The Roman Castles (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

: ''Castelli Romani'') are a group of ''

comuni A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' in the

Metropolitan City of Rome Metropolitan City of Rome Capital () is an area of local government at the level of metropolitan city in the Lazio region of Italy. It comprises the territory of the city of Rome and 120 other ''comuni'' (: ''comune'') in the hinterland of the c ...

. They are located a short distance south-east of the city of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, at the feet of the

Alban Hills The Alban Hills () are the caldera remains of a quiescent volcanic complex in Italy, located southeast of Rome and about north of Anzio. The high Monte Cavo forms a highly visible peak in the centre of the caldera, but the highest point is ...

, in the territory corresponding to the

Old Latium or ' () is a region of the Italian Peninsula bounded to the north by the Tiber, Tiber River, to the east by the central Apennine Mountains, to the west by the Mediterranean Sea and to the south by Monte Circeo. It was the territory of the Latins ...

Overview

The castles are situated in a fertile volcanic area which has allowed since ancient times a flourishing agriculture. The former crater is occupied by two lakes,

Nemi Nemi is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome (central Italy), in the Alban Hills overlooking Lake Nemi, a volcanic crater lake. It is northwest of Velletri and about southeast of Rome. The town's name derives from the Lati ...

and Albano. Beginning in the

ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

era, it was an area frequented by the noblemen of Rome for its fresher climate during summer; the tradition was followed by the Popes, who still have their summer residence in

Castel Gandolfo Castel Gandolfo (, , ; ), colloquially known as Castello in the '' Castelli Romani'' dialects, is a town located southeast of Rome, in the Italian region of Lazio. Situated on a hilltop in the Alban Hills with panoramic views of Lake Albano, Cast ...

, on Lake Albano. Families which ruled in the area include

Orsini Orsini is a surname of Italian origin, originally derived from Latin ''ursinus'' ("bearlike") and originating as an epithet or sobriquet describing the name-bearer's purported strength. Notable people with the surname include the following: * Aaro ...

, Colonna, Chigi, Aldobrandini, Savelli, Annibaldi and Ruspoli.

Municipalities

Castel Gandolfo e lago Albano 2 - panorama

The Roman Castles are:A list on prontocastelli.it
/ref> *

Albano Laziale Albano Laziale (;; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, on the Alban Hills, in the Italian region of Lazio. Rome is distant. It is bounded by other communes of Castel Gandolfo, Rocca di Papa, Ariccia and ...

* Ariccia *

* Colonna *

Frascati Frascati () is a city and 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 science, ...

Genzano di Roma Genzano di Roma is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is one of the Castelli Romani, at a distance of from Rome, in the Alban Hills. History The origin of the name ''Genzano'' is st ...

* Grottaferrata *

Lanuvio Lanuvio is a (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italian region of Latium, located about southeast of Rome, on the Alban Hills. Lanuvio borders the following municipalities: Aprilia, Ariccia, Genzano di Roma, Velletri. Hist ...

* Lariano (a ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...

'' of Velletri until 1969) * Marino * Monte Compatri * Monte Porzio Catone *

Rocca di Papa Rocca di Papa () is a small town and (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, Italy. It is one of the Castelli Romani about southeast of Rome on the Alban Hills. It is close to the other communes of Velletri, Rocca Priora, Mon ...

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 R ...

Velletri Velletri (; ; ) 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 communes are Rocca di Papa, Lar ...

(a Free Commune during Middle Ages, but geographically considered a Roman Castle)

Cuisine

Since 1996, the Roman Castles area has been home to a large ''

denominazione di origine controllata The following four classification of wine, classifications of wine constitute the Italy, Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine: * ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; 'designation of origin'); * ''Indicazione ...

'' (DOC) zone that makes a wide variety of wine including ''

rosé A rosé () is a type of wine that incorporates some of the wine color, color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It may be the oldest known type of wine, as it is the most straightforward to make with the Macerati ...

s'', slightly sparkling ''frizzantes'' and both dry and sweet wines. The DOC red and ''rosés'' are composed of

Cesanese Comune Cesanese Comune (more commonly known as just Cesanese) is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Lazio region. The grape has three ''Denominazione di origine controllata'' (DOC) regions dedicated to it- Cesanese di Affi ...

Merlot Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...

Montepulciano Montepulciano () is a medieval and Renaissance hill town and ''comune'' in the Italian province of Siena in southern Tuscany. It sits high on a limestone ridge, east of Pienza, southeast of Siena, southeast of Florence, and north of Rome ...

, Nero Buono and

Sangiovese Sangiovese is a red Italian wine grape variety that derives its name from the Latin , "blood of Jove, Jupiter". Sangiovese Grosso, used for traditionally powerful and slow maturing red wines, is primarily grown in the central regions of Italy ...

with up to 15% of other local red grape varieties such as Abbuoto. The white wines of the region are composed of Malvasia Candia, Puntinata and

Trebbiano Trebbiano is an Italian wine grape, one of the most widely planted grape varieties in the world. It gives good yields, but tends to yield undistinguished wine. It can be fresh and fruity, but does not keep long. Also known as ugni blanc, it ...

with up to 30% of other local white grape varieties. Grapes destined for DOC production must be harvested to a yield no greater than 12

tonnes The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

with the white and ''rosés'' attaining a minimum

alcohol level Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...

of at least 10.5% and the reds being having at least 11% alcohol by volume.P. Saunders ''Wine Label Language'' pp. 136 Firefly Books 2004 Ariccia is celebrated for its '' porchetta'' (roasted pork meat). Local sweets include '' maritozzi'', a kind of sweet bun. From the harvest of wine grapes, wine must is used to bake '' ciambelle al mosto'' a large donut-shaped flat cake which can be found in the local bakeries.

References

External links

Castelli Romani

Cultural/tourist Portal of the Castles Roman

Italy Travel video in English of the Castelli Romani
{{Authority control . . Military history of Lazio Military history of Rome Geographical, historical and cultural regions of Italy Metropolitan City of Rome Capital

Overview

Municipalities

Cuisine

See also

References

External links