Isola del Liri
Encyclopedia
Isola del Liri is an Italian town in Lazio, Frosinone
. As its name implies, Isola is situated between two arms of the Liri
. The many waterfalls of this river and of the Fibreno are used by factories.
origin, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire
Isola del Liri was ruled by the Byzantines and then the Lombards
. Later it was part of the Duchy of Sora
, becoming a ducal seat under the Boncompagni
family. In 1796 it was annexed to the Papal States
.
It was once in the old Terra di Lavoro
region of Campania
, but was transferred into Lazio during the Fascist period.
by the della Rovere
family, it became one of their main residences. It was also housed by their successors as dukes, the Boncompagni
; in the 17th century Costanza Sforza turned into a luxurious palace, with biblica frescoes and basreliefs of the duchy's lands, as well as a garden.
About 2 km to the north of the town is the church of San Domenico, erected in the 12th century, which is said to mark the site of the villa of Cicero
.
Liri Blues is an international festival has been free ever since its first year. Liri Blues is an event that happens every year during a week in July. Concerts are held in the main square (Piazza Boncompagni), in the streets and jam sessions happen late at night.
Here are some of the most important artists who have appeared at Liri Blues:
Dr. John
(2010), Albert King
(1989), Buddy Guy
(1989), The Animals
(2005), John Mayall
(2001), Pinetop Perkins
(1989), Robben Ford
(2001), Bo Diddley
(1997), Luther Allison
(1996), Taj Mahal (2005), Charlie Musselwhite
(2000, 2007), Jimmy Smith
(2004), Al Kooper
(2006), Edoardo Bennato
(alias Joe Sarnataro) (1993), Eric Bibb
(2000, 2003, 2011), James Cotton
(1993), Willy DeVille
(2007), Jorma Kaukonen
(2003), Al Kooper
(2006), Jimmy Rogers
(1997), and many others.
In 1997, for the 10th edition of the festival, the town of Isola del Liri signed a twinning with the city of
New Orleans (Louisiana, USA)
In 2007, celebrating 10 years from the twinning with New Orleans, Liri Blues produced a CD called Omaggio a New Orleans, from a live recording at the festival in 2006.
Piccola Orchestra La Viola and Dr.Sunflower, a band of squeeze boxes and a jug band, played together the old blues of Louisiana in an original way, with traditional instruments and unusual arrangements.
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...
. As its name implies, Isola is situated between two arms of the Liri
Liri
The Liri is one of the principal rivers of central Italy, flowing into the Tyrrhenian Sea a little below Minturno under the name Garigliano....
. The many waterfalls of this river and of the Fibreno are used by factories.
History
Of VolscanVolsci
The Volsci were an ancient Italic people, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. They then inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the south, the Hernici on the east, and stretching roughly from...
origin, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....
Isola del Liri was ruled by the Byzantines and then the Lombards
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
. Later it was part of the Duchy of Sora
Duchy of Sora
The Duchy of Sora was a semi-independent state in Italy, created in 1443 by King Alfonso I of Naples and dissolved in 1796. It occupied the south-eastern part of what is today Lazio, bordering what is now Abruzzo...
, becoming a ducal seat under the Boncompagni
Boncompagni
The Boncompagni is an Italian noble family from Assisi.-History:The family is documented for the first time in 1133, when one Rodolfo Boncompagni, a German nobleman of Saxon origins, was appointed by Lothair II as lord of Assisi...
family. In 1796 it was annexed to the Papal States
Papal 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...
.
It was once in the old Terra di Lavoro
Terra di Lavoro
Terra di Lavoro is the name of a historical region of southern Italy. It corresponds roughy to the modern southern Lazio and northern Campania regions of Italy....
region of Campania
Campania
Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
, but was transferred into Lazio during the Fascist period.
Main sights
The town's main sight is the Castello Boncompagni-Viscogliosi, a fortified palace near two c- 30 m-high waterfalls (Cascata Grande and Cascata del Valcatoio) and a bridge on river. It is mentioned for the first time in 1100. After the acquisition of the Duchy of SoraDuchy of Sora
The Duchy of Sora was a semi-independent state in Italy, created in 1443 by King Alfonso I of Naples and dissolved in 1796. It occupied the south-eastern part of what is today Lazio, bordering what is now Abruzzo...
by the della Rovere
Della Rovere
Della Rovere is a noble family of Italy. Coming from modest beginnings in Savona, Liguria, the family rose to prominence through nepotism and ambitious marriages arranged by two Della Rovere popes, Francesco della Rovere, who ruled as Pope Sixtus IV and his nephew Giuliano...
family, it became one of their main residences. It was also housed by their successors as dukes, the Boncompagni
Boncompagni
The Boncompagni is an Italian noble family from Assisi.-History:The family is documented for the first time in 1133, when one Rodolfo Boncompagni, a German nobleman of Saxon origins, was appointed by Lothair II as lord of Assisi...
