San Donato Val di Comino is an ancient village with Samnite roots located on the border between the Ciociaria and Abruzzo, at the foot of mountains travelled by merchants, monks, pilgrims and shepherds. This village, situated at an altitude of 728 metres, is known for its dominant position on the Comino Valley and the Melfa river basin.
San Donato Val di Comino is a place with many souls. It is a mountainous place, located within the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park. It is an obligatory passage for those who want to travel from the Lazio side to the Abruzzo side through the Forca d'Acero pass. It is also a Mediterranean place, known for the production of high quality oil. Many outdoor activities can be practised here, such as hiking, skiing and climbing, and free flight with paragliding and hang-gliding.
San Donato Val di Comino is a naturalistic place with a beech forest and many animal species, and is known for its handicraft tradition of stonemasons who have decorated the houses and alleys of the village. In addition, it is a religious place with a strong devotion to the local patron saint, San Donato d'Arezzo, and Santa Costanza.
The Sanctuary of San Donato
The original core of the Sanctuary of San Donato may even date back to the years immediately following the martyrdom of the holy bishop. The earliest certain date goes back to 778 AD, when the Lombard Duke Ildebrando of Spoleto ceded the church to the important Benedictine abbey of San Vincenzo al Volturno. The sanctuary underwent great artistic and religious development from the 15th century onwards, thanks also to the arrival of Tuscan merchants in the area.
Walls were built around the church over time, transforming it into the “castrum sancti Donati”. In the 19th century, it had five thousand inhabitants, but the population was forced to emigrate due to brigandage, earthquakes and economic poverty. Currently, it has just over two thousand inhabitants. In the 18th century, Gaspare Capricci decorated the church with a cycle of frescoes depicting the life of the saint. On the counter façade, the Expulsion of the Merchants from the Temple is depicted.
The Collection of Ex Voto
The sanctuary's collection of votive offerings is also valuable, bearing witness to the many graces attributed to San Donato. In particular, people have always turned to San Donato to be cured of epilepsy, which in the area is known as “mal di San Donato”. It is said that in 1799 a Napoleonic officer, who wanted to make the shrine into a barracks for French soldiers, suffered an epilepsy attack and, falling to his knees before the altar of the saint, changed his mind.
The Feast of St Donatus
The patron saint's festival of San Donato takes place on 7 August. After the great torchlight procession on the eve of the event, the statue of the bearded bishop, dressed in garish red vestments and wearing a tiara of the same colour, leaves the church and is carried in a procession on his shoulders through the streets of the town, accompanied by the band and the sound of barrels. At the end of August, there is the feast, procession and related ancient market of St Constance, who has been elected patron saint of the town for centuries.
The tradition of stonemasons in San Donato Val di Comino
Stonemasons were protagonists of an important tradition in San Donato. The stonemasons of San Donato Val di Comino created keystones for the portals of houses in the historic centre, used to identify the social rank of families. Only the richest families could afford to commission them from local craftsmen, including Tempesta, Di Bona, Fabrizio, Cardarelli, Mazzola, Cautilli and Cellucci.
After World War II, thanks to stone masons, San Donato was rebuilt even more beautifully with stone bridges and fountains. They also enabled the reconstruction of Montecassino Abbey, located only 40 km from San Donato. However, post-war economic difficulties led many of them to emigrate to the United States, especially to Massachusetts, where they made Quincy the “city of granite”.
Discovering the medieval village of San Donato Val di Comino
The labyrinth of houses and narrow streets decorated by the stonemasons of San Donato is well worth a visit, many of which have a “mascaron” painted on their doorways to ward off the presence of the 'monacello', a ghost of a dead child feared in southern popular tradition.
The ascent to the castle and the square medieval tower that dominates the village also offers a fascinating experience, with winding streets, small squares and covered passages called “spuort'. The spuort” of the plague, the providence, the origins, the flood and also that of Fra’ Tommaso illustrate the life of Tommaso di San Donato (1578-1648), a Capuchin friar born in the village who died revered as a saint in Naples, where his tomb is located in the convent of Sant'Eframo Nuovo. Two paintings depict his life.
Among the relics preserved by the brethren is an ampulla with his blood, at the contact of which many devotees have received miraculous graces and wonders. Besides the miraculous events, such as the multiplication of oil and wine that made him a protagonist in Masaniello's Naples, the memory of his radiant splendour remains, handed down by contemporaries such as Gian Battista Vico.
The Cathedral and Churches of San Donato
As you walk along Via Maggiore, you will come across the “scandal” stone, where insolvent debtors were exposed in the 16th century. After passing Piazza Coletti with its 1891 sundial, one enters the medieval town through the Porta dell'Orologio, dating back to the 13th century. On it, three crosses commemorate three bandits hanged in the 16th century.
Along Via Pedicata, it is possible to reach the cathedral, dedicated to Santa Maria and San Marcello Papa, whose origins date back to the 14th century. Note the choir and organ, made in Subiaco by Cesare Catarinozzi.
Under the high altar, a glass urn holds the body of Saint Constance. A Roman martyr whose remains were allegedly transported here in the 18th century from the Roman catacombs of San Callisto. Climbing the steep steps, you can reach the Sanctuary of San Donato. Opposite the cathedral is Palazzo Quadrari, built in the 18th century and characterised by Roman epigraphs along the wall of the grand staircase.
The town has several churches. These include those of the Madonna del Carmine and Sant'Antonio (Convent), San Rocco, Cappelletta, Serola and Divino Amore.
The memory of the Jews interned in San Donato Val di Comino during Fascism
In San Donato Val di Comino you will see a memorial stele commemorating the group of 28 Jews whom the fascist regime interned here from 1940 to 1944. The local community warmly welcomed these Jews, including prominent personalities such as Grete Bloch, a friend of Franz Kafka, and German silent film actress Grete Berger. However, the Nazis captured 16 of the 28 Jews, including both women, on 6 April 1944 and sent them to Auschwitz. Only four of them returned alive. Little Noemi Levi, a girl of less than two years old, was among the victims.
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Cover photo by Samuele Tocci