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66-462: Until the 19th century, it was a village with a rural vocation, while from the 20th century, it became an important industrial and commercial centre. Traditionally considered a Volscian city, with the name of Frusna and then the Roman of Latium adiectum as Frùsino , over the course of its millenary history it has been subjected to multiple devastations and plunders caused by its geostrategic position; as

132-425: A bell tower (Il Campanile), 68 meters high, which is considered the most emblematic monument of the city, with three rows of mullioned windows. The facade of the cathedral is in white marble. Among the works of art preserved in the sacred place there is a "Madonna with Sant'Anna, San Giovannino and angels" by Sementi . The church has been a Cathedral since 1986, the year the diocese was established. Built in 1134,

198-517: A building renovation and architectural embellishment of the town, as evidenced by the late nineteenth-century and Umbertine buildings of the current historic centre. The city became the seat of the offices of the sub-prefecture and the military district; from 1863 it was served by the state railway station, to which the local railway station (the Rome-Fiuggi-Alatri-Frosinone railway ) was added. In 1871 Domenico Diamanti became

264-465: A catalogue of the collections of antiquities of his patron, paving the way for the reappraisal of Greek art. Winckelmann was a notable force behind the enlargement of the collection, and as he would write in a letter dated August 1766, in the construction process, Albani always adopted Descartes’s maxim not to leave any space empty. And so, in the Sala di Antinoo, the famous relief of Villa Adriana embellished

330-627: A consequence of this, as well as of destruction due to seismic events (the most ruinous of which occurred in September 1349), it retains only rare, albeit significant, traces of its past. Frusĭno (this is the Latin name) was at the time inhabited by the people of the Volsci , albeit included in the territory of the Hernici . The Volscian name of the city would be Frusna or Fruscìno , whose etymology

396-527: A continuation of the trends it had seen in the immediate postwar period: a steady decline in the agricultural sector (to 9% of employed residents), a modest increase in industry (to 36%) and a significant rise in tertiary activities, in which 54% of the workforce is engaged. The reconstruction work continues, including: renovations to important buildings (such as the sites of the Prefecture, the Bank of Italy,

462-712: A little further up north, to Fiuggi , which enjoyed relative tranquillity. It was 31 May 1944 when the first Allied soldiers entered Frosinone (Canadian soldiers belonging to the Loyal Edmonton Regiment ), who sent a message to the command: "The city is empty and in ruins!" The bombings razed 80% of the city to the ground, including the Church of the Annunziata, the Berardi Palace, the Town Hall,

528-507: A passion for the ancient world that Albani had nurtured since his youth, sponsoring vast excavation projects and making purchases both in Rome and in the surrounding areas. Cardinal Alessandro Albani had another villa and park at Porto d' Anzio , that was finished in February 1732, but was habitable for a few weeks only in spring because of malaria. The Villa remained largely intact even after

594-460: A ribbed barrel vault, stuccoed and lunette at each window. Inside the church there is the painting of the "Madonna del Buon Consiglio" by an unknown local artist, to which a miracle is linked that would have occurred on 10 July 1796: while some women were gathered for the rosary in front of the painting "the Madonna opened her eyes and looked at the faithful, then her face became vermilion.Sometimes

660-545: Is a villa in Rome , built on the Via Salaria for Cardinal Alessandro Albani . It was built between 1747 and 1767 by the architect Carlo Marchionni in a project heavily influenced by others – such as Giovanni Battista Nolli , Giovanni Battista Piranesi and Johann Joachim Winckelmann  – to house Albani's collection of antiquities, curated by Winckelmann. The villa has been conserved intact into

726-495: Is controversial; however, various hypotheses have been tried: the first would make the name derive from the Greek root ( portis : heifer); a second, observing the assonance with Etruscan roots, links the name to a hypothetical Etruscan gens Fursina (or alternatively, Frusina or Prusina ). These have been accompanied by a more recent hypothesis, which, based on the links between the pre-Roman Italic civilizations, and in particular

