Amaseno - Italy

Amaseno (FR)

Lazio (Italy)

It rises in the middle of a beautiful valley, just 112 meters above sea level, crossed from the stream that determines conditions for agriculture and farming.
The origins date from the eighth century A. D. and until 1872 was called San Lorenzo.
From the Annals Ceccanenses shows that in the twelfth century Amaseno was a fief of the Counts of Ceccano, then move on to the Colonna in 1420, who kept the property, despite ups and downs, until 1816 when it was the suppression of feuds.
And 'famous since ancient times for many drinking water sources that flow into its territory.
The best known are the source Donchei, whose waters have diuretic properties and the source of the Schiavoni to the curious phenomenon of the intermittent flow of water.
The old town has interesting walls reinforced by the tower-houses, the imposing medieval castle, the Church of St. Peter with a Romanesque bell tower.
An architectural jewel is the Cistercian Gothic Church of Santa Maria, defined by the scholar Enlart "one of the best churches in the village built and best preserved among those that can be seen in Italy."
Inside, among other relics, the bulb will keep the blood of San Lorenzo.
The relic consists of a mass of blood, mixed with fat, ashes and a piece of skin, which is maintained throughout the year and clotted, the anniversary of the martyrdom, melts assuming a bright red through the phenomenon of liquefaction.
A few kilometers from the town, on a small isolated hill overlooking the valley dell'Amaseno, the Sanctuary of the Auricola, built by Benedictine monks in the thirteenth century and modified in 1897 by Arch. Waldis according to the neo-Romanesque style.
The ancient abbey is mentioned in the registers of Pope Honorius III to the years 1203 - 1215 - 1223, testifying that it was rich and flourishing in those years.
One of the compelling economics of Amaseno is the breeding of the buffalo milk used to produce and the famous buffalo mozzarella that has been awarded the designation of controlled origin (DOC).