The Castello Orsini di Nerola or Castello di Nerola is a medieval, Romanesque-style

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

situated atop a hill above the town of

Nerola Nerola is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Rome, Latium, Italy. Name The name Nerola is probably derived from the Sabine word ''nero'' or ''nerio'', which meant "strong" and "brave". The inscription on the fountain in the piaz ...

in the

Province of Rome The Province of Rome ( it, Provincia di Roma) was one of the five provinces that formed part of the region of Lazio in Italy. It was established in 1870 and disestablished in 2014. It was essentially coterminous with the Rome metropolitan area. T ...

, Italy. The address is on via Aldo Bigelli. It now functions as a hotel and conference center.

History

A castle at the site likely dates to the 10th century, but documentation places the castle in the hands of the

Orsini family The House of Orsini is an Italian noble family that was one of the most influential princely families in medieval Italy and Renaissance Rome. Members of the Orsini family include five popes: Stephen II (752-757), Paul I (757-767), Celestine II ...

by 1235. In that century, the outline of the castle, with merlonated walls, a moat, and towers was built. Ultimately, the castle would be sold in 1728 to Cornelia Barberini and Giulio Cesare Colonna. It was used as shelter by the Garibaldini in the 1867 attack on Rome.Continuazione alla Storia universale della chiesa cattolica
by Pietro Balan, pages 787-788.

References

*''The monuments of Italy: a regional survey of art, architecture,'' by Michael Oppenheimer; 2002, page 240. Castles in Lazio Buildings and structures in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital Buildings and structures completed in the 13th century {{Italy-castle-stub