The church of San Lorenzo Martyr is the most important in the town of Isola del Liri and dates back to 1630.
In that year, the Boncompagni family destroyed the church of San Lorenzo that was inside the castle and rebuilt it in the centre of the village, thus avoiding the constant pilgrimage of people into the castle itself.
The church has a square façade with columns and two niches at the sides of the front door where the statues of St. Peter and St. Paul were built by Giuseppe Ranaldi in 1960.
The door has a marble frame worked with an inscription that shows the year of restoration of 1727 and the doors are by Giuseppe Ranaldi in cast bronze with relief sculptures representing the martyrdom of San Lorenzo
The church is also remembered for a serious episode during the Napoleonic period, when the buildings of worship were confiscated and sold, as also occurred with the convent of Saint Francis and that of Santa Maria delle Fratte.
The church of San Lorenzo was used by the French army and there 533 people were shot dead after hoping to have found shelter from Napoleonic barbarians inside a building of worship.
It was 1799 and a group of French soldiers fleeing from Naples besieged Isola del Liri.
The Islanders had raised the drawbridges and resisted on the island but when the food was finished they surrendered and let the troops in.
A few shots were fired and the French felt encircled and began to destroy, steal and kill the population that in the meantime had taken refuge in the church.
Blood stained all the walls and it took 7 months to clean them and reopen the church for worship.
It was the day of Pentecost and in memory of this episode even today during the month of May cultural events and days of reflection on history and life are organized.
The church was looted and robbed by German troops during the last world war.
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