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CASTRO
Church of San Michele Arcangelo (S. Angelo) Certainly the parish church of S. Angelo (S. Michele Arcangelo) already existed at the beginning of the XV century and was later rebuilt and reconfigurated, taking on its present day aspect. Its dedication to the warrior Archangel, already the protector of the Longobards, is an element of strong interest that can be linked to deep-rooted popular beliefs, in which the vivid figure of the soldier of God took on a particular vigour and did not lack in arcane resonance. The most important and the most precious is the processional cross in embossed silver gilt foil and mounted on a wooden framework. Worked on both sides, it engages with a junction in copper gilt decorated with six niellos with the embossed coat of arms of Montegallo and five figures of saints executed in enamel. The arms of the cross, many lobed at the ends, are dotted with small metal spheres on the edges. On the punched base, an elegant motif of plant volutes of acanthus is developed. On the reverse the Crucifix appears rising above Golgotha, identified by the skull of Adam. S. Michele Arcangelo surmounts Christ, whilst on the arms a grieving Madonna and S. Giovanni appear. On the reverse the blessing Christ appears enthroned flanked by two niellos portraying Our Lady and the archangel Gabriel. At the ends of the cross there are the symbols of the Evangelists. The inscription on the reverse under Christ’s throne identifies the artificer of the work: it was M° Giacomo di Onofrio di Giovanni di M° Tommaso, a goldsmith from Sulmona who was active in the first half of the XV century. The Sulmona mark that is visible allows the work to be dated between 1407 and 1430. An analogous cross was made by the same M° Giacomo in Molise in 1414.The elegance and the formal quality of the Castro cross – among the most important XV century crosses of the region – are evident, and have been the subject of detailed study. It belongs to a group of crosses from the Sulmona area made in the XV century, together with the cross of Abetito which is quite similar, and to the Pistrino cross, now in the Diocesan Museum of Ascoli Piceno. The reason for this “sacking” of Sulmona work in the territory of Montegallo is not yet clear, above all in consideration of the fact that the Piceno town exercised a hegemonic role in the same epoch by virtue of its prestigious goldsmiths’ tradition which reached its peak in the work of Tannini.The choice of the Abruzzi goldsmiths’ craft may have arisen not only from a practice already in place (Abruzzi crosses were already present in the area of the Fluvione in the XIV century) but also from a need to distinguish, or rather a clear preference for the ornamentation and figurative vigour of that tradition, whose precious lividness played a more marked role compared to the elegance and clarity of the Ascoli goldsmiths’ craft. The “entertaining” character of an exemplar of the kind is confirmed by the presence of the Montegallo coat of arms in a niello of the knot: a presence that confers a clear value to the exemplar itself, a processional cross but also the standard of the community. The presence of S. Michele Arcangelo, to whom the church is dedicated, underlines even further the undoubted awareness of the local commissioner.On the right wall of the main body of the church a carved and painted wooden crucifix is seen which can be dated to the XVI century. It is impressive for the careful articulation of the pose and for the simplified treatment of the ribs, rendered with rigid parallel lines. It raises an effect thanks to the realism of the expression (the reclined head, the tightly shut eyes, and the half-closed mouth) which unite with the vivid linearity of the physiognomic traits.On the left part, behind the devotional statue of S. Michele a large altar piece stands out with the Madonna del Rosario; S. Francesco e S. Chiara bordered with the portrayal of 15 episodes of the life of Jesus. Below the central panel this inscription is seen: VOS MARIA P(e)R (hi)BETE/ROSAS DE CORDE /PUDICO/ILLA EX/EMPIRIO POMA/BEATA DABIT/ANNO DOMINI 1613 (Offer roses to Maria with a pure spirit: She from Paradise will give blessed fruit/In the year of our Lord 1613). Surrounding the composition is a sumptuous frame with carved and gilded wooden inserts.The treatment of the figures, direct and elementary, has the clearness and the spontaneity of ex votos but is contemporaneously proposed in a context of emphasis and monumentality. Particularly nice is the panel of the Presentazione al Tempio, with the priest in cardinal’s robes and the front of the altar decorated with a cross.On the high altar an imposing altar piece stands out, portraying the Madonna in Gloria con il Bambino tra S. Michele