Formello is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in the

Metropolitan City of Rome Metropolitan City of Rome Capital ( it, Città metropolitana di Roma Capitale) is an area of local government at the level of metropolitan city in the Lazio region of the Republic of Italy. It comprises the territory of the city of Rome and 120 o ...

. It is located southwest of the

Monti Sabatini The Monti Sabatini is a geologic region in Lazio, central Italy, a remnant of intense volcanism which started ca. 600,000 years ago, mainly with pyroclastic and maar forming eruptions which continued until 100,000 years ago. The mou ...

, within the Regional Park of

Veii Veii (also Veius; it, Veio) was an important ancient Etruscan city situated on the southern limits of Etruria and north-northwest of Rome, Italy. It now lies in Isola Farnese, in the comune of Rome. Many other sites associated with and in the ...

. The communal territory is mostly composed by

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...

, and is intensively cultivated.

History

The area has been settled since prehistoric times. As an Italian

, it includes some of the archaeological sites associated with the powerful former Etruscan city of

, which rivaled Rome for a time, north of the village of Isola Farnese, south of Formello. Settlement in the region declined after Veii's destruction in 396 BC. In this area, about 780 AD, with peaceful conditions reestablished,

Pope Adrian I Pope Adrian I ( la, Hadrianus I; died 25 December 795) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 1 February 772 to his death. He was the son of Theodore, a Roman nobleman. Adrian and his predecessors had to contend with periodic ...

assembled a great estate of which this territory formed part, his ''

Domusculta Capracorum A domusculta (plural - ''domuscultae'') was a papal estate in Italy in the Middle Ages, or the large villa complex at the centre of such an estate. An example is the ''Domusculta Capracorum'' of Pope Hadrian I. They were similar to the papal '' ...

'', in contrast with the power of the

Abbey of Farfa Farfa Abbey ( it, Abbazia di Farfa) is a territorial abbey in northern Lazio, central Italy. In the Middle Ages it was one of the richest and most famous abbeys in Italy. It belongs to the Benedictine Order and is located about from Rome, in t ...

, but it was destroyed by Saracen attacks in the ninth century. The domus' territories included a ''fundus Formellum'', where a settlement developed that was first mentioned in 1027. In the 11th century it was a possession of the Roman

Basilica of San Paolo fuori le Mura The Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls ( it, Basilica Papale di San Paolo fuori le Mura), commonly known as Saint Paul's Outside the Walls, is one of Rome's four major papal basilicas, along with the basilicas of Saint John in the ...

, and was probably fortified in the same period. In 1279 it became a fief 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 ...

, who sold it to the

Chigi Chigi may refer to: * Chigi (dog), a crossbreed between a Welsh Corgi and a chihuahua (dog) * House of Chigi The House of Chigi () is an Italian princely family of Sienese origin descended from the counts of Ardenghesca, which possessed castles ...

in 1661.

Main sights

*''Church of San Lorenzo,'' also known as ''Chiesa di San Lorenzo Martire'' (10th-11th centuries). It received a bell tower in the fifteenth century, and was renovated in 1574 with the addition of the two aisles. The left one houses frescoes by

Donato Palmieri Donato da Formello (c. 1550–c. 1580), sometimes known as Donato Palmieri, was an Italian painter of the late Renaissance period. He was a native of Formello, in the duchy of Bracciano. He worked under Giorgio Vasari in projects in the Vatican a ...

. This is located adjacent to Palazzo Chigi. *''Palazzo Chigi'' (c. 11th century). It was built by the

Orsini Orsini is a surname of Italian origin, originally derived from Latin ''ursinus'' ("bearlike") and originating as an epithet or sobriquet describing the name-bearer's purported strength. Notable people with the surname include the following: *Angel ...

, probably over the pre-existing ''

castrum In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a po ...

'' mentioned in the 11th century. It houses the Archaeological Museum of the Countryside of Veii. *''Church of San Michele Arcangelo'', also known as ''Chiesa San Michele Arcangelo'' (c. 12th century). Romanesque church with a high bell tower and a single

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

. This church is only open for special occasions. *The ruins of Villa Chigi-Versaglia, built by cardinal Flavio Chigi in the 17th century.

Sport

Formello is home to the training grounds and base of Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

side S.S. Lazio: ( Centro sportivo di Formello)

Photo gallery

Image:ItaliaLazioFormelloCentro.jpg, Formello Storic Center Image:ItaliaLazioFormelloSLorenzoInterno.jpg, San Lorenzo Church (internal) Image:ItaliaLazioFormelloSLorenzoInternoAffresco.jpg, Painting by Domenico Palmieri (1570 approx.) Image:ItaliaLazioFormelloSMicheleArcangeloCampanile1.jpg, San Michele Arcangelo Church Image:ItaliaLazioFormelloSMicheleArcangeloCampanile2.jpg, San Michele Arcangelo Church Image:ItaliaLazioFormelloVillaChigiVersagliaTorreColombaia.jpg, "Torre Colombaia", remaining building of villa Chigi-Versaglia Image:ItaliaLazioFormelloPalazzoChigi.jpg, Façade of Palazzo Chigi.

References

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