. 
Law. Angiolo Bertocchi
HYPOTHESIS ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF ARZENGIO
HAMLET OF PONTREMOLI
" Ostium et non Hostium " : Entrance and not of the enemies, ie friends are welcome.
This is the coat of arms of an important house (perhaps the Cavalieri) in which the above mentioned
inscription also appeared on a stone that acted as an architrave of the access door,
in what should be a very ancient tavern: the later-disappeared stone had
the same shape as some architraves one can admire in the most ancient part of the town of Volterra.
The portal now gives access to a shop, originally it gave entrance to the building belonging to the house.
When I come back to Arzengio, particularly after coming back less often, I always think that the cement has covered, for ever, some of the stones that prove to a trained observer the existence of past important buildings, erected in a particular epoch. About twenty years ago there still were at least 200 of them, about 150 of which still being in their original place. Currently, not more than fifty of these stones are visible: some are likely in their original spot (probably about forty) while the other ones have been used again, mainly in XVIII century buildings. These remains are not isolated but they have been put in much more recent buildings, that are still being used. The kind of working of the blocks and of their positioning proves that some buildings pre-existed: we cannot rebuild them in their former structure, even if we let our imagination run free, but they definitely were important and
date back to the Roman republic.
Christ Saviour "with tunic", in order to avoid controversy with the Arians who denied the possibility of a suffering God and, consequently, did not accept the idea of the Crucifixion. Similar works may be seen at Dobbiana (MS), Lucca and Fornovo (PR).
The ancient complex of the village, from the surrounding rises looks like a conglomeration of small-sized houses: they seem to have been built next to each other without any logical principle. The result is picturesque, with roofs that "run after each other" while each window, showing peculiar shape and size, never seems to be cheerful but is peeping with irony or sadness, as if in blissful anarchy. As for these notes, whatever the conglomeration, following the outline of the hill, it is almost completely contained within a well determined elliptical perimeter that a small road encircles: the latter may be covered starting by the Pasquali household then, after turning right, flanking the Bianchi-Bardò and the Bianchi (currently Gussoni) households; then, the Tonelli residence (today Venuti). If we continue without turning left, we arrive under the Giovanni Cattini residence (today Bertolini), under the Pinotti-Bianchi household (said "the boat" , now Magnani); then we arrive "under" the Venuti household (Sorsi), including the one today called Pellegrino, the Talamini (now Pietro Cattini) and finally the Bianchi household (currently Luciano Venuti) up to the "larpian"; here is where the Cavalieri and the Donnini households (today Guido and Giancarlo Pinotti-Bianchi and Alberto Venuti) have overflown a little and broken the primitive perimeter; in fact, reaching "ca' dal papa" (the Cattini households) and the point whence we started, it seems to be covering the two catheti of a right-angled triangle. The primitive perimeter most likely described a sort of arch on the hypothenuse and towards the inner part of this triangle. It is obviously a fortified settlement; the small road, just now covered, was the circumvallation, in the most literal meaning of the word: circum vallum . This is confirmed by the stones that, because of the actual danger of their soon to be total disappearance, made me write these notes.
Pieces of the boundary wall of "arx romana" (about 170 BC - Republican Rome).
The most interesting place used to be, up to about twenty years ago, by the side of the so called "Vitalino's vegetable garden". Under the arches of the loggia, a not too old one that overlooks the left side, there are traces of old buildings: they actually are illegible, at least with my means. Therefore, we cannot date them even if, under the first arch on the left, there is still the trace of arches whose daring structure cannot be referred to a building to be used by farmers, who were very poor as the cultivable soil itself was very poor. It should be a military building. At the end of the vegetable garden, where now grows a beautiful hollybush, there is a stub of wall on which lies the Angelo Zanetti's house. From that side, the fragment of wall is almost as long as the house and, I would say, about two metres high. Frankly, it falls sheer to the outside: so the owner has had the "bright" idea of sticking to it by cement a sort of supporting wall with opposite inclination, in case the statics of the house could be compromised ... The result is that one cannot see anything else. What used to be the most precious document of the history of the village is buried for ever. Of course everybody may dispose of their own things as they prefer; furthermore, in this world nothing is eternal... The fact is that nobody will ever see that beautiful fragment of wall again. We all, at least the ones over thirty years old, know that it is under that cement and we also know how it is made. It consists of some same sized cube-shaped blocks of boulder, with side about 40 cm , if I am not wrong; their arrangement makes us state, almost certainly, that the wall belongs to a republican Rome building. So, the village of Arzengio is built on the walls of an important settlement which dates back to that epoch. About forty similarly shaded stones, a little bigger, are still visible under the vault that brings from the Pasquali household to the Zanetti residence (side opposite to the one above mentioned), in the right wall. Even if they are put in the interstices with mortar of different epoches, they most probably are still located in their original place and were part of a now unreadable building, definitely an important one. It is most likely a part of the walls. (I have already said that the circumvallation underwent the change from "larpian" to "cà dal papa"). Other stones, with the same characters, may be found here and there, still used. A couple of them are under the vault between the former Alfredo Zanetti's cattleshed and the Noiosi's barn; others are in the lower parts of the Alberto Venuti's big vault ("al tanùn"); and so on. These little things are enough to show the existence of a military settlement, definitely not an agricultural one: it must have been an imposing one, of high strategic value.
A sacrificial stone found while digging to build a wall of restriction, about one metre deep, at "Val" di Arzengio; due to its originality, understanding its function is hard. Terminal part of a water pipe? Its allusive shape rather makes us think of a sacrificial stone for propitiatory rites of the fertility. This handmade article surely dates to the period in which the area was inhabited by the Apuan Ligurians, because of the spring waters as well (V/VI century BC).
