Roman Castles
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Roman Castles
The so-called Roman Castles (''Castelli Romani'' in Italian) are a group of ''comunes'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome. They are located a short distance south-east of the city of Rome, at the feet of the Alban Hills, in the territory corresponding to the Old Latium. Overview The area of the castles occupies a fertile volcanic area which has allowed since ancient times a flourishing agriculture. The former crater is occupied by two lakes, the Lake of Nemi and that of Albano. Starting from the ancient Roman era, it was an area frequented by the noblemen of Rome for its fresher climate during summer: the tradition was followed by the Popes which still have their summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, on the Lake Albano. Families which ruled in the castles include Orsini, Colonna, Chigi, Aldobrandini, Savelli, Annibaldi and Ruspoli. Municipalities The Roman Castles are: * Albano Laziale * Ariccia * Castel Gandolfo * Colonna * Frascati * Genzano di Roma * Grottaferrata ...
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Castel Gandolfo
Castel Gandolfo (, , ; la, Castrum Gandulphi), colloquially just Castello in the Castelli Romani dialects, is a town located southeast of Rome in the Lazio region of Italy. Occupying a height on the Alban Hills overlooking Lake Albano, Castel Gandolfo has a population of approximately 8,900 residents and is considered one of Italy's most scenic towns. Within the town's boundaries lies the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo which served as a summer residence and vacation retreat for the pope, the leader of the Catholic Church. Although the palace is located within the borders of Castel Gandolfo, it has extraterritorial status as one of the properties of the Holy See and is not under Italian jurisdiction. It is now open as a museum. The resort community includes almost the whole coastline of Lake Albano which is surrounded by many summer residences, villas, and cottages built during the 17th century. It houses the Stadio Olimpico that staged the rowing events during the Rome Ol ...
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Ruspoli Family
The House of Ruspoli is historically one of the great aristocratic families of Rome, but is originally from Florence. Following World War II and the fall of Fascism, the newly established Italian Republic officially abolished titles and hereditary honours in its 1946 Constitution, with the exception of the papal nobility of Rome (fourteen families, among which is the Ruspoli family), as those titles had been created by papal authority. History The origins of the family can be traced back to the Ruspoli of Florence in the 13th century, and more remotely from Marius Scotus in the 8th century and his descendants the Marescotti of Bologna. In the 16th century, the Ruspoli family moved to Rome, where the last descendant, Vittoria Ruspoli, Marchioness of Cerveteri, married Sforza Vicino Marescotti, Count of Vignanello, a descendant of the Farnese family on both his mother's and father's side. One of Vittoria's sons took the Ruspoli name and coat of arms to guarantee the continuity of ...
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Monte Compatri
Monte Compatri () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italy, Italian region Latium, located about southeast of Rome on the Alban Hills. It is one of the Castelli Romani. History Monte Compatri has been identified with the ancient ''Labicum'', a colony of Alba Longa. In the Middle Ages it was a fief of the Counts of Tusculum, then of the Annibaldi, the Altemps and the Borghese. Main sights *Parish church of ''Santa Maria Assunta in Cielo'' (1630–33), erected by will of Scipione Borghese. The campanile is the former communal tower. The façade was designed by Carlo Rainaldi *Palazzo Borghese, the current town hall * Gabii * San Silvestro monastery People * Marco Mastrofini (1763–1845), philosopher and mathematician * Cardinal Pompeo Colonna (1479–1530) * Alessandro Moreschi (1858–1922) last castrato singer in the Sistine Chapel Twin cities * Calahorra, Spain References External links Official websiteCentro Culturale Laghetto
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Marino, Italy
Marino ( la, Marinum or , local Romanesco: ) is an Italian city and ''comune'' in Lazio (central Italy), on the Alban Hills, Italy, southeast of Rome, with a population of 37,684 and a territory of . It is bounded by other communes, Castel Gandolfo, Albano Laziale, Rocca di Papa, Grottaferrata, and Ciampino. Marino is famous for its white wine, and for its ''Grape Festival'', which has been celebrated since 1924. History The territory of Marino was inhabited by Latin tribes from the 1st millennium BC. The ancient cities of ''Bovillae'' (Frattocchie), ''Mugilla'' (Santa Maria delle Mole, a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Marino) and ''Ferentum'' (Marino itself) were part of the Latin League. Under the Roman Republic it was a summer resort for Roman patricians, who built luxurious villas in the area to escape the heat of Rome. In 846 AD, Bovillae - until then the largest settlement - was destroyed by the Saracens, and the population moved to the more easily defendable area o ...
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Frazione
A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territorial subdivisions in the country. In the autonomous region of the Aosta Valley, a ''frazione'' is officially called an ''hameau'' in French. Description Typically the term ''frazioni'' applies to the villages surrounding the main town (''capoluogo'') of a ''comune''. Subdivision of a ''comune'' is optional; some ''comuni'' have no ''frazioni'', but others have several dozen. The ''comune'' usually has the same name of the ''capoluogo'', but not always, in which case it is called a ''comune sparso''. In practice, most ''frazioni'' are small villages or hamlets, occasionally just a clump of houses. Not every hamlet is classified as a ''frazione''; those that are not are often referred to as ''località'', for example, in the telephone boo ...
