The Longobards. Faith, Money & Dolci
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Who were the Longobards? Did they have long beards? Did they live in Lombardia? Are they also the Lombards?
Well, they were all these things and much more as well. But firstly, some essential etymology.
Their name does reference 'long-beards' but the 'bard' seems to have earlier connotations of 'war'.
It derives from the medieval Latin 'Lombardus' which became 'Langobardus' and the name for a Germanic people who originated in Scandinavia before migrating towards the River Elbe, then along the Danube to conquer northern Italy in 568 and establish a kingdom ruled initially by a certain Albonius.
'Lumbard', as a reference to a "native or inhabitant of Lombardy in Italy" only dates from the late 15th century.
A century earlier, however, 'Lombard' in English referenced 'a money-changer, pawnbroker' or simply an Italian in the business of trading.
Indeed, they were noted throughout medieval Western Europe as bankers. London's Lombard Street is originally the site from where they dominated the city’s money-market into Elizabethan times.
Interestingly, the Old French name of Lombart, Lombert or Lambert also meant 'money-changer'.
An old expression "long odds, much against little" was literally 'coined' in Lombard Street."
UNESCO Interest
This influence and cultural contribution, and particularly their presence in Italy from 568 to 774, was given formal recognition in June 2011 by UNESCO's World Heritage List.
10 years on, a new project was formally launched to cover the period 2022-2027.
Called "I Luoghi del Potere" it is focusing on the most significant Longobard architectural and artistic sites in 7 locations in 5 Italian regions.
Together they reveal the capacity of the Longobards to combine cultural elements from their Germanic roots with classical tradition and Roman-Christian heritage.
126 projects have been elaborated by the Associazione Italia Langobardorum, itself constituted in 2009 by the municipalities of Benevento, Brescia, Campello sul Clitunno, Castelseprio, Gornate Olona, Cividale del Friuli, Monte Sant'Angelo, Spoleto and the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities.
The overall aim is to stimulate conservation, awareness and the promotion of this unique heritage.
In fact, a main objective is to create an integrated tourism offer built around slow tourism and the themes of spirituality, culture, integration, sustainability and sport, especially for younger generations.
The 7 specific sites of interest from north to south are:
- Gastaldaga and the episcopal complex in Cividale del Friuli (Udine)
- Monastero di San Salvatore-Santa Giulia (Brescia) and whose Capitolium is the main image of this article.
- Castle, Torre di Torba, Church of Santa Maria Foris Portas, Castelseprio (Varese)
- Basilica of San Salvatore a Spoleto (Perugia)
- Tempietto of Clitunno in Campello sul Clitunno (Perugia)
- Complex of Santa Sofia, Benevento
- The Sanctuary of San Michele, Monte Sant'Angelo (Foggia)
Lets take them region by region.
Friuli Venezia Giulia
The ancient capital of the Lombard Duchy of Friuli is today's Cividale del Friuli in the province of Udine which hosts a Lombard Temple.
Now incorporated in the Benedictine monastic complex of Santa Maria in Valle, it is regarded as one of the most complex and original buildings of the late Lombard age (the second half of the 8th century).
It features rich decorative elements of figured stuccoes (made from a mixture of plaster, lime and marble dust) and frescoes. Only a few have been preserved such as the Episcopal Complex which was renovated by Patriarch Callistus in the 8th century.
It was originally a complex of buildings featuring the Basilica, Baptistery of St John the Baptist and the Patriarchal Palace, the remains of which can be seen in the basement of the National Archaeological Museum.
That Baptistery is home to two of the most important works of Longobard sculpture.
Firstly, the Tegurium of Callisto, an octagonal ‘aedicule’ which covered the baptismal font. The second, the Altar of Duke Ratchis, made of Istrian stone, with four small altars carved in a flattened relief bearing biblical themes. Today they are preserved in the Christian Museum/Theatre of the Cathedral.
Lombardia
Brescia is home to the San Salvatore - Santa Giulia complex. It houses the City Museum and was itself built in 753 as the original religious nucleus.
It was commissioned by Desiderio, the Duke of Brescia, who was destined to rise to power as king of the Lombards.
