Gallicano nel Lazio is a ''

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 ...

'' (municipality) 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 ...

in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

region

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whi ...

, located about east of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

at the feet of the

Monti Prenestini The Monti Prenestini is a mountain range in the Lazio sub-Apennines, in central Italy to the east of Rome. It is of limestone formation. It is bounded by the Monti Tiburtini to the north, by the Monti Ruffi to the east, and by the valley of th ...

History

In Roman times, it was known as

Pedum Pedum ( grc, Πέδα) was an ancient town of Latium in central Italy, located between Tivoli, Lazio#Roman%20age, Tibur and Palestrina#Ancient%20Praeneste, Praeneste, near modern Gallicano nel Lazio. The town was a member of the Latin League. H ...

. A castle is mentioned here in 984 AD, called ''Castrum Gallicani''. Here a Benedictine monastery grew in the following year, later owned by the abbey 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 ...

. Gallicano from the 13th century it was a possession of the

Colonna family The House of Colonna, also known as ''Sciarrillo'' or ''Sciarra'', is an Italian noble family, forming part of the papal nobility. It was powerful in Middle Ages, medieval and Roman Renaissance, Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope (Pope Martin ...

, and pope

Martin V Pope Martin V ( la, Martinus V; it, Martino V; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Otto (or Oddone) Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. Hi ...

(a Colonna) sojourned here in 1424. In 1501 the

Borgia The House of Borgia ( , ; Spanish and an, Borja ; ca-valencia, Borja ) was an Italian-Aragonese Spanish noble family, which rose to prominence during the Italian Renaissance. They were from Valencia, the surname being a toponymic from the town ...

conquered it, although it was returned to the Colonna after the death of pope

Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...

. The castle was destroyed in 1526 and rebuilt four years later. In 1622 the

Ludovisi family The House of Ludovisi was an Italian noble family, originating from Bologna. They had close ties with the Papacy and were influential in the Papal States. Alessandro Ludovisi became a cardinal and later Pope Gregory XV. His cardinal-nephew was ...

acquired Gallicano, followed by the Rospigliosi Pallavicini in 1633, who held it until 1839.

References

External links

Official website
Cities and towns in Lazio {{Latium-geo-stub