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Santopadre: the Ciociaria Village Born from Devotion to an English Pilgrim
A hill among woodlands, vineyards and olive groves, stone alleyways opening onto stairways and underpasses, thick walls with seven circular towers: Santopadre is the smallest medieval village in the Valle del Liri in Ciociaria. Back in Roman times, the villas of distinguished figures stood here — among them Titus Pomponius Atticus, brother-in-law of Cicero. Traces of that era still surface around Mount Campeo.
From Castrum Foroli to the "Holy Father"
A document of 1018 calls it Castrum Foroli: perhaps derived from forum (small market). It changed when the people began to venerate San Folco (St Fulk), an English pilgrim of the 7th century who stopped here on his return from the Holy Land, and spent the rest of his life here caring for the sick. After his death, the fame of miracles spread. The epithet santo padre — holy father — eventually supplanted the original place name.
The Church of San Folco and the Cavalier d'Arpino
The 16th-century church dedicated to the patron saint — having a capacity of 1,400 — preserves on the high altar a double-sided canvas by the Cavalier d'Arpino depicting the Last Supper. In the same church, in a reliquary urn, are the remains of the saint. A few miles away are the Gole del Melfa — a 14-kilometre stretch of canyons with woodlands, waterfalls and rocky walls: a natural gateway to the Abruzzo National Park.
