APPIGNANO DEL TRONTO

Paolino from Venice, in fact, in the “Cronologia Magna” preserved in the Vatican Library (Vatican Latin codex 1960, from 1323-1334), reports this site. Bartolomeo from Pisa, at the end of the 14th century, still refers to it by the same name and added “locum de Pignano”, which is the name Appignano del Tronto.

This site, located about one and a half kilometers from Appignano, between Offida and Castignano, “is now within the territory of Castignano, between the streams: Volubile and Fosso Magno; in ancient times, being nestled in the contiguous territories of Fermano, Ascolano, and Aprutino, it served as a defensive and strategic stronghold at one of the obligatory points for road crossings. As a result, there is documented settlement continuity dating back to the Picene era” (M.E. GRELLI-E. SANTONI-B. MONTEVECCHI-A. MULEO, La Croce Santa e i frati di San Francesco di Appignano. Storia, tradizione, arte e restauro, Appignano del Tronto, 1999, 23).

Father Giacinto Pagnani, some years ago, revived its memory by mentioning it in his famous “I viaggi di San Francesco nelle Marche”, also collecting a few episodes handed down through devotion and popular memory.

We are in 1215, following Saint Francis’ famous journey to Ascoli Piceno. “Descending along a slippery path, you arrive on a hillock crowned by some ruins barely emerging from the ground, topped by a little church dedicated to San Francesco. On the side facing the town [Appignano], there is a hollow as if the wall had receded into itself. Here is the astonishing explanation given to us by the clever peasant who served as our guide.

One day, San Francesco was talking to a woman who had come to seek his advice when a lady of distinguished appearance approached, pretending to be surprised to see a Saint alone with a woman. But San Francesco, recognizing the lady for who she truly was, sent her away from him, shouting: “Go away, Satan!” The lady, realizing she was exposed, took a step back, bumped into the wall with her back, and disappeared into the abyss that opens above Appignano” (G. PAGNANI, I viaggi di San Francesco nelle Marche, Milano, 1962, 99- 100).

This episode is quite common among those passed down about the Saint from Assisi. Nevertheless, that site and those ruins bear witness to an ancient passage and settlement along a road leading to Offida and other ancient locations associated with the Franciscan presence, as there are also ancient sites of the friars in the surrounding areas. Not far from this ancient convent, you can find the Church of San Bernardino, built on the ancient Pieve of San Antimo di Raiano, an environment historically linked to the monks of Farfa and transferred to the Canons of the Cathedral Chapter of Ascoli Piceno at the end of the 10th century. So, at least, beyond the ruins of the ancient convent, the memory of a Franciscan saint still seals that ancient presence and the mysterious passage of the founder and preacher.

Appignano, however, also had another Franciscan site from the early days of the Order’s history. In fact, ancient toponymic records and the testimony of Bartolomeo of Pisa in the “Liber de conformitate vitae beati Francisci ad vitam Domini Jesu” speak of the “locum de Pignano”, which, to be precise, was not a replacement for that of Castiglioni but, at least initially, coexistent with it.

According to the description by Notary Angelus Ciccharelli in 1527, the Church and the Convent were “near the pedestrian gate, adjacent to the city walls, close to the hospital” (M. E. GRELLI-E. SANTONI-B. MONTEVECCHI-A.MULEO, La Croce Santa e i frati di San Francesco di Appignano. Storia, tradizione, arte e restauro, Appignano del Tronto, 1999, 32).

In the report of the triennial visitation by Father Orazio Civalli in 1596, it is described as “a very old, small convent partly ruined due to a landslide near the castle walls” (ibidem). Father Ilario Altobelli, in 1620, in the “Genealogia Seraphica”, describes it as ancient: “De conventu Sancti Francisci de Appiniano prope tempora nascentis ordinis minorum” [The Convent of Saint Francis of Appignano, founded in the early days of the emerging Order of Minors], and, due to its ruin, as a “signum magne antiquitatis” [sign of great antiquity] (ibid, 32-33).

The description of the site suggests that the first “fratres” who settled in the castle of Appignano were welcomed in the area of the ancient Church of St. George, possibly under communal patronage. This deduction is supported by a series of significant data and correspondences that we enumerate below: the cadastral references from 1381, which describe the property of the Church of St. George in the castle, near the municipal wall, are the same references that, in the 15th century, are used to describe the location of the Church and Convent of St. Francis, and the analogy with what happened in other sites in the Marche region (ibid, 33).

