Panorama view from Sacret Way of Albano Lake

Rocca di Papa (

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 corresp ...

Romanesco: ) is a small 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 ...

, Lazio, Italy. It is one of the

Castelli Romani 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 corresp ...

about southeast of Rome on the

Alban Hills The Alban Hills ( it, Colli Albani) are the caldera remains of a quiescent volcano, volcanic complex in Italy, located southeast of Rome and about north of Anzio. The high Monte Cavo forms a highly visible peak the centre of the caldera, bu ...

. It is close to the other communes of

Velletri Velletri (; la, Velitrae; xvo, Velester) is an Italian ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, approximately 40 km to the southeast of the city centre, located in the Alban Hills, in the region of Lazio, central Italy. Neighbouring com ...

Rocca Priora Rocca Priora is a small town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, Italy. It is one of the Castelli Romani on the Alban Hills about southeast of Rome, situated in the Regional Park known as the "Parco Regionale dei Castelli Ro ...

Monte Compatri Monte Compatri () is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the 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 w ...

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 commu ...

, Albano and Marino. It is the center of the Regional Park known as the "Parco Regionale dei Castelli Romani".

History

The city is built on the location of the latine city of ''Cabum''. Documents from 12th century name Rocca di Papa as ''Castrum Rocce de Papa'' ("Rock of the Pope Castle"), because

Pope Eugene III Pope Eugene III ( la, Eugenius III; c. 1080 – 8 July 1153), born Bernardo Pignatelli, or possibly Paganelli, called Bernardo da Pisa, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1145 to his death in 1153. He w ...

lived there. In 1541,

Pier Luigi Farnese Pier Luigi Farnese (19 November 1503 – 10 September 1547) was the first Duke of Castro from 1537 to 1545 and the first Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1545 to 1547. Born in Rome, Pier Luigi was the illegitimate son of Cardinal Alessandro Farne ...

and French troops destroyed the castle. In 1855, the town proclaimed the "Rocca di Papa Republic" against prince Colonna and the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

. In 1889, the "Royal Geodynamic Observatory" was built on the top of Rocca di Papa, near the little Church of the Crucified. Between 1922 and 1935, the scientist

Guglielmo Marconi Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquis of Marconi (; 25 April 187420 July 1937) was an Italians, Italian inventor and electrical engineering, electrical engineer, known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based Wireless telegrap ...

carried out several experiments from this building in radio-transmission, wireless transmission and broadcasting. In 1944, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Rocca di Papa was bombed, destroying the town centre. 34 people died in that airstrike, and 35 more died in a second one on 25 May. The city was liberated from the

Nazi German Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

occupation on 4 June 1944 by the 85th Infantry Division, of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. In June 2019, an accidental explosion at the town hall building killed Mayor

Emanuele Crestini Emanuele Crestini (24 June 1972 – 20 June 2019) was an Italian politician, who served as the mayor of the municipality of Rocca di Papa from 2016 until his death in 2019. Biography Having graduated in Political Science at the Libera Università ...

and another man, while several others were injured.Rocca di Papa, il sindaco Emanuele Crestini è morto da eroe: è uscito per ultimo per salvare i dipendenti
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Main sights

*Papal Fortress, known since medieval times but restored in the current form during the reign of Pope

Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

. *''Santuario Madonna del Tufo'' *''Chiesa del Crocefisso'' *Church of the ''Assunta'', built in the 18th century. It is dedicated to the Assumption, and was rebuilt after the earthquake of 1806 in larger size. *''Fontana della Barcaccia'' *''Quartiere dei Bavaresi'', built by Bavarian militiamen left here by

Emperor Louis IV Louis IV (german: Ludwig; 1 April 1282 – 11 October 1347), called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was King of the Romans from 1314, King of Italy from 1327, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1328. Louis' election as king of Germany in ...

in 1328. *''Via Sacra'' (The ''Sacred Way'' of

Monte Cavo Monte Cavo, or less occasionally, "Monte Albano," is the second highest mountain of the complex of the Alban Hills, near Rome, Italy. An old volcano extinguished around 10,000 years ago, it lies about from the sea, in the territory of the ''co ...

). *''Convent of Palazzolo'', located on top of a rock dominating the east shore of

Lake Albano Lake Albano (Italian: ''Lago Albano'' or ''Lago di Castel Gandolfo'') is a small volcanic crater lake in the Alban Hills of Lazio, at the foot of Monte Cavo, southeast of Rome. Castel Gandolfo, overlooking the lake, is the site of the Papal Pa ...

. The old Roman buildings (on the site on which some scholars place the ancient Albalonga) was turned into monasteries and a church dedicated to ''Saint Mary of Palatiolo''. In the orchard of the convent is a sepulchral monument of the 2nd century BC with a staircase pyramid. Currently, the Abbey and the church belong to the English College.

Economy

The economy of Rocca di Papa is mostly based on tourism and agriculture, the latter dominated by wine and vine production.

