Caldarola
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This
little town is in the centre of an area of special interest both
for its natural beauty and its historical and artistic associations. The town itself contains the outstanding Castello Pallotta while the surrounding district provides ample and very attractive evidence of the distant past. |
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Caldarola has given birth to a number of notable sons: Ludoviko Clodio, the 15° -century politiciam and military architect; Varino Favorino, the 16° -century man of letters; and various member of De Magistris family, all exponents of the Caldarola school of painting.
The Name - According to tradition derives from an ancient spa fed by springs of hot water; indeed, the town's coat of arms features a cauldrom. But it is more likely that, in the sense of 'a valley' it comes from the conformation of the land.
History - From the 9° century onwards Caldarola belonged to the abbey of St Clement in Casauria. In 1240 it was joined to Camerino. At last, after long being subject to the varying fortunes of war, it passed into the hands of the Church in 1545.
Art
- The most noteworthy feature of Caldarola is the Castello Pallotta which dominates
the town from the top of Monte Colcù. Although substantially altered over
the centuries, it retains the structure of the medioval castle.
In the interior all the furniture is authentic, while the original armoury,
kitchens, coach-house and saddlery remain. Inside the surrounding walls
there is a park many of whose trees are hundreds of years old: one of
these, a pine, was planted to commerate the visit of Pope Clement VIII
in 1598.
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It
was Cardinal Evangelista Pallotta who gave the town its present
layaut in the 16° -century; in the piazza he constructed his residence,
a building which now serves as the Town Hall; inside, the "Stanza
del Paradiso" (the paradise room) is particularly noteworthy,
with its frescoes attributed (tough not entirely without dispute)
to Simone De Magistris. |
Here
in Caldarola the painters Nobili da Lucca, Andrea de Magistris, Durante
di Nobili, and Simone, Gianfranco, Federico and Solerzio de Magistris
gave birth to the Caldarola school of painting which lasted from the end
of the 15° -century to the early years of the 17° -century in the lower
Marches from the River Esino to Ascoli Piceno.
The
churc of the Madonna del Monte was designed by Pietro Augustoni and constructed
in the second half of the 18° -century. Inside there is a splendid panel
by Lorenzo di Alessandro of San Severino (1491) representing the Madonna
with the Child among the Saintand Patrons.
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The
work was commissioned by the Blessed Francesco Piani, founder
of the Confraternita detta dei Disciplinati (the brotherhood of
the disciplined) or the Withe Brotherlood, which had religious
and charitable aims. He was also entrusted with the administration
of the Monte di Pietà (a nonprofit-marking pawnshop) from which
the churc took its name. |
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