THE RUPTA WAY OF PILGRIMS

In 476 a.C., after the Occidental Roman Empire fall, the rich patrimony of roads, that Romans built during more than seven centuries of their power, began to decay for those roads were lacking in necessary maintenance. Nevertheless those roads “ruptae” indicated the “route” (road, rue, ruga) to pilgrims who came from all over the world and venture to cover the ways of middle age Christianity. Rome was the arrival point of many pilgrimage ways of people of the North; amongst those ways the Francigena way was very important and it was so called because it started from France. When people got the eternal city they could choose between two ways to go to the Holy Land: the Appia way and the Latina way, that were heirs of the ancient consular roads of the Imperial age. The first one was called Regina Viarium: Emperor Appio Claudio wanted to build it to link Greece to Rome and to the Roman Empire. The “queen of the ways” was bordered with dignity by the humbler Latina- Casilina way that had a less decorous layout and was the expression of Christian charity and humility. In fact the Latina way’s lay-out was a kind of natural road through the Sacco and the Liri’s valleys, through the Lepini, the Ausoni and the Aurunci mountains on one side and the Appennine on the other side. It was a very ancient way that spontaneously formed because of communication’s necessities between Lazio and Campania regions. During the middle age that way changed its lay-out many times and it also turned its name into Casilina, deriving from the arrival point Casilinum which is Capua city nowadays. Route sources of XI-XIII centuries attest the frequent use of that way whose first stop from Rome was the city of Tusculum. In fact that way passed through the country on the South-East of the city, through the Roman Hills, more or less like Anagnina way’s today’s lay-out that passes through Grottaferrata and Tuscolo. Along that way pilgrimscould stop at Saint Nilo’s abbey, not far from there, where there’s a mosaic of Jesus Christ that seemed to welcome and guide them to the holy journey. After Grottaferrata that way went South till Artena, till the place where there should be the Roman “mansio Ad bivium”, so called because in that place the route of Latina way met Labicana way. During the middle age Artena was called “Castrum Montisfortini” and mentioned as a stop point on guide books of the XII century. Going on to Colleferro people went towards Segni, the ancient Signia with powerful walls, which was a proof of the existence of a Roman culture, the depository of ancient traditions and habits. From that point the rupta went on to Capua, “civitatem archiepiscopalem”, through the cities of Anagni, Frosinone, Cassino and Teano. With the Roman Church blessing the wandering journey of the Latina- Casilina way got Campania region where pilgrims could be spiritually comforted and at the same time they could trade in different things. So that was an opportunity for both spiritual and cultural enrichment, for people could meet each others and could know themselves above all, to see their ways during their lives’ journeys.