On March 17 I headed to Spoleto. The day was a bit gray but the rain held off as I drove through the mountain pass from Acquasparta. The road was a serpentine roller coaster straight out of a car commercial. Every turn revealed a little sliver of the majestic countryside. The drive put me in a zen kind of mood, apropos considering the only music actually downloaded on my iPhone was an album of Tibetan singing bowls. The hum of the bowls went rather well with the view of the mountains.
After parking in one of the public lots at the bottom of the hill, I walked to the mechanized plaza and began to ascend. I was very glad for the escalators as it would have taken hours to walk up to the Rocca. Even from the point where the escalators stopped, it was another 180 steps to the top.
The Rocca Albornoziana is an imposing fortress that stands on Colle Sant’Elia, strategically towering over the Spoleto valley. Its construction started in 1359 at the behest of Pope Innocent VI to re-affirm the papal authority in central Italy. The fortress became the cornerstone of the defensive system that controlled the Via Flaminia, from which military campaigns were launched to recover lost areas of Umbria, Marche, and Romagna.
Gazing at this gargantuan castle it’s impossible not to dwell on how much time, blood, and money has been spent in waging war. All of these castles that we romanticize are nothing if not the concrete manifestation of humanity’s thirst for greed, power, and destruction. Throughout history, the will of the powerful has resulted in much suffering. Speaking of suffering, the Rocca was a jailhouse from 1816 to 1982. During the 80s, an extensive restoration returned the Rocca to its original layout. Sadly, many of its pictorial treasures were lost by this time.
I learned that the Rocca houses a prestigious school to train students in book restoration. Students here learn the technical art of paper, document, and book preservation.
Lucrezia Borgia
One of the Rocca’s most famous inhabitants and ruler in her own right was the much-demonized femme fatale, Lucrezia Borgia. Lucrezia was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI (aka Rodrigo di Borgia) and his longtime mistress Vanozza dei Cattanei. Lucrezia’s hand was used to vie for power among the ruling families three times. Her first husband was Giovanni Sforza who held sway in Pesaro and Gradara. When the political winds changed in Rome, Pope Alexander VI bribed the Sforzas with a king’s ransom to annul the marriage. The Sforza elders then forced Giovanni to confess he was impotent and that he had never consummated the marriage. Unlike Giovanni, Lucrezia’s other husbands didn’t fare so well.
Lucrezia’s second husband, Alfonso d’Aragon, was cornered in an alleyway and stabbed in the back by assassins hired by her brother Cesare.
Lucrezia Borgia then married her 3rd husband, Alfonso d’Este, Duke of Ferrara. This marriage produced ten children but failed to quench her lust and she was reputed to have had many affairs. Modern-day historians tend to view her as a victim who was manipulated by her father and brothers, but I’m not so sure. She was a savvy businesswoman and intensely intelligent–a mover and a shaker not beyond using all her wiles to get her way. In 1499, her efforts paid off and she rose to become the Governor of Spoleto. When her father became Pope, Lucrezia was entrusted with the administration of all of the Vatican’s correspondence. Click here to read more about her life.
Inside the Rocca
The Rocca houses the Ducal Museum which features several masterpieces of Medieval art as well as icons and an archaeological section with excavated artifacts from earlier periods. At the Rocca you can purchase a pass for all the museums of Spoleto that saves you money on admission. I took advantage of this and visited almost all of the sites on the list. The views from the top are awesome.
After the Rocca, I wandered down through the warren of streets and began to discover this fascinating city. One of my favorite monuments was the Fontana di Mascherone known simply as Il Mascherone (the big mask). An inscription on it states that it was restored in 1736 suggesting that the fountain is much older. On the right, another small fountain bears the inscription “BIBE VIATOR” (drink, ye traveler), an invitation to quench one’s thirst.
Spoleto’s architecture is a wonderful hodgepodge of epochs. Along my walk, I passed the huge foundation stones of a former Templar cathedral (now someone’s courtyard), a palace reminiscent of Venice, countless churches, arching bridges, and peaceful piazzas. I paused here and there to peruse the wares of the shops as well.
Of course, all that walking made me hungry, and soon it was time for vino. At lunchtime the square smelled amazing, I kid you not. A little bit of garlic, a little bit of rosemary, roasted meat, and a hint of wood smoke. I stopped at a little place off the main square with an intriguing facade called Osteria del Matto and I was not disappointed. The menu of the day was beyond tasty. The meal began with a little slice of fresh sheep’s cheese and was followed by a selection of salumi and cheese, followed by mushrooms done three ways, followed by a farro risotto, a ricotta fritter, and finally a stunning pasta dish. The ordeal took almost two hours which was fine as I spent the time chatting with Tomasso, a fellow diner. Tomasso helps artists find residencies in the city and works closely with them to find them lodging etc. Fascinating guy. After this caloric insanity, it was time to KEEP walking.
After lunch, I visited the Roman house, an accidental and monumental discovery beneath the town hall. The space is tiny but so well preserved. I’m always awed by Roman mosaics. These people had serious patience to line up all those tiny tesserae into such beautiful patterns.
To continue the theme, I made my way to the Roman theater. The theatre at Spoleto dates from the middle of the first century BC and is built on a large artificial terrace. The oldest parts of the theatre were made from opus caementicium or Roman concrete and blocks of local limestone and bricks.
As I made my way to the Palazzo Callicola, I was stopped by an old man who tried to pick me up in a very charming way. When I tell him I have a husband, he scoffs. “One husband,” he says in Italian, “Bah. You look like you can handle several more friends.” The nerve!
Hilarious.
Palazzo Callicola is an edgy gallery that blends piano nobile with modern art. I’m not a huge fan of abstract art, but some of the pieces here were thought-provoking. I especially liked the gothic red lights in that hall of frescoes with all the upturned furniture. I got a lot of inspiration from the green crescent wallpaper which I think I may transform into a textile.
On my way out I stopped at the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. The cathedral sits in a beautiful large square with plenty of room to breathe. I imagine that during the Festival of Two Worlds, this space is packed solid with people.
The Spoleto Cathedral was built at the end of the 12th century. Earlier, on this place, was an ancient Christian temple dedicated to the martyr Primiano di Larino. The crypt of San Primiano, from the 9th century, represents the only remaining element of the building that stood on this place.
Saint Primianus or Primianus of Larino (Italian: San Primiano or Primiano Martire) (d. 15 May 303 or 304) is the patron saint of Lesina, Apulia, in Italy. He is also a joint patron saint, with Saint Pardus, of Larino in the province of Campobasso. His feast day is celebrated in both places on 15 May with fireworks and music, but 28 April is the date elsewhere.
And with that, I concluded my day in this artistic corner of the world.
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