Gradoli (

Central Italian Central Italian ( Italian: ''dialetti mediani'') refers to Italo-Romance varieties spoken in the so-called ''Area Mediana'', which covers a swathe of the central Italian peninsula. ''Area Mediana'' is also used in a narrower sense to describe t ...

: ) 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

Province of Viterbo Viterbo ( it, provincia di Viterbo) is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Viterbo. Geography Viterbo is the most northerly of the provinces of Lazio. It is bordered to the south by the Metropolitan City of Rome ...

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 w ...

, located about northwest 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 ...

and about northwest of

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history ...

. Gradoli sits on a

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 ...

hill in the

Monti Volsini The Monti Volsini or Vulsini are a minor mountain range in northern Lazio, Italy, near the Lake Bolsena. The highest point is that of Passo della Montagnola, in the '' comune'' of Latera, at c. 645 m. The area is the relic of an ancient vol ...

area, a few kilometers from the

Lake Bolsena Lake Bolsena ( it, Lago di Bolsena) is a lake of volcanic origin in the northern part of the province of Viterbo called ''Alto Lazio'' ("Upper Latium") or ''Tuscia'' in central Italy. It is the largest volcanic lake in Europe. Roman histori ...

. It is home to a palace which was owned by the

Farnese family The House of Farnese family (, also , ) was an influential family in Renaissance Italy. The titles of Duke of Parma and Piacenza and Duke of Castro were held by various members of the family. Its most important members included Pope Paul ...

; it was commissioned by

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 ...

to (allegedly)

Antonio da Sangallo the Younger 250px, A model of the Apostolic Palace, which was the main project of Bramante during Sangallo's apprenticeship. 250px, The church of Santa Maria di Loreto near the Rome.html"_;"title="Trajan's_Market_in_Rome">Trajan's_Market_in_Rome. image: ...

on the site of the medieval castle. Of the castle, only few traces remains, including a defensive tower, the entrance arch and few parts of the walls; its ditch has been now transformed into roads and squares. Sangallo also designed the nearby church of Santa Maria Maddalena. Gradoli borders the following Comuni: Bolsena, Capodimonte,

Grotte di Castro Grotte di Castro is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Viterbo in the Italian region Latium, located about northwest of Rome and about northwest of Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in ...

, Latera, Montefiascone,

Onano Onano is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Viterbo in the Italian region Lazio, located about northwest of Rome and about northwest of Viterbo. Onano borders the following municipalities: Acquapendente, Gradoli, Grotte di Castr ...

, San Lorenzo Nuovo,

Valentano 250px, View of Valentano. Valentano is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Viterbo, in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is from the provincial capital, Viterbo. left, 220px, Rocca Farnese in Valentano. The placename is of uncertain ori ...

History

Gradoli's origins date to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, when a castle was built here: this could be reached only through a series of steps (in Latin, ''gradus''), whence its name.

Matilde of Canossa Matilda of Tuscany ( it, Matilde di Canossa , la, Matilda, ; 1046 – 24 July 1115 or Matilda of Canossa after her ancestral castle of Canossa), also referred to as ("the Great Countess"), was a member of the House of Canossa (also known as th ...

donated the castle to 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 the 11th century. In the following century the town became a free commune, but was soon conquered by

Orvieto Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are comp ...

. Revolts followed, which were violently suppressed. In the 15th century Gradoli became a possession of the House of Farnese, who established here a summer residence under

. Gradoli, part of the Duchy of Castro, returned to the Papal States after the latter was crushed in the War of Castro (1649). It became part of the newly formed

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

in 1871. In 1978, during the

kidnapping of Aldo Moro The kidnapping and murder of Aldo Moro ( it, Rapimento di Aldo Moro), also referred to in Italy as Moro Case ( it, Caso Moro), was a seminal event in Italian political history. On the morning of 16 March 1978, the day on which the new cabine ...

, Gradoli was mentioned (in an alleged

séance A séance or seance (; ) is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word ''séance'' comes from the French word for "session", from the Old French ''seoir'', "to sit". In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, spea ...

participated by future prime minister

Romano Prodi Romano Antonio Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician, economist, academic, senior civil servant, and business executive who served as the tenth president of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004. He served twice as Pr ...

) as the possible location of the politician and therefore searched. It was later discovered that the

Red Brigades The Red Brigades ( it, Brigate Rosse , often abbreviated BR) was a far-left Marxist–Leninist armed organization operating as a terrorist and guerrilla group based in Italy responsible for numerous violent incidents, including the abduction ...

, the terrorist group who had captured him, had in fact a base at Rome, in via Gradoli.

History

Local attractions

References

External links