bourbon di Sorbello" and the square in front of "Piazza del Marquis ". It consisted of three levels in addition to the ground floor. On the first, the noble residence and the reception rooms with walls and vaults decorated with frescoes, the other two floors intended for accommodation. The palace, however, was inadequate to the needs of the Bourbon Marquises who, almost certainly, never became owners of the property. When the Municipality decided to occupy that seat, in the spring of 1841, it belonged, in fact, to Domenico Mavarelli who in the meantime had bought it from the Diocese of Gubbio. Mavarelli had held the position of First Prior of Fratta between 1832 and 1853. One of his relatives, Mauro, will be the first Mayor of united Italy, in 1861, and will remain at the center of city politics until 1887. The municipal residence had moved in 1787 outside the city walls, in the suppressed female convent of Santa Maria Nuova, located in the current Via Grilli, at the end of the Piaggiola. This was undoubtedly an inadequate and unfortunate location. The search for a more suitable and central location became urgent and on 17 December 1840 the City Council officially addressed the problem of moving to another location, proposing that of the "Palazzo del Marchese", now Mavarelli. The proposal, put to a vote, was approved by a majority. . The move took place in the following March and a perpetual long lease agreement was stipulated, upon payment of an annual fee of 75 scudi to Domenico Mavarelli. The works of arrangement of the building began immediately on the various floors and as they ended the various municipal activities moved there. The municipal archive was placed on the third floor in 1843. Since then, the ancient Bourbon palace of Sorbello has housed the Municipality. Under the papal dominion, it was reserved for the Governor and his family, for the “Civil and Criminal Chancellery Offices” and for the Magistrate. On the second floor were the public schools, on the third the archives. While the upper rooms have had different arrangements over the years, the noble floor has remained unchanged over time, with a few variations that concern only the destination of the rooms. The Mayor's office and the Town Council hall have always remained in place, while that of the Giunta, around 1990, occupied the space intended for the secretariat of the mayor, leaving the traditional and historic hall, which housed the executive of the Liberation and the birth of the Republic, for meetings of the council groups and press conferences. In 1923 some internal changes were made to the building and the wooden shed that cluttered the atrium was also removed. The paintings that recall ancient characters from Umberto were also restored and it was commissioned to prof. Frenguelli the execution of the two coats of arms in travertine, Italy and Umbertide, to be walled up between the central windows on the first floor. The aerial bombardment of April 25, 1944 and subsequent ones spared this construction, which however was seriously damaged in many parts by other war events. After the war, all the rooms were repaired and the frescoed vaults on the first floor were restored at a total cost of 1,500,000 lire. Due to its degraded and dangerous conditions, on 21 September 1981 the restoration and consolidation works began which were completed on 10 November 1984, with the addition of the premises built on the ancient alley of the "Scudellari", purchased to make way for the offices for the new competences of the municipal administration. The large atrium, where the information point is located and where the offices of the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor and the Town Council look out, has completely frescoed vaults and on the walls a gallery of paintings representing some historical figures from Umberto I. In the Mayor's office, whose windows overlook Piazza Matteotti, you can admire some important paintings for the history of the city: "The market square" by Ernesto Freguglia dating back to 1875; a canvas depicting "San Romualdo, the Magdalene and the Virgin and Child" by an unknown artist; a drawing of Fratta seen from the north by Giovanni Santini from the first half of the 19th century. In the Giunta room, with its completely frescoed vaults, the gallery of Umbertide historical characters continues and an ancient and precious artistic ceramic heater is housed. The hall of the council groups has completely frescoed walls and vaults and is one of the most beautiful rooms in the entire Palazzo Comunale. The Town Council Hall occupies what was once the party hall, where the ancient owners used to entertain their guests. On the wall behind the counter reserved for the council, a large fresco represents the municipal coat of arms. At the top, on the side walls, there are monumental terraces. The frescoes in the municipal halls were made in 1810 by the painter Montorsi of Perugia while Biagio Advantages of Gubbio created the sculptures on the main floor in 1842. In 2016, with the municipal council led by the mayor Marco Locchi, seismic improvement and efficiency works have been started building of the municipal building, works completed in 2021 by the municipal council led by the mayor Luca Carizia. The palace is was reopened to the usability of citizens, completely renovated, in July 2021. A Town Hall, that of Umbertide, which he knew then to preserve the best of its ancient and noble history by equipping however, over the years, their offices with the most modern tools IT systems to better respond to the legitimate needs of citizens users. Sources: Historical calendar of Umbertide 2009

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

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. 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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