The Churches Fontana Liri (Italy)

On the lower part of the village of Fontana Liri, just near the stairs that lead to the station, the church of Santa Croce is clearly visible. The first quotes on this church date back to the XVI century, but the exact year of its production is still unknown. Its structural characteristics lead us to think that this church was built around the year 1000, just after the construction of the Succorte castle. Initially, it was called St Andrew’s Church because it was consecrated to St Andrew, but in the following years, due to capacity difficulties, the church was expanded with the annexation of an adjacent building. From this particular moment, it started being called “Santa Croce”. Today the church is totally made of stone, it has a bell tower, a dome and two entries that draw attention to the two building styles realised in different ages. Even the materials used to build the church were different: the rocks on the lower part were more compact, those in the higher part were spongier and they dated back to the following age. Under the floor of the sacristy, there are spacious undergrounds, which can be reached only through a trapdoor, used in the past for the burial of the deceased.
The church has been closed to rituals for many years now, today on its inside there are exposed the work of Vincenzo Bianchi.
In the higher part of the village, near the Succorte castle, there is the church of Saint Stephen. The first information on its existence dates back to 1300 but we have no information on the following three centuries. We don’t even know if its initial position was the same as the one we can observe. The church overlooks the square that takes its name, with its front door and a large staircase. Its bell tower was restored using the material derived from the fallen tower of Succorte castle. Considering the inside of the church, it is composed of three naves, in the central nave there is the high altar, where there is illustrated the Blessed Sacrament behind which there is a painting of Saint Stephen. At the end of the left nave, there is the altar of the Sacred Heart, whereas at the end of the right nave there is the Altar of Charity which contains a painting of Saint Francis of Paola. Underneath there lies an urn made of glass which contains the relics of Saint Benedict.
In the underground, broad as the surface of the church, up until 1806 there were kept the deceased.
Around 1850, the church was declared precarious, therefore it was restructured and secured. A second restoration took place after the earthquake of 1915, due to the significant damage. During the month of July, the church of Saint Stephen keeps for 15 days the statue of the Madonna of Loreto, which comes from the sanctuary that takes its name situated in the valley at the foot of the village.
The Sanctuary of the Madonna of Loreto is located in the valley of Curzio, just above the stream called Rio Petronio and not far from the characteristic railway line Roccasecca-Avezzano, with its picturesque bridges and galleries. This Sanctuary was built in 1565 by Francesco Palleschi “thanks to his special devotion”2 , inside it a painting of the Virgin Graziana in the act of adoring his Divine Son is located at her feet, on the lower part there is illustrated the Holy House. Many miracles attributed to the Virgin have been narrated over the years, amongst them, the most prodigious one is about the presence of three drops of blood on the face of the Baby illustrated with the Virgin. This episode was signalled to the Bishop of Sora Tommaso Guzzoni, who made it analyse carefully by a commissioner and an ordinary registrar who considered it really prodigious. The Observants were really touched by the event and, because of this, they decided to expand the chapel making it become a Sanctuary dedicated to the Madonna of Loreto since on the inside there was the painting of the Virgin Graziana and the Holy House.
Even though this church is not big, there are two altars other than the High Altar, one dedicated to Saint Filippo Neri and the other to Saint Francis from Paola, while the statue of the Madonna of Loreto is collocated inside a votive niche located on the left of the High Altar.
In 1713 the Duchess Ippolita Boncompagni Ludovisi, thanks to the grace received, had the pavement of the Sanctuary built. The one that is still present today was donated in 1951 by Domenico Battista. At the end of the Sanctuary there are two plaques made of stone, one in Latin that remembers the coronation of the Madonna of Loreto, in the San Rocco square on July 28th 1877, by the cardinal Lorenzo Nina. The other one is in Italian, located there on Jul 24th 1977, the day of the anniversary of the previous one, celebrated in the same square by the cardinal Nasalli Rocca.
On the external facade that overlooks the railway there is written: “Pilgrim, be devoted to Mary”.