Continuing with the history of the area (See Part I if you missed it)….

After 476 AD, during the time of the emperor Justinian, the area was subject to invasions by various Germanic tribes (particularly the Goths) and later the Lombards.

The Lombard dominion over the territory lasted from 568 to 774 and the local people were once again enslaved as they had been under the Romans. During this time, the territory belonged to the Duke of Benevento.

Once converted to Christianity, the Lombards favored the building of Benedictine Monasteries. One such was built on the Treste River below town and was called San Grimaldo (a Lombard name) and later named San Romualdo. The Benedictines taught numerous farming methods to the local people and the monastery held an important role in the town. Although the monastery has been in ruins for qute some time, the fair that was held there every year is still being held although the location has moved to the Madonna del Carmine, having been relocated there in 1583.

Another remnant of the Lombard era exists below the town of Celenza sul Trigno. As far as I’ve been able to find out, it’s called Torre della Fara. Although now it is inhabited only by birds.

After 774, the people suffered numerous invasions from the Saracens and the Normans, along with other barbarians. Many of the local people were killed and crops were razed. Consequently, the people moved up the mountain for shelter.

With the Norman/Frank invasion, the territory up to the Trigno was annexed to the Duchy of Spoleto and Palmoli remained under the Dominion of the Counts and Marquis of Chieti.

During the Norman period (911-1189), a castle (or lookout tower) was built that was one of the 17 castles in the Contea di Monteodorisio.

The castle was built by Pandolfo di Sangro who came from a branch of the family of the Counts of Marsi, relatives of Charlemagne. According to popular legend, it was built along with two other castles (Furci and Monteodorisio). The three castles were aligned for direct communication - smoke during the day, fire at night. The castle was added onto in later stages. In a later post, I’ll give more details about the castle which was named a National Monument in 1928.

After the death of William II (the good), the territory passed to Arrigo VI, husband of Costanza and son of Frederick Barbarossa, Duke of Swabia. This started the Swabian era, which I’ll talk about next time.

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For most everyone, Valentine’s Day was a normal work day, celebrated mainly in the evening, but here in Palmoli, “La festa degli innamorati” is a special day. Saint Valentine is our patron saint, so the schools are closed and we have a special celebration.

The day began with fireworks at 8 AM (just in case someone was thinking about sleeping in, I guess). Being right by the school, we had the extra added benefit of hearing the marching band practice. Mass is at 11:00, but before that, many people head down to the Piazza to say goodmorning and wish everyone a good day. The marching band also comes down to play a few songs.

Then it’s mass at 11:00 and, although I have to admit that the church is rarely crowded, on feast days and holidays, it’s standing room only. Laurel leaves are strewn over the stone floor and the church is decorated with roses and other flowers. The statue of Saint Valentine has been moved out of his cubby hole to the place of honor next to the altar. (The various Saints’ statues are moved throughout the season.)

The church has been endowed with two relics of Saint Valentine, one is a piece of his arm bone that is encased in a bronze urn, and the other is his sacred remains. During mass, everyone files up and kisses the bronze urn that holds his arm bone. Then, when mass ends, the statue of Saint Valentine and his banner are removed from church and carried through the town, followed by a procession of town-people.

The Saint Valentine Chapel with the sacred remains

During the afternoon there is a special session in the church to bless the children. Then in the evening there is various entertainment.

History

On March 10, 1736, Saint Valentine was voted Patron Saint of Palmoli by unanimous vote of the clergy, the citizens and the Marchese di Gagliati, Baron of Palmoli.

The town already owned a sacred relic of Saint Valentine, the Sacred Arm, given to the church Santa Maria delle Grazie in 1705.

During the reign of Pope Leo XII, the town obtained the remains of Saint Valentine, authenticated by Cardinal Giuseppe Perugino, through the efforts of the Marchese of Palmoli. On November 18, 1824, the sacred Urn containing the remains was transported by sea from Rome to Naples, then overland to Trivento where it was met by a crowd of devotees, ready to escort the Saint to his new home in Palmoli.

Painting on the ceiling of the church, Santa Maria delle Grazie, in Palmoli

According to legend, the people of Trivento wanted to keep the sacred relic in their town, however, San Valentino raised his arm as if to say “To Palmoli, to Palmoli”, and off they went. When they reached the nearby town of Mafalda, also devoted to San Valentino, the townspeople there also wanted to keep the Saint’s remains. After much discussion, a test was devised. They hooked the carriage containing the saint to two untried oxen. The decision was made that if the oxen took the road toward Mafalda, the saint would stay in Mafalda. If they took the road to Palmoli, the saint would continue his journey to
Palmoli. And so, the oxen were hooked to the carriage and, as you can imagine, they took the road towards Palmoli.

Thus the journey continued, reaching Palmoli on December 22, 1824.

In 1898, construction began on the Saint Valentine chapel in the church and it was later inaugurated in 1904.

Palmoli celebrates its patron saint on Saint Valentine’s Day, naturally, and also on the first weekend in September, with mass, a procession through town, and various other diversions.

Every 25 years a special celebration is held and the procession carries the sacred remains of Saint Valentine through the town.