For this reason, in order that we can discover why the complex was erected, we have to turn our attention to what happened in upper Lunigiana at the time to which the fragments of the above mentioned wall date. At the end of the second punic war (201 BC) the Romans recovered the faith in their own power and settled accounts with some towns that were already their subjects or federate towns, which had backed Hannibal (eg Capua and Tarentum); then, they decided to conquer Northern Italy. They had been already on this way before the second punic war, by building the via Flaminia up to Rimini, by the conquest of Milan and by the foundation of the colonies of Piacenza and Cremona (222 BC). On this basis, in 198 BC they forced to the reason both the Insubri and the Galli Boi and founded the colony of Bononia (today Bologna) where there used to be the etruscan Fèlsina. The Insubri and the Galli Boi immediately realized that they could not resist Rome and scarcely opposed it, while others, ie the Ligurians, were indomitable. In the past, they had occupied the majority of Northern Italy, practically from the Maritime Alps to the Garda. At the period considered, they were settled in the Apennine area, that approximately spreads out from the Maritime Alps to Bologna. They still were organized in tribes and were divided in three groups of tribes: the Frignati Ligurians, around the Emilian Apennine close to Modena (today Frignano); the Ripuari Ligurians, settled in the territories that more or less correspond to the current Liguria; the Apuan Ligurians, in the current Lunigiana; north and west of the group of the Orsaro, they reached the plane of the river Taro. These groups basically disagreed about everything but the indomitable dislike for Rome, as they were aware that every arrangement with it would result in the rapid disappearance of their ethnic groups. They all had supported Hannibal and had helped him in his way from the Alpes to the Trasimeno. The Apuan Ligurians were actually the proudest and most indomitable ones. Rome chose the most radical and effective way to <<improve>> the area of their settlement. The upper Lunigiana was not bound to hold major communications, that will be built somewhere else (via Emilia and via Aurelia ), but, in spite of that, if the Apuan Ligurians had not been ousted they would have inconvenienced the trade on the via Emilia, north, and the one on the via Aurelia, south. In order that such a danger could be eliminated, the Romans decided to capture them and to deport them all together. Which they did, deporting them to Benevento, in Sannio.
This is a sign of a pre-existent small window, that most probably was part of the earliest church in Arzengio, northwards: later, during the building of a new church, it was filled up to the current country level. In 1600 they built the chapel of a confraternity dedicated to S. Rocco; when the latter also fell into disuse, due to the Napoleon's order that forbade the indoor burial, they took its roof from it and used it as a graveyard.
Everybody but, most likely, some people who could be hidden in the less accessible places of the mountains. The small villages of the Zerasco area perhaps originated from these survivors. The operation was managed by consul Cornelius and was achieved in 180 BC. It was certainly a huge operation that required a large use of men and means as well as the whole military technique of the Roman army. According to the art of war of the time, they fixed the main points for the concentration of the troops and every necessary thing. North from the Apennine they founded Forum Novum (Fornovo) that probably was destined to the concentration of the < < rounded up people>> in that area as well. On this side, the concentration point was Luni where a port was rising, bound to become very important. In our territories they built two fortresses of primary importance on both sides of the Magra river. The toponyms still refer to the places where the troops camped. For instance: Opilo (Oppidum = fortress); Muncastra (mons castrum = mount camp). The two fortresses were definitely Arzelato (arx elata = elevated fortress) and our Arzengio. This also explains why in Arzengio we may find races of buildings which date exactly to that Roman epoch. From the square of the new church of Arzengio we can understand the strategic value of these positions: who controlled them, also controlled the whole upper Lunigiana valley. From Arzelato the impression is even deeper.This is why they provided this settlement with so important works. The name "Arzengio" itself , removes all doubts.The first part certainly comes from << arx >> (fortress, crucial point). The origin of the second one is not as clear. I do not agree with people who make the toponym come from << arx gentium>>, giving to the plural genitive of <<gens>> a meaning different from the usual one (ie <<of the peoples>>) and translating with <<fortress of the Gentiles>> (in the meaning of pagans). I think that such an opinion was firstly set out by don Marzocchi, a student of humanities and the parish priest of Arzengio towards the twenties: it is a seductive opinion for the perfect assonance and as the inhabited centre for a long time was pagan. As for the assonance, it actually disappears when we think that in 1200 and afterwards the village was called << Arzegno >>. The second argument may be more valid.
Traces of the pillars of S. Rocco church.
S. Rocco (1345/50-1376/79)
He was a pilgrim from Montpellier, in France. During his pilgrimage in Roma, he did his utmost to treat the plague victims. He got some cures, such as the one of a high prelate of the Curia Romana, that were considered miraculous. On his way back (perhaps he also went to Arzengio through the way of Monte Bardone, also known as via Francigena) at Piacenza he contracted the plague. He retreated to a forest near the town and they say that every day a dog brought him some bread. He recovered and continued his journey to France. At Angera (VA) he refused to be identified, as people who give charity must keep their identity secret: then he was sent to prison in the Rocca where, still weak because of the recent illness, he died. His mortal remains were buried at Voghera (PV) and subsequently were brought to Venice.
