Ciociaria
Encyclopedia
Ciociaria is the name of a traditional region of Central
Italy
without a defined border nor historical identity. The name was adopted by a fascist movement of Frosinone
as an ethnical denomination for the province of Frosinone
, when it was created in 1927.
In the Middle Ages
, this region was referred to as Campagna. The local dialect, now known as ciociaro, was earlier referred to as campanino. In more recent times, the term Campagna Romana, or Roman Campagna, a favorite subject of countless painters from all over Europe, has referred to the adjoining region to the north of Ciociaria, but part of the Province of Rome
.
The name appears to be derived from the ciocia
(plural cioce), the traditional footwear still worn by a few sheep and cattle herders in the Central Apennines
.
Ciociaria is also the name of asteroid 21799 (see List of named asteroids (A-E), List of asteroids (21001-22000), and Meanings of asteroid names (21001-22000)
) .
, in which a land in Campagna e Marittima province is named Ciocciarìa. On the other hand many others sources attest another variant, that was in use since 18th century: Ciocerìa.
The name Ciociaria comes from the primitive footwear of its inhabitants called "ciocie". These "sandals" were put on by the Latins, that will be identified with the appellative of Ciociari in the following centuries, hence "Ciociaria"; now that kind of shoes are not used in everyday life, but remain as a traditional symbol. They are worn by folk groups members of the province of Frosinone or on the historical feasts.
The ciocia is an ancient kind of shoe, with a simple and primitive form, that doesn't wrap completely the foot, because the upper part is open. The foot is anchored to the ciocia by an interlacement of leather laces, inserted in special side holes; so the foot sticks to this special "sandal", making it sure and comfortable. The origins of this particular kind of shoe are ancient. A similar shoe was already present among the Etruscans, the Hernici
, primitive inhabitants (probably came from the Middle East, descendants from the people of Hatti
or from the Illyrians
) of this area, and between the mountainous regions of the Yugoslavia and Greece. In fact, the ciocie are the result of different transformations. The first historical quotations is in Virgil
, in book VII of the Aeneid
, where he describes some warriors coming from the Monti Ernici
and the Aniene
valley, that wore "a rough to put on of rough leather."
Ciociaria has a full calendar of food fairs, entertainment events and music festivals, as well as a variety of traditional feasts. Religious, country and rural traditions are still strong and alive. The celebrations of the patron saints with the processions, the performance of bands, singers and groups, the illuminations and fireworks, the fairs and popular games, the palios and tournaments among the town’s quarters witness the desire of the Ciociarian people to preserve the authenticity of their peasant culture with their typical costumes, music, rites and gastronomy.
The Ciociarian folklore has been made known not only at home and in the rest of Italy, but also abroad. Ciociarian folk groups have also taken part in important events held outside the territory. These events hosted by folk groups of other countries give the opportunity to increase friendship and understanding among the peoples of the world, as well as being an opportunity for the Ciociarian emigrants who are scattered all over the world to strengthen the ties with their homeland. During popular events people wear traditional costumes with the typical footwear, the ‘cioce
’, which gave the name to this region “Ciociaria”. Part of the Ciociarian folklore are the songs, both sacred and profane, dances such as the saltarello
, accompanied by music and cheered by the dishes of local cuisine.
and Fiuggi
. Jewelry also plays an important role in this land.
Gold and coral jewellery have always been worn by the famous “balie ciociare” (Ciociarian wetnurses). The main producing towns are Alatri
, Anagni
, Fiuggi
, Veroli
. Works in copper and wrought iron can be found in Ferentino
, Serrone
and Frosinone; in Veroli there is an “Exhibition of Wrought-Iron” held every two years. The travertine of Anagni is extracted from local quarries. There are embroideries, wonderful and delicate feminine works, like the embroidered towels and tablecloths of Veroli and Boville Ernica
and the holy vestments of Anagni
, “the Town of Popes”.
, Goumier
s rampaged through the surrounding countryside committing mass rape
in Ciociaria http://members.iinet.net.au/~gduncan/massacres_axis.html. Victims of such crimes became known in Italy as marocchinate
, literally translatable as "Moroccaned". Alberto Moravia
wrote a novel on the event (La ciociara), which was made into a successful movie directed by Vittorio de Sica
.
Central Italy
Central Italy is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics , a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency...
Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
without a defined border nor historical identity. The name was adopted by a fascist movement of Frosinone
Frosinone
Frosinone is a town and comune in Lazio, central Italy, the administrative seat of the Province of Frosinone. It is located about 75 km south-east of Rome close to the Rome-Naples Autostrada A1...
as an ethnical denomination for the province of Frosinone
Province of Frosinone
The Province of Frosinone is a province in the Lazio region of Italy, with 91 comuni . Its capital is the city of Frosinone. It has an area of 3,244 km², and a total population of 489,042 .The Province was established by Royal Decree on 6 December 1926 with territories belonging to Lazio...