Santa Maria delle Grazia (this picture was taken last year during the Easter season)

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There were several waves of emigration that took place from Italy, meaning that there were several that took place in Palmoli as well.

During the late 50’s and 60’s, there was a particular type of emigration that took place. It wasn’t emigration per se because the people didn’t leave forever. But, many of the men left their homes and farms here in town and went to work in Germany or elsewhere in Europe. Their wives took care of the farm and the animals and all of the domestic issues and they came home a couple of times a year to visit, sometimes seeing a child for the first time after it was already several months old. It was a hard life, both for the men who were separated from their families and for the wives who were left at home to take care of the children and the land. They did this for several years until they had enough savings to come home or were able to find a job near to town. But jobs were scarce, so some were away for 10 or more years.

I can’t imagine what it must have been like for a wife who got to see her husband once or twice a year, besides taking care of the children and farm on her own.

I have several letters that we’ve gathered from that time frame. Some are from husband to wife and some from wife to husband. They give us a glimpse into what life must have been like for them. I’ll post a translation of one every so often so you can get a glimpse too.

The way they are written in Italian is special as well and I’ll try to capture that as much as I can in the translation. As you’ll see, they are full of peculiarities and errors and short on punctuation, which makes them all the more interesting.

Here’s the first one:

Dear husband, I am quickly answering your letter that I waited for and I was very happy to hear your news that you are in good health and, up to now I can assure you that even I am well.

My dear, I understood everything that you said to me in your letter but for the moment I am not doing anything because I will bring the lamb back to him the Sunday after Easter, April 5, because 2 months went by since February March 18 and after two and a half months I will take it away, if not the sheep gets too thin and the other lamb I will allow to stay for another 15 days and then if your sister wants it and if not I will take it to the butcher. I will have the male lamb weighed alive and see how much it is and see how much it will be then when the other one comes I will weigh it and see how much it will be. And, in regards to the goat, I am selling it, that I took it to the market last Saturday and I got a price of 12,000 (lire) for it, now I will take it this Saturday and see.

Dear husband, and regarding the money, for now it is where you put it and then I will see after selling the goat and the lambs and buying a pig and then I will see how much is left over. For now I don’t have anything to tell you.

Dear husband, you did your letter and you told me that you didn’t have anything to tell me because you didn’t tell me what you did at Verona, how your blood pressure was and all the rest, because even I have something to tell you and for now I want to know how your health is.

And now I let you know that X has returned from Germany and he came back alone, without luggage which he lost when he got out of the train to buy a ticket and the train left without him, so it is said, and that he had been carrying around 80-90 thousand lire.

Dear husband, and I let you know something else, that Y is selling all of the furniture in her house and I went and saw the armoire and a kitchen cabinet and she told me the price and I told her that I would have to let her know. The armoire is like the one your brother has and maybe it is even better that it has a much better lustre and is of wood and a better color and told me that she showed it to the carpenter who offered 19,000 for it and told me that if we want it she would give it to us for 17,000. And the bathroom cabinet was made last year and cost 16,000 and she can’t reduce it to less then 15,000 and said she prefers to sell it to us, if not Z wants it.

I don’t have anything else to tell you. I say goodbye and kiss you with great affection, your wife. Answer soon.

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A while back I mentioned that one of these days I would get around to talking about the people that inhabited this part of Italy, and more precisely this part of Abruzzo, during ancient times. So, here’s a little bit of light history for you (nothing too heavy) that I’ve gathered from reading various books and websites. No thesis, just a little bit of background information and some links if you’d like to read more.

As you can probably imagine, this area has been inhabited for thousands of years. Archeological finds dating back to the stone age have been found throughout the area. In fact, nearby Isernia (about an hour by car), was once home to Homo Aesernius, a tribe of Homo Erectus living during the Paleolithic era. Isernia was later inhabited by the Samnites (click here for a map of the ancient tribes), while this area of Abruzzo and the Molise were populated by the people called the Frentani.

The Frentani were an italic tribe that developed from the ancient pre-indoeuropean populations of the area dating back to the neolithic and the bronze ages who probably mixed with the Illyrians and Pelasgians who arrived by sea.

The Frentani were an Osco-Umbrian people whose economy was based on animal pasturing and transhumance (the seasonal moving of the herds, in this case between present day Abruzzo and Puglia) as well as commerce with the Greeks who crossed the Adriatic Sea. Their main centers were Larinum (Larino), Epineion (Ortona), Lanciano (which was Anxanum to the Romans) and Vasto (whose ancient name was Histonium).

The Frentani participated in the Second Samnite War against the Romans in alliance with the Samnites (Sanniti) and other central Italian peoples. They were then allied with Rome up until the Social War (91-87 BC) when the Italian tribes, which had been struggling to gain citizenship through the Roman political system, revolted, eventually gaining their citizenship.

We know that in earlier times, before the town of Palmoli was settled on top of the hill, the population was centered lower, by the river. There is speculation that there may have once been an Italic temple located where Palmoli sits today based on its high and commanding position over the Treste and Trigno Rivers. However, no traces have been found and it remains only speculation.

The people later moved up the hill in response to various attacks, but that’s a topic for another day.

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