HISTORY OF THE TOWN

It is a difficult enterprise to reconstruct the history of Serrone because of the almost total absence of written documents. The origin of the name SERRONE is made to go up again to the ancient name "serroni", that evokes the rocky and uneven backs of the central Apennine and that characterize the slant and the strata of the Scalambra Mountain on which to halves the coast, rose in dark epochs the native nucleus of the village.

These installations were certainly favoured by the presence of important streets of communication, that connected the capital of the empire with Trevi, Subiaco and Vallepietra.

By Nicoletta Sperati

The simplicity of the population of Serrone came out in the old rite of wedding. The man asked the hand to the future parents in-law, then the parents of the couple took accords on the dowry. The evening that preceded the marriage the boy brought under the window of his girlfriend to tune up a serenade accompanied by the concertina. The day of the event, the mother-in-law bride is prepared the nuptial bed, while her neighbours prepared her a little arch made with flowers of field. They used to go to the church afoot to the sound of the concertina and when the ceremony was concluded the guests used to throw some sugared almonds, previously procured by them. They had lunch in the husband’s house and it was constituted from simple dishes, not different from those of every day, but certainly in greater quantity: they used to eat potato dumplings, pasta as patacche or fettuccine, seep meat and dry sweets.

Other chapter is that regarding the birth of children that happened at home with the help of the midwife. However, before the arrival of the official midwife, women asked help to women with more experience. Obviously in both cases, if complications rose they had to call the doctor, but childish mortality at birth was hight.

A woman that just had a child could decide to become nanny and therefore asked it to the Senzale, a woman that picked up all the requests. Who went to work as a nanny often had to move, for the necessary period, in places also very distant from Serrone, so she left her little child to another woman that could took care of him. The nannies were request especially in the city, to attend and to nurse children belonging to middle class. These nannies were repaid with suits and money. A part of this money was used for compensating the woman remained with the child in the village.

For the economy of the village a role of great importance was occupied - and still is occupied - by wine's production (above all Cesanese DOC) and by oil production (denominated "Rosciola"). Certainly today a lot of innovations have been introduced in this circle, while in the past the whole work was made without the help of machines.

In October everyone took part in the vintage picking up patiently one by one the clusters of mature grape, that subsequently were squeezed by naked feet in the "trescarola" separating the juice from the rasps. The new wine fermented in strokes, while the must was cooked before Christmas for the preparation of the "maritozzigli".

After the vintage the harvest of the olives began. Once transported in the crushers, they were grinded by a millstone. The pasta of the olives was pressed by hand; the oil was separated from the water and put in barrels.

Up to the first half of 1900 still existed in Serrone numerous handicraft laboratories that worked various material.

The carpenter wisely worked the wood necessary to realize utensils for the every day life as agricultural furnish and objects for domestic use: "scolemaregli" (ladles), spoons, "Scife" and "scifelle" (wood trays of different dimensions used for serving fresh pasta and polenta).

The blacksmith was a very important figure, because he created utensils for all the other artisans, he worked in collaboration with the carpenter and the mason, besides he also covered the role of blacksmith fitting with iron the clogs of donkeys horses and mules

Not less flourishing was the activity of whom realized hand-made (weaving wickers, elm and straws), baskets and "manicuti", essential for the everyday life and necessary for the harvest of grape and olives, while the "bottaro" realized and repaired strokes, especially in coincidence of the vintage.

Among the artistic craftsmanship we have to remember the tailoring. The tailors sewed trousers, jackets and other garments, while many embroideries were also realized by the expert hands of the women to adorn tablecloths and sheets and to manufacture the trousseau of their daughters.

The role of leather tanner was covered from the shepherds themselves, who, after having killed the animals, salted and desiccated the furs to make heavy "cardamacchi", trousers of skin of sheep that reached the knees and that the shepherds wore above the pants.

The goldsmith art was almost absent in the territory of Serrone but however requested, so that the jewels were essentially "imported" from the goldsmiths of Alatri, especially in occasion of the fairs, when also arrived in the village the typical copper basins from Paliano.

Today the craftsmanship represents essentially a purely tourist attraction in the whole Ciociaria. The handicraft professions surviving in Serrone concern the wood and the beaten iron.

CELEBRATIONS BETWEEN RELIGION AND SUPERSTITION:

In the past many festivities that were performed in Serrone sank their remote roots in the paganism. So for a long time also Christian celebrations have preserved pagan characteristics as when for the carnival feast the puppet was burned as in some Roman celebrations. Today the most unusual celebrations have disappeared, but someone is trying to bring them again to the light through the folklorist activitis, particularly animated during the feastes dedicated to the wine as the Feast of the Cesanese and Nettare DiVino during the month of August.

St. Michele Arcangelo

The most important festivity is that dedicated to the patron of Serrone, St. Michele Arcangelo. During the year it is celebrated in two different dates: 8 May and 29 September, days when is performed a solemn procession accompanied by the local musical band. During these celebrations the hermitage of St. Michele is opened. It is situated on the summit of Scalambra Mountain, reachable also through a path that crosses a wood. A pyrotechnic show closes the event.

Celebration of Addolorata

This celebration is held in the fraction La Forma in the third Sunday of October. The Saturday that precedes the event, a "march of peace" departs from the church of Addolorata and arrives to the catacombs of St. Quirico where a Mass is celebrated. The following Monday the annual fair is held.

Celebration of St. Quirico

St. Quirico is celebrated on July 14-15 in the homonym fraction with a solemn procession, music, tasting of local products and pyrotechnic show.

It can be noticed that the festivity of St. Michael Arcangelo is performed twice a year, because the Church decided to move the true religious event to spring, probably with the purpose to succeed in supplanting precedents pagan festivities placed in this period and that surely were not inspired to the continence of the Christian traditions.

During the Holy Friday there is the Via Crucis. The procession was a real representation in original costumes of the Passion of Christ but recently has been modified; now the procession of people walks along a course where are situated some postings that represent the trial, the sentence and the crucifixion of Jesus.

In the Christianity of these places often can be find a light superstition, so rites can be not exclusively religious.

Some years ago, in the day of Sant'Antonio Abate, day when the pets are blessed, children used to go "pe' panetta", from house to house and nobody denied them some desiccate seasonal fruit (above all apples and fig trees).

To St. Rocco people made petition to be protected from the epidemics, in fact the homonym little church of Serrone was built during a pestilence.

Also today, during the day of Candelora (2 February) some candles are blessed and, according to the popular belief, people have to turn on them to avoid the arrival of rain and hail.

Close to these small rites it is placed the real superstition. To ear an owl’s cry is surely a bad auspice, as to lie down themselves on the bed with shoes or to cross the silver wares on the table. When the fire "blows" someone make exorcising gestures, because some people believe that the noise is provoked by the devil. Indeed in some residences can be noticed a broom placed behind the door,because someone think that the broom prevents the witches to enter house.

The popular song of Serrone is characterized by a simple language; the treated themes were taken back by the life of every day so that to idealize them in the modest song. A place of respect was also reserved to the feelings as love and religion, because of the strong ascendancy that the church had on the territory. But also existed songs with unusual functions as those created for mocking. For example, sometimes happened that an admirer, embittered to have been rejected, went under house of the girl that refused him and he sang:

Affacciate alla finestra mucco de soreca

Piscia alla pignatella e vatte a recoreca.

However the most important function of the song was that to accompany the hard job in the fields, to make it lighter and tolerable. A lot of these songs had a specific placing, for example, one song was exclusively tuned up for the reaping of wheat.

In the Serronese repertoire there are also songs dedicated to the Scalambra Mountain and to the village, so much loved by its inhabitants.