His consort, Ansa, also oversaw the 16th-century women's monastery of Santa Giulia and the Basilica of San Salvatore. The latter’s crypt is among the most significant examples of early medieval religious architecture with its rich ornamental stuccoes and frescoes integrated together.
The Oratory of Santa Maria in Solario, added in the later Romanesque period, hosts the 'Cross of King Desiderius', a precious artefact with processional and devotional functions dating back to the 8th/9th century AD.
A short distance from the monastery complex it is possible to observe traces of the earlier Roman presence. Not least the 1st century AD Capitolium (the main image of this newsletter), a place of worship, a Roman Theatre and other monumental buildings of ancient Brixia.
Still in Lombardy is the site of Castelseprio-Torba in the province of Varese.
Here it is possible to admire the remains of the castrum, a fortified site on high ground from the late Roman period which derived its strategic importance from its location along the direct route to today's Canton Ticino and one used by the Lombards.
A walled circuit and the residential fabric are preserved, as is the important complex of San Giovanni Evangelista which was restructured by the Lombards in the 7th century and features an early Christian basilica and baptistery.
Located in the village outside the walls of the fortified site is the church of Santa Maria foris portas which holds a precious cycle of frescoes on the theme of Christ's infancy.
While at Torba, visitors can experience the ancient defensive structure and Torba Tower used for military purposes by the Goths, Byzantines and Lombards before becoming a Benedictine women's monastery during the 8th century.
Umbria
The traces of Longobard civilization in Umbria take us first to the once powerful Duchy of Spoleto where we can visit the UNESCO sites of Spoleto and Campello sul Clitunno (image above).
The former hosts the famous Basilica of San Salvatore, a building of exceptional importance with its building material taken from Roman buildings, such as columns, bases, capitals and cornices. There are also sculpted decorative elements imitating classical ones.
The Basilica was originally erected in memory of the Christian martyrs Concordius and Senzia, then re-titled to Christ in the Lombard period.
The area protecting the basilica includes the historical centre and extends as far as the Rocca Albornoziana where the National Museum of the Duchy of Spoleto is located.
The museum hosts the most important Longobard documents and narrates the territorial organisation from the first Christian settlements in the 4th century to the establishment of the Longobard Duchy of Spoleto by Faroaldo I, which presumably took place between 575 and 576.
Yet, the jewels in the crown today of today’s project are the bicycle and walking routes which connect the church of San Salvatore in Spoleto with the Tempietto del Clitunno as well as neighbouring municipalities.
Here it is easy to discover related museums and hermitages where traces of the Lombardi are still with us.
For example, there is the ancient nucleus of Campello Alto sitting around the castle. It has a 14th-century appearance although it was founded in the 10th century by the Burgundian knight Rovero di Champeaux (hence Campello).
The naturalistic area of the Clitunno springs were already celebrated and frequented in Roman times.
The Tempietto del Clitunno was built in the Lombard era, between the beginning of the 7th century and the middle of the 8th century.
It has the form of a Corinthian temple using, as in the case of Spoleto, re-used Roman material, skilfully assembled and harmoniously integrated with newly created decorations.
The exterior is characterised by a façade punctuated by splendid columns covered with leaves and an architrave bearing an inscription invoking God in Roman square capital script or capitalis monumentalis (a very rare example of early medieval monumental epigraphy)
The interior is embellished with wall paintings of remarkable quality and related to those in the presbytery of Santa Maria Antiqua in Rome.
Campania
We are now in southern Italy and the province of Benevento. From 570, it was also the capital of the Duchy of the same name, a territory which included part of today’s Puglia, Basilicata and Abruzzo.
In the historical centre of Benevento stands the important Longobard religious site of the Church of Santa Sofia. It was built around 760 at the behest of the Duke of Benevento, Arechi II, as a personal chapel and national shrine for the salvation of the Longobard people.
The interior, with its central plan, is composed of columns and pillars from the classical age and arranged to form a concentric hexagon and decagon.
Two smaller apses preserve important pieces of a pictorial cycle dedicated to the stories of Christ which originally covering the entire interior.
Attached to the church is a monastery which was built at a later date. Today, it houses the Sannio Museum where the Longobard presence is evidenced by both the original elements used in the construction of the Romanesque cloister, as well as the booty or treasure found in the necropolis (weapons, buckles, belts, jewellery) now displayed in the rooms.
