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 the ...

: ) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Viterbo in the Italian region Latium, located about northwest of Rome and about northwest of Viterbo. Gradoli sits on a tuff 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 volc ...

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 historic ...

. 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 I ...

; 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 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,

Latera Latera is a small town and ''comune'' in the Province of Viterbo, Lazio, central Italy. Situated near Bolsena