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DOWNTOWN BAIA -
Panoramic view of Baia town as seen from
"Vallelonghe" hill; in the background: the Matese Mountains.
(click to magnify the picture)
As
getting in Baia's main square ("Piazza Silvestri"), it's useful to start taking
a look around: first of
all we'll meet the COMUNE (the Town Hall), with its beautiful
stone plaque dedicated to the 1st World War town's victims.
In the
Town Hall, is also carefully kept the original town crest painting, whose copy
is visible in the Counsellors Hall and on the central balcony of the building.
The crest is divided in two sides representing in its left half a
Norman
Cross (symbol of Baia) and an open book with the usual double "L" meaning
"Legio Latina" (symbol of the village of Latina). We're gonna meet later once
again these two mysterious symbols while goin' on with our town's visit...
Near the Town Hall it's easy to notice two ancient stone-wells perfectly preserved.
In the same area, it's nice to see the MONUMENTO AI CADUTI, with
the names of all the town's deads in the Big War; the S.STEFANO''s
CHURCH, destroyed after a bombing during the 2nd World War and promptly
rebuild; the
two NORMAN COLUMNS and the heavy iron gate that was used to fix
the boundaries of this populace properties, that's visible on Via Campagna;
various crests of
noble families of the town, handly and artistically chiseled on the stone
portals of some ancient palaces around and various icons with sacre scenes
and figures, hand painted on some house walls.
A typical example of icons as described before is shown in the picture here, on the right. It represents a wonderful "Pietà" (Pity) with the dying Christ lying in His mothert's arms. The scene is fully surrounded of angels and, down below, of the Purgatory souls, that asks for Heaven. This icon, is actually sited in Piazza Silvestri inside a little window right facing the City Hall, and it is probably a vow, just like shows the dedication written just under the picture, that says literally: "EX D. (o V. - nda.) PIETRO. FRIELLO. AD.1851"...
While goin' to the old medieval suburb of the town we gotta take via F. Biondi; here, after a few metres, on the right side one can meet a first typical BAGLIO (the "BAGLIO" it's a kind of a giant arch made totally of stones, that very often was once used as a "gallery" from the town old folks..): it is well kept and it is still visible, on its left side, a stone catch where once the people used to fix all the animals such like donkeys, cows, sheeps, etc. to let it rest a few time during the hard ascenting to the highest side of the town.
Following up our walk on Via Biondi, ten metres over we're gonna meet another typical side of our town: in fact, on the left side we can appreciate another wonderful BAGLIO that magically leads the guest inside a bright little square. The whole ambience is perfectly kept and it is also quite partially visible the original road paving, made of local river stones (that in town it is actually become a true rarity..!).
Still
walking on via
Biondi one can meet (on the right side) the SCOTTI's PALACE, sadly famous
because here died in the flames the Major Antonio SCOTTI and his wife Francesca
IACROCCHI, after a "Brigands" assault. The brigands attacked the
Palace to rape one of the Scotti's childs and ask for a big ransom, but the
Scotti's resisted for hours during a furious battle made up with gun-shots, also
killing a lots of the outlaws. Unlucky, while the Scotti's finished their
ammunitions, the brigands found in the area around the palace, some cans of
inflammable fluid that they used to fire the palace, hoping the Scotti's woulda
have surrend to them. But the major and his wife decided to save their relatives
letting them escape from a window on the rear of the palace, while they died in
the flames. As a perpetual memory of these facts, the nephew of the Major
Scotti, Mr. Arcangelo SCOTTI (who later became a General officer in the Italian
Army), placed on the front of the palace
a stone slab that reminds this story.
A few metres far from the SCOTTI's PALACE, there's the PALAZZO BARONALE, an ancient property of the Sanniti Barons. A legend tells that inside it there was a secret deadly trap to stop all the unliked "guests"...
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Concept, Artwork, & Programming by ENZO MAIELLO.