# 4 - A SERIOUS REPORT ON BLESSED MARGARET CASTELLO, O.P.

# 4 - A SERIOUS REPORT ON BLESSED MARGARET CASTELLO, O.P.

IN PURSUIT OF THE TRUTH - HTTP://WWW.CINOPSBEGONEBLOGSPOT.COM - THURS. NOV. 28,2020

HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY!

THE LIFE OF BLESSED MARGARET CASTELLO, O.P. (1287-1320)

By Father William R. Bonneville, O.P. Tan Books, Carolina 2014 - Chapter 1 - The Castle of Metola

 

    "In the Apennine Mountains, in a lonely, obscure part of Italy just southeast of the republic of Florence, there was in the 13th century and 14th centuries a Papal State named Massa Trabaria. It comprised only about 300 square miles yet - despite its smallness - it was coveted by is powerful neighbors, Florence, Urbino, Arezzo and Perugia, both because of its valuable forests.

    Anyone traveling today through this country and observing it how sparse and small the trees are, finds it difficult to believe that centuries ago these mountains were famous for their mighty forests. It was here that in ancient times the Romans obtained much of their timber, floating the huge logs down the nearby Tiber from Bocca Traharia to Rome. Even in the Middle Ages the great words of Massa Trabaria continued to furnish the lumber needed for the buildings of the Eternal City.

 

    At the beginning of the 13th century, Pope Innocent III reorganized the Papal States from Rome to Ravenna. As Massa Trabaria lay in the center of the States, its military security became a matter of vital importance. For this reason the Pope raised the province to the dignity of a commonwealth, and ordered it to be strongly fortified. The little republic so organized managed to preserve its autonomy until 1443, when it was "absorbed" by the Duchy of Urbino.

 

    The success of Massa Trabaria in resisting for more than two centuries the invasion of powerful neighbors was largely due to its fortifications, the warlike experience of the mountaineers, and the wild rough nature of the terrain... The few rivers that took their rise there were too small to be navigable, and the roads were infrequent and primitive. As a result, the rural districts were sparsely settled... Even in those days the castle was not without a certain amount of mystery, for no one knew the date it was erected or built it... perhaps local tradition is correct in stating that the castle was built  as a defense against the Saracens, whose repeated invasion plagued  central Italy during the 11th and 12th centuries. Not only did the castle dominate the surrounding country ... it also had a good view of the important highway between the two principal towns of Massa Trabaria...

 

    The frequent attempts by neighboring republics to capture the castle of Metola attest to its strategic importance. One of these efforts , made by the Republic of Gubbio at the middle of the 13th century, was successful through treachery, and possession of the fort remained in their hands for twenty five years. The State Council of Massa Trabaria, on the death of their aged Captain of the People, selected his son, a young officer named Parisio, as his successor.

 

    The new commander proved himself to be a fearless and capable soldier. One of his acts was to lead his army u the heights of Metola and lay siege to the fortress. Although at that period the means of military defense were far superior to those of attach, such was Parisio's military genius that he successfully stormed the fortress.

    The regaining of this stronghold, which was in the heart of the southern half of Massa Trabaria, made Parisio a national hero. The enthusiastic natives, in gratitude bestowed upon their victorious leader the fortress and the extensive estate of which it was part. It was to this mountain stronghold that  Parisio brought his young bride, Emilia. This noble couple possess for us a special interest, because they occupy a prominent place in our story.  Unfortunately, the medieval biographers fails to describe for us the appearance of either the noble lord his lady... [It was just as well.]

 

    Parisio was the man's first or given name. Just as Emilia was the Christian name of his wife. Without the slightest  shadow of doubt, the surnames of both persons were known to the medieval biographer. But in those of violence, when noblemen placed themselves so often above the law, it would have been exceedingly rash to have stamped with infamy a powerful house intensely proud of its family honor. Since those days, scholars have repeatedly searched the most likely archives in an effort to discover Parisio's surname, but without success... [ It was just as well.]

George H. Kubeck