In Isola del Liri, the church of Sant'Antonio was originally called the Church of the Saints Crucifix (Crociforio) and was part of the Convent of Saint Francis, which was expropriated and became a woollen mill.
The church was damaged by the 1915 earthquake and destroyed by American bombings in WW2.
After the war, the churches of St. Francis, Saint Anthony and Saints Crucufix were joined together and this church was built.
Inside it houses the wooden statue of the SS. Crucifix which is celebrated during the month of July and the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows which is carried in procession by the Holy Verdi of Easter.
The history of the crucifix is suggestive and is still celebrated in July with one of the oldest festivals felt by the population.
It is said that it was the end of 1500 and in one of its floods the Liri brought a willow trunk downstream.
A carpenter took it to work it and noticed that blood was coming out of the trunk.
He then decided to make a cross on which a Christ made with the paper of ancient missals was subsequently placed.
The statue was later replaced by a wooden one.
The statue is normally covered with a red cloth that is raised with a particular rite, called the 'unveiling, on the occasion of particular events or ceremonies.
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