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792-728: Is in Latium and is the main city of the Valle Latina ("Latin Valley"). The town is surrounded by the Ernici and Lepini mountain ranges. The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta is the most important church in Frosinone and is located on the highest point of the hill on which the historic center of the city stands (Upper Frosinone). It was extensively remodeled in the 18th century, referring to Sant'Andrea della Valle in Rome. It features

858-454: Is now the upper part of the city (12th–10th century BC) and 7th–6th century BC sepultures. 21 tombs from a Volscan necropolis were found in the Frosinone centre. The city was founded in the territory of Hernicians by the Volsci in the 6th century BC with the name of Fruscìno or Frusna , as a strategic outpost in front of the impregnable fortress of Aletrium (today known as Alatri). It

924-482: The Gaetani , and from that century it was occasionally the seat of the rector of Campagna and Marittima , together with other cities of the papal province such as Ferentino, Anagni and Priverno. In 1350, it was damaged by an earthquake. At the beginning of the 14th century, the city was dominated by the nearby and powerful Alatri, in turn, conquered by Francesco de Ceccano and his Ceccanesi troops for thirty years. In

990-703: The Sacco Valley was established and the Rome-Naples motorway section was constructed. The motorway artery, which crosses the entire valley longitudinally, was hugely important in ending the isolation of the capital and of the entire province. Previously the region had only the ancient Via Casilina and less functional roadways for inter-regional connections, and the Rome-Naples railway had not yet been electrified. The following decades saw economic development, but also periods of crisis. This led, especially in

1056-430: The lower Frosinone, to the development of an industrial and commercial centre that was predominantly modern, but suffered from a disordered and irrational approach to urban development, caused by a failure to implement the zoning plan and a tendency to engage in building speculation – this tendency has been increasing since the 1960s and continues today, even though the population stopped growing many years ago. Frosinone

1122-460: The province of Frosinone was established by the fascist regime, subtracting municipalities from the provinces of Rome and Terra di Lavoro . The existing offices were expanded and new ones were created and a large number of state employees were transferred to the city, especially from Caserta. Frosinone, therefore, experienced a new demographic, economic and social development. In this period, numerous new public buildings were also built, including

1188-517: The war between Rome and Clusium is accurate, it would seem that the relationship between Rome and the Volsci was not always hostile. Livy writes that at the approach of the Clusian army in 508 BC, with the prospect of a siege, the Roman senate arranged for the purchase of grain from the Volsci to feed the lower classes of Rome. Villa Albani The Villa Albani (later Villa Albani-Torlonia )

1254-470: The "Sweating of the Madonna" which would have occurred in the already existing church dating back to 1586. In just over a year the church was completed in all its parts, including the sacristy and bell tower, and all the sacred furnishings were provided. Volsci The Volsci ( UK : / ˈ v ɒ l s k iː / , US : / ˈ v ɔː l -, ˈ v ɒ l s aɪ , - s iː / , Latin: [ˈwɔɫskiː] ) were an Italic tribe, well known in

1320-572: The 16th century it was devastated by the Landsknecht , who brought the plague there, immediately followed by French and Florentine troops, at the same time as the Sack of Rome. The fortress, destroyed, was rebuilt; whose main entrance portal would have been designed by Michelangelo. New destruction occurred with the occupation by the Spanish troops at war against Pope Paul IV in 1556: its fortress

1386-587: The 18th century. According to the description of the local historian Vittorio Valle, the citadel "was bounded by a wall that had three cornerstones, the Porta Romana or della Valle, the Porta di Campania or Napoletana (today Porta Campagiorni) and the Rocca, now the venue of the Prefecture." After national unification, the city, which became the capital of the district of Frosinone in the province of Rome, underwent

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1452-601: The 21st century by the Torlonia Family , who bought it in 1866. In 1870, the treaty following the Capture of Rome from the Papal States was signed here. Planned in 1743, the building of the villa began in 1747 according to Giuseppe Vasi and was celebrated as complete in 1763. Its purpose was to house Cardinal Albani's evolving and renewed collections of antiquities and ancient Roman sculpture, which soon filled