Puglia
The final stop on this journey through the ancient Longobard territories is Apulia and, more precisely, Monte Sant'Angelo which became part of the Duchy of Benevento in the 6th century along with the entire Gargano.
Among the most precious testimonies of the Longobard presence in the territory is the complex of the Basilica-Sanctuary of St. Michael the Archangel.
Built in successive phases around a limestone cavern, once a primitive place of pagan worship, it became the national sanctuary of the Longobards from the 7th century.
It also became an inspirational model for many churches and sanctuaries built in Europe dedicated to St Michael.
The Longobards were particularly devoted to the Micaelic cult due to its associations with the pagan god "Wodan".
He was the protector of heroes and fighters and at the core of a popular devotion for as the protector of Christendom against external and internal enemies. He was also considered a healer and a companion to souls of the dead as they faced God.
Historically inspired food along the way
As we are Delicious Italy we could not ignore reference to another element of the project: local and historical bread & dolci.
“The Longobards certainly had a sweet tooth then!”
Gubana - the typical sweet of Cividale del Friuli
A dessert enriched with dried fruit and traditionally served with grappa whose origins are linked not only to the most important religious festivals, but also community events such as weddings and confirmations. Cividale and the Natisone valley also border with Slovenia. A bridge then between the two gastronomic traditions.
So much so, the Slovenian word 'guba' means 'to fold' with the sweet characterised not only by its rich and tasty filling of pine nuts, sultanas, walnuts and hazelnuts, but also by its 'spirally' appearance.
"Desideri" - new biscuits from Brescia
A symbolic expression of the local population's links with the Lombard civilisation, 'Desideri' are made with chestnut flour, butter, eggs and sugar. They were created by the Consortium of Artisan Pastry Chefs of Brescia to pay homage to ten years of UNESCO recognition. Only ingredients present in Lombard dietary habits are used with the packaging featuring the figure of the last Rex Langobardorum, Desiderio, who, before ascending the throne, had held the important role of Duke of Brescia.
Honey of Varese
The Castelseprio-Torba area, like the entire province of Varese, is the production area of the prized local miele Varesino.
It is available as a millefiori made from the pollen of different flowers and the honeydew of several plants, but also as an acacia honey with an amber hue and delicate aroma.
The chestnut honey, slightly bitter and with a dark colour tending to black, is ideal with goat's milk cheeses which are typical of the Varesotto. Especially, the Formaggella del Luinese DOP or the Frumagìt di Curiglia con Monteviasco of the Veddasca valley.
Crescionda, typical sweets of Spoleto and Campello sul Clitunno
Crescionda is interesting not only for its origins, but also its evolution over time, with the recipe undergoing considerable modifications.
The first version can be traced back to the Middle Ages when sweet and sour contrasts were preferred.
The original recipe called for eggs, breadcrumbs, chicken broth, pecorino cheese, scrapings from the peel of a lemon, and sugar.
Today, crescionda is a sweet cake made in three different styles. The first with macaroons and flour, the second a sort of pudding, and the third a thin proposal with chocolate.
The peculiarity of this cake is that it is not necessary to prepare three different doughs, but only one. During baking, and due to the different specific weights of the ingredients, the doughs settle and naturally divide into three different layers.
It is usually prepared during the Carnival period, but can be found in restaurants throughout the year.
Saragolla wheat bread
This wheat bread from Benevento is protected by the Slow Food Presidium. Its name refers to an ancient variety of durum wheat still cultivated in the inland areas of Sannio and which was introduced from the Middle East in the 5th century A.D. by populations from present-day Bulgaria.
Different types and names for saragolla exist depending on the area of production. Zingaresca is one, as is saragolletta, but all were made according to specific procedures handed down from generation to generation.
Ostie Ripiene from Monte Sant'Angelo
With its religious allusion, this ostie ripiene is a cake composed of two oval wafers which enclose a filling made of toasted almonds caramelized with sugar and honey.
According to local folklore, the idea behind this characteristic dessert originated in the kitchens of a women's monastery on Monte Sant'Angelo.
During preparation of a meal for honourable guests, the nuns inadvertently slipped on a bowl filled with warm honey. They used two wafers to recuperate the precious viscous liquid, so giving shape to the first version of this sweet.
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