Social Program

We have an exciting social program planned for the EUROMECH-Colloquium 563 in including the Welcome Reception, conference Dinners and post-conference tours. We plan to show you the best of Italian hospitality; stunning venues, delicious food and drinks.

Monday 17th March – Conference Dinner

The Conference Dinner will be held in the pizzeria napoletana L’Angolo di Napoli, 2 minutes walk from the Conference venue in Cisterna di Latina.

Tuesday, 18th March – Visit to Cori and Sermoneta

Cori, a town in the , developed in the age of the expansion of Roma (7th-6th century BC). It became a Roman possession after the Social War (90-88 BC), maintaining some administrative and political autonomy.!The most famous monument in Cori is the Hercules Temple (early 1st century BC) which is located at the very top of the town; it was studied by many Renaissance artists, including Raphael, and it was depicted by Giovan Battista Piranesi. The main features of this monument is that the Doric columns have the proportions, height versus diameter, of Ionian columns and in the fact that the front is slightly concave.!Moreover the town hosts the graceful Church of Santa Oliva, which was built in 1467-85 over a Roman temple dedicated to Janus. In the apse is a fresco of Pinturicchio's school. Annexed is a cloister from 1480. Nearby are the remains of the Temple of Castor and Pollux (a 1st- century BC restoration of the 5th-century BC sanctuary).! Similar to other towns (e.g. Alatri, Segni), Cori was protected by massive walls in opus poligonalis (polygonal masonry).

Sermoneta is a walled hill town, in the province of Latina (), with a 13th-century Romanesque cathedral called Cathedral of ‘S. Maria Assunta’ and a castle, built by the Caetani family. The Cistercian Valvisciolo Abbey is located nearby.!The Caetani Castle of Sermoneta was built for the Annibaldi family in the early 13th Century. Designed as a military fortress, the castle served at the time as a bastion of strategic importance between Naples and , though it also served as a noble house in its earliest years. The castle's outer walls are as thick as 3 meters in places and the entire structure is embedded in solid rock. It encountered assaults and wars, famous guests (Frederick III in 1452, Charles V in 1536, Lucrezia Borgia who was "mistress" when Pope Alexander VI Borgia expropriated the Caetani) and moments of festive peace. The visit to Cori and Sermoneta will be concluded with a conference Social Dinner. Transportation to and from these activities will be arranged.

Wednesday, 19th March – Visit to Giuliano di Roma

Giuliano di Roma is located at the western edge of the province of Frosinone, at the turn of the Palombara step that marks the watershed between the valley of the Sacco and Amaseno. The name derives from the medieval Castrum Juliani that, after the unification of , was claimed by the Roman province of Rome which the council was dependent on. ! At the top of the old town stands the eighteenth- century Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, which was consecrated in 1783 and erected on the site of the ancient castle.!The apsis is decorated with a wooden chancel which is the work of the eighteenth-century master Fioravante Frattazzi of Guarcino.! Next to the church stands the massive bell tower, built on the wall bay of the ancient Colonna medieval complex. It is the tallest building in the town with a height of thirty meters and was built around the fifteenth century by the same Colonna family that was a feudatory of Giuliano for about four centuries. The fortress, as well as the wall bay, was formed by a perimeter wall, from which four cylindrical towers soared from the corners to a height of eleven meters.

Thursday 20th March – Conference Dinner

The Conference Dinner will be held in the restaurant IL GABBIANO da JONATHAN, a confortable place, 5 minutes walk from the Conference venue in Cisterna di Latina.