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The Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Norma: the "New Church" in the Lepini Mountains
The Church of Madonna del Carmine is located in Piazza Roma, in Norma, a village in the Lepini Mountains overlooking the Pontine Plain. The people of Norma still call it the "New Church", because compared to the other churches in town — the Annunziata and San Rocco — it was the last to be built. It was founded in 1781 by Arcangelo Cappelletti, a citizen of Norma, who erected a small chapel at the entrance to the village.
Two Benefactors, a Century of Works
Cappelletti expanded the chapel in 1816, and bequeathed all his possessions to it. Then, in 1863, the rural dean Luigi Tuschi did the same: he donated his entire estate to the church, making it possible to resume construction. The blessing took place on 20 June 1880. Expansion works continued until 1926, when the two side aisles were completed.
The Interior and the Caetani Altar
The central nave is decorated with faux marble. The high altar is the most remarkable piece: made from marble, with turned columns, it comes from the Church of Sant'Antonio in Cisterna di Latina. It was donated by Duke Michelangelo Caetani, of the same family that transformed Ninfa into the garden we know today. In the right aisle stands the Chapel of the Sacred Heart, frescoed by Norma-born artist Ugo Bianconi. On the left are the chapels of St Anthony Abbot and St Therese of the Child Jesus; the Addolorata con il Cristo Morto (Our Lady of Sorrows with the dead Christ) is beneath the altar.
