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year 1000, all around only meadows and woods
year 1000, all around only meadows and woods
Historical information tells us that the first settlement around the year 1000, on the rocky outcrop of Monte Curto, was a church with a bell tower. The image reconstructs how the settlement might have appeared in the environmental context of the time, without other settlements.
Historical information tells us that the first settlement around the year 1000, on the rocky outcrop of Monte Curto, was a church with a bell tower. The image reconstructs how the settlement might have appeared in the environmental context of the time, without other settlements.
(Editing Maison La Tur, unauthorized reproduction prohibited, photos subject to copyright)
(Editing Maison La Tur, unauthorized reproduction prohibited, photos subject to copyright)
Battista Truccato, the "picapere" in search of the treasure
Battista Truccato, the "picapere" in search of the treasure
Between 1913 and 1918, the year of his death, Battista Truccato (pictured), the "picapere", dug a 16 meter long tunnel in the rock in search of a treasure, as indicated in a parchment he had found. However, the titanic undertaking, with the means of the time, did not yield the desired results.
Between 1913 and 1918, the year of his death, Battista Truccato (pictured), the "picapere", dug a 16 meter long tunnel in the rock in search of a treasure, as indicated in a parchment he had found. However, the titanic undertaking, with the means of the time, did not yield the desired results.
Truccato had purchased a building in the village, the crenellated part, in 1889. He had established his business as a "picapere" and stonemason there. While renovating the building he finds the parchment where a map indicates the presence of a treasure hidden under the oldest nucleus which includes the tower. This tunnel, still visible, will become an air-raid shelter for the residents of the village during the bombings of the Second World War.
Truccato had purchased a building in the village, the crenellated part, in 1889. He had established his business as a "picapere" and stonemason there. While renovating the building he finds the parchment where a map indicates the presence of a treasure hidden under the oldest nucleus which includes the tower. This tunnel, still visible, will become an air-raid shelter for the residents of the village during the bombings of the Second World War.
The "picapere" business was then continued by his son until the 1960s. The exterior of the laboratory on the street level and the access staircase to the first floor of the building are still full of stone arches and pillars worked by expert hands.
The "picapere" business was then continued by his son until the 1960s. The exterior of the laboratory on the street level and the access staircase to the first floor of the building are still full of stone arches and pillars worked by expert hands.
(Editing of Maison La Tur photo, unauthorized reproduction prohibited, photo subject to copyright)
(Editing of Maison La Tur photo, unauthorized reproduction prohibited, photo subject to copyright)
The Witch (or not) of the Castle of San Mauro
The Witch (or not) of the Castle of San Mauro
Maria Gotto, from Rubiana, was accused of witchcraft around 1620. Chained in a cell in the Castle of San Mauro, she committed suicide by hanging and her body was burned in public on 4 August 1620.
Maria Gotto, from Rubiana, was accused of witchcraft around 1620. Chained in a cell in the Castle of San Mauro, she committed suicide by hanging and her body was burned in public on 4 August 1620.
No certain evidence against Maria Gotto was found. The accusation was formulated by a certain "Colombino Pariggio" who declared that on the night of San Giovanni he had witnessed a sabbat around the fire in the woods of Rubiana: a meeting of witches in the presence of the devil during which magical practices were carried out, diabolical orgies and blasphemous rites. However, under interrogation, Pariggio declared that he did not recognize any person.
No certain evidence against Maria Gotto was found. The accusation was formulated by a certain "Colombino Pariggio" who declared that on the night of San Giovanni he had witnessed a sabbat around the fire in the woods of Rubiana: a meeting of witches in the presence of the devil during which magical practices were carried out, diabolical orgies and blasphemous rites. However, under interrogation, Pariggio declared that he did not recognize any person.
Maria Gotto was perhaps not a witch, a masca in Piedmontese, but an emancipated, intelligent and creative woman. She is a free spirit, we could hypothesize, therefore she was considered dangerous by the powers of the time. Or with some mental disorder. Who knows...
Maria Gotto was perhaps not a witch, a masca in Piedmontese, but an emancipated, intelligent and creative woman. She is a free spirit, we could hypothesize, therefore she was considered dangerous by the powers of the time. Or with some mental disorder. Who knows...
The fact is that in those times, where the Inquisition, the Holy Office, persecuted anyone who did not profess obedience to Catholic orthodoxy, any pretext for sending someone to the stake was a good one. He was a scientist or a writer-philosopher and Dominican friar like Giordano Bruno who was condemned and burned alive at the stake in Rome on 17 February 1600, a few years before Maria Gotto.
The fact is that in those times, where the Inquisition, the Holy Office, persecuted anyone who did not profess obedience to Catholic orthodoxy, any pretext for sending someone to the stake was a good one. He was a scientist or a writer-philosopher and Dominican friar like Giordano Bruno who was condemned and burned alive at the stake in Rome on 17 February 1600, a few years before Maria Gotto.
The cell in the Castle of San Mauro in which Maria Gotto was imprisoned is still visible. Subsequently, being below the courtyard level, it became a cellar.
The cell in the Castle of San Mauro in which Maria Gotto was imprisoned is still visible. Subsequently, being below the courtyard level, it became a cellar.
