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The Treasures of Foro Cassio by Mary Jane Cryan |
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Beneath the ruined church of Santa Maria Forcassi near Vetralla, a Roman city lies waiting to be brought to light again. In a geophysical survey done before 2003 archaeologists Johnson, Keay and Millet from the British School of Rome to help understand the topography of the site. Despite problems posed by land use, the survey confirmed that settlement at this site was both small and dispersed, with no urban focus: a sort of urban sprawl antilitteram, with scattered villas and lots of evidence for funerary monuments.. Along the Via Cassia there were roadside buildings, a villa rustica and a possible amphitheatre. The English archaeologists noted that Foro Cassio was probably built on top of the remains of a thermal site complete with crypto portici, service areas, villas and baths, which makes sense even today in an area known for its hot springs and local topography includes names such as Fossato Caldo and Capacqua. They were also able to clarify the exact route of the ancient Via Cassia which traversed the site leaving fine stretches of ancient paving stones to be admired in nearby gardens. Along an adjacent country lane there are Roman paving stones set vertically to form part of a magnificent wall. Close by the site, on the Via della Veronica, a beautiful stretch of Roman road came to light in 1988 , covered by about l metre of earth. When discovered, the local authorities had it unearthed, photographed and then covered up again, for its protection, said the local Fine Arts Superintendent. Similar Roman road works are visible at Pian di Monetto at Montefiascone or Vulci, two nearby sites, on Rome’s Via Appia Antica and in most of the former Roman colonies such as Epheseus in Turkey. Archeological objects dating from the 4th century BC up to the 2nd century AD have been taken from the Foro Cassio site and recycled during the middle ages in the construction of Vetralla’s San Francesco church. This church boasts the most complete Franciscan fresco cycle also has capitals and marble slabs reused as decoration in the church and crypt. The lack of care by former proprietors, by the city administration in the past 20 years and the very persons who should be vigilant in protection of sites of historic interest has been blatant. Symptomatic is the unhappy phrase muttered by an administrator one day in the main piazza of Vetralla. According to him, the only thing to do with Foro Cassio was to put a bit of dynamite! Other administrators cannot understand why “a pile of stones” should be causing so much hassle. The same Superintendents substituted the wooden roof (datable to 1416) with one of sheet metal which caused further degradation to the historic building. This new roof instead of protecting the remains caused the walls to be “washed” by rain water and then, incredibly, a new series of frescoes came to light, increasing the need for its salvage. Through the centuries the church of S. Maria di Foro Cassio also was used also as a lepers’ refuge or lazaretto and every once in a while it was disinfected with a hand of lime. This white paint had been washed away by the rainwater seeping down against the walls by the badly constructed metal roof covering. Inside the church there are still traces (notwithstanding modern vandals) of two wall paintings: a Madonna in throne with Child and a Crucifixion attributed to Masaccio and the school of Lorenzo da Viterbo. Other paintings and frescoes include a portrait of Innocent II , scenes of saints and apostles, all datable from the 14th to the 17th centuries. Their delicate beauty a further testimony of the site’s historic and artistic importance. Thanks to the recent accidental “washings” new paintings are visible including a crucifixion scene on the counter façade which has been interpreted by Simone Piazza and Carlo Tedeschi . Animals, figures of St. Benedict and a group of apostles completes this interesting fresco along with part of an inscription, “Orate pro nobis” datable to the first decades of the 12th century . Over the last decade many Italian researchers have studied and written about the church and its treasures: Prof. Enrico Guidoni, Elisabetta de Minicis, Elisabetta Perugi, R. Ricci, Luciano Santella and Daniele Camilli. All agree that both the above ground site and that still hidden underground are a priceless treasure of history. A stratification of civilizations that have followed one upon the other, dating well before the discovery of America. Every June 2 for the last few years a large group of persons from Vetralla, other nearby towns and from Rome, have made a symbolic walk through the territory of Vetralla along the ancient roads (Via della Veronica, Via Cassia/Franchigena) ending at the ruined church of S. Maria in Forcassi. They hope that their walk will be a sort of wake up call for the city administrators . For many centuries this site has been sleeping beauty, similar to the sanctuary of Demeter discovered last year near Vetralla, but now a very large amount of money has been earmarked by the Lazio Region for its recuperation. A professional and viable project must be prepared according to a strict calendar and the works begun if not the funds will be forfeited. The future of the site now depends on the approval of the project and the intelligent use that the citizens and administrators make of it. The importance of Foro Cassio is also based on the fact that for centuries it was a stopping place along the Pilgrims’ Route – the Via Francighena-thus creating further layers of history and a priceless treasure for today’s community and for future generations. The thousands of pilgrim who paused at, or passed through, Foro Cassio over the centuries can be better understood thanks to a new book on San Pellegrino, a figure who helped interweave the history of northern Lazio with the history of the entire European continent. The Italian part of the pilgrims’ pedestrian route has not yet been as successful as the Cammino di Santiago di Compostela in Spain, especially due to the lack of affordable accommodations along the route and at the different stopping places . The future of S. Maria in Forcassi should , as was its ancient vocation, be dedicated to this type of hospitality. Notwithstanding the present inadequacies and the danger of walking along the asphalt highway in the stretch from Siena to Rome, hundreds of Belgian, German, Swiss and French pilgrims courageously follow the route, on foot or on bicycles, each week. |