Guardia Sanframondi
Encyclopedia
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
in the Province of Benevento
Province of Benevento
The Province of Benevento is a province in the Campania region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Benevento.It has an area of 2,071 km², and a total population of 289,455...
, Campania
Campania
Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
region, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. It is best known for the penitential rite held every seven years.
Geography
The town is dominated by a medieval castleCastle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
. Most of the old section of town is accessible only by foot along stepped streets. Much of the old town is vacant, as citizens prefer the new homes and shops that ring the old town, because they are accessible by automobile. Some houses in the old town are being purchased and rehabilitated by Neapolitans
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
as weekend retreats. The town is the center of the Titerno
Titerno
Titerno is a Gruppo Azione Locale in the Province of Benevento, Campania Region, Italy. Member communities include:* Castelvenere* Cerreto Sannita* Cusano Mutri* Faicchio* Guardia Sanframondi* Pietraroja* Ponte* Pontelandolfo...
"Local Action Group". Below the town is one of the largest coöperative wineries
Winery
A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...
in Europe; it produces both Guardiolo
Guardiolo
Guardiolo is a group of wines grown and produced in the Italian comuni of Guardia Sanframondi, San Lorenzo Maggiore, San Lupo, and Castelvenere in the Province of Benevento. This is a hilly farming region with small streams. There are both white and red varieties of Guardiolo. It has been...
and Sannio wines.
Penitential rite
Guardia hosts a riti settennali di penitenza or penitential rite every seven years. The rite honors the discovery of a Madonna and Child statue found in a field hundreds of years ago. The rite consists of a series of processions the week following the AssumptionAssumption of Mary
According to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...
. Until recently, the rite was only known locally, but as residents moved elsewhere in Italy and abroad, word of the rite has spread. It has become something of a homecoming
Homecoming
Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni of a school. It most commonly refers to a tradition in many universities, colleges and high schools in North America...
event. There are four components of the rite:
Mysteries
The four quarters of town each form committees to organize a parade of "mysteries" (religious scenes), with volunteers in period costumes from the Old TestamentOld Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
, New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, and Lives of Saints
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
. The neighboring towns of San Lorenzo Maggiore
San Lorenzo Maggiore
San Lorenzo Maggiore is a town and comune in the province of Benevento, in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is a member of the Titerno "Local Action Group".-Festivals:...
and San Lupo
San Lupo
San Lupo is the name of a hill town and comune in the province of Benevento, in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is a member of the Titerno "Local Action Group".-Festivals:...
join with the committees to stage a few of the mysteries. In 2003 there were about one hundred mysteries in all. During the week each quarter of town has a separate procession through its own neighborhood. On Sunday all the quarters form a grand procession. The participants hold a pose depicting a particular moment of the mystery as they walk through town—they do not act out events. The committees informally compete with each other to put on the finest mysteries.
Choirs
Each quarter also forms a choir that joins the processions. Traditionally the choirs were formed of unmarried girls, but recently married women, and occasionally men, have joined in. The women wear white clothing, a symbolic crowns of thornsCrown of Thorns
In Christianity, the Crown of Thorns, one of the instruments of the Passion, was woven of thorn branches and placed on Jesus Christ before his crucifixion...
, and braided cords around their shoulders.
Penitents
During the neighborhood processions, several flagellantFlagellant
Flagellants are practitioners of an extreme form of mortification of their own flesh by whipping it with various instruments.- History :Flagellantism was a 13th and 14th centuries movement, consisting of radicals in the Catholic Church. It began as a militant pilgrimage and was later condemned by...
i ("flagellants") join in. They gently strike their backs with a metal scourge
Scourge
A scourge is a whip or lash, especially a multi-thong type used to inflict severe corporal punishment or self-mortification on the back.-Description:...
. On Sunday, the procession is joined by several hundred battenti ("beaters") who strike their chests with a spugna (literally "sponge," it is really a disk of cork holding dozens of pins). Designated helpers pour white wine on the sponges during the procession, supposedly to ward off infection. There are a few dozen flagellanti during the Sunday procession, who also provide crowd control. The flagellanti and battenti are anonymous. They wear white hoods and are not even supposed to tell family members they are participating. Scourges and sponges are not carried openly or displayed in homes after the rite. The battenti are all men, although a few of the flagellanti are women.
Additionally there are a few dozen symbolic child flagellanti. They wear black robes and caps, and very gently swing a small scourge over their shoulders.