1518-518: The Casilina, in the territory of Ripi , in waiting to resume the march towards Frosinone. In the second half of the nineteenth century, the inhabited area of the city was almost entirely enclosed within the ancient walls of the medieval "citadel", as it had been rebuilt several times after the various devastations suffered by German and Spanish armies in the 16th century and by the French at the end of

1584-608: The Etruscan one, with the Akkadian-Sumerian peoples, posits similar influences also for toponyms: according to this, Frusna would have the meaning of "Land sprinkled by rivers". The first traces of human presence around modern Frosinone date from the Lower Paleolithic (around 250,000 years ago). The earliest settlements in the area are from around 4,000 years ago, including late Bronze Age remains in what

1650-528: The Festa della Radeca, the Frosinone Carnival). On the occasion of the journey of Pius IX in the province of Campagna and Marittima (13–20 May 1863) by train, solemn celebrations were organized, which ended with the blessing of the pope from the balcony of the Prefecture. During this visit, the pope promised extraordinary funding for the construction of an aqueduct intended to bring running water to

1716-534: The King arrived in the city. The villa where Rattazzi died, Casale Ricci in via Armando Fabi, is now completely abandoned. At the time of the First World War, Frosinone had about 12,000 inhabitants, scattered throughout the countryside in hamlets, small villages, or scattered houses, mainly devoted to agriculture. A smaller part of the inhabitants resided in the historic centre employed in the various offices of

1782-559: The Naples Museum), which must have once been fixed to some votive object , and dedicated to the god Declunus (or the goddess Decluna ). The Volsci were among the most dangerous enemies of ancient Rome , and frequently allied with the Aequi , whereas their neighbors, the Hernici , were allied with Rome after 486 BC. According to the semi-legendary history of early Rome, its seventh and last king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus ,

1848-642: The National Museum of Mentana. Frosinone was removed from the Papal State and officially annexed to the Kingdom of Italy on September 17, 1870, three days before Porta Pia . In reality, the secular papal dominion over the city had in fact already ended on the evening of 12 September with the escape of the last apostolic delegate, Monsignor Pietro Lasagni , while the Italian troops were still along

1914-822: The Palace of the Province and that of the Chamber of Commerce. In 1924 the Monument to the Fallen of the First World War was inaugurated in the presence of King Vittorio Emanuele III , the work of the architect Cesare Bazzani . The latest destruction would be inflicted on the city during the Second World War , with 56 Anglo-American bombings which lasted from 11 September 1943 to the end of May 1944. During that unfortunate period, all public offices were temporarily moved

1980-673: The Torlonia Family soon after purchased it.  An exceptional building, developed with eclectic taste in a swift succession of rooms decorated with masterpieces like the Apollo Sauroctono and the Parnassus fresco (1761) by Mengs (1728-1779) considered to be the manifesto of the neoclassical style. The world-wide famous bas-relief of the Antinoo from Villa Adriana, depicting the young lover of Emperor Adriano along with

2046-455: The abbey church of San Benedetto which is also the oldest art gallery in the city, was rebuilt between 1750 and 1797 in late Baroque style, with an octagonal lantern and a facade with two superimposed orders. remained unscathed from war destruction, it preserves inside valuable canvases dated between the seventeenth century and the nineteenth century. The interior of the church has a single nave, with intercommunicating side chapels, covered with

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2112-521: The architect Carlo Marchionni, when the extensive green area, previously owned by Accoramboni, Ercolani and Orsi, was purchased by Cardinal Albani. A building of representation more than a residence, as suggested by the high-ceilinged rooms, the care of the interiors, the elegant interior façade covering two floors with the majestic terraced loggia, looking onto the Italian-style garden, the Villa

2178-579: The casino that faced the Villa down a series of formal parterres. The villa with its collection, fountains, statues, stairways and frescoes, and Italian-style garden, the hemicycle of the Kaffeehaus, constitutes a sublime testimony of that particular antiquarian taste which came to the fore in mid-18th-century, that for which Rome had become a key destination on the Grand Tour . While the Cardinal

