Rocca Pia is an ancient castle located in the historic city of Tivoli. The castle replaced the earlier Callisto II Borgia and derives its name from Pio II Piccolomini, the Humanist Pope who had ordered that the castle be built in Tivoli. Niccolo and Varrone were the two architects entrusted with the construction of the castle. The castle took one year to build and its main purpose was to control the city and to prevent any future revolts or violence.

History

The castle was built at the end of the medieval and communal era of Tivoli. Several changes were made to the city in order to make way for the new castle. The Roman amphitheater was leveled out and medieval walls with a door were constructed in the northern part of the city in order to defend it from invasions.
During the 18th century, the castle was occupied by Austrian and the French troops. During those years a few changes were made to the original structure in order to use it as barracks and prison. During the time of Napoleon the castle underwent changes as well, in order to facilitate its use as a prison. A factory had been added close to the northern walls. Till 1960, Rocca Pia continued to be used as a prison after which it was returned to the municipality. Tivoli then got the castle restored to its original glory.

After the construction of the Rocca Pia in Tivoli began the age of several castles and villas in Tivoli, for which the city is internationally renowned today.
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Rocca Pia

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 Castle Orsini-Cesi-Borghese is located in San Polo dei Cavalieri in the province of Rome.The first news of the castle date from the second half of the tenth century when it is mentioned as the land belonging to a place unidentified small church of San Paolo (now destroyed), which for various misspellings dialect, over the centuries it became San Polo (from which, perhaps the name of the village), located in the area. At first it was the Knights belonging to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, then to the Roman monastery of St. Paul Outside the Walls, but only in the twelfth century is referred to a Castrum Sancti Pauli. In this period the castle was simply a stronghold in the shelter of a small bell. The Castrum was a focal point and intersection between the Sabina and the Aniene Valley, in fact, around the eleventh century castle was the dispute of the feudal lords of Marcellina, Montecelio, Palombara Sabina, Tivoli and the abbey of San Paul outside the walls. By Pope, in the 2nd half of '300, the castrum was leased to the Orsini, who bought it in the fifteenth century and turned it into a military stronghold. By a statute of the Orsini of 1479 it shows that the castle was contracted out to a temporary boarding. In 1558 they sold it to the Orsini Cesi castle which turned it into a summer residence frequented by aristocrats. In 1603 it was transformed by Cesi in the Accademia dei Lincei, which was founded by Federico Cesi, who hosted the castle Galileo Galilei. After the plague of 1656 the castle passed to the Borghese becoming part of the Papal States but then became autonomous with the unification of Italy. In the eighteenth century it was sold to a certain Peter Trusiani, but returned as a property of the Borghese in the early twentieth century, but in 1946 the court of Rome was auctioned and was bought by Dr. Chiappini who in 1958 sold it to the architect Luca Brasini which it began the restoration which was later completed by Andrea Berardi jurist. After countless sales and disposals is private property now.

Castle Orsini-Cesi-Borghese

The Castello di Lunghezza is a medieval fortification that is located around twenty kilometers from the city of Rome. The castle is located in the province of Rome and according to various historians, it is located at the site of the ancient city of Colliata.

History of the Castle
It is not known exactly when the castle had been built but according to scholars, the oldest manor in the location had been built in the year 752 AD when a fortified monastery had been built by the Benedictine monks for their accommodation. The area was ruled by the Poli family for many years until 1242 . It was then that they sided with the Colonna family, their alliance with the church had ended. Pope Boniface VIII soon joined this dispute along with Raimondo Orsini. In the year 1303 things went from bad to worse and along with the Orsini family, the Pope drove the Poli family out of the territory.
The Castle Today
Over the centuries, the castle had suffered slow and steady deterioration but when Malcolm Munthe purchased the castle he restored it perfectly and opened it up to the public. In the 1990s, the castle had received Charles of England for his holiday and over the years the importance of castle has again gone up. Today, the castle is home to many important cultural events, especially for children. The castle had been recognized as a national monument and provides several private and public entertainment options to visitors today.
Today it holds several temporary exhibitions, concerts, entertainment programs and theatrical performances of great cultural value. The castle is also open for private occasions like meetings, business lunch, weddings, dinner etc for those who want to plan for an important event in a historical and atmospheric location. Several and opened it up to the public especially for private events. During the summer months when the tourist season is at its peak, several cultural performances and programs are held for which the tickets are sold weeks in advance due to the hordes of tourists that visit the castle from Rome.