Arcangelo, S. Pietro e il Beato Marco da Fonditore: It holds a certain iconographic interest because of the insertion of the archangel and the local Saint (Beato Marco). The painting displays a notable articulation of planes and a fairly persuasive construction.Notwithstanding some rigidity and the obstruction caused by the figure of Beato Marco, which is not well connected to the two fluctuating, delightful angels depicted in the foreground, and the scarce attention to the relationship between the light and the groups of figures, the altar piece demonstrates gratifying expression and effects of pleasant audacity. A detailed study of this composition would be of certain interest and would undoubtedly recognise connections with Ascoli painting of the XVII and XVIII centuries, where the compositional apparatus of the Roman school frankly echoed in the altarpiece under examination were re-interpreted in the work of Ludovico Trasi (1634-1695) and of Tommaso Nardini (1658-1718).The XVII century altarpiece on the right wall of the main body of the church which decorates the altar dedicated to S. Sebastiano is of a much lower quality of workmanship. The Building Complex of Castro The hamlet of Castro draws attention in terms of its scenery too, thanks to a compact block of buildings lined along an ancient route. A solid succession of six distinct building structures stands out when seen from a distance and form a coherent complex, almost a fortified wall that appears in a peremptory fashion along the gravel bed of the river Fluvione. The variety of the back-fronts, dotted here and there by a vaulted entrance hall or by a soggetta, immediately attracts attention. On closer inspection the succession of frontispieces along the gentle gradient of the road opposite gives the tangible impression of an urban architectonic context.The six buildings are connected to each other thanks to an internal passageway and each one shows an individual structural and decorative character. The first house, starting from the left, is raised over two floors as are the three following houses. It shows a broad round arch for carriages which is currently bricked up and is crowned by a four-arched loggia that has been sympathetically restored. The only original window on the first floor stands out, trilithic in form and framed by a classic renaissance moulding. Particularly notable is the date 1532 carved in the centre of the lintel within an elegant and original bas-relief in the form of a floating scroll, rolled up at the ends. It is a form that is widely proposed again (it is found in the house at Piano dated 1526, and in a re-used window of Palazzotto Branconi at Balzo. In all probability, all these elements were produced by the same workshop).The second front is characterised on the ground floor by a wide portal with lintel but it stands out above all by virtue of its second floor, with a finely moulded cornice formed, from the bottom upwards, by a cavetto, a listel and by a cyma. On this stringcourse the right window stands out, of the usual renaissance style, its lintel characterised by a further scroll with the date 1543; a lobed shield in high relief cuts in two the date and obstructs somewhat the moulding of the lintel. The two fields house a pseudo-coat of arms that above presents the name of the owner in abbreviated form (CT) and below three transversal bars as the family arms.The third front, alongside a built up carriage arch, shows a stupendous door with lintel raised above the level of the ground; as it suggested from its characteristic style, it served originally as a workshop; the blacksmith’s, to be precise. The swing-doors in punched wooden beams are the originals. The lintel, surmounted by an almost imperceptible flat arch presents a beautiful inscription carved into the narrow band, bordered at the ends. This inscription QUI CONFIDIT IN DOMINO NO(n) PERIBIT IN ETERNU(m) ( who trusts in the Lord will not die for eternity). In the centre, immediately after DOMINO, the monogram JHS is propitiously inserted at the sides of which, lower down and divided into two parts, the date 1631 is observed.The fourth front, unfortunately painted, shows on the first floor a series of austere trilithic windows, one of which is flanked by a typical air vent.The last two buildings, developed lengthwise, are raised on one floor only.The last house in particular has a linteled portal with flat arch; it is centrally placed with a rectangular arch span. In the centre of the lintel, within a circular field, the date 1563 is observed surmounted by a figure that is difficult to decipher. On crossing the threshold, a cross-vaulted corridor leads to an entrance hall that opens to the outside by a carefully defined round arch.
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