Atina (FR)
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Atina is a town and ''
comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...
'' in the
province of Frosinone The Province of Frosinone ( it, Provincia di Frosinone) is a province in the Lazio region of Italy, with 91 ''comuni'' (singular: ''comune''; see Comuni of the Province of Frosinone). Its capital is the city of Frosinone. It has an area of ...
,
Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
region of central
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. The economy is mostly based on agriculture (olive oil, wine – including Cabernet – and beans).


History

Atina was a town of the
Samnites The Samnites () were an ancient Italic people who lived in Samnium, which is located in modern inland Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania in south-central Italy. An Oscan-speaking people, who may have originated as an offshoot of the Sabines, they for ...
, later conquered by the
Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
.
Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...
speaks of it as a prosperous country town, which had not as yet fallen into the hands of large proprietors; and inscriptions show that in the Imperial age it was still flourishing. After the fall of the
Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...
, it was conquered by the
Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...
, becoming part of the
Duchy of Benevento The Duchy of Benevento (after 774, Principality of Benevento) was the southernmost Lombard duchy in the Italian Peninsula that was centred on Benevento, a city in Southern Italy. Lombard dukes ruled Benevento from 571 to 1077, when it was conq ...
in 702. Later it was ruled by the lords of
Capua Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etrusc ...
, the counts of the
Marsi The Marsi were an Italic people of ancient Italy, whose chief centre was Marruvium, on the eastern shore of Lake Fucinus (which was drained for agricultural land in the late 19th century). The area in which they lived is now called Marsica. ...
and those of Aquino, and, together with of most of the
Comino Valley The Valle di Comino () is a valley in the province of Frosinone, in Lazio in central Italy. It runs from San Biagio Saracinisco to Vicalvi and is adjacent to the Abruzzi mountains. It grossly corresponds to the upper valley of the Melfa river, ...
of the County (later Duchy) of Alvito. It remained part of the
Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...
until 1860. Once a part of the
Terra di Lavoro Terra di Lavoro (Liburia in Latin) is the name of a historical region of Southern Italy. It corresponds roughly to the modern southern Lazio and northern Campania and upper north west and west border area of Molise regions of Italy. In Italian th ...
province, it was included in the
province of Frosinone The Province of Frosinone ( it, Provincia di Frosinone) is a province in the Lazio region of Italy, with 91 ''comuni'' (singular: ''comune''; see Comuni of the Province of Frosinone). Its capital is the city of Frosinone. It has an area of ...
in 1929.


Main sights

The walls, of carefully worked
polygonal In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two tog ...
blocks of stone, are still preserved in parts: their enclosure is larger than the modern town. The sawn blocks perfectly match and fit together in order to settle a seismic resistant structure over millenniums, therefore earthquakes could not break up or damage the existing construction. Nowaday, the way the blocks were cut and carried it’s still a mystery that indeed later populations have not replied the interlacement of the polygonal masonry. It is important to clarify that the cyclopean fortification come in two types: polygonal and squared. The polygonal blocks within a sophisticate groove interlacement whereas the work surfaces are sawed or not manufactured. On the other hand, the squared blocks are settled following parallel plans and worked with chisel. One of these remains is a boundary stone relating to the assignation of lands in the time of the
Gracchi The Gracchi brothers were two Roman brothers, sons of Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus who was consul in 177 BC. Tiberius, the elder brother, was tribune of the plebs in 133 BC and Gaius, the younger brother, was tribune a decade later in ...
, of which six other examples have been found in
Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...
and
Basilicata it, Lucano (man) it, Lucana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...
. Other sights include: * Ducal Palace or Palazzo Ducale: built in
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
-style in 1349 by the nobleman Rostaino Cantelmo. The façade has three
mullioned window A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...
s and an
ogival An ogive ( ) is the roundly tapered end of a two-dimensional or three-dimensional object. Ogive curves and surfaces are used in engineering, architecture and woodworking. Etymology The earliest use of the word ''ogive'' is found in the 13th c ...
portal with an ancient Roman relief. The "Noble Floor" has a mosaic from the 2nd century BCE. *Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta: built in
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
style, was first erected in the 11th century on the remains of a temple dedicated to Saturn. The current Baroque style dates back to the 18th century. It has a nave, two aisles, and frescoes of St. John the Baptist, St. Thomas Aquinas and the Transfiguration painted by Teodoro Mancini (1796–1868). *Convent of St Francis (17th century): held by Franciscan friars until 1865, when it was abandoned. In 1871, it became property of the municipality of Atina.


Atina DOC

The
alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...
marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. Marl makes up the lower part o ...
vineyard soils The soil composition of vineyards is one of the most important viticultural considerations when planting grape vines. The soil supports the root structure of the vine and influences the drainage levels and amount of minerals and nutrients that the ...
around the ancient boundaries of Atina are home to a ''
Denominazione di origine controllata The following four classifications of wine constitute the Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine: * ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; English: “designation of origin”), * ''Indicazione geografica tipic ...
'' (DOC) zone specializing in red wines. The standard DOC red wine of Atina is composed of 50–70%
Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon' ...
and 10–30% each of
Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse B ...
,
Merlot Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the ...
and
Cabernet franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire's Chinon. In addition to being us ...
with other local red
grape varieties This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...
such as
Abbuoto Abbuoto is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Lazio region of central Italy. Historically the grape was believed to be responsible for the Ancient Roman wine ''Caecubum'' that was praised by writers such as Pliny the E ...
permitted to make up to 15% of the blend. Wines labeled as ''Cabernet'' are composed of at least 85% of Cabernet Sauvignon and/or Cabernet franc. Grapes destined for DOC wine production must be harvested to a yield no greater than 12
tonnes The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United States ...
/
hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...
with the finished wines needing to attain a minimum alcohol level of at least 12%. A separate ''Riserva'' bottling can be made of any DOC wine provided the wines have a minimum alcohol level of 12.5% and are
aged Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. In ...
at least two years prior to release.P. Saunders ''Wine Label Language'' pp. 123 Firefly Books 2004 https://books.google.it/books/about/La_storia_di_Atina.html?id=0bRGAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y
Armando Mancini ″La Storia di Atina. Raccolta di scritti vari″, 1994.


Further reading

*


References


{{authority control Cities and towns in Lazio