Cori is a treasure trove of surprising works of art set in the Lepini mountains. The small historic centre can be visited on foot, rich in history and delicious food and wine.
Take a walk along the imposing Polygonal Walls from the 6th and 4th centuries B.C., a route of about 2 km dotted with towers and bastions interrupted by the opening of the three city doors, Romana, Ninfina and Signina.
Tempio di Ercole
The Temple of Hercules is in the Doric style reinterpreted in an Italic key. It stands in the acropolis of Cori from 89 – 80 B.C. with its unmistakable 7-metre columns, pronaos and cella entrance. The ruins have been a National Monument since 1898.
Temple of Hercules in Cori – photo www.scoprirecori.it
In the past, it was a monument made of travertine and covered with coloured stucco, which was accessed by a staircase that has been lost. On the lintel of the gate is an inscription with the names of Marcus Maglius and Lucius Turpilius, the magistrates who ordered its construction.
Cori – The Santa Oliva complex
Among the many historical and religious buildings to visit are the Church of Santa Maria della Pietà, built on the temple of the goddess Fortuna, and the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Soccorso. The monumental complex dedicated to the patron saint Sant’Oliva of Anagni contains the remains of a temple from the 3rd – 1st century B.C., the frescoed chapel and the convent with its cloister. The convent is today part of the Museum of the City and Territory.
The Santa Oliva complex – scoprirecori.it
Here 2000 years of history are encompassed, with marvellous superimpositions in different epochs. Dedicated to the Patron Saint Olive of Anagni, the church and bell tower were built in the first half of the 1100s on a Roman temple from the 3rd – 1st century BC. The bell tower is decorated with three copies of polychrome bowls. The originals are kept in the Museo della Città e del Territorio.
Sant’Oliva chapel – scoprirecori.it
The chapel of the Holy Crucifix or St. Augustine and the Augustinian monastery with its cloister were added to the Church of St. Oliva only in the second half of the 15th century, commissioned by Cardinal Guillaume d’Estouteville and Ambrogio Massari, the Augustinian general from Cori. The chapel is richly decorated with scenes from the Old and New Testament.
The Santa Oliva complex
The Augustinian monastery was built next to the Church of St Oliva at the end of the 15th century. The Augustinians remained there until 1845. The work of Antonio da Como, the cloister of the convent features an upper portico with 27 different marble capitals, a masterpiece of 15th-century sculpture with complex symbols. The convent and cloister can be visited by appointment.
Chapel of the Annunziata
The Oratory of the Santissima Annunziata is “the Scrovegni Chapel of lower Lazio”, an extraordinary example of 15th-century painting in the complex of the same name. This national monument was built in 1400 at the behest of Cardinal Pedro Fernández de Frías. The Chapel contains wonderful frescoes with scenes from the Old and New Testament, separated by Corinthian columns.
frescoes in the Oratorio della SS. Annunziata – scoprirecori.it
The Chapel of the Santissima Annunziata was a room annexed to the Church of San Silvestro, since the 17th century dedicated to the Holy Crucifix. The chapel can be visited by appointment. Next to the oratory and the church, the sacristy, bell tower and hermitage with vegetable garden were added to the complex between 1600 and 1700.
Historical Carousel of the Cori Districts
On the penultimate Sunday of June, the Carosello Storico dei Rioni di Cori (Historic Carousel of the Districts of Cori) takes place, with a procession in Renaissance costumes, historical games, the Palii and the Oath of the Priors of the three gates. The festival commemorates the central role of the church of Sant’Oliva in the Middle Ages with the magistrates’ oath of allegiance to the municipal statute.
Palio di Sant’Oliva – Facebook @Carosello storico dei rioni di Cori
There are three not-to-be-missed events: the Giuramento dei Priori and the Palio della Madonna del Soccorso at the end of June, and the third and last at the end of July with the Palio di Sant’Oliva. The three moments of the historical commemoration of the first half of the 1500s are in honour of Our Lady of Succour, who appeared in Cori in 1521, and of Sant’Oliva, the patron saint of Cori since the 12th century.
Latium World Folkloric Festival in Cori
The Latium World Folkloric Festival – Musics, Dances and Folk Arts of the World is an extraordinary event between the end of July and the first week of August, for a culture of Peace, Solidarity and Tolerance. The festival is itinerant for 13 days in Lazio and features traditional music and dance, and the tasting of ethnic gastronomic dishes.
Delight your palate with the typical prosciutto cooked in white wine, prepared according to a secret recipe and accompanied by Cori bread baked in a wood-fired oven and water olives.