FORZA
D'AGRO'
Forza
d’Agrò is a town of the Messina province, standing
about 420m a.s.l., with a panoramic sight extending as far as Calabria.
It lies on an area characterized by jagged reefs steeply sloping
to the sea. The earliest historical document about this city goes
as far back as 1117, referring to the passage of the hamlet of Vicum
Agrillae to the monastery of SS. Pietro and Paolo d’Agrò.
The name Forza was added successively by a noble family who acquired
the hamlet – which had been likely abandoned – bringing
about new administrative and building policies.
The
tour of the town can start with the baroque Chiesa Madre dedicated
to the Annunciation. Inside, it has three naves with a large central
apse and is adorned with prized pieces, like a 1500’s panel
of the Holy Cross, a 1500’s painting of the Annunciationa
and a marble statue depicting Santa Caterina d’Alessandria.
The
next stop is the town castle, in the vicinity of the mother church.
Due to shameful robbery by private, many of which were local residents,
it retains only a section of the originally double walls and a main
doorway with a ark above bearing an inscription that reminds the
refurbishment works started in 1595.
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