Paliano is a 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
province of Frosinone
The Province of Frosinone ( it, Provincia di Frosinone) is a province in the Lazio region of Italy, with 91 '' comuni'' (singular: ''comune''; see Comuni of the Province of Frosinone). Its capital is the city of Frosinone. It has an area o ...
, in the
Lazio
it, Laziale
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region of central
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 ...
.
History
Paliano was the seat of a branch of the powerful
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 medieval and Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope ( Martin V) and many other church and politi ...
whose head was
Lord
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage ...
, then
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...
, then
Prince of Paliano
The title Duke and Prince of Paliano is borne by the head of the elder line of the Colonna family. At times the honour has been borne by several members at once. The Princes also bear many other titles and honorifics.
The Princes of Summonte ar ...
. Their fortress dominates the town. In 1556 papal forces captured the town, which was governed for a few years by
Giovanni Carafa, nephew of
Pope Paul IV
Pope Paul IV, born Gian Pietro Carafa, C.R. ( la, Paulus IV; it, Paolo IV; 28 June 1476 – 18 August 1559) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 May 1555 to his death in August 1559. While serving as pap ...
, as Duke. His wife, , was the Duchess of Paliano celebrated in
Stendhal's novella of the same name.
Upon the death of Paul IV in 1559,
Marcantonio Colonna regained the town. His participation in the
naval battle of Lepanto in 1571 is commemorated by the Via Lepanto leading to the family palazzo. The 17th century church of Sant’ Andrea contains the tombs of the Colonna, including a magnificent tomb for Prince
Filippo II Colonna
Filippo II Colonna (7 April 1663 – 8 November 1714) was an Italian nobleman of prominent Colonna family. He was the 9th Duke and Prince of Paliano.
Biography
Born in Rome, Filippo was the son of Don Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna, hereditary Grand ...
by
Bernardino Ludovisi
Bernardino Ludovisi (c. 1693 – 11 December 1749), also called Bernardo, was an Italian sculptor.
Life and work
Little is known of his life. The Ludovisi were an ancient Italian family, originally from Bologna. Bernardino seems to have spe ...
, completed in 1745. In the 19th century the Colonna fortress was sold 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 ...
, which used it as a prison.
References
* Robert Enggass, “Ludovisi’s Tomb for a Colonna Prince.” ''The Burlington Magazine''. CXXXV (1993): 822–824.
External links
Abridged History of Rome: Paliano
Cities and towns in Lazio
{{Lazio-geo-stub