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Santi Cosma e Damiano: the Village of the Physician Saints Between the Garigliano and the Aurunci Mountains
Between the Aurunci Mountains and the plain of the river Garigliano, on the border between Lazio and Campania, Santi Cosma e Damiano takes its name from the two brother physicians martyred in 303 AD under Diocletian. Tradition has it that the saints stopped here on their journey to Rome, in a cave where the first chapel was built, later to become the present-day Sanctuary. The village is a stop on the Via Francigena del Sud, and in 2002 was awarded the gold medal for civil valour.
From the Land of St Benedict to the Gustav Line
The earliest written records date the village to 830: a document of the Codex diplomaticus cajetanus mentions the Casali, small rural nuclei that grew up beside the Castrum Forte, a watchtower fortification at the mouth of the Garigliano. In the Middle Ages, the territory belonged to Montecassino. After nine months on the Gustav Line, between 1943 and 1944, almost everything was destroyed: among the few surviving buildings is the Baroque Sanctuary, with its 18th-century statues of the saints in poplar wood.
Ventosa and the Craft of Straw Weaving
High up on the hill, the hamlet of Ventosa preserves the Romanesque tower of the 12th–13th century: 24 metres in limestone, built to watch for dangers, alongside the towers of Castelforte and Suio. Here the ancient craft of strame weaving — a perennial grass plaited to make doormats, baskets and hats - is still alive and kicking.
