Anagni. The city of the slap.
A stone shrine preserves papal treasures and memories: welcome to Anagni.
Anagni is a mandatory stop for those who visit Rome or the surrounding area. It is located between Urbe and Frosinone, in Ciociaria. The impact is solemn, you can breathe the good smell of History, which has characterized the site for centuries.
First the Roman Arcazzi with the famous phallus and the travertine pillars. Then inside the walls, along the paved streets, amid outdoor small markets, shops and trattorias: we climb up. We can see Casa Barnekov, a XIII century building restored and frescoed by a Swedish painter who lived there in the last century. The facade is an interlace of blind arcs, double lacet windows and stairs, preparing our soul to the next discovery. Hometown of four Popes, Anagni unveils one palace, the house of the ancient outrage committed by Philip the Fair, King of France, against Boniface VIII: the Pope was here humiliated in 1303, when he was imprisoned and then freed by his own town-folks. After his return to Rome, the Pope died giving France the supremacy over the papal power.
Dante Alighieri celebrates the event in his Divine Comedy:
“That less may seem the future ill and past, I see the flower-de-luce Alagna enter, And Christ in his own Vicar captive made.
I see him yet another time derided; I see renewed the vinegar and gall, And between living thieves I see him slain.”
Purgatorio XX, 85–90
And here it is, just before the square, the Palace of the Anagni Slap: a XII century baronial residence with two ample arcades, the side stairs and its double lancet windows. Papal residence and symbol of power which still nowadays conveys some kind of subjection.
But then. Then we get to the square with the splendid Cathedral of Santa Maria Annunziata. Outside: refined, elegant and proud. Inside, a miracle: a glance to the nave and aisles, but then our eyes get stuck to the ground, hypnotized by the floor mosaics: a collage of marbles, stones, marian symbols, voluptuous geometries, wonderful arabesques. They might be a sort of hall for another miracle, which lies just under them: the crypt with 540 sqm of frescoes multiplying the pride for that part of mankind capable of creating such beauties and in such quantities.
Here spirituality, but also thought, medicine and philosophy are celebrated: stories from the Old and New Testament combine with the portraits of Hippocrates and Galen; episodes from the life of San Magno and other Saints share the space with Plato’s Theory of the Elements and a scientific cycle on man’s creation. No photographs can be taken, but it does not matter: like in Aquileia or in the Sistine Chapel, it is impossible to recreate the same scene setting effects offered by these live masterpieces. We observe, keep silent, think, pray.
Our visit is over and it is time for our emotions to be decanted before leaving, filled with wonder: the Museo Lapidario in the cloister and the Museo del Tesoro close our tour with other refined and precious items.
“Artem et Culturam Custodire atque Promuovere” Association takes care of the Museum of the Cathedral — Tel 0039 0775/728374 — www.cattedraledianagni.it
More infos: www.comune.anagni.fr.gov.it/home/ — http://www.prolocoanagni.it
Originally published at www.ariles.it on September 25, 2014.
