Vicalvi Italy Location MapPhotos courtesy of: Walter Bianchi
Civic Museum of Vicalvi
At Vicalvi in October 1987 a Civic Museum was founded and settled in the restructured premises of the former Town Palace. It houses the archaeological materials discovered in the comunal area - prehistoric and protohistoric finds, (from the 8th to the 4th century B.C.). Roman and medieval items (funeral lion, different architectural elements, metopes with warlike figures, belonging to funeral monurnents, etc.), have been delivered to the Comune following recent investigations (I. Biddittu-M. RizzeIlo). 
Preserved here are 14 stone instruments in flint and quarzite, picked up in the Ricorrente and Colle Flonio regions, on the slopes of low hills, correspondending to ancient flood terraces. All artilces are attributable to the Middle Paleolithico (Musteriano) Era based on the presence of a pseudo-levallois splinter and of a fragnrnent of a double or convergent scraper. A blade with truncature is a type from the Superior Paleolithic or the age of Metals. Three inferior pieces (sharpened chip in flint, indentation worked on shell of flint and core in quarzite) could be assigned to the Paleolithic. We noted that these finds in Vicalvi present stratigrafic and morfologic analogies with the Sorano basin.
These are conserved in the rnuseum, along with some flint instruments taken from the hill where the Castle rises: a triangular splinter in flint would originate from a more ancient deposit than that with the ceramic protohistoric, while other manufactured items in flint, recovered in the zones "N.E wall" and "Costone S.E.," are connected by the same chronology to pre-roman cerarnics. Finally, a core in flint with calcareous incrustations picked up in the area near the sanctuary of Pescarola (Casalvieri) and attributable generically to the Age of Metals, is now preserved in the Civic Museum of Sora. In the territory, we record specializations happened in the past, at Casalvieri, of some works of Elephas antiquus and, by work of G. Nicolucci, two almond shapes of the Inferior Paleolithic in brownish flint. 
North of Naples, South of Rome by Paolo Tullio, Susan Morley (Illustrator) Excellent book about life in the Comino Valley 
 12th Century Norman Castello in Vicalvi
From www.menteantica.it: The Castle of Vicalvi Vicalvi is a small suburb nestled on a hill at about 590 meters elevation, in the place where Alba dei Equicoli existed. Subsequently it was was called Terra Vici Albi and Vicu Albu from which came the name of Vicalvi. On its summit rises an unmistakable feature, the structure, or better, the remains of a mighty Castle, an impregnable fortress, set for protection of the Comino Valley. Founded very probably in the Middle Ages, the first years of its history have not been well documented. The first documentation takes us back to 702 AD, when it was in action during the Lombard (Long Beards, Northern Europeans) and Gisolfo invasion. They occupied the lands of Sora, Arpino and Arce already. The old town with the Castle was, in the years to follow, ransacked more times by the Saracens and the Ungari (915 and 938 AD). It returned to occupy an important and strategic role for the area, thanks to the interest of the Aligerno abbot (967 AD), who, along with the reconstruction of the churches destroyed by the Saracens, rebuilt the fortifications of the Castle. Vicalvi passed to the Monastery of Montecassino, and the privileges on those territories became greater with the passage of time, so Vicalvi existed as a true and proper dependence. The castle benefited from numerous interventions of restructuring over the years, with overlaps of new architectural structures on the older collapsing ones. Of the ancient Castle of Vicalvi, there are significant remains of the structures, towers and architectural work that still today can be admired.
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Vicalvi's Castle Photos taken 1 December 2002 (Thanks to Walter and Rita Bianchi): 
 
 
 
Translated from the Italian original posted at: http://ciociariafoto.interfree.it/una_storiella_castellana.htm: The CASTLE of VICALVI Not much is known for certain about the Vicalvi castle, first recorded during the age of Frederick II and the Normans in the 11th and 12th centuries. Situated on a hill, a rocky spur at more than 600 m. in elevation, the vantage point surveys all of the Comino Valley. It is recognizable by a red cross painted during the Second World War when German troops transformed it into a field hospital. The Lombard (Longobard, "Long Beard") castle is a polygonal plan, built by Phillip I Colonna on the rock outcropping where there was once an ancient Roman acropolis. The stucture is now totally abandoned. Upon entry through the main gate, it is possible to admire a lavatory suspended up on a wall, one of the few examples present in Ciociaria. At the East side is a tower that is situated at a point somewhat higher than the main castle. On the walkway of the wall it is possible to view the entire Comino Valley. In the rooms on the ground level it is still possible to view the remains of frescoes, many of which were completely frescoed, probably in the 15th and 16th centuries. In the 11th century Abbot Oderisius I of Palearia ordered towers and walls to be built to defend the monks and farmers, and in the plain started the development of salt mines. In 1165 Abbot Oderisius II greatly improved the abbey and established it as a great center of the economy and culture. In the year 1000 a certain Oderisius was master of the castle. It served as a border fortress. The people of the "Terra Santa" (Sacred Land) inhabited the castle as late as 1187. It was attacked and destroyed in 1191 by Enrico of Hohenstanfen. In 1349 it was again damaged, this