The church of Santa Maria of Civita in Arpino was built on a pagan temple dedicated to Mercurio Lanario, protector of wool, as deduced by a plaque which is embedded in the facade of the church.
The temple was built by people linked to the family of Cicero and the woollen industry that was for centuries the main activity of Arpino.
The bell tower was built on a previous tower. On its walls are pieces of tombstones with Roman writings that tell the story of the construction of the tower by the Roman consul Acerronio and the subsequent restoration of the tower.
With the arrival of Christianity the Roman temple became a church where they worshipped a painting on wood of the Queen of the Angels, called the Madonna della Civita as is found from an official document of 1038.
This first Christian church was set on fire and destroyed during the invasion of the Goths.
The church was then rebuilt again in the eighteenth century, during the 'golden age' of Arpino, with the period style, a late Baroque.
The present church has a Latin cross plan, three naves and a large dome. Inside is a fine chapel covered in marble which houses the wooden statue of Assunta.
The statue dates from the year one thousand, as can be deduced from the expression and her rigid posture, and is carved from a single trunk of cedar of Lebanon.
The statue is carried in procession every August 15, the traditional day of celebration throughout Italy dedicated to the Assumption.
Inside the church there are two paintings by Cavalier d'Arpino, who also painted the figure of the Eternal Father in the dome.
Other paintings are of the XVIII century Roman school while there are two statues realized by Mariano Pisani Arpino thanks to which he won the gold medal in 1919 at a sacred art exhibition.
The church is decorated with stained glass windows, a carved and gilded organ of the eighteenth century and the procession machine created by the Alto-Adigean artist Stolz who lived in Arpino.
The church has ancient liturgical books, with 'Antiphonaries' (for choral prayer) dating back to the fourteenth century.
A plaque commemorates the visit of King Charles III of Bourbon in 1749.
Follow us