Tolfa
Tolfa is a town and comune of the Metropolitan City of Rome, in the Lazio
Lazio region of central Italy; it lies to the ENE of Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia by road.

View of Tolfa.

It is the main center in the Monti della Tolfa, an extinct volcanic group between Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia and the Lake of Bracciano.

Contents

1 History 2 Main sights 3 Film locations 4 Twin towns 5 Notes 6 References 7 External links

History[edit] A town of medieval origin in the orbit of Viterbo, it was assumed into the Papal States
Papal States and granted first to the Capocci family, and then to the Roman nobles Ludovico and Pietro Frangipani who walled the community. Tolfa
Tolfa achieved sudden importance following the discovery there in 1461 of large deposits of alunite, the source of alum, with the result that direct control was assumed, after some confrontations with the Frangipani, by the Camera Apostolica. Alum
Alum was an essential mordant in the textile industry, which was central to the Late Medieval and Early Modern Italian economy. Previously, the only supplies of alum were imported from the East, from sources controlled by the Ottoman Turks, through Venice, which profited greatly. Suddenly, the monopoly of alum shifted to the Papacy, which controlled Tolfa; Pope Pius II
Pope Pius II placed its distribution solely in the hands of the Medici, with the explicit thought that the income from this monopoly should be devoted to the Christian res publica as the infidel Turk, elated by his victories, threatened to devour Christendom.[2] Later, the monopoly in extraction of alum at Tolfa
Tolfa passed as a papal gift to Agostino Chigi. In 1530, Pope Clement VII
Pope Clement VII granted the status of comune to Tolfa, which had outgrown its medieval walls. In later times, Tolfa
Tolfa continued to be supported by the extraction of alum. Near the mine, the workmen's village of Allumiere
Allumiere was built; it became an autonomous comune in 1826. Main sights[edit]

Remains of the walls and of the Frangipani castle (Rocca di Tolfa), destroyed by the French troops in 1799 after the city had rebelled against the Roman Republic. Town Hall, housing a collection of Etruscan and Roman antiquities discovered nearby. Church of Sant'Egidio Abate Convent of the Augustinians (early 16th century), now housing the communal library and civic museum. Castle Rota

Film locations[edit]

In the TV series, Medici: Masters of Florence, Castle Rota is both Francesco Sforza's army camp and the village where Lorenzo finds the mercenary Ferzetti.[3]

Twin towns[edit]

Dingle, Ireland Għajnsielem, Malta Salobreña, Spain Slovenske Konjice, Slovenia

Notes[edit]

^ All demographics and other statistics: Italian statistical institute Istat. ^ Papal brief of 17 June 1472 commissioning Domenico Albergati to treat with the Flemish cloth towns, quoted in F. Saxl, "A Marsilio Ficino Manuscript Written in Bruges in 1475, and the Alum
Alum Monopoly of the Popes" Journal of the Warburg Institute 1.1 (July 1937), pp. 61-62. The possibility of alum profits financing a crusade against the Ottomans, pressed by Pius at the Council of Mantua (1459), was no longer an active possibility in 1472. ^ http://www.gismonda.it/en/2017/02/26/medici-tv-series-locations-castle-of-rota/

References[edit]

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Tolfa". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

External links[edit]

Archeological sites

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Comuni of the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital

Affile Agosta Albano Laziale Allumiere Anguillara Sabazia Anticoli Corrado Anzio Arcinazzo Romano Ardea Ariccia Arsoli Artena Bellegra Bracciano Camerata Nuova Campagnano di Roma Canale Monterano Canterano Capena Capranica Prenestina Carpineto Romano Casape Castel Gandolfo Castel Madama Castel San Pietro Romano Castelnuovo di Porto Cave Cerreto Laziale Cervara di Roma Cerveteri Ciampino Ciciliano Cineto Romano Civitavecchia Civitella San Paolo Colleferro Colonna Fiano Romano Filacciano Fiumicino Fonte Nuova Formello Frascati Gallicano nel Lazio Gavignano Genazzano Genzano di Roma Gerano Gorga Grottaferrata Guidonia Montecelio Jenne Labico Ladispoli Lanuvio Lariano Licenza Magliano Romano Mandela Manziana Marano Equo Marcellina Marino Mazzano Romano Mentana Monte Compatri Monte Porzio Catone Monteflavio Montelanico Montelibretti Monterotondo Montorio Romano Moricone Morlupo Nazzano Nemi Nerola Nettuno Olevano Romano Palestrina Palombara Sabina Percile Pisoniano Poli Pomezia Ponzano Romano Riano Rignano Flaminio Riofreddo Rocca Canterano Rocca Priora Rocca Santo Stefano Rocca di Cave Rocca di Papa Roccagiovine Roiate Rome Roviano Sacrofano Sambuci San Cesareo San Gregorio da Sassola San Polo dei Cavalieri San Vito Romano Sant'Angelo Romano Sant'Oreste Santa Marinella Saracinesco Segni Subiaco Tivoli Tolfa Torrita Tiberina Trevignano Romano Vallepietra Vallinfreda Valmontone Velletri Vicovaro Viva