2244-747: The city by means of a hydraulic pump, an aqueduct completed and inaugurated on December 8, 1869. Frosinone witnessed in 1867 the Agro Romano Campaign for the liberation of Rome with the Nicotera Column. The clash with the Garibaldini in Monte San Giovanni Campano , on the border with the Kingdom of Italy, is noteworthy. The relics of the "Nicola Ricciotti" Carbonara Sale , a patriot of Frosinone, are kept in

2310-510: The city coat of arms: Fert concitus inde per iuga celsa gradum, duris qua rupibus haeret, bellator Frusino . Silio Italico also praises Frusino during the listing of the Roman allies in the Battle of Canne ("a duro Frusino haud imbellis aratro", VIII, p. 398). Even Greek writers cited it in their writings, while among the Romans, later, Decimo Giunio Giovenale highlighted the tranquillity of

2376-522: The city was the birthplace of two popes, Pope Ormisda and Pope Silverio (the only case of two popes father and son), today patrons of the city. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire , Frosinone was destroyed several times by foreign invaders; in the early Middle Ages it was an agricultural centre of the Duchy of Rome . In the 13th century, it became the capital of a duchy assigned to

2442-439: The city. Many ancient writers, including Tito Livio , Cassio Dione, Silio Italico, Festo Pomponio, Floro , the aforementioned Juvenal, and Marco Tullio Cicerone (Cicero) note the city of Frusino not only for mere historical facts, but also for the virtues of its inhabitants. Cicero himself in the territory of Frosinone owned a villa or a property, as it is possible to guess from a letter sent to his friend Atticus. Despite

2508-415: The collections showcasing works by Perugino, Vanvitelli, Baciccio among the others. The Latin inscription in bronze lettering on the façade: “Alexander Albani vir eminentissimus instruxit et ornavit / Alexander Torlonia vir princeps in melius restituit” ("The most eminent Alessandro Albani designed and decorated [this building] / Prince Alessandro Torlonia restored it to better appearance"), tells

2574-492: The connection. The nephew of Pope Clement XI, respectful patron and skilled diplomat, Cardinal Alessandro Albani (1692-1779) was in fact one of the greatest collectors of ancient sculptures in 18th-century Rome, and a promoter of that Neo-classical taste that forms the basis of modern archaeological studies.  The Villa, lying just outside the city walls, along the Via Salaria, was built between 1747 and 1763, designed by

2640-759: The death of the Cardinal: the works removed during the Napoleonic period (1797-1815) to decorate the Musée Napoléon in Paris were in fact partly returned after 1815 to their legitimate owner, Prince Carlo Albani while the residence remained property of the Albani family up until the first half of the 19th century, when from the last heir it was passed on to the Albani-Castelbarco family, from whom

2706-536: The entire medieval village which was developed in the area of Via Cavour, the barracks of the R.R. Carabinieri, the final stretch of Via Vittorio Emanuele II, now Corso della Repubblica. Significant damage was reported at the Apostolic Palace, now the seat of the Prefecture, at the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, at the seat of the "N.Turriziani" Liceo Classico and at the Church of Santa Lucia. Downstream,

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2772-514: The fireplace, and this room also hosts the famous fresco of Parnassus (1761), created by Anton Raphael Mengs for the vault of the Galleria, which would go on to become the pictorial manifesto of the nascent neoclassical style. Winckelmann was supported by Albani from the time when the Seven Years' War stranded him in Rome without his pension, and whose own connoisseur ship was sharpened by

2838-461: The first mayor of the city after the unification of Italy; he actively engaged in the modernization and rehabilitation of the city, then known as one of the most backward in Italy. He took care of the building renovation, the arrangement of the streets, the squares and the lighting of the urban centre. In 1874 a row of buildings of over 300 meters was built, known as the "Berardi palace", intended to meet

2904-534: The gardens, the fountains and the various buildings of the villa, which stands as a vast architectural complex of locales and structures (like the Temple of Diana, the Temple of the Caryatids, the coffee-house, the ruined tempietto, the billiards area, etc.), which dialogue with one another with the intention of creating an educational and emotional itinerary, studied down to the last detail, aiming to compete with

