The Rocca Abbaziale (also called the Rocca dei Borgia) is an

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

, designed as a

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 ...

, in Subiaco,

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

.''La Rocca Abbaziale di Subiaco''
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History

The abbey, built in the late 11th century, was designed as a castle to establish control over the surrounding town. It was constructed with

fortifications A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

cells, a

watchtower A watchtower or watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to ...

apartment An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ma ...

s and a

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

dedicated to St. Thomas. The castle was damaged by an

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

in 1349 and was abandoned. It was looted and further damaged by townsfolk and was left uninhabited for many years thereafter. In 1476, the castle was restored by cardinal

Rodrigo Borgia 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 ...

who expanded the fortifications to defend the oldest part of the building. According to some historians,

Cesare Borgia Cesare Borgia (; ca-valencia, Cèsar Borja ; es, link=no, César Borja ; 13 September 1475 – 12 March 1507) was an Italian ex- cardinal and '' condottiero'' (mercenary leader) of Aragonese (Spanish) origin, whose fight for power was a major ...

and

Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (; ca-valencia, Lucrècia Borja, links=no ; 18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was a Spanish-Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She reigned as the Govern ...

were both born in the castle to Rodrigo's mistress

Vannozza dei Cattanei Giovanna Cattanei (13 July 1442 – 24 November 1518), commonly known as Vannozza Cattanei, was an Italian woman who was the chief mistress of Cardinal Rodrigo de Borgia, later to become Pope Alexander VI. Early life Born in 1442, most likel ...

. The castle was eventually purchased by 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 ...

. In 1778, by order of

Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI ( it, Pio VI; born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to his death in August 1799. Pius VI condemned the French Revoluti ...

, the architect Pietro Camporese further restored the castle, removing medieval elements like the prison cells and fortifications, and installing more modern features like a large clock. Subsequent popes used the castle as accommodation away from

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 ...

Features

The complex includes three distinct buildings, each designed in a different architectural style. Many of the original

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

es remain intact.

Gallery

File:Symbol of Colonna Family in Rocca Abbaziale (Subiaco).jpg, Synbol of Colonna family File:Frasco of Scipione Colonna in Rocca Abbaziale (Subiaco).jpg, Fresco of Scipione Colonna File:Fresco in Rocca Abbaziale (Subiaco).jpg File:Plate on Rocca Abbaziale (Subiaco).jpg, The plate on the entrance. File:Fresco with angels and Pius VI in Rocca Abbaziale (Subiaco).jpg, Fresco with Pope Pius VI and angels. File:Fresco with Pius VI in Rocca Abbaziale (Subiaco).jpg, Fresco with Pope Pius VI. File:Fresco with Zodiac Signs in Rocca Abbaziale (Subiaco).jpg, Fresco with Zodiac Signs

References

Castles in Lazio {{Italy-castle-stub

History

Features

Gallery

See also

References