Castello di Lunghezza is a favorite day trip from Rome due to its proximity to the city as well as its historical importance.

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Castello di Lunghezza 

The History
The late 1600s was an important time for both the castle and the town. When Cardinal Camillo Astalli fell out of favor with the church he moved to Sambuci and set about creating a beautiful town so as to increase his own prestige. To help welcome visiting Roman nobles and ambassadors in style, Astalli renovated the castle and added a loggia and forts, which opened up onto the estate’s park, to give the structure the air of a noble residence.

 
In the 18th century another garden was added to the castle. There were two parts of the new garden, an English-style romantic area with spontaneously growing greenery, and an Italian-style area with flowerbeds and terraces. The flowerbeds were designed so as to form the coat of arms of the Theodoli and Astalli families. During the French occupation the castle was sacked, but found itself back in the hands of the Theodolis in 1878. In the 19th century the garden would be enlarged once again.

During the Second World War the Germans used  Theodoli castle as one of their headquarters and it suffered serious damage. It was only in 1991, when the castle passed into the hands of the local government, that restoration on the monument began anew.


The Castle
The castle was modified several times over the centuries, but still maintains its medieval styling. It has angular towers and outside the fortress there are houses that once belonged to the castle’s workers, along with stables that held the owners’ horses. Following the Astalli years, the castle’s interiors were quite lavish and remain quite well preserved today.
The castle’s kitchens are located in the basement and the ground floor is where most of the daily work took place. The reception and private rooms of the owner were located on higher floors, with the second floor holding the guest rooms and the third floor containing the bathrooms.

Many of these rooms were decorated with entire cycles of beautiful frescoes with various literary, landscape, mythological and religious themes. The frescoes were done by Giovan Angelo Canini, a pupil of Domenichino, in the 17th century. There are delightful surprises to be found within the interior of the castle, like a gallery that opens up onto a false landscape and a bathroom decorated with biblical scenes. The room of the Cyclopes and the Jerusalem Delivered room are decorated based on the poem of Torquato Tasso and many of the rooms’ ceilings and beams were covered in pure gold gifted to Giovanni Theodoli by the Spanish monarchs in 1510. In the 17th century the wood parts of the ceiling were painted with scenes from the Card of the Sun by Mario de’Fiori.

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Castello Theodoli

Castello Savelli Torlonia is situated at the highest point in the town of Palombara Sabina in the province of Rome, and beautiful views of the Prenestini Mountains and Monte Soratte can be seen from its high position. The town was connected in ancient days to Via Tiburtina, Via Salaria and Rome. Today, the castle is owned by the Palambara Sabina municipality and holds of a total of 132 rooms. The castle is spread over an area of 10,000 sq meters. 
The town of Palombara runs a museum and a small library dedicated to the castle, and several conferences and academic studies are hosted there throughout the year. From the day construction of the castle was finished, it has always been an important part of the town.
History
First reference to the castle in Palombara Sabina was made in 1064 when a document was filed which mentioned the it. The original structure was built by Ottaviani, which at the time was a branch of Crescenzi, and was designed as a square castle, spread over an area of around one hectare. Count Octavian later signed an act of restitution in 1111 for the abbot St. John, then over the years several changes were done to the castle’s original structure. While originally built only as a watchtower and simple defensive structure, between the 13th and the 14th Centuries, it was significantly extended and altered. Later, in the last half of the 15th Century, the wall reliefs inside the castle also underwent several drastic changes.

 

In 1250 the original family who had owned the castle surrendered to Luca Savellim, and ownership was given to Luca, who was the nephew of Pope Honorius III. Later, Pope Honorius IV, the castle’s successor, left the castle in his will to the family of Savelli. In 1310, it was the seat for a tribunal during the trial of the Templars, quite an important era in the history of the castle, and in 1455, Castello Savelli Torlonia was the location where Giacomo Savelli’s son was murdered for revenge by Suou Vassals, since they had been exiled by the family.

 

Over the years the castle was also the cause of rivalry and dispute between many different Italian families. In 1498, when Charles VIII was in Italy, it was the cause of a dispute between the Savelli Family and an alliance between the Orsini and Colonna families. The Savelli were forced to burn the town of Palombara in order to save it from falling to the Orsini, and in turn forced Pope Alexander VI to resolve the situation. The Pope favored Orsini, and Palombara subsequently declined and fell to its enemies, and in 1504, the Savelli family fled the town. Then in 1508, the Borgais, Pope Julius II’s family, returned to the town.