This suggests the ancient connection of the friars with places dedicated to the military saint who protected the poor, the sick, and pilgrims. In Appignano del Tronto, as elsewhere, the process of urbanization of the friars took place: from rural areas close to the poor and the related parishes along communication routes, they moved to the city or the castle, where it was easier for them to engage in “cura animarum” (spiritual care), assisting the poor and needy, alongside those who would increasingly become beneficiaries and benefactors, spiritual friends and supporters of human material needs of a growing and developing community, with demands increasingly suited to changing times and the needs of the people. Evidence of the location of the church and convent of the Conventual Fathers can be found in a drawing of Appignano in the State of Ascoli from the 18th century in the State Archives of Rome (Ibid, 30 particular and 32).

At the Convent of Appignano, Pope Nicholas IV donated a relic of the Holy Cross, which was so precious and venerated by the people of Appignano. This relic has accompanied the religious history of Appignano through the centuries, celebrated with a solemn festival on May 3rd and marked by the establishment of a Brotherhood, an altar, and a precious reliquary in the Church of San Francesco. This donation is mentioned by Father Orazio Civalli in the aforementioned triennial visitation of 1596, Father Ilario Altobelli in the Genealogy of 1620, and Wadding in his Annals (M.E. GRELLI-E. SANTONI-B. MONTEVECCHI-A. MULEO, La Croce Santa e i frati di San Francesco di Appignano. Storia, tradizione, arte e restauro, Appignano del Tronto, 1999, 41-42).

However, the Convent and the Church of St. Francis were located in an unstable area due to the San Giovanni ditch passing right next to the walls where they were constructed. Consequently, due to the impossibility of repairing the damage caused by this constant threat of water, Pope Sisto V, who was both Franciscan and from the Marche region, issued a Bull in 1586 assigning the Church of Sant’Angelo to the Conventual Franciscan friars of Appignano. They took over this church only in 1620, where they transferred the precious relic of the Holy Cross and other sacred furnishings. However, just a few years later, in 1652, following the suppression of small convents decreed by Pope Innocent X, the friars had to leave their ancient convent.

Nevertheless, they returned 11 years later, in 1663. In the 1720s, due to a disastrous landslide that had affected the area of the town where the Franciscan site was located over the centuries, both the bell tower and the Church and Convent of San Francesco fell into the valley below. The friars first moved to a dwelling, officiating in the Church of Sant’Angelo. Then, with contributions from the people and the sale of some assets, they managed to build a new Convent, which was completed by September 15, 1743 (ibid, 102). This new Convent took the name of Sant’Angelo, just like the church that the friars had been entrusted with.

They continued their precious and ancient testimony of life and pastoral service until June 19, 1808, when they were tragically suppressed, along with other religious orders, by Napoleon Bonaparte. Although one friar remained in Appignano to officiate in the Church of Sant’Angelo until 1815. Today, the new Convent serves as the Town Hall, while the Church is the Parish Church.

This is the story of a presence that left traces of faith and the love of the followers of Saint Francis in a precious and still highly venerated relic, in a Church and Convent that, although inhabited by others, still bear witness to a legacy that dates back to the early years of the Franciscan adventure in Piceno. But the Franciscan richness of Appignano extends beyond architectural monuments and precious devotional artifacts.

We must indeed refer to and understand the third characteristic feature of the Franciscan presence in Appignano del Tronto, which is that of the most illustrious among its sons and masters: Frater Franciscus Rubeus de Apponiano ovvero de Esculo, o de Marchia, he was one of the great theology masters in Paris, certainly in the years 1319-1323 (for most of the information, we primarily follow D. PRIORI-M. STIPA, Francesco d’Appignano Doctor succinctus [Quaderni Appignanesi, Anno I, n. 1 - Maggio 2005], Edizioni Centro Studi Francesco d’Appignano, Appignano del Tronto, 2005).

The name varies depending on whether reference is made to his city of origin, the headquarters of his Custody, or the religious Province to which he belonged. As for the surname or nickname Rubeus or Rubei, which means Red or Rossi, it is likely related to the color of his hair or some particular characteristic of his lineage. Father Nazzareno Mariani, from the Picena Province, has devoted the last 20 years to the retrieval and publication of the works of this great and significant Franciscan master, referred to as “doctor succinctus,” from the early 14th century. Thanks to his efforts, today we can have a more in-depth understanding of his thoughts and the strength of his reasoning. Francesco has finally emerged from the small circle of specialists’ knowledge and has once again become a protagonist in medieval Franciscan thought. Several works have been published in recent years, especially his Commentary on the Sentences and the Improbatio or Refutation of John XXII.