time by an earthquake. In the following years it was rebuilt and expanded to include certain manufacturing industries. In 1600 the chronicles again note the presence of a very strong fortress, high and impregnable, clearly evident in today's ruins. It has been an effective fortress in the time of war. One refugee here was Charles V, king of Spain with his troops during the battle for the conquest of Italy in the 1520's against Francis I, King of France. It is possible to visit the complex by asking information at the Commune of Vicalvi at the telephone number: 0776.506476. The castle is a destination for tourists and mostly foreign visitors who visit during summer and return for the local festivities. From the walls, a panorama can be admired that offers a view of farms, fields, forests, mountains and the surrounding country of the Valley, including, just below the walls, the ancient city of Vicalvi, now abandoned. edited by Domenico La Posta. Legambiente Sora. A CASTELLANA TALE by Camilla Iaquone, Alumna of the School A. Carbone of the 1st Didactic Circle of Sora. Year 2001-2002. In the year One Thousand, Alvito and Vicalvi were two countries governed by Counts and Dukes. The feudal Lord of Alvito was named Rostaino Cantelmo and lived in his castle with his wife and all the court. At Vicalvi there was Count Oderisio and he also lived in his splendid castle. In short, the one watched the other. On a beautiful day, in the early morning, Count Oderisio went hunting in his manor and while he searched for quail and other game he heard riders and shots. Immediately he noticed that Rostaino also was engaged in a hunt, the two "Signori" exchanged a challenge and pursued the prey with fury. Unfortunately, when Oderisio struck the quails in flight they fell on the territory of Alvito. Rostaino claimed that they were his. After days and days of contention the two gentlemen then decided to ask the counsel of Grand Ciambellano who called the hunt pernicious and suggested that they combine the catch, carry them to the kitchen of the chef Monsieur Volant, cook them and organize a beautiful banquet for all the court of Rostaino and Oderisio reuniting together the inhabitants of Vicalvi and Alvito. During the lunch they joyously dined on a magnificent roast of mixed thrushes, snipes, pheasants and partridges. From that day, the inhabitants of Alvito and those of Vicalvi have become excellent friends and always exchange favors and assistance.
From 
MyItalianFamily.com
Ciociaria Ciociaria is a very large geographic area located in the southern part of Lazio, and it covers most of the actual province of Frosinone. If you travel there, you will find marvelous landscapes from harsh mountains to the charming green valleys crossed by a multitude of rivers and untouched rural villages (Alatri, Arce, Ceccano, Pescosolido, Sora, Veroli, Vicalvi and many others). Most of all, you will come in contact with secular traditions that have been passed on generation after generation through tales and stories from the past. Still today, locals are very sensitive to the evil eye and to the job of the so-called "fattucchiere"; this "magical" savior can free his patients from any illness or evil eye with rituals that range from hypnosis accompanied by incomprehensible words to the weirdest and dared potions. He would cure burns with worms powder, wounds with spider nets soaked in urine, rickets with pork skin and epilepsy with a red-hot piece of iron; he would also prepare miraculous concoctions made of a specific type of grass called "gramigna"; they are still used today to cure several diseases. There has always been a very close connection between religion and magic formulas. Often, the "fattucchiere" would cite Saints and prayers in his formulas, which differed greatly according to which disease and to which witchcraft they were applied.  Among the symbols and the traditions of this enchanting land are the "zampogna" and the "ciocia" footwear (picture).
The first is a musical instrument that is played only before Christmas by the "zampognari". It is made of a bag of ram skin and of two sound tubes, one for the fixed sound and the other for the melody.
The second is a shoe made of leather sole with the point lifted upwards and of long strings to tangle around the calf. The ciocia is part of the local costume of Ciociaria and it is worn by both women and men in connection with social exhibitions and religious celebrations.
There are many famous personages who were born in Ciociaria. Among them, the well-known Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni who was born in Fontana Liri in 1924, Severino Gazzelloni born in Roccasecca in 1912 who is still remembered as one of the greatest flute performers of all times and Antonio Fazio, born in Alvito in 1936, who is the present governor of the Central Bank in Italy. These are only few of several important people ranging from cardinals, generals of the Ancient Roman Empire and painters to philosophers and Popes. Learning about our origins can be an important legacy to our children, after all memories are not used to remember the lost time, but to start again, knowing that losing our roots inevitably leads to a loss in our identity as people who live, think and love. If you are interested in authorizing a research project in your Ancestral town, go to: http://www.myitalianfamily.com/research/main_research_costs.html or call direct at 1-888-472-0171. If you are interested in ordering individual family documents, please visit: http://www.myitalianfamily.com/record/home_record.htm Note: This Website is Not Affiliated with My Italian Family
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Map of Ciociaria, Vicalvi Vicinity
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