2970-704: The growing republic by 304 BC. Rome's first emperor Augustus was of Volscian descent. Strabo says that the Volsci formed a sovereign state near the site of Rome. It was placed in the Pomentine plain, between the Latins and the Pontine marshes , which took their name from the plain. The Volsci were divided in Antiates Volsci (capital Antium) on the Tyrrhenian coast, and Ecetran Volsci ( Ecetra ) in

3036-658: The halls of Justice, the Chamber of Commerce and the Post and Telecommunications); new construction (such as the Civil Hospital, public housing and the Edera skyscraper); the expansion of the urban and extra-urban road network; and providing public water connections to nearby rural settlements. It was within this general framework that the industrialization process began. In 1962, the Industrialization Unit of

3102-418: The hinterland. The Volsci spoke Volscian , a Sabellic Italic language , which was closely related to Oscan and Umbrian , and more distantly to Latin . In the Volscian territory lay the little town of Velitrae (modern Velletri ), home of the ancestors of Caesar Augustus . From this town comes an inscription dating probably from early in the 3rd century BC; it is cut upon a small bronze plate (now in

3168-419: The history of the first century of the Roman Republic . At the time they inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium , bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the south, the Hernici on the east, and stretching roughly from Norba and Cora in the north to Antium in the south. Rivals of Rome for several hundred years, their territories were taken over by and assimilated into

3234-428: The housing needs of the newborn State for employees and soldiers. At the centre of the structure rose the Isabella Theater, which was later called Politeama and then Cinema-Teatro Excelsior, still present today although inactive. In June 1873 Urbano Rattazzi , then President of the Council of Ministers, died suddenly in Frosinone while he was staying with a friend. For that occasion, numerous politicians and officials of

3300-512: The inhabitants of the upper part of Frosinone. Hundreds were dead and wounded. But despite the extreme suffering and devastation, the municipality would only receive a bronze medal for Civil Valor. The reconstruction provided an opportunity to transform the production system, which transitioned from mainly agricultural to mainly industrial, and then to a mainly tertiary economy (including activities such as trade, services and public administration). Specifically, between 1950 and 1960, Frosinone saw

3366-411: The left eye that looked at the Child was veiled with tears". Among the other canvases present, the one dedicated to San Gregorio Magno stands out, made by the local painter Mascetti in 1899, copying a fresco by the painter Filippo Gagliardi. The altar, adorned with Baroque stuccoes, is dedicated to the Kambo family. Under the altar the remains of a martyr of Christianity are kept and visible. Going up

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3432-417: The mid-17th century to the over 10,000 it had at the Unification of Italy (late 19th century). At the same time a new architectural and urban development began, with the construction or renovation of monuments and places of worship, and in the nineteenth century the construction of new important roads, on all the Via Nova (current Corso della Repubblica) and Viale Roma, new access to the city. Worthy of note

3498-416: The north and the south of the peninsula. In 306 BC, the city took part in the Hernic League against Rome; defeated and sacked, it lost much of its territories to the nearby Ferentino . Later, during the Second Punic War , it was devastated by Hannibal 's armies, to which it refused to surrender. This event earned it the appellative, given by Silio Italico , of Bellator Frusino , which still stands out in

3564-440: The passing of time, and the neglect or foolishness of men have ruined, although in recent decades numerous artefacts have been found preserved in various museums, for example, the famous statue of Mars located in Rome, at Villa Albani , which was found in 1744 in the area that is still called Colle Marte today. The sources are obscure on the spread of Christianity in Frosinone, but it is believed that an ancient diocese existed;

3630-417: The political and military troubles, Frusino was a prefecture and a municipality with all the rights that Roman citizenship entailed. The city obtained citizenship rights and became a colony in Roman imperial times, when part of its lands was assigned to Roman legionaries . As some historians report, the walls were built to defend the city. It was embellished with buildings, monuments and statues, which wars,

