Ausonia (Latium)

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Ausonia
coat of arms
Ausonia (Italy)
Ausonia
Country Italy
region Lazio
province Frosinone  (FR)
Coordinates 41 ° 21 '  N , 13 ° 45'  E Coordinates: 41 ° 21 '18 "  N , 13 ° 44' 54"  E
height 178  m slm
surface 20 km²
Residents 2,560 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density 128 inhabitants / km²
Post Code 03040
prefix 0776
ISTAT number 060012
Popular name Ausoniesi
Patron saint archangel Michael

Ausonia is an Italian commune in the province of Frosinone in the Lazio region with 2560 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019). It is 137 km southeast of Rome and 59 km southeast of Frosinone .

Ausonia

geography

Ausonia is located in the Monti Aurunci above the valley of the Ausente river. It is a member of the Comunità Montana L'Arco degli Aurunci .

The districts of Selvacava, on the slope of Monte Fammera (1183 m) and Madonna del Piano in the valley below Ausonia belong to Ausonia.

The neighboring towns are Castelnuovo Parano , Coreno Ausonio , Esperia and Spigno Saturnia ( LT ).

traffic

Ausonia is on the SS 630 state road from Cassino to Minturno . About 15 km away you can reach the A1 Autostrada del Sole motorway , exit Cassino.

history

Ausonia takes its name from a city of the Aurunker , which was destroyed by the Romans. In fact, this has not yet been localized. Ausonia was called Fratte until 1862.

At the place of Fratte-Ausonia there was presumably an Eastern Roman military station. The presence of the Lombards is proven by coin finds. Fratte first appeared in writing as Castrum Fractarum in 1039 when it came to the monastery of Montecassino . In 1058 the castle of Fratte was divided between Montecassino and the Ducat of Gaeta .

The subsequent affiliation to the county of Fondi from the 14th century subordinated Ausonia to its liege lords from the families Dell'Aquila and Caetani . With the move to the Duchy of Traetto in 1493, the Colonna , Carafa and De Sangro became the local lords of Fratte, until the feudal system was abolished in 1806.

Since Ausonia was on the Gustav Line , it was particularly badly affected in the final phase of World War II . Because it was of strategic importance at the transition over the Monti Ausoni, the German Wehrmacht set up a base here. The population, unless they had fled to the mountains, was evacuated in February 1944 and taken to the Breda camp near Cesano di Roma. The massive German presence made Ausonia the target of numerous Allied air strikes. From May 11, 1944, the attack of the French army under General Alphonse Juin on the Ausente valley began as part of Operation Diadem . This army consisted for the most part of Moroccan soldiers who were feared because of their attacks on the civilian population and especially the numerous rapes. Alberto Moravia processed these events in his novel Cesira, which was filmed by Vittorio De Sica under the title And yet they live (La Ciociara) in nearby Itri .

Population development

year 1861 1881 1901 1921 1936 1951 1971 1991 2001 2017
Residents 2,991 3,195 3,753 3,334 3,641 3,601 2,665 2,501 2,563 2,593

Source: ISTAT

politics

Benedetto Cardillo (Lista Civica: Lealipervolare) has been mayor since June 6, 2014.

Attractions

  • The Romanesque castle in the historic center of Ausonia, which was completely renovated towards the end of the 20th century, with its three mighty towers defines the panorama of the place. It has housed the Museum of Stones (Museo della Pietra) since 2004 . As a local museum, this shows the history of Ausonia, especially through the stones brought here, but also other historical objects. The number of stone lions from different times is particularly remarkable.
  • The Collegiata San Michele Arcangelo was built next door over the remains of an ancient temple apparently dedicated to Hercules. It has three handsome Gothic portals. The interior clearly shows the modernizing restoration after the Second World War, but still has documents from the Roman period in the form of reused stones that have to do with the cult of Hercules .
  • The pilgrimage church of Santa Maria del Piano in the valley south-west below the old town dates from the 11th century, but was rebuilt in 1448. Its facade contains a four-arched portico with a wide upper loggia and three baroque portals, one of which has a building inscription from 1750. The baroque interior with a statue of the Virgin Mary, which is regarded as miraculous, contains frescoes in the crypt from the time the original church was built, some of which show the saints and Christ as rulers of the world. In the central nave of the church is the Renaissance sarcophagus from 1521 by the humanist Elisio Calenzio, and in the sacristy there is a painting of the transitio virginis , the passing of Mary.
  • Two stone lions at the entrance to the village marked the border between Montecassino and the Duchy of Gaeta; they are now in the museum.

Sons and daughters of the place

  • Elisio Calenzio (= Luigi Gallucci), * 1430, † 1503. Humanist, poet and politician in the Kingdom of Naples.

literature

  • Albino Cece: Vicende storiche di Ausonia Cassino 1982.
  • Vers .: Ausonia, svelata la verità , Marina di Minturno 1997.
  • Ders .: Ausonia , in: Civilta Aurunca 20, 2004, pp. 69-88.
  • Maria Grazia De Ruggiero: Ausonia. I luoghi della natura e della storia , Ausonia 1995.
  • Gianclaudio Macchiarella: Il ciclo di affreschi della cripta del santuario di Santa Maria del Piano presso Ausonia , Rome 1981.
  • Ders .: Pittura e luoghi di pellegrinaggio benedettini nel XII secolo. Il caso di S. Maria del Piano ad Ausonia , in: Bonita Cleri (ed.): Homo viator nella fede, nella cultura, nella storia , Urbino 1997, ISBN 88-392-0433-4 , pp. 189–193.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Statistiche demografiche ISTAT. Monthly population statistics of the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica , as of December 31 of 2019.
  2. ↑ Ausonia negli anni della guerra 1943–1944

Web links

Commons : Ausonia  - album with pictures, videos and audio files