, when it was created in 1927.
In the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, this region was referred to as Campagna. The local dialect, now known as ciociaro, was earlier referred to as campanino. In more recent times, the term Campagna Romana, or Roman Campagna, a favorite subject of countless painters from all over Europe, has referred to the adjoining region to the north of Ciociaria, but part of the Province of Rome
Province of Rome
The Province of Rome , is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. The province can be viewed as the extended metropolitan area of the city of Rome, although in its more peripheral portions, especially to the north, it comprises towns surrounded by rural landscape.-Geography:The Province of Rome...
.
Ciocia
Ciocia or zampitto, plural cioce or zampitti, is an ethnic footwear of southern Italy.The name probably comes from late Latin soccus, meaning slipper. It has many other forms in some Italian dialects like chiochia, chioca, chiochiera, ciocero or scioscio in Neapolitan language...
(plural cioce), the traditional footwear still worn by a few sheep and cattle herders in the Central Apennines
Apennine mountains
The Apennines or Apennine Mountains or Greek oros but just as often used alone as a noun. The ancient Greeks and Romans typically but not always used "mountain" in the singular to mean one or a range; thus, "the Apennine mountain" refers to the entire chain and is translated "the Apennine...
.
Ciociaria is also the name of asteroid 21799 (see List of named asteroids (A-E), List of asteroids (21001-22000), and Meanings of asteroid names (21001-22000)
Meanings of asteroid names (21001-22000)
Minor planets not yet given a name have not been included in this list....
) .
Origin of the name
For the first time the term appears in a map of Papal StatesPapal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
, in which a land in Campagna e Marittima province is named Ciocciarìa. On the other hand many others sources attest another variant, that was in use since 18th century: Ciocerìa.
The name Ciociaria comes from the primitive footwear of its inhabitants called "ciocie". These "sandals" were put on by the Latins, that will be identified with the appellative of Ciociari in the following centuries, hence "Ciociaria"; now that kind of shoes are not used in everyday life, but remain as a traditional symbol. They are worn by folk groups members of the province of Frosinone or on the historical feasts.
The ciocia is an ancient kind of shoe, with a simple and primitive form, that doesn't wrap completely the foot, because the upper part is open. The foot is anchored to the ciocia by an interlacement of leather laces, inserted in special side holes; so the foot sticks to this special "sandal", making it sure and comfortable. The origins of this particular kind of shoe are ancient. A similar shoe was already present among the Etruscans, the Hernici
Hernici
The Hernici were an ancient people of Italy, whose territory was in Latium between the Lago di Fucino and the Sacco River , bounded by the Volsci on the south, and by the Aequi and the Marsi on the north....
, primitive inhabitants (probably came from the Middle East, descendants from the people of Hatti
Hatti
Hatti may refer to*Hatti in Bronze Age Anatolia:**the area of Hattusa, roughly delimited by the Halys bend**the Hattians of the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC**the Hittite Empire of ca 1400 BC–1200 BC...
or from the Illyrians
Illyrians
The Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited part of the western Balkans in antiquity and the south-eastern coasts of the Italian peninsula...
) of this area, and between the mountainous regions of the Yugoslavia and Greece. In fact, the ciocie are the result of different transformations. The first historical quotations is in Virgil
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
, in book VII of the Aeneid
Aeneid
The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines in dactylic hexameter...
, where he describes some warriors coming from the Monti Ernici
Monti Ernici
The Monti Ernici are a mountain range in central Italy, part of the sub-Apennines of Lazio. They are bounded by the valley of the river Aniene to the north-east, that of the Liri to the east, and, from south to west, by the valleys of the Cosa and Sacco...
and the Aniene
Aniene
-External links:* http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/humnet/horaces-villa/glossary/Anio.gloss.html*...
valley, that wore "a rough to put on of rough leather."
Folklore and traditions
The Ciociarian folklore has been made known not only at home and in the rest of Italy, but also abroad. Ciociarian folk groups have also taken part in important events held outside the territory. These events hosted by folk groups of other countries give the opportunity to increase friendship and understanding among the peoples of the world, as well as being an opportunity for the Ciociarian emigrants who are scattered all over the world to strengthen the ties with their homeland. During popular events people wear traditional costumes with the typical footwear, the ‘cioce
Ciocia
Ciocia or zampitto, plural cioce or zampitti, is an ethnic footwear of southern Italy.The name probably comes from late Latin soccus, meaning slipper. It has many other forms in some Italian dialects like chiochia, chioca, chiochiera, ciocero or scioscio in Neapolitan language...
’, which gave the name to this region “Ciociaria”. Part of the Ciociarian folklore are the songs, both sacred and profane, dances such as the saltarello
Saltarello
The saltarello was a lively, merry dance first mentioned in Naples during the 13th century. The music survives, but no early instructions for the actual dance are known. It was played in a fast triple meter and is named for its peculiar leaping step, after the Italian verb saltare .-History:The...