3696-407: The railway station and the Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Nevi were destroyed. The bell tower, a symbol of the city and on which a siren had been placed to warn citizens in case of enemy air raids, reported a large circular hole on one of the clocks. Furthermore, the monument to the fallen of the Great War located in Piazza Armando Diaz, of which only the pedestal remained, was completely lost. This

3762-436: The small bell tower you can admire two bells of the ancient eighteenth-century Cacciavillani factory and the bell, also eighteenth-century, of the ancient municipal seat, now a post office with the ancient coat of arms of the city of Frosinone. The sanctuary of the Madonna della Neve was built as a rural chapel at the end of the seventeenth century in the place of a miraculous event, which took place on May 10, 1675, and known as

3828-418: The story of the house. The Villa has been saved from the destruction of the Umbertine urbanisation, which soon afterwards would wipe out most of the historical villas of the city, thus dispersing the ancient heritage that for three centuries had made Rome the heart of European artistic life.  Statues, busts, bas-reliefs, vases, capitals and columns, all carefully selected, decorated the refined interiors,

3894-429: The sub-prefecture, the Municipality and other administrations including the Military District. There was also a fair amount of artisanal and commercial activity. On the other hand, industrial activity was more modest, with the presence of mills along the river Cosa, pasta factories and printers. Frosinone remained the seat of the sub-prefecture from 1871 to 1926. In 1927, as part of a general administrative reorganization,

3960-442: Was most of all a cultural powerhouse, hosting pleasant moments for the circle of antiquarian friends that the learned churchman had gathered around him. This was the stage of erudite discussions, concerts, dances and masked comedies, and guests would be astonished by the wealth of the furnishings, made up of polychrome marbles, stuccoes, tapestry, paintings, and above all, an exceptional collection of original Greek and Roman sculptures:

4026-446: Was strategically important for the control of the whole Sacco valley and for the defence of Rome. Following the treaty of Cave (1557) the residence of the pontifical governors of the province of Campagna and Marittima was definitively fixed in Frosinone; the Campagna e Marittima will then take the name of the Apostolic Delegation of Frosinone . Frosinone steadily expanded its population in modern times, passing from around 2,000 people in

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4092-418: Was subjugated by the Romans in 386 BC during their advance against the Volsci in Valle del Sacco , then transformed into a municipium under the Roman garrison. The taking of the urban centre of Frosinone, which then as today is located in the centre of the Sacco Valley, determined an important strategic victory for the Romans, who with this city could easily control all transits and commercial traffic between

4158-399: Was the attitude of the Frosinone population during the French occupation and the Roman Republic , to which two Frosinone people, Giuseppe De Matthaeis and Luigi Angeloni, who became Tribunes of the Republic adhered: the population, around 1798, rebelled against the French troops and for this reason, the city was put to fire and sword and sacked (the anti-French revolt still echoes today through

4224-448: Was the first to go to war against the Volsci, commencing two centuries of conflict between the two states. Gaius Marcius Coriolanus , the legendary Roman warrior, earned his cognomen after capturing the Volscian town of Corioli in 493 BC. The reputed rise and fall of this Roman hero is chronicled in Plutarch 's Parallel Lives , which served as the basis for the Shakespeare play, Coriolanus . However, if Livy 's account of

4290-403: Was the real director of works, for the layout of the works Albani's lifelong friend Carlo Marchionni was the architect in charge, at the Villa and perhaps also for the two temples in the park, an Ionic temple of Diana and a sham ruin. It is hypothesized that Marchionni took advice from Johann Joachim Winckelmann, who at that time, having been hired as librarian by the Cardinal (1759), was creating

4356-491: Was then reused for the new monument to the fallen, of all wars, in Frosinone, built by Umberto Mastroianni at the end of the seventies and which is now located in one of the "corners" of Viale Mazzini. At the end of the war, Frosinone was the most devastated provincial capital in relation to the number of inhabitants and the building stock. A census of the following year recorded 3,050 rooms completely destroyed, 4,880 badly damaged, 8,500 people were left homeless, practically all

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