The whole upper Lunigiana was evangelized very late. The plaque in the small San Giorgio church at Filattiera commemorates a man (I think he was a monk coming from Bobbio) who breached the idols, during the Astolfo's reign (half of the VIII century). The Christianity arrived in Arzengio late (as well as in the whole upper Lunigiana) and most likely was strongly opposed, as proved by the fact that the buildings for its worship were built very far from the inhabited centre, much farther than the spot where the current church is. The new religion probably caught on with shepherds who had settled out from the walls and from the cultivated fields. On the other hand, I do not think that such reluctance to disavow the pagan divinities could be so important to produce the specification << arx >>, that previously was not specified. Actually, at that time it was most likely a very small and poor settlement, where the ancient soldiers had become farmers. Suffice it to think that in a paragraph of the statutes of Pontremoli, they prevent the inhabitants of << Arzegno >> from covering their home with straw roofs! If a specification must be given to << arx >> (which definitely was present from the beginning), and the Latin noun << gens >> must be used, the latter must be in singular genitive case, ie << gentis >>: therefore, one has to accept the loss of the << nomen >> of this << gens >>. So: << arx gentis... >> followed by a lost << nomen >>, in singular genitive as well. Although this is a hypothesis, differently from the other one above mentioned it may be supported with the following considerations. The Romans would not leave the Lunigiana after driving out its tough inhabitants (the Apuan Ligurians). The territory was obtained with no half measures and had to be kept in order to avoid future pockets of populations hostile to Rome and to its trade: its orographic conformation isolated this area from the rest of the peninsula. They certainly left some veterans of the victorious army in the area and, in what was probably the most strategic point, the group was homogeneous, as it belonged to one << gens >> (the Roman people at that time was organized in << gentes >>, ie quite homogeneous groups, as for blood ties, that substituted the previous - not too far - tribes). There is a reason why the << arx >>, which will become Arzengio, was also very important for the maintenance of the conquest.
Trace of the apse line, destroyed at the end of the twenties.
The Romans, as said, in this area did not build roads of vital importance; they did not even think of that. In spite of that, a less important road was definitely built: it linked this area to Fornovo (at that time, "Forum Novum") perhaps by changing and enlarging some old Ligurian paths. It is most probably the road that still runs through the Crocetta crossing (afterwards, due to its crucial importance, it will become the via Francigena as well as a road of nationwide account; it has been recently substitutued with the Cisa main road). Some traces are still visible: for instance, where the road rests on the rock, for a short part (the point is called << i posaduri >>) there still are about twenty sets similar in size to the ones used by the Romans to pave their streets. In the following centuries the road was maintained through a poor handmade product, the so called < < risë >> (cobbled surface), a medieval invention. In the place described, here and there, in the middle of the << risë >> these sets may still be seen: they do not match the idea of < < risë >>; moreover, their stone is not more resistant than the one extracted on the spot -some very friable sandstone-. Therefore, they must have been brought from another place. In the point called << muntada di masacri >> the flank of the mountain shows a big cut that made the road compatible with the strategy of the time. So huge works at that time could be planned and achieved only by a power like Rome (although they were not of primary importance) not certainly by the following inhabitants of Arzengio, who became farmers. (The << bèna >> , a typical Roman tool, in its name as well, the product of the mountain). In order to protect this road, they most likely left or transferred here a homogeneous group with the characters of a << gens >>: from this, the second part of the name "Arzengio" may come. Some other marks of such an origin of the inhabitants of Arzengio might also be caught in some peculiarities of their way of think, their aptitude and their religiosity, at least in people of my generation or even older; but this goes beyond the limits of the present work. Moreover, I do not mean to hurt somebody's feelings, for misunderstanding, so I will drop the idea. Before another crucial argument, I just want to add an apparently meaningless detail related to the dialect of Arzengio.
At left plaque with date on the bell-tower built for the church demolished at the end of the twenties, still working for the current church (about 100 metres far from the latter). Carved letters and carved figures mean: "Populus Arzengi rectore Palino 1891 fecit", ie "The people of Arzengio built in 1891 when the parish priest was Don Palini". At right ex Guidi residence, now Ratto residence: Medicean crest out of the portal from which they removed the balls (maybe in order to prohibit the owner from possessing the house).
The personal pronouns <<me>> and <<te>> are used either as a direct and as an indirect form: their <<e>> is rather narrow. This is why the ones of the Costa and of Ceretoli, who pronunce <<e>> in these pronouns as in transalpine dialects, sometimes make fun of the inhabitants of Arzengio. They were pronounced with the same <<e>> also in the language of Varro and Plautus, therefore they are still the same. All the dialects in Northern Italy come less from the simplification of the Latin expressions than from the insertion of the Latin in old linguistic stocks. The outmost of such a simplification, by elimination of prefixes and endings, is a very simplified language, suitable to communicate within some communities who became, not only materially, very poor. As <<me>> and <<te>> are monosyllables, they could not be simplified more and are still as they were in Latin.
One may say: all this from 200 stones!
I think that there is even too much. Fortunately, another character of the village proves the Roman origin of the latter. The Romans followed a precise method in the subdivision of the land to be assigned to the veterans: it was called <<centurial>>. After fixing the central point in the land, they marked out two perpendicular axes called cardo, from south to north, and decumanus, from east to west. Parallel to them were other axes, at a specific distance. So the land was divided in several squares or rectangles (according to the characters of the place), with the same surface, each of which being given to a century of veterans. If we fly by plane over the area limited by Ferrara, Bologna and Modena, we can still see the marks of such a criterion for the subdivision of the land: they are clear and well kept thanks to the typical local legal institution said partecipanze agrarie, that used to rule the possession of those lands over the centuries. The Romans followed such a criterion, though with different sizes, also in the building of encampments or settlements. I have been having this opinion for long, due to the comparison of the few stones I have spoken about with other similar ones, from several parts in Italy. Every doubt recently disappeared when I realized that Arzengio also had been built according to this method, although on a sort of ogive.