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Lariano
Lariano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italian region Lazio, located about southeast of Rome on the Alban Hills. Twin towns * Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ..., since April 2007 * Sausset-les-Pins, France * Crecchio, Italy * San Ferdinando di Puglia, Italy References External linksOfficial website Cities and towns in Lazio Castelli Romani {{Latium-geo-stub ...
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Lanuvio
Lanuvio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italian region Latium, located about southeast of Rome, on the Alban Hills. Lanuvio borders the following municipalities: Aprilia, Ariccia, Genzano di Roma, Velletri. History In ancient times ''Lanuvium'' was an important town in the hinterland of Imperial Rome. The emperors Antoninus Pius and Commodus were born here. It decayed after the reign of Theodosius I (late 4th century AD), and was mostly abandoned due to the shutting down of its polytheistic sanctuaries. It is mentioned again in the 11th century, when it was a seat of a Benedictine monastery. In the early 15th century it was acquired by the Colonna family, to whom it belonged until 1564. On 17 February 1944, during World War II, it was bombed by sea and air by the Allied, and almost entirely destroyed. Main sights *Collegiate church *Sanctuary of Madonna delle Grazie *History center with walls, including four towers *Temple of Juno Sos ...
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Grottaferrata
Grottaferrata () is a small town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, situated on the lower slopes of the Alban Hills, south east of Rome. It has grown up around the Abbey of Santa Maria di Grottaferrata, founded in 1004. Nearby communes include Frascati, Rocca di Papa, Marino and Rome. History The history of Grottaferrata identifies largely with that of the Basilian Monastery of Santa Maria, founded here in 1004 by Saint Nilus the Younger. The founding legend narrates that, at the spot where the abbey now stands, the Virgin Mary appeared and bade him found a church in her honour. From Gregory, the powerful Count of Tusculum, father of Popes Benedict VIII and John XIX, Nilus obtained the site, which had been a Roman villa, where among the ruins there remained a low edifice of ''opus quadratum'' that had been a tomb but had been converted to a Christian oratory in the fourth century. Its iron window grates gave the site the name, first of ''Cryptaferrata'' ("ironb ...
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Genzano Di Roma
Genzano di Roma is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is one of the Castelli Romani, at a distance of from Rome, in the Alban Hills. History The origin of the name ''Genzano'' is still disputed. According to one version, the hill overlooking the Lake of Nemi on which the city is situated was once devoted to the goddess Cynthia, whose cult was associated to that of ''Diana Nemorensis''. Another version relates its origin to the Gentiani family. For others the presence on the hills, at that time of the "tribus or gens Cynthia" originators and custodians of the cult of courage, in "Castrum Gentianum" from them the derivation of the name Genzano. During the Roman empire the area was inhabited by wealthy Roman citizens who wished to benefit from the cleaner air, uncontaminated water and cooler temperatures during the hot summer months. The remains of many ancient Roman villas are to be found in the surroundings. The most imp ...
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Frascati
Frascati () is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is located south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills close to the ancient city of Tusculum. Frascati is closely associated with science, being the location of several international scientific laboratories. Frascati produces the white wine Frascati (wine), with the same name. It is also a historical and artistic centre. History The most important archeological finding in the area, dating back to Ancient Rome, Ancient Roman times, during the late Republican Age, is a patrician Roman villa probably belonging to Lucullus. In the first century AD its owner was Gaius Sallustius Crispus Passienus, who married Agrippina the Younger, mother of Nero. His properties were later confiscated by the Flavian imperial dynasty (69–96 AD). Consul Flavius Clemens lived in the villa with his wife Domitilla during the rule of Domitian. According to the ''Liber Pontificalis'', in ...
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Colonna (RM)
Colonna is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italian region Latium, located about southeast of Rome, on the Alban Hills. With a population of some 4,300, it is the smallest of the Castelli Romani. History Ancient era The territory of Colonna is believed to have included the ancient community of Labici, located in the area of the modern comune of Monte Compatri. Labici was conquered in 418 BC by the Romans under the dictator Quintus Servilius Priscus Structus Fidenas and razed to the ground. The Labicani then founded Labicum Quintanas near the Tower of the Pasolina near Colonna. The place is noted as Ad Quintanas, a station on the Via Labicana, between Rome and Ad Bivium. Middle Ages ''Labicum Quintanas'' became an episcopal see in the 4th century. The inhabited area began to decay and disappeared with the Gothic War (535–554). Colonna is mentioned for the first time in 1047, in a deed of Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor, a guest at the cast ...
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Ariccia
Ariccia (Latin: ''Aricia'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, central Italy, southeast of Rome. It is in the Alban Hills of the Lazio (Latium) region and could be considered an extension of Rome's southeastern suburbs. One of the Castelli Romani towns, Ariccia is located in the regional park known as the "Parco Regionale dei Castelli Romani". Overview Ariccia is the center of a region that was extremely important in Roman and pre-Roman mythology and religion because of its association with the goddess Diana and the god Virbius. Legend also recalls that it served as a temporary burial place of the Greek hero Orestes. Ariccia was one of the oldest cities of ancient Latium, and as the leader of the Latin League was a serious contender against Rome during the early days of the Roman Republic. In modern times, Ariccia has become famous for its porchetta, pork that is slowly roasted with herbs and wild fennel, and it has been known since historical times for ...
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