alatri is a town in the province of Frosinone which boasts a very nice historic center, a very well-kept acropolis, whose main door is second in terms of grandeur only to that of Athens, and the Basilica of San Paolo inside which the miracle of the incarnate host is preserved. Let's go step by step!
Walking in the center is really relaxing, the main square of Santa Maria Maggiore it is very large and airy and on one side houses a very special sundial that is easy to interpret but not immediate! I'm sure it will catch your attention.
Alatri is located within walls defined as cyclopean (or megalithic) due to their grandeur and the disproportionate size of the stones that compose them. Legend has it that they were built by the Cyclops, who today are the symbol of the city. In fact, there are several souvenir shops that show their cyclopines on the streets of the center.
Inside the acropolis stands the Basilica of San Paolo which, honestly, isn't that great, but it's worth a visit as it houses evidence of a miracle. The story is simple: a girl, induced by a pseudo-witch, at the moment of communion during the Eucharistic celebration, keeps the host in her mouth. Back home, she puts it in a napkin and, when she goes to reopen it, she finds a piece of meat in its place. Hence the miracle of the incarnate host. That piece of meat is kept in the basilica, inside a well protected reliquary.
I end with the words of Gregorovius, German historian of the nineteenth century, who referring to Alatri and its megalithic walls: "When I found myself in front of that black titanic building preserved in excellent condition, it almost did not count centuries and centuries, but only years, I felt an admiration for the strength human much greater than that which the sight of the Colosseum had inspired me ... a race that could build such walls, must already have an important culture and ordered laws. "