"Hoc opus fecit io do doadis sugno 1565"; the last "5" disappeared 7-8 years ago during the works for the gas pipe because of a mistake of the power shovel operator (the damage can be seen in the picture). The stone was immured in a bell gable of the demolished church, at the end of the twenties. Letters and figures mean: "This work was built by io. do. (ie Joannes Doninus) on the 12th of June 1565, (St. Basilide's Day, the patron saint of Arzengio).
San Basilide
Was a Roman centurion who worked under the Emperor Diocletian and, after his retirement, under Maximinus, East Caesar (Emperor). He most probably suffered martyrdom by means of Maximinus himself when the latter was wary of his Christian officers and got rid of them, just before the Nicomedia battle (it took place on the 13 th of June 313 AD). Nicomedia was at that time the capital of East and the battle was fought against Licinius, a Constantin's colleague. Therefore we can logically think that the martyrdom took place the day before, ie the day that is still dedicated to this saint.
From the <<castle>> (that has always been the Pinotti-Bianchi household) southward one reaches the crossroads with the small road that, from Tonelli household (today Venuti residence), ends in the corner with Romiti household. The small street that comes from the <<castle>> today ends near the Sordi residence (the Ghia), where there is a small fountain. My over fifty years old fellow-citizens probably remember that, at least up to the second world war, walking southwards to the small street of circumvallation was possible, through a sort of lane, called in dialect <<al surchèt>>: in the building of a new side of the Sordi household (about XIX century) and of a small house, probably the Mazzetti household (today Bianchi Bardò), they trespassed a little, about one metre. These two small roads were the cardo and the decumanus: the crucial importance of their crossroads is proved by another sign. The fortified places different from the towns were also called <<ville>>: at that time Arzengio also took this sort of "genre-name". The area around the crossroads is still called <<an mes a la vila>>, which everybody can testify to. The decumanus (ie the small "Tonelli-Romiti road") is interrupted, near the Romiti household, by an embankment (said <<l'ort ed Supin>>) then by the Donnini residence (today Venuti-Bianchi). They most likely embanked with made land coming from the digging out of the Donnini household's foundations: in the building of this house, they did not consider the old structures, differently from what they did in the side looking on the <<larpian>>. Towards the Tonelli residence, the decumanus was probably twenty metres longer, or more, under the raised field called <<l'ort ed la sopa>>. The other still existing small roads are parallel and perpendicular two the main ones, respectively. One is almost undamaged: from the Pellegrino residence, it runs straight and parallel with the cardo, towards the Zanetti household around which the walls used to turn, as seen above. Another well-preserved small road runs from <<la barca>> to the Pellegrino residence, straight and parallel to the decumanus. The two streets do not intersect perpendicularly any longer, the first one following its original way for a few metres only: then it makes a sort of gooseneck due to the presence of the building that today belongs to Angelina Cattini: after that, it runs parallel with the cardo , near the Ambrogio Bianchi household. The other small road is interrupted at the point where there used to be the intersection, from the Talamini and Cavalieri households - today Pietro Cattini and Mario and Giovanni Pinotti Bianchi-. Moreover, I was really astonished to discover one more road, today not visible: accountant Angelo Venuti be a witness. Not many years ago, as he restored the house that used to belong to our uncles Tonelli and Pinotti Bianchi, digging out under the farmyard to settle the thermic control unit, he found a small road paved in the Roman style. This road is perpendicular to the decumanus (over the centuries, this point was about two metres raised) and runs under the farmyard of the Noiosi. Here and under this house, today Mazzetti household, it runs perpendicular to the other one that from the <<barca>> runs to the Pellegrino household. So the village has been rearranged and "tortured", over the centuries, with no outline plan and without respect for the traces of the past: nonetheless, it has kept such a clear and indelible trace of republican Rome, from which it comes. I am completely sure about that.
At left, this is the point where the ancient paved Roman road was found, to a depth of about one metre. At right,the point where the cardo and the decumanus cross and mark the central point of the village.
I put all these opinions as a hypothesis: some may verify them, with the suitable education, patience and good will. They actually may be wrong, as I have seen all that as a lover. Two passions encourage me: the mutual and prolific love for the traces of the grandeur of Rome, particularly republican Rome, and the love for Arzengio. The latter is a little hesitating, due to the mix of races in me. Actually, on my mother's side (her family name was Pinotti-Bianchi) I am purely from Arzengio, but on my father's side I might be Apuan Ligurian, as my relatives came from Suvero, ie a village of the province of La Spezia but ethnically still in the Zerasco area. The ancient enemies, the victors and the vanquished, died long time ago, in me also.
May they rest in peace.
At left ex-Guidi household, today Ratto: This mask has an apotropaic function (ie it keeps evil spirits far); it is actually the only specimen in the area.
At right: US FEIOD I
A fragment of writing from the lower part of the architrave of the door that leads into the balcony (the ancient Sordi household, currently the Mascagni household). What is interesting is the way they wrote, as they used two parallel lines, as if they wanted to produce some writing in relief. One can read the ending of what should be the Latin name of a man who carried out an important work, then a complete word, "FEIOD", most likely the vernacular form for the Latin "FECIT" ie "HE MADE", a punctuation mark and a small bar (perhaps the initial part of the letter M, in what should be the date of making of the work). Such a way of writing can also be found in a walled up stone in the left side of the church of Montelungo (town of Massa e Carrara), with some illegible sentences.
To my mother, a pure native of Arzengio.
Written and published under licence from the author.