 

In later years the castle was rebuilt by Troilo Savelli. During this renovation process, the structure was strengthened and all the frescoes in the rooms and inside the chapel were made, but in 1532 he had to flee the Pope’s wrath for wounding a man in Rome, and left the town and the castle. In1602, the castle belonged to Virgina Savelli, the wife of Duke Piero Farnese, who founded the beautiful Santa Maria of the Seven Sorrows monastery.

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Castello Savelli Torlonia

Il castello di Oricola si trova ai bordi della piana del Cavaliere nel comune di Oricola, in provincia dell'Aquila.
L'origine del castello di Oricola risale al nono secolo, quando Rainaldo conte dei Marsi costruì una rocca, insieme ad altre torri collegate tra loro da mura, a difesa dalle incursioni dei saraceni e degli ungari[1].

Nel 1096 il castello passa di proprietà ad Aldegrina o Aldegrima del fu Pandolfo (Principe di Capua), contessa di Carsoli e moglie di un altro Rainaldo discendente del fondatore, morto nel corso della prima crociata; fu lei a donarlo nello stesso anno all'abbazia di Montecassino[2]. Nel 1097 il castello di Auricola (toponimo medievale del borgo) compare tra i beni confermati dalla bolla di Papa Urbano II all'abate cassinese Oderisio[2].

Nel 1242 il castello fu attaccato da Federico II dopo la distruzione di Carsoli, inseguendo i fuggitivi riparati ad Oricola[3].

Nel 1381 Oricola diviene feudo degli Orsini ed il castello acquisì la contemporanea configurazione grazie alla ristrutturazione avvenuta nella metà del Quattrocento. Nel 1491 passò di proprietà alla famiglia Colonna, ma nel 1528 gli Orsini sconfissero i Colonna presso Magliano de' Marsi ed il castello venne saccheggiato tornando infine sotto il proprio controllo.

Nel 1557 Oricola e gli altri castelli limitrofi furono di nuovo invasi e saccheggiati, questa volta dalle truppe del duca di Albe.

Architettura
L'attuale castello ha una pianta triangolare, con tre torri cilindriche agli angoli. Le due torri della facciata orientale sono state completamente ristrutturate, mentre quella ad ovest conserva ancora i caratteri della costruzione originale.

La parte nord-ovest dell'edificio è occupato da uffici comunali, mentre al piano terra del lato sinistro della facciata principale si trovano degli uffici postali. Il resto del castello è di proprietà privata.

Castello di Oricola

Il castello di Nerola o castello Orsini di Nerola è sito a via Aldo Bigelli a Nerola, in provincia di Roma.

Storia
Mancano dati certi sulla datazione del castello ma ipotesi la riconducono tra il X e l'XI secolo nello stesso periodo in cui alcuni paesi incominciarono a rifugiarsi in cocuzzoli e costruendo castelli.

Anche i primi secoli di vita del castello sono bui, ma fonti lo vogliono possesso degli Orsini (da cui il nome) nel 1235. Tale famiglia rinforzò il castello elevando le torri angolari e circoscrivendo il castello con un muro.

Marie Anne de La Trémoille principessa di Nerola, come moglie di Flavio Orsini ultimo duca di Bracciano e principe di Nerola, creò un'essenza di arance amare per portare a Parigi, a cui in onore del paese diede il nome Neroli, profumo ancora usato oggi in Francia.

Dopo la morte di Flavio Orsini e di Annamaria, il castello passò, con altri loro feudi, ai discendenti Lante Montefeltro Della Rovere.

Da questi passarono ai Barberini, poi, nel 1728 ai Colonna di Sciarra per via matrimoniale (difatti Cornelia Barberini sposò Giulio Cesare Colonna.

Nel 1867 i garibaldini si rifugiarono nel castello al riparo dalle truppe pontificie. Successivamente fu dei Marchesi Ferrari Frey.

Nel XX secolo il castello è stato acquistato dalla società CA.DI., restaurato e adibito ad attività culturali ricreative.

Struttura
L'aspetto esterno è romanico-medievale. Un muro di cinta esterno con merlatura si erge da un fossato. Il castello vero e proprio consta di quattro torri angolari di cui una circolare ed una quadrangolare entrambe con merlature e risulta molto più alto e maestoso delle mura esterne. All'interno sono presenti nove sale conferenze, per una capienza complessiva di 360 posti, una delle quali può ospitare 200 persone.

Il teatro con telone coprente può ospitare 200 spettatori ed ha un perimetro di 13x13 m. con una altezza di 5 m.