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  - Cori(detail of a fresco at S. Onofrio; this page is also part of Giuseppe Vasi's Environs of Rome description)
Ferdinand Gregorovius, a German historian best known for his studies on medieval Rome, spent the summer of 1860 at Genazzano with his friend Johannes Muller, a painter; the two decided to go on a ride across the Volsci Mountains to see the Pontine Marshes.
The journey was described in an account (Aus den Bergen der Volsker) written by Gregorovius for a German paper (you can read the English translation by Dorothea Roberts in Bill Thayer's Web Site).
Cori was the journey's final destination and Gregorovius and his friend reached it from Norma, so they arrived at Porta Ninfina, the southern gate of the town. Here they saw a sort of summary of Cori's history: a) a sample of the ancient walls which supported the terraces above which the town was built; b) Sipportica, a covered medieval street, and c) Palazzo Chiari, a XVIIth century palace built on top of the Sipportica.
Gregorovius described Cori as a pyramid of houses crowned by an ancient temple; the town reminded him of a passage in Virgil's Aeneid:
According to Virgil, Cori was founded by Choras, the son of a king of Argo, while his two brothers Catillus and Tiburtus founded Tibur (today's Tivoli). This legend is not the only one about the origin of Cori; they all have one point in common; they set the foundation of the town at a much earlier time than that of Rome. Gregorovius was fascinated by the view of the Pontine Marshes where Virgil set many events of Aeneid and he quoted other verses of the poem in his account:
Similar to other towns described by Gregorovius in this and other accounts (e.g. Alatri, Segni), Cori was protected by massive walls in opus poligonalis (polygonal masonry). Archaeologists have identified four types of such a masonry; those shown above belong to the third type which is characterized by stones which were cut, polished and aligned in order to obtain a smooth vertical surface.
Ancient Cori was at times an ally or an enemy of Rome, but by the end of the IVth century AD it was controlled by the Romans; the monuments they built in Cori are mainly of the late Republican period, so historians believe the town lost importance during the time of the Roman Empire.
The use of massive walls was not limited to the construction of fortifications, but was required by the nature of the rocky ground in order to obtain small terraces. Although at first sight the wall shown above seems on the verge of collapsing, it has supported the weight of huge buildings for the last 2,000 years.
When Gregorovius visited Cori the remaining columns of a temple were incorporated into a house (you may wish to see them in an etching by Giovan Battista Piranesi - external link); the front of the temple had six columns and the building was probably surrounded by other facilities, because parts of columns can be seen in the street leading to it.
Cori was plundered during the civil war between Silla and Marius (89-83 BC) and the temple was built after that period on the site of an older one. It was dedicated to Castor and Pollux, whom the Romans regarded as protectors of their republic and to whom they dedicated a major temple in the Roman Forum.
In the XVth century, when the authority of the popes was restored in the region, Cori was placed under the direct rule of the City of Rome, the municipal body residing in Campidoglio, to which the popes assigned some limited power in the maintenance of the city. A magistrate appointed by this body was in charge of the administration of Cori; thus the town retains only very few direct references to the popes and no references at all to the Roman noble families such as Colonna, Borghese, Barberini, Pamphily who had large fiefdoms in the region. Because Gregorovius was keen on describing the very miserable living conditions of the inhabitants of the towns he visited, the fact that he did not expand on this matter when talking about Cori, is probably an indication that the town was in a slightly better economic situation than the others.
S. Oliva has a very uncommon design as it is a combination of two churches; the oldest one is located near the bell tower; it was enlarged in the XVth century by adding a second church to its left. The complex stands on an ancient terrace built to support a temple. Saint Oliva of Anagni was a nun who lived in the Vth century; she is the patron saint of Cori.
The enlargement of the church and the construction of a nearby Augustinan monastery was promoted by Cardinal Guillaume d'Estouteville; he was a supporter of that order and he built S. Agostino, one of the first Renaissance churches in Rome. In addition to being titular cardinal of Ostia he held the same position at Velletri, a major town near Cori.
The Franciscans had their church and monastery on a small hill outside Cori, in line with the approach of the order which recommended modest architecture and decoration; the Franciscans however made an exception for the ceiling, an elaborate work by Luigi Guarnieri.
The most famous monument of Cori is a Temple to Hercules 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 in two engravings: interior of the temple - external link and overall view - external link.
The reason for all this interest was in the use of Doric columns having the proportions (height versus diameter) of Ionian columns and in the fact that the front is slightly concave; the temple was built at the same time as Tempio di Castore e Polluce. It was eventually incorporated into the church of S. Pietro which was destroyed by bombings during WWII, with the exception of the bell tower.
Gregorovius enjoyed his stay at Cori, not only for its ancient monuments: the air was fresh and balmy, the wine excellent and figs were sweet and cheap.
Next page (in Giuseppe Vasi's Environs of Rome): Albano. With the description of Cori, Gregorovius ended his account of the Volsci Mountains; previous pages: Valmontone; Segni; Norma Introductory page on Ferdinand Gregorovius Other walks by Ferdinand Gregorovius: The Roman Campagna: Colonna and Zagarolo; Palestrina; Genazzano; Paliano; Anagni The Ernici Mountains: Ferentino; Alatri On the Latin shores: Anzio; Nettuno and Torre Astura Circe's Cape: Terracina; San Felice The Orsini Castle in Bracciano Subiaco, the oldest Benedictine monastery 
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