Sgurgola (a village of approximately 1,800 inhabitants in the Frosinone province. 70km southeast of Rome, at 395m altitude in the Sacco valley foothills below the Ernici mountains, on the road between Anagni and the Casamari abbey) is the working Ciociaria village that the traveler passes through on the way to the more famous Veroli or the Casamari Cistercian abbey without stopping, and missing, in the process, the carved Romanesque portal of the church of Sant'Andrea Apostolo (the 12th-century portal with its specific lion-base columns and the interlace decoration that characterizes the Lazio-Campania Romanesque border tradition) and the specific Sgurgola valley position that the morning light makes particularly atmospheric: the Sacco valley below, the Ernici ridge above, and the agricultural landscape of the Ciociaria foothill zone in between.
Sgurgola isn't a destination in itself, it is the kind of Italian village that earns its place in an itinerary as a 30-minute stop between larger destinations, providing the specific encounter with an unreconstructed Ciociaria village that the larger Ernici towns with their tourist facilities can't replicate. The Sgurgola bar (where the local agricultural workers drink their morning espresso standing at the counter) and the church portal (the carved stone whose medieval craftsmen applied the same decorative vocabulary as the great Lazio Romanesque to the portal of a village church) are the two sufficient reasons to stop.
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Sgurgola: Portal and Position
The Sant'Andrea Portal
The portal of the church of Sant'Andrea Apostolo (in the Sgurgola village center, accessible from the main piazza) is the specific Sgurgola monument: the twin lion-base columns supporting the archivolt (the lions that serve as bases for the portal columns, the specific iconographic program of the medieval church portal in the Lazio-Campania tradition, where the lion represents the guardian of the sacred threshold), the interlace and foliate decoration of the archivolt (the Romanesque decorative vocabulary of plant scrolls and interlace patterns applied with the specific provincial version of the tradition), and the tympanum (the carved semicircular panel above the door lintel). The portal is freely visible at all times from the piazza. The church interior may be accessible during morning service hours.
The Casamari Approach Road
The road from Sgurgola to Casamari (the abbey 8km east on the SS214, see the Veroli guide for the Casamari description) passes through the specific Ernici foothill landscape that the medieval Cistercians chose for their monastery: the valley of the Cosa stream, the chestnut and oak woodland beginning at 500m, and the specific isolation of the valley floor position that the Cistercian rule required for its communities (the "loca horrida et aspera", rough and difficult places, that the Cistercian chapter specifically sought for new foundations, to ensure the community's separation from the secular world).
Q&A: Sgurgola
What is the best way to combine Sgurgola in a Ciociaria day trip?
The most efficient Ciociaria day that includes Sgurgola: Rome → Anagni (the papal city, 30 minutes, the Romanesque cathedral with its Cosmati floor and the crypt frescoes) → Sgurgola (30-minute stop, the Sant'Andrea portal) → Casamari abbey (1.5 hours) → Veroli (the historic center and the municipal museum) → return to Rome. Total driving distance approximately 180km. A full but manageable day.
