Calcata, Italy
| Calcata | |
|---|---|
| Comune | |
| Comune di Calcata | |
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|
 Calcata
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| Coordinates: 42°13′N 12°25′E / 42.217°N 12.417°ECoordinates: 42°13′N 12°25′E / 42.217°N 12.417°E | |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Latium |
| Province / Metropolitan city | Viterbo (VT) |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Luciano Sestili |
| Area | |
| • Total | 7.67 km2 (2.96 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 172 m (564 ft) |
| Population (2007) | |
| • Total | 885 |
| • Density | 120/km2 (300/sq mi) |
| Demonym(s) | Calcatesi |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
| Postal code | 01030 |
| Dialing code | 0761 |
| Website | Official website |
Calcata is a comune and town in the Province of Viterbo in the Italian region Latium, located 47 kilometres (29 mi) north of Rome by car, overlooking the valley of Treja river.
Calcata borders the following municipalities: Faleria, Magliano Romano, Mazzano Romano, Rignano Flaminio.
In the 1930s, the hill towns's fortified historic center was condemned by the government for fear that the volcanic cliffs the ancient community was built upon would collapse. Local residents moved to nearby Calcata Nuova. In the 1960s, the emptied historical centre began to be repopulated by artists and hippies who squatted in its medieval stone and masonry structures. Many of the squatters eventually purchased their homes, the government reversed its condemnation order, and the residents of what had become an artistic community began restoring the ancient town.
This trend has continued. Today the town has a thriving artistic community described in The New York Times as what "may be the grooviest village in Italy, home to a wacky community of about 100 artists, bohemians, aging hippies and New Age types."
The historical centre now includes restaurants, cafes, and art galleries.
David Farley says that, according to legends of the village of Calcata, in 1527 a soldier in the German army sacking Rome looted the Sanctum sanctorum. When he was eventually captured in the village, he hid the jeweled reliquary containing the Holy Prepuce in his cell, where it was discovered in 1557. It was officially venerated by the Catholic Church in Calcata since that time, with the Vatican's offering a ten-year indulgence to pilgrims. Calcata became a popular site for pilgrimage.
Again, according to Farley, in 1856, however, the Charroux Abbey rediscovered what it considered to be the true Holy Prepuce, which it claimed to have received from Charlemagne. It had been lost for centuries. The rediscovery led to a theological clash with people over the established Holy Prepuce of Calcata, which had been officially venerated by the Church for hundreds of years. In 1900, the Catholic Church solved the dilemma by ruling that anyone writing or speaking of the Holy Prepuce would be excommunicated. In 1954, after much debate, the punishment was changed to the harsher degree of excommunication, vitandi (shunned). Later the Second Vatican Council removed the Day of the Holy Circumcision from the church calendar in its review of holy days and obligations.
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Wikipedia