, accompanied by music and cheered by the dishes of local cuisine.
Handicraft
The Symbol of Ciociara is a copper amphora called "Conca", used in the old times by our ancestors, to carry water from the fountains, when there was no running water inside houses; such containers are still made today by the artisans of the area. Wicker and “vinchio” (marshy grass that grows on the slopes of the Aurunci Mounts) are woven in the shape of baskets, hampers, bags and cheese or fish containers. Terracottas are even more antique and rustic and therefore more fascinating: from water amphorae, the so-called “cannate”, decorated with red soil as well as pottery articles decorated and enamelled (like little bells and crib statuettes) made in Arpino, to terracotta jugs made in AquinoAquino
Aquino is a town and comune in the province of Frosinone, in the Lazio region of Italy, 12 km northwest of Cassino.-History:The ancient Aquinum was a municipium in the time of Cicero, and made a colony by the Triumviri...
and Fiuggi
Fiuggi
Fiuggi is a comune in the province of Frosinone in the region of Lazio in central Italy.-History:Fiuggi, originally called Anticoli di Campagna, gained fame as early as the 14th century, when Pope Boniface VIII claimed his kidney stones had been healed by the mineral waters from the nearby Fiuggi...
. Jewelry also plays an important role in this land.
Gold and coral jewellery have always been worn by the famous “balie ciociare” (Ciociarian wetnurses). The main producing towns are Alatri
Alatri
Alatri is a town and comune of province of Frosinone in the Italian region of the Lazio, with c. 30,000 inhabitants. A part of the traditional region of Ciociaria, it is famous for its megalithic acropolis.-History:...
, Anagni
Anagni
Anagni is an ancient town and comune in Latium, central Italy, in the hills east-southeast of Rome. It is a historical center in Ciociaria.-Geography:...
, Fiuggi
Fiuggi
Fiuggi is a comune in the province of Frosinone in the region of Lazio in central Italy.-History:Fiuggi, originally called Anticoli di Campagna, gained fame as early as the 14th century, when Pope Boniface VIII claimed his kidney stones had been healed by the mineral waters from the nearby Fiuggi...
, Veroli
Veroli
-History:Veroli became a Roman municipium in 90 BCE. It became the seat of a bishopric in 743 CE, and was occupied by Spanish milices, allied to the Colonna family, in the 16th troops.-Main sights:...
. Works in copper and wrought iron can be found in Ferentino
Ferentino
Ferentino is a town and comune in Italy, in the province of Frosinone, Lazio, 65 km southeast of Rome.It is situated on a hill 400 m above sea-level, in the Monti Ernici area.-History:...
, Serrone
Serrone
Serrone is a comune in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located in the Monti Ernici area about 50 km east of Rome and about 30 km northwest of Frosinone....
and Frosinone; in Veroli there is an “Exhibition of Wrought-Iron” held every two years. The travertine of Anagni is extracted from local quarries. There are embroideries, wonderful and delicate feminine works, like the embroidered towels and tablecloths of Veroli and Boville Ernica
Boville Ernica
Boville Ernica is a town and comune in Lazio, Italy. It is located over the summit of a steep hill commanding the Liri, Cosa and Sacco valleys.-History:...
and the holy vestments of Anagni
Anagni
Anagni is an ancient town and comune in Latium, central Italy, in the hills east-southeast of Rome. It is a historical center in Ciociaria.-Geography:...
, “the Town of Popes”.
Rapes after the battle of Monte Cassino
The day following the Battle of Monte CassinoBattle of Monte Cassino
The Battle of Monte Cassino was a costly series of four battles during World War II, fought by the Allies against Germans and Italians with the intention of breaking through the Winter Line and seizing Rome.In the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Winter Line was being anchored by Germans...
, Goumier
Goumier
Moroccan Goumiers were soldiers who served in auxiliary units attached to the French Army of Africa, between 1908 and 1956. The term Goumier was also occasionally used to designate native soldiers in the French army of the French Sudan and Upper Volta during the colonial era.-Description:The word...
s rampaged through the surrounding countryside committing mass rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
in Ciociaria http://members.iinet.net.au/~gduncan/massacres_axis.html. Victims of such crimes became known in Italy as marocchinate
Marocchinate
Marocchinate is a term applied to the mass rape and killings committed during World War II after the Battle of Monte Cassino in Italy by Goumiers, Moroccan colonial troops of the French Expeditionary Corps ), commanded by General Alphonse Juin.- Background :Goumiers were colonial irregular...
, literally translatable as "Moroccaned". Alberto Moravia
Alberto Moravia
Alberto Moravia, born Alberto Pincherle was an Italian novelist and journalist. His novels explored matters of modern sexuality, social alienation, and existentialism....
wrote a novel on the event (La ciociara), which was made into a successful movie directed by Vittorio de Sica
Vittorio de Sica
Vittorio De Sica was an Italian director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement....
.