Culture

Festivals

The most important festival held in Rocca di Papa is the Roast Chestnut Festival (3rd week-end of October), in which it is possible to eat the roast chestnut (the "Rocchicianelle") with wines of

pouring out by stands in the streets of the town.

Geophysical Museum

The Geophysical Museum shows scientific data about the inside of the Earth. It has preservation tools and scientific documents of the geology, geography and terrestrial physics of the Earth.

Astronomic observatory

The astronomic observatory "Franco Fuligni", located in the ''frazione'' of Vivaro, is a public structure, available to whoever (

skygazing Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomers ...

s, curious,

amateur astronomer Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomers m ...

s, groups and students) is interested in astronomy. Funicolar of Rocca di Papa 1907 img062

Sports

There is the Federal Equestrian Centre of C.O.N.I. – Pratoni del Vivaro. It is situated on a knoll in the center of the communal farm of "Domatore". Since 1960, when the equipment for the horse-riding events was installed for the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, it has been the center of equestrian championships and a meeting place for horse-riders. The equipment has been improved and enlarged to form an adequate spot for the preparation of the best horse-riders, offering an excellent track with every kind of difficulty and obstacle.

Transport

The alpine style

funicular A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...

of Rocca di Papa was inaugurated on 12 August 1907 (although it had already entered service on 10 October 1906). It connected "Valle Oscura" to "Viale Silvio Spaventa" and worked on the water-ballast counterbalancing principle, which was also regulated according to the number of passengers. The Valle Oscura funicular was dismantled and on 28 July 1932, a new electric funicular was inaugurated, this connected "Valle Vergine" station (also called Anello) with "Piazza Margherita" (later, Piazza della Repubblica), this remained in service until 15 December 1963 before giving way to new means of transport. The upper station, which became a bus station, still contains a cabin from the electric funicular which was used to transport passengers for thirty years. The lower cabin was partially destroyed during a fire in 2003. After the regional government of

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

officially assigned a budget of 6 million euro to the reopening of the funicular, on 29 October 2013, work began on reconstruction of the funicular, half a century after its closure. The project provides for the reconstruction of the funicular on its old site, with associated access works and the construction of an access road to connect the station with the main road between Rocca di Papa and Grottaferrata. Rocca di Papa was also connected to Rome by the Castelli Romani tramway, dismantled in the 1960s and replaced by a bus service. Direct road connection to Rome is provided by the SS511 Anagnina State Road and by the Via dei Laghi (former SS217 State Road). The nearest railway station is that of

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 ...

People

* Massimo Taparelli (1798–1866) the Marquis d'Azeglio, Italian statesman, novelist and painter * Wilhelm Achtermann (1799–1884) sculptor *

Rudy La Scala Rudy La Scala (born January 20, 1954) is a singer-songwriter and record producer, born in Rocca di Papa, Lazio, Italy. At a young age, La Scala migrated to Venezuela, where he completed his primary and secondary studies, while learning piano and g ...

(1954-) singer and composer *

Luise Rinser Luise Rinser (30 April 1911 – 17 March 2002) was a German writer, best known for her novels and short stories. Early life and education Luise Rinser was born on 30 April 1911 in Pitzling, a constituent community of Landsberg am Lech, in Upper B ...

(1911–2002) writer *

Domenico Tojetti Domenico Tojetti (1807–1892) was an Italian American painter. Born in Rocca di Papa, near Rome, the artist frequented the Roman circle of the Torlonia Princes, providing frescos in the ballroom of Villa Torlonia under the direction of his te ...

(Rocca di Papa 1807 – San Francisco 1892) painter *

Anita Ekberg Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg (; 29 September 193111 January 2015) was a Swedish actress active in American and European films, known for her beauty and stunning figure. She became prominent in her iconic role as Sylvia in the Federico Fellini ...

(

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...

1931 - 2015 Rocca di Papa) actress *Giorgio Paslawski (

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 ...

1998) pro

World of Tanks ''World of Tanks'' (''WoT'') is a massively multiplayer online game developed by Belarusian company Wargaming, featuring 20th century (1910s–1970s) era combat vehicles. It is built upon a freemium business model where the game is free-to- ...

player * Chiara Lubich (

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th centu ...

1920- Rocca di Papa 2008) founder of the ecumenical Focolare movement. *Dada (Rocca di Papa) Streamer presso twitch.tv

Twin cities

Landsberg am Lech Landsberg am Lech (Landsberg at the Lech) is a town in southwest Bavaria, Germany, about 65 kilometers west of Munich and 35 kilometers south of Augsburg. It is the capital of the district of Landsberg am Lech. Overview Landsberg is situated o ...

, Germany

References

Citations

Sources

1960 Summer Olympics official report.
Volume 1. p. 81.

External links

Official website of the Geophysical MuseumOfficial website of the Astronomic observatoryOfficial website of Palazzola-Venerable English College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rocca Di Papa Venues of the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic equestrian venues Cities and towns in Lazio Castelli Romani