Drummer boys wearing bright red, orange and yellow medieval costume beat time at Anagni, Lazio, Italy, for members of the Castello Contrada or traditional town district taking part in an historical procession honouring 3rd century AD Christian bishop and martyr Saint Magnus of Anagni, who is buried in the nearby cathedral. Anagni, about 71 km (44 miles) southeast of Rome, is an ancient hill town that was once the summer residence of Roman emperors and medieval popes and was the birthplace of at least two pontiffs.
Anagni, Lazio, Italy: drummer boys in bright red, orange and yellow medieval costume beat time in Piazza Guglielmo Marconi for fellow members of the Castello Contrada, one of the eight traditional town districts staging historical processions in annual August celebrations honouring the 3rd century AD Christian bishop and martyr Saint Magnus of Anagni (San Magno di Anagni). As Bishop of Trani, Magnus worked to spread Christianity in Anagni and its neighbouring towns. He is said to have fled from persecution but was executed after he hid in a cave and was found by Roman soldiers. He became Anagni’s patron saint after 1901, when his skeletal remains were buried in the crypt of the town’s cathedral, the Cattedrale di Santa Maria Annunziata. Anagni, about 71 km (44 miles) southeast of Rome, is an ancient hill town in the historic region of Latium. It enjoyed an illustrious past as a summer residence of Roman emperors and medieval popes. Its Palace of the Popes hosted the papal court between the 11th and 14th centuries and the town was the birthplace of at least two 13th and 14th century pontiffs, Gregory IX and Boniface VIII. Contrade, defining administrative divisions or districts, were common in almost all medieval Italian cities and towns. Their aim was to unite residents to provide mutual support; heads of families pledged not to take up arms against neighbours and vowed to help each other in times of danger or need. Anagni’s Castello Contrada takes its name from an ancient fortress that once stood here.
Size: 3628px × 2410px
Location: Anagni, Lazio, Italy
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: -enactment, anagni, annual, attraction, august, banner, beating, boys, candid, castello, celebration, central, children, christian, contrada, costume, costumed, , di, drummer, drummers, drumming, drums, drumsticks, europe, european, festival, flag, frosinone, guglielmo, historical, image, italian, italians, italy, keeping, kerr, latina, lazio, magno, magnus, marching, marconi, martyr, medieval, orange, pace, patron, percussion, photograph, photography, piazza, procession, province, red, rhythm, saint, san, schoolboys, setting, st, street, summer, sunshine, terence, time, tourist, valle, yellow, young, youngsters, youths
