The anecdote of Ugolino<\/b>, passed down through an unusual stone inscription, offers a fascinating and surprisingly personal glimpse into medieval Florentine life. The story focuses on a man, a certain Ugolino, who felt the need not only to undertake a significant spiritual journey but also to engrave it upon a marble plaque so that his devotion and travels would be known to posterity.<\/p>\n
The historical context of this singular act of self-celebration is key: the year 1300<\/b>, the first Jubilee Year<\/b> in the history of the Church, declared by Pope Boniface VIII. This exceptional event promised the plenary remission of all sins to those who performed a pilgrimage to Rome and visited the designated basilicas. Thousands of pilgrims flocked to the “Urbe” (the City), and among them, with his inseparable companion, was our Ugolino.<\/p>\n
The inscription, dating back to that very year of religious fervor, was located in what was then known as Via della Fogna<\/b> (Sewer Street)\u2014a name decidedly less grand than its current name, Via da Verrazzano<\/b>. The text, written in Latin as was customary for official commemorations, was intended to celebrate Ugolino\u2019s act of faith for all eternity.<\/p>\n
However, it is in the final lines that the engraving abandons the rigor of Latin and the formality of stone to give way to a note of authentic and touching folk simplicity. Here, Ugolino breaks convention and, perhaps to ensure the message was unmistakable to everyone, concludes his account with a phrase in the vernacular<\/b> (early Italian) that has since become famous:<\/p>\n … “E ANDOVVI UGOLINO CHO LA MOLGLE”<\/b> (… “And Ugolino went there with his wife”)<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n This phrase testifies to the importance of that journey both as an individual religious undertaking and as a shared experience as a couple, sealing the plaque not only with faith but with love and partnership.<\/p>\n bye bye, Ugolino!<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The anecdote of Ugolino, passed down through an unusual stone inscription, offers a fascinating and surprisingly personal glimpse into medieval Florentine life. The story focuses on a man, a certain Ugolino, who felt the need not only to undertake a significant spiritual journey but also to engrave it upon a marble plaque so that his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1228,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-curiosita"],"yoast_head":"\n\n