; in the 17th century Costanza Sforza turned into a luxurious palace, with biblica frescoes and basreliefs of the duchy's lands, as well as a garden.
About 2 km to the north of the town is the church of San Domenico, erected in the 12th century, which is said to mark the site of the villa of Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
.
Liri Blues Festival
Isola del Liri is the seat of the eponymous blues festival since 1988.Liri Blues is an international festival has been free ever since its first year. Liri Blues is an event that happens every year during a week in July. Concerts are held in the main square (Piazza Boncompagni), in the streets and jam sessions happen late at night.
Here are some of the most important artists who have appeared at Liri Blues:
Dr. John
Dr. John
Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...
(2010), Albert King
Albert King
Albert King was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing.-Career:...
(1989), Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
(1989), The Animals
The Animals
The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...
(2005), John Mayall
John Mayall
John Mayall, OBE is an English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, whose musical career spans over fifty years...
(2001), Pinetop Perkins
Pinetop Perkins
Joseph William Perkins , known by the stage name Pinetop Perkins, was an American blues musician, specializing in piano music...
(1989), Robben Ford
Robben Ford
Robben Ford is an American blues, jazz and rock guitarist.-Biography:Ford was born in Woodlake, California, United States, but raised in Ukiah, California, and began playing the saxophone at age 10, picking up the guitar at age 13...
(2001), Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
(1997), Luther Allison
Luther Allison
Luther Allison was an American blues guitarist. He was born in Widener, Arkansas and moved with his family, at age twelve, to Chicago in 1951. He taught himself guitar and began listening to blues extensively. Three years later he began hanging outside blues nightclubs with the hopes of being...
(1996), Taj Mahal (2005), Charlie Musselwhite
Charlie Musselwhite
Charlie Musselwhite is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the non-black bluesmen who came to prominence in the early 1960s, along with Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield. Though he has often been identified as a "white bluesman", he claims Native American heritage...
(2000, 2007), Jimmy Smith
Jimmy Smith (musician)
Jimmy Smith was a jazz musician whose performances on the Hammond B-3 electric organ helped to popularize this instrument...
(2004), Al Kooper
Al Kooper
Al Kooper is an American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears , providing studio support for Bob Dylan when he went electric in 1965, and also bringing together guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills to...
(2006), Edoardo Bennato
Edoardo Bennato
Edoardo Bennato is an Italian singer-songwriter. He is the brother of the singer-songwriter Eugenio Bennato.-Biography:...
(alias Joe Sarnataro) (1993), Eric Bibb
Eric Bibb
Eric Bibb is an American acoustic blues singer-songwriter. He is based in London and launched his career in Europe. Today he lives in Finland.-Biography:...
(2000, 2003, 2011), James Cotton
James Cotton
James Cotton is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who has performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time as well as with his own band.-Career:...
(1993), Willy DeVille
Willy DeVille
Willy DeVille was an American singer and songwriter. During his thirty-five year career, first with his band Mink DeVille and later on his own, Deville created original songs rooted in traditional American musical styles. He worked with collaborators from across the spectrum of contemporary...
(2007), Jorma Kaukonen
Jorma Kaukonen
Jorma Ludwik Kaukonen Jr. is an American blues, folk, and rock guitarist, best known for his work with Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna.-Biography:...
(2003), Al Kooper
Al Kooper
Al Kooper is an American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears , providing studio support for Bob Dylan when he went electric in 1965, and also bringing together guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills to...
(2006), Jimmy Rogers
Jimmy Rogers
Jimmy Rogers was an American Chicago blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player, best known for his work as a member of Muddy Waters' band of the 1950s.-Career:...
(1997), and many others.
In 1997, for the 10th edition of the festival, the town of Isola del Liri signed a twinning with the city of
New Orleans (Louisiana, USA)
In 2007, celebrating 10 years from the twinning with New Orleans, Liri Blues produced a CD called Omaggio a New Orleans, from a live recording at the festival in 2006.
Piccola Orchestra La Viola and Dr.Sunflower, a band of squeeze boxes and a jug band, played together the old blues of Louisiana in an original way, with traditional instruments and unusual arrangements.
Twin towns
New Orleans, United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
See also
- Liri Blues FestivalLiri Blues FestivalThe Liri Blues Festival, founded in 1988, is one of the main blues festivals in Italy. It takes place every year in July near Rome in Isola del Liri, a small town twinned with the city of New Orleans since 1997.-The Festival:...
- Province of FrosinoneProvince of FrosinoneThe 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...
- LiriLiriThe Liri is one of the principal rivers of central Italy, flowing into the Tyrrhenian Sea a little below Minturno under the name Garigliano....