Since he was a student of the great Franciscan theologian John Duns Scotus in 1305-6, a master in Paris, we can infer that his birthdate should be placed in the early 1280s. At the University of Paris and within the Order, as well as in the Church and the various kingdoms of the time, there were particular moments of tension. This was due to both the issues dividing the secular masters from the regular ones and, especially, the significant question of poverty, which had emerged from within the Franciscan Order and had come to affect the entire Church. Additionally, there was the struggle between the spiritual power of the Pope, which was becoming increasingly temporal, and the temporal power of the Emperor and other rulers, who were mutually encroaching on each other’s domains.

Our philosopher and theologian friar did not remain detached from these events, as his temperament and convictions made him more of a protagonist than a mere spectator.

In the General Chapter of Perugia in 1322, the Franciscans asserted that it is absolutely certain and in accordance with the Gospel that Christ and the Apostles possessed nothing, neither in common nor privately. Possession of goods, therefore, did not align with the purity of the Gospel but rather conflicted with the original Christian way of life, especially for clergy and religious. This statement and declaration, which had been circulating at the University and was mainly supported by Franciscan scholars, posed a challenge for Pope John XXII and the ecclesiastical world. Such an assertion contradicted the principles of the legal system that governed the lives of the clergy, namely the system of “beneficium” linked to each “officium.” This system was established to counteract the accumulation of wealth by Churchmen. Among the signatories of the declaration at the General Chapter was our friar Francesco d’Appignano.

Pope John XXII was strongly opposed to the Franciscans’ stance, to the extent that he reacted vigorously. He issued a decretal on November 12, 1322, condemning as heretical the statement that Christ and the Apostles had possessed nothing, neither in common nor privately. He followed this with another decretal on December 12, 1322, returning to the Franciscans the property that had been assigned to the Holy See by Pope Innocent IV in 1245.

The Pope wanted the Order’s General, Michele da Cesena, to submit to the papal decisions, but Michele, along with Francesco da Appignano, Guglielmo da Ockam, and Buonagrazia da Bergamo, not only refused to abandon their theological positions but also presented arguments in favor of the opposing thesis. They even defined the Pope’s position as heretical by contrast.

The fate of the General, as well as that of our Francesco and the other friars, was sealed. The Pope excommunicated them. They fled to Pisa and met with Emperor Louis IV, who was also known as Ludwig the Bavarian. In the General Chapter of Paris in 1329, the Order appointed a new General, Guiral Ot, who was a friend of the Pope, and condemned Michele da Cesena and his associates.

Francesco da Appignano had the audacity to travel to Paris to try to convince the King and Queen of France to embrace the ideals of poverty and the limitation of the Pope’s temporal power. The Pope renewed his condemnation of the michelists’ theses, as mentioned earlier, with a Bull on November 16, 1329. Francesco responded with a meticulous and vigorous “Improbatio”, or refutation. On December 4, 1334, Pope John XXII passed away, and he was succeeded by Benedict XII, who renewed the condemnation of the friars loyal to Michele da Cesena. In the meantime, Francesco, who had found refuge in Munich, near the Emperor, was captured by the Inquisition and subjected to a trial starting on February 6, 1341. Francesco vigorously defended himself against all charges.

On December 1, 1343, in the presence of the new Pope, Clement VI, the Cardinals of the Curia, and the Minister General, in Avignon, Francesco read his retraction and made his profession of faith. He did this not because he renounced the ideal and the profession of fidelity to the Gospel, which he deeply believed in, but because he wanted to continue living in communion with the Church and the Order and in the faith that they professed and transmitted. After 1344, we lose track of Francesco, and it is unknown when and where he died. Given that Father Ilario Altobelli attests that Pope Sixtus V had the books of Francesco transferred to the Vatican Library from the San Francesco Convent in Appignano, it is likely that he was buried in the same Church and later moved to the Church of Sant’Angelo when the friars had to relocate due to the landslide that caused the ancient Church and Convent to collapse (D. PRIORI-M. STIPA, Francesco d’Appignano Doctor succinctus [Quaderni Appignanesi, Anno I, n. 1 - Maggio 2005], Edizioni Centro Studi Francesco d’Appignano, Appignano del Tronto, 2005, 32).

Francesco remains an example of a man who did not view the theory of poverty as something detached and merely related to thought and reasoning. Instead, he actively engaged in the events of his time and maintained the guiding principle of his life: communion within the Church, passionate participation in the affairs of his Order. Appignano may not have been Paris, but the deliberations of the Master had not lost the passion of a friar who had lived and grown amidst the events of a poor Convent in a small village, not by chance but by choice of life.