"To make the proud past resound deeply in the silence of these valleys ... for all eternity "
Dedicated to Arzengio, for ever in my heart. Massimo Bianchi
HYPOTHESIS ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF ARZENGIO
HAMLET OF PONTREMOLI
" Ostium et non Hostium " : Entrance and not of the enemies, ie friends are welcome.
This is the coat of arms of an important house (perhaps the Cavalieri) in which the above mentioned
inscription also appeared on a stone that acted as an architrave of the access door,
in what should be a very ancient tavern: the later-disappeared stone had
the same shape as some architraves one can admire in the most ancient part of the town of Volterra.
The portal now gives access to a shop, originally it gave entrance to the building belonging to the house.
When I come back to Arzengio, particularly after coming back less often, I always think that the cement has covered, for ever, some of the stones that prove to a trained observer the existence of past important buildings, erected in a particular epoch. About twenty years ago there still were at least 200 of them, about 150 of which still being in their original place. Currently, not more than fifty of these stones are visible: some are likely in their original spot (probably about forty) while the other ones have been used again, mainly in XVIII century buildings. These remains are not isolated but they have been put in much more recent buildings, that are still being used. The kind of working of the blocks and of their positioning proves that some buildings pre-existed: we cannot rebuild them in their former structure, even if we let our imagination run free, but they definitely were important and
date back to the Roman republic.
Christ Saviour "with tunic", in order to avoid controversy with the Arians who denied the possibility of a suffering God and, consequently, did not accept the idea of the Crucifixion. Similar works may be seen at Dobbiana (MS), Lucca and Fornovo (PR).
The ancient complex of the village, from the surrounding rises looks like a conglomeration of small-sized houses: they seem to have been built next to each other without any logical principle. The result is picturesque, with roofs that "run after each other" while each window, showing peculiar shape and size, never seems to be cheerful but is peeping with irony or sadness, as if in blissful anarchy. As for these notes, whatever the conglomeration, following the outline of the hill, it is almost completely contained within a well determined elliptical perimeter that a small road encircles: the latter may be covered starting by the Pasquali household then, after turning right, flanking the Bianchi-Bardò and the Bianchi (currently Gussoni) households; then, the Tonelli residence (today Venuti). If we continue without turning left, we arrive under the Giovanni Cattini residence (today Bertolini), under the Pinotti-Bianchi household (said "the boat" , now Magnani); then we arrive "under" the Venuti household (Sorsi), including the one today called Pellegrino, the Talamini (now Pietro Cattini) and finally the Bianchi household (currently Luciano Venuti) up to the "larpian"; here is where the Cavalieri and the Donnini households (today Guido and Giancarlo Pinotti-Bianchi and Alberto Venuti) have overflown a little and broken the primitive perimeter; in fact, reaching "ca' dal papa" (the Cattini households) and the point whence we started, it seems to be covering the two catheti of a right-angled triangle. The primitive perimeter most likely described a sort of arch on the hypothenuse and towards the inner part of this triangle. It is obviously a fortified settlement; the small road, just now covered, was the circumvallation, in the most literal meaning of the word: circum vallum . This is confirmed by the stones that, because of the actual danger of their soon to be total disappearance, made me write these notes.
Pieces of the boundary wall of "arx romana" (about 170 BC - Republican Rome).
The most interesting place used to be, up to about twenty years ago, by the side of the so called "Vitalino's vegetable garden". Under the arches of the loggia, a not too old one that overlooks the left side, there are traces of old buildings: they actually are illegible, at least with my means. Therefore, we cannot date them even if, under the first arch on the left, there is still the trace of arches whose daring structure cannot be referred to a building to be used by farmers, who were very poor as the cultivable soil itself was very poor. It should be a military building. At the end of the vegetable garden, where now grows a beautiful hollybush, there is a stub of wall on which lies the Angelo Zanetti's house. From that side, the fragment of wall is almost as long as the house and, I would say, about two metres high. Frankly, it falls sheer to the outside: so the owner has had the "bright" idea of sticking to it by cement a sort of supporting wall with opposite inclination, in case the statics of the house could be compromised ... The result is that one cannot see anything else. What used to be the most precious document of the history of the village is buried for ever. Of course everybody may dispose of their own things as they prefer; furthermore, in this world nothing is eternal... The fact is that nobody will ever see that beautiful fragment of wall again. We all, at least the ones over thirty years old, know that it is under that cement and we also know how it is made. It consists of some same sized cube-shaped blocks of boulder, with side about 40 cm , if I am not wrong; their arrangement makes us state, almost certainly, that the wall belongs to a republican Rome building. So, the village of Arzengio is built on the walls of an important settlement which dates back to that epoch. About forty similarly shaded stones, a little bigger, are still visible under the vault that brings from the Pasquali household to the Zanetti residence (side opposite to the one above mentioned), in the right wall. Even if they are put in the interstices with mortar of different epoches, they most probably are still located in their original place and were part of a now unreadable building, definitely an important one. It is most likely a part of the walls. (I have already said that the circumvallation underwent the change from "larpian" to "cà dal papa"). Other stones, with the same characters, may be found here and there, still used. A couple of them are under the vault between the former Alfredo Zanetti's cattleshed and the Noiosi's barn; others are in the lower parts of the Alberto Venuti's big vault ("al tanùn"); and so on. These little things are enough to show the existence of a military settlement, definitely not an agricultural one: it must have been an imposing one, of high strategic value.
A sacrificial stone found while digging to build a wall of restriction, about one metre deep, at "Val" di Arzengio; due to its originality, understanding its function is hard. Terminal part of a water pipe? Its allusive shape rather makes us think of a sacrificial stone for propitiatory rites of the fertility. This handmade article surely dates to the period in which the area was inhabited by the Apuan Ligurians, because of the spring waters as well (V/VI century BC).
