GONFALONE, ARCICONFRATERNITA of. — This was the name adopted in the fourteenth century by the oldest Roman Confraternity, that of the Raccomandati, which was founded, with the participation of s. Bonaventura, in 1264 and was probably a development of the ascetic movement promoted by Ranieri Fasani, as would be demonstrated both by its original name of Disciplinati, which occurs in certain documents, and by the custom of visiting the Sepulchres on Holy Thursday, in which all the confraternity members took part in procession, flagellating themselves and dressed in sackcloth.
Among its pious exercises was the performance of the mystery of the Annunciation and, above all, of the Passion. The latter was staged within the precinct of the Colosseum, almost as if to redeem its infamous memory, in a space above the chapel of the Madonna della Pietà which, with a circular section of the walls as its backdrop, lent itself to use as a stage. The spectacle took place with great richness of apparatus before the people, who flocked there in enormous numbers, and acquired, within the setting of the gigantic building, a singular power of suggestion. Considerable sums were assigned each year by the Confraternity for the stage setting, the performers’ clothing, the decorations, and the frescoes, one of which depicted the city of Jerusalem with Calvary. The authors of the dramatic text are said to have been Bernardo di M. Antonio romano, and the guardians of the G., Giuliano Dati and Mariano Particappa. It is impossible to establish the date to which this dramatic tradition of the Confraternity goes back; but it must certainly be regarded as earlier than the construction of the chapel of the Madonna della Pietà, which took place in 1517.
The performance of the Passion was suspended in 1522, to be resumed with greater magnificence and commitment during the Jubilee of 1525; thereafter, in view of the rising costs, it became quadriennial instead of annual. In 1539, under the pontificate of Paolo III, it was abolished because of the disturbances of public order which often resulted from it: indeed, the popular excitement and indignation aroused by the realistic vision of the crucifixion of Jesus were vented against the Jews and the police officers through insults, stone-throwing, and often violence that degenerated into deadly brawls.
After 1539 attempts were made to restore the practice: various steps in this direction were taken by the guardians of the G.; and in 1561 they succeeded in obtaining the consent of Pio IV, which was later revoked after reports on the matter had proved reassuring. Nevertheless, in 1562, on the first Sunday of May, a final performance took place—not of the Passion, but of the Annunciation—in the church of the S.ma Annunziata outside the walls; and this marked the seal of a glorious activity which was certainly not unrelated to the revival of the theatre in Europe.