Atmospheres of yesteryear in western Ciociaria

Agnani, set on a rocky outcrop above the Sacco valley, Anagni is known as "the city of the popes". No fewer than four pontiffs have been born here, including Pope Boniface VIII around the year 1230. For a long time, the town was also a papal seat and residence. At one time, Anagni was the centre of the world, perhaps even more important than Rome.

Boniface III was of course the most famous pope, who had to act cynically rather than generously: if Dante placed him in the Inferno while he was still alive, there must have been a reason... Here in Anagni, you can learn all about the famous slap in the face, allegedly given to the pope in 1303 by Giacomo Sciarra Colonna, at the palace now named after Pope Boniface which also houses a museum. Nearby is the Cathedral, another reason why Anagni is famous. It truly is a beautiful building, not so much for the statue of Boniface standing proudly at the left of the church, but for its interior: the crypt of St Magnus is like a medieval Sistine chapel. It contains an extraordinary cycle of frescoes of a size and splendour that is remarkable for the 13th century.

But the medieval treasures don't end there. The narrow streets and alleyways also tell of the Middle Ages, with the beautiful mullioned windows and loggias on the noble houses and the majestic vaulted passage of the austere Town Hall.

Pope Boniface VIII is everywhere in Ciociaria, even where you least expect. Like Fiuggi, this village with a retro atmosphere is a legacy of the time when Roman high society came here for pleasure and recreation.

In ancient times, as now, Fiuggi was renowned for its healing drinking waters and thermal baths, also written about by the pope and Michelangelo Buonarroti. Perhaps unsurprisingly there is an inscription "L'acqua di Bonifacio VIII" ("The water of Boniface VIII") above the archway leading to the thermal springs, reminding us that this was where the pope came to be cured of the cursed kidney stones, as did Michelangelo, who wrote of Fiuggi's water: "Rompe la pietra" ("It breaks the stone"). Today, thousands of people still benefit from these therapeutic waters, alternating between the old spring and the new one, as they enjoy a rejuvenating stay at the spa complex and take relaxing walks through the parks, chestnut and pine woods.

But the pope is also present in some of the local trattorias and taverns, where the menu includes a timbale said to have been the favourite dish of Boniface VIII: a traditional recipe made from tagliatelle topped with a rich sauce and slices of prosciutto.

Fiuggi also has much to say on the theme of natural beauty. It is located on the edge of the Simbruini Mountains Regional Nature Park and, along with Jenne and Trevi in Lazio, it is one of the panoramic gateways to the Park's valleys, towns and villages. From Fiuggi, it takes about 30 minutes to reach Trevi nel Lazio, where one of the park's visitor centres is located.

The park is a vast mountainous area characterised by impressive beech forests, karst plateaus stretching as far as the eye can see, and rich in resurgences. The origin of the name Simbruini derives not coincidentally from sub imbris, 'under the rain', to emphasise the richness and abundance of water in the area close to the Abruzzi border. Rainwater, but also underground labyrinths of a karstic land and the springs of the Aniene and Simbrivio rivers. The peaks touch 2,000 metres and oversee verdant or snow-covered valleys, endless clearings, plateaus separated by beech forests, which give way to maples, oaks and holm oaks on the sunnier slopes as one descends in altitude. There are various visitor centres, including Jenne and Trevi nel Lazio. In Trevi nel Lazio, in the exhibition hall of the visitor centre, the chosen theme is vegetation, the town being surrounded by beech and oak forests, and representing the natural habitat of the pinguicola, an extremely rare species of carnivorous plant discovered in the Simbruini Mountains.

The park area is criss-crossed by many marked trails for excursions of varying difficulty and length, and there are many interesting areas, such as Mount Livata, the large meadows of Campo Osso, the scenic Mount Autore, accessed from Subiaco and Jenne, and the trails on Mount Vaglio. 

From Trevi nel Lazio, you reach Alatri, in the foothills of the Ernici mountains. Here, the Cyclopes seem to have gone wild, unleashing a superhuman force in the titanic construction that is the walls around the city. Indeed, the sense of power of the walls surrounding the city is unquestionable, after all, tradition has it that it was founded by none other than the god Saturn (rather, it was the Ernici). Inside the walls, which remain intact in a circuit of 2 km, an acropolis awaits us that preserves the Duomo, although the most beautiful church is another,<6nbsp;S. Maria Maggiore, in Gothic style but of early Christian origins, with that masterpiece of wooden sculpture inside the Madonna of Constantinople, or the triptych of the Redeemer. Here, as in the whole of Ciociaria, everything has ancient roots.

Before reaching Ferentino, the last stage, you can first make a detour to Fumone, with its medieval stronghold preserved in time.

We then move to Ferentino with an acropolis surrounded by walls that still stand in all their mighty power. From the pre-Roman era (around the 7th-6th century BC), they seem in fact to have been raised by the Cyclops, giants able to move these mammoth heavy boulders, then polished and shaped to be able to fit together, as Herodotus said.

Ferentino is all enclosed by walls,  which reveal other treasures inside. Once you have passed the ancient Sanguinaria gate, which you can descend by a picturesque staircase, or the Porta Maggiore,  with a double stone arch suspended in nothingness, you can admire, for example, the beautiful church of Santa Maria Maggiore, with simple and clean lines, with a central rose window on the façade and an interior with no frills. Or the palace of Innocenzo III, home of the pontiff during his stays in Ferentino, or the palace of the Knights Gaudenti, with its mullioned windows.

But Ferentino is also the place to relax in a beautiful thermal bath, perhaps in the Otium Pool, the hydromassage inside the Terme di Pompeo ,one of the first modern establishments built in 1854. But here too, as in Fiuggi, thermal attendance is much older: it seems that Domitilla, mother of Titus and Vespasian, was the first to benefit from it.

A few kilometres from the village stands the ancient abbey of San Pietro in Valle with its medieval frescoes

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