For this reason, in order that we can discover why the complex was erected, we have to turn our attention to what happened in upper Lunigiana at the time to which the fragments of the above mentioned wall date. At the end of the second punic war (201 BC) the Romans recovered the faith in their own power and settled accounts with some towns that were already their subjects or federate towns, which had backed Hannibal (eg Capua and Tarentum); then, they decided to conquer Northern Italy. They had been already on this way before the second punic war, by building the via Flaminia up to Rimini, by the conquest of Milan and by the foundation of the colonies of Piacenza and Cremona (222 BC). On this basis, in 198 BC they forced to the reason both the Insubri and the Galli Boi and founded the colony of Bononia (today Bologna) where there used to be the etruscan Fèlsina. The Insubri and the Galli Boi immediately realized that they could not resist Rome and scarcely opposed it, while others, ie the Ligurians, were indomitable. In the past, they had occupied the majority of Northern Italy, practically from the Maritime Alps to the Garda. At the period considered, they were settled in the Apennine area, that approximately spreads out from the Maritime Alps to Bologna. They still were organized in tribes and were divided in three groups of tribes: the Frignati Ligurians, around the Emilian Apennine close to Modena (today Frignano); the Ripuari Ligurians, settled in the territories that more or less correspond to the current Liguria; the Apuan Ligurians, in the current Lunigiana; north and west of the group of the Orsaro, they reached the plane of the river Taro. These groups basically disagreed about everything but the indomitable dislike for Rome, as they were aware that every arrangement with it would result in the rapid disappearance of their ethnic groups. They all had supported Hannibal and had helped him in his way from the Alpes to the Trasimeno. The Apuan Ligurians were actually the proudest and most indomitable ones. Rome chose the most radical and effective way to <<improve>> the area of their settlement. The upper Lunigiana was not bound to hold major communications, that will be built somewhere else (via Emilia and via Aurelia ), but, in spite of that, if the Apuan Ligurians had not been ousted they would have inconvenienced the trade on the via Emilia, north, and the one on the via Aurelia, south. In order that such a danger could be eliminated, the Romans decided to capture them and to deport them all together. Which they did, deporting them to Benevento, in Sannio.
This is a sign of a pre-existent small window, that most probably was part of the earliest church in Arzengio, northwards: later, during the building of a new church, it was filled up to the current country level. In 1600 they built the chapel of a confraternity dedicated to S. Rocco; when the latter also fell into disuse, due to the Napoleon's order that forbade the indoor burial, they took its roof from it and used it as a graveyard.
Everybody but, most likely, some people who could be hidden in the less accessible places of the mountains. The small villages of the Zerasco area perhaps originated from these survivors. The operation was managed by consul Cornelius and was achieved in 180 BC. It was certainly a huge operation that required a large use of men and means as well as the whole military technique of the Roman army. According to the art of war of the time, they fixed the main points for the concentration of the troops and every necessary thing. North from the Apennine they founded Forum Novum (Fornovo) that probably was destined to the concentration of the < < rounded up people>> in that area as well. On this side, the concentration point was Luni where a port was rising, bound to become very important. In our territories they built two fortresses of primary importance on both sides of the Magra river. The toponyms still refer to the places where the troops camped. For instance: Opilo (Oppidum = fortress); Muncastra (mons castrum = mount camp). The two fortresses were definitely Arzelato (arx elata = elevated fortress) and our Arzengio. This also explains why in Arzengio we may find races of buildings which date exactly to that Roman epoch. From the square of the new church of Arzengio we can understand the strategic value of these positions: who controlled them, also controlled the whole upper Lunigiana valley. From Arzelato the impression is even deeper.This is why they provided this settlement with so important works. The name "Arzengio" itself , removes all doubts.The first part certainly comes from << arx >> (fortress, crucial point). The origin of the second one is not as clear. I do not agree with people who make the toponym come from << arx gentium>>, giving to the plural genitive of <<gens>> a meaning different from the usual one (ie <<of the peoples>>) and translating with <<fortress of the Gentiles>> (in the meaning of pagans). I think that such an opinion was firstly set out by don Marzocchi, a student of humanities and the parish priest of Arzengio towards the twenties: it is a seductive opinion for the perfect assonance and as the inhabited centre for a long time was pagan. As for the assonance, it actually disappears when we think that in 1200 and afterwards the village was called << Arzegno >>. The second argument may be more valid.
Traces of the pillars of S. Rocco church.
S. Rocco (1345/50-1376/79)
He was a pilgrim from Montpellier, in France. During his pilgrimage in Roma, he did his utmost to treat the plague victims. He got some cures, such as the one of a high prelate of the Curia Romana, that were considered miraculous. On his way back (perhaps he also went to Arzengio through the way of Monte Bardone, also known as via Francigena) at Piacenza he contracted the plague. He retreated to a forest near the town and they say that every day a dog brought him some bread. He recovered and continued his journey to France. At Angera (VA) he refused to be identified, as people who give charity must keep their identity secret: then he was sent to prison in the Rocca where, still weak because of the recent illness, he died. His mortal remains were buried at Voghera (PV) and subsequently were brought to Venice.
The whole upper Lunigiana was evangelized very late. The plaque in the small San Giorgio church at Filattiera commemorates a man (I think he was a monk coming from Bobbio) who breached the idols, during the Astolfo's reign (half of the VIII century). The Christianity arrived in Arzengio late (as well as in the whole upper Lunigiana) and most likely was strongly opposed, as proved by the fact that the buildings for its worship were built very far from the inhabited centre, much farther than the spot where the current church is. The new religion probably caught on with shepherds who had settled out from the walls and from the cultivated fields. On the other hand, I do not think that such reluctance to disavow the pagan divinities could be so important to produce the specification << arx >>, that previously was not specified. Actually, at that time it was most likely a very small and poor settlement, where the ancient soldiers had become farmers. Suffice it to think that in a paragraph of the statutes of Pontremoli, they prevent the inhabitants of << Arzegno >> from covering their home with straw roofs! If a specification must be given to << arx >> (which definitely was present from the beginning), and the Latin noun << gens >> must be used, the latter must be in singular genitive case, ie << gentis >>: therefore, one has to accept the loss of the << nomen >> of this << gens >>. So: << arx gentis... >> followed by a lost << nomen >>, in singular genitive as well. Although this is a hypothesis, differently from the other one above mentioned it may be supported with the following considerations. The Romans would not leave the Lunigiana after driving out its tough inhabitants (the Apuan Ligurians). The territory was obtained with no half measures and had to be kept in order to avoid future pockets of populations hostile to Rome and to its trade: its orographic conformation isolated this area from the rest of the peninsula. They certainly left some veterans of the victorious army in the area and, in what was probably the most strategic point, the group was homogeneous, as it belonged to one << gens >> (the Roman people at that time was organized in << gentes >>, ie quite homogeneous groups, as for blood ties, that substituted the previous - not too far - tribes). There is a reason why the << arx >>, which will become Arzengio, was also very important for the maintenance of the conquest.
Trace of the apse line, destroyed at the end of the twenties.
The Romans, as said, in this area did not build roads of vital importance; they did not even think of that. In spite of that, a less important road was definitely built: it linked this area to Fornovo (at that time, "Forum Novum") perhaps by changing and enlarging some old Ligurian paths. It is most probably the road that still runs through the Crocetta crossing (afterwards, due to its crucial importance, it will become the via Francigena as well as a road of nationwide account; it has been recently substitutued with the Cisa main road). Some traces are still visible: for instance, where the road rests on the rock, for a short part (the point is called << i posaduri >>) there still are about twenty sets similar in size to the ones used by the Romans to pave their streets. In the following centuries the road was maintained through a poor handmade product, the so called < < risë >> (cobbled surface), a medieval invention. In the place described, here and there, in the middle of the << risë >> these sets may still be seen: they do not match the idea of < < risë >>; moreover, their stone is not more resistant than the one extracted on the spot -some very friable sandstone-. Therefore, they must have been brought from another place. In the point called << muntada di masacri >> the flank of the mountain shows a big cut that made the road compatible with the strategy of the time. So huge works at that time could be planned and achieved only by a power like Rome (although they were not of primary importance) not certainly by the following inhabitants of Arzengio, who became farmers. (The << bèna >> , a typical Roman tool, in its name as well, the product of the mountain). In order to protect this road, they most likely left or transferred here a homogeneous group with the characters of a << gens >>: from this, the second part of the name "Arzengio" may come. Some other marks of such an origin of the inhabitants of Arzengio might also be caught in some peculiarities of their way of think, their aptitude and their religiosity, at least in people of my generation or even older; but this goes beyond the limits of the present work. Moreover, I do not mean to hurt somebody's feelings, for misunderstanding, so I will drop the idea. Before another crucial argument, I just want to add an apparently meaningless detail related to the dialect of Arzengio.
At left plaque with date on the bell-tower built for the church demolished at the end of the twenties, still working for the current church (about 100 metres far from the latter). Carved letters and carved figures mean: "Populus Arzengi rectore Palino 1891 fecit", ie "The people of Arzengio built in 1891 when the parish priest was Don Palini". At right ex Guidi residence, now Ratto residence: Medicean crest out of the portal from which they removed the balls (maybe in order to prohibit the owner from possessing the house).
The personal pronouns <<me>> and <<te>> are used either as a direct and as an indirect form: their <<e>> is rather narrow. This is why the ones of the Costa and of Ceretoli, who pronunce <<e>> in these pronouns as in transalpine dialects, sometimes make fun of the inhabitants of Arzengio. They were pronounced with the same <<e>> also in the language of Varro and Plautus, therefore they are still the same. All the dialects in Northern Italy come less from the simplification of the Latin expressions than from the insertion of the Latin in old linguistic stocks. The outmost of such a simplification, by elimination of prefixes and endings, is a very simplified language, suitable to communicate within some communities who became, not only materially, very poor. As <<me>> and <<te>> are monosyllables, they could not be simplified more and are still as they were in Latin.
One may say: all this from 200 stones!
I think that there is even too much. Fortunately, another character of the village proves the Roman origin of the latter. The Romans followed a precise method in the subdivision of the land to be assigned to the veterans: it was called <<centurial>>. After fixing the central point in the land, they marked out two perpendicular axes called cardo, from south to north, and decumanus, from east to west. Parallel to them were other axes, at a specific distance. So the land was divided in several squares or rectangles (according to the characters of the place), with the same surface, each of which being given to a century of veterans. If we fly by plane over the area limited by Ferrara, Bologna and Modena, we can still see the marks of such a criterion for the subdivision of the land: they are clear and well kept thanks to the typical local legal institution said partecipanze agrarie, that used to rule the possession of those lands over the centuries. The Romans followed such a criterion, though with different sizes, also in the building of encampments or settlements. I have been having this opinion for long, due to the comparison of the few stones I have spoken about with other similar ones, from several parts in Italy. Every doubt recently disappeared when I realized that Arzengio also had been built according to this method, although on a sort of ogive.
"Hoc opus fecit io do doadis sugno 1565"; the last "5" disappeared 7-8 years ago during the works for the gas pipe because of a mistake of the power shovel operator (the damage can be seen in the picture). The stone was immured in a bell gable of the demolished church, at the end of the twenties. Letters and figures mean: "This work was built by io. do. (ie Joannes Doninus) on the 12th of June 1565, (St. Basilide's Day, the patron saint of Arzengio).
San Basilide
Was a Roman centurion who worked under the Emperor Diocletian and, after his retirement, under Maximinus, East Caesar (Emperor). He most probably suffered martyrdom by means of Maximinus himself when the latter was wary of his Christian officers and got rid of them, just before the Nicomedia battle (it took place on the 13 th of June 313 AD). Nicomedia was at that time the capital of East and the battle was fought against Licinius, a Constantin's colleague. Therefore we can logically think that the martyrdom took place the day before, ie the day that is still dedicated to this saint.
From the <<castle>> (that has always been the Pinotti-Bianchi household) southward one reaches the crossroads with the small road that, from Tonelli household (today Venuti residence), ends in the corner with Romiti household. The small street that comes from the <<castle>> today ends near the Sordi residence (the Ghia), where there is a small fountain. My over fifty years old fellow-citizens probably remember that, at least up to the second world war, walking southwards to the small street of circumvallation was possible, through a sort of lane, called in dialect <<al surchèt>>: in the building of a new side of the Sordi household (about XIX century) and of a small house, probably the Mazzetti household (today Bianchi Bardò), they trespassed a little, about one metre. These two small roads were the cardo and the decumanus: the crucial importance of their crossroads is proved by another sign. The fortified places different from the towns were also called <<ville>>: at that time Arzengio also took this sort of "genre-name". The area around the crossroads is still called <<an mes a la vila>>, which everybody can testify to. The decumanus (ie the small "Tonelli-Romiti road") is interrupted, near the Romiti household, by an embankment (said <<l'ort ed Supin>>) then by the Donnini residence (today Venuti-Bianchi). They most likely embanked with made land coming from the digging out of the Donnini household's foundations: in the building of this house, they did not consider the old structures, differently from what they did in the side looking on the <<larpian>>. Towards the Tonelli residence, the decumanus was probably twenty metres longer, or more, under the raised field called <<l'ort ed la sopa>>. The other still existing small roads are parallel and perpendicular two the main ones, respectively. One is almost undamaged: from the Pellegrino residence, it runs straight and parallel with the cardo, towards the Zanetti household around which the walls used to turn, as seen above. Another well-preserved small road runs from <<la barca>> to the Pellegrino residence, straight and parallel to the decumanus. The two streets do not intersect perpendicularly any longer, the first one following its original way for a few metres only: then it makes a sort of gooseneck due to the presence of the building that today belongs to Angelina Cattini: after that, it runs parallel with the cardo , near the Ambrogio Bianchi household. The other small road is interrupted at the point where there used to be the intersection, from the Talamini and Cavalieri households - today Pietro Cattini and Mario and Giovanni Pinotti Bianchi-. Moreover, I was really astonished to discover one more road, today not visible: accountant Angelo Venuti be a witness. Not many years ago, as he restored the house that used to belong to our uncles Tonelli and Pinotti Bianchi, digging out under the farmyard to settle the thermic control unit, he found a small road paved in the Roman style. This road is perpendicular to the decumanus (over the centuries, this point was about two metres raised) and runs under the farmyard of the Noiosi. Here and under this house, today Mazzetti household, it runs perpendicular to the other one that from the <<barca>> runs to the Pellegrino household. So the village has been rearranged and "tortured", over the centuries, with no outline plan and without respect for the traces of the past: nonetheless, it has kept such a clear and indelible trace of republican Rome, from which it comes. I am completely sure about that.
At left, this is the point where the ancient paved Roman road was found, to a depth of about one metre. At right,the point where the cardo and the decumanus cross and mark the central point of the village.
I put all these opinions as a hypothesis: some may verify them, with the suitable education, patience and good will. They actually may be wrong, as I have seen all that as a lover. Two passions encourage me: the mutual and prolific love for the traces of the grandeur of Rome, particularly republican Rome, and the love for Arzengio. The latter is a little hesitating, due to the mix of races in me. Actually, on my mother's side (her family name was Pinotti-Bianchi) I am purely from Arzengio, but on my father's side I might be Apuan Ligurian, as my relatives came from Suvero, ie a village of the province of La Spezia but ethnically still in the Zerasco area. The ancient enemies, the victors and the vanquished, died long time ago, in me also.
May they rest in peace.
At left ex-Guidi household, today Ratto: This mask has an apotropaic function (ie it keeps evil spirits far); it is actually the only specimen in the area.
At right: US FEIOD I
A fragment of writing from the lower part of the architrave of the door that leads into the balcony (the ancient Sordi household, currently the Mascagni household). What is interesting is the way they wrote, as they used two parallel lines, as if they wanted to produce some writing in relief. One can read the ending of what should be the Latin name of a man who carried out an important work, then a complete word, "FEIOD", most likely the vernacular form for the Latin "FECIT" ie "HE MADE", a punctuation mark and a small bar (perhaps the initial part of the letter M, in what should be the date of making of the work). Such a way of writing can also be found in a walled up stone in the left side of the church of Montelungo (town of Massa e Carrara), with some illegible sentences.
To my mother, a pure native of Arzengio.
Written and published under licence from the author.
"To make the proud past resound deeply in the silence of these valleys ... for all eternity "
Dedicated to Arzengio, for ever in my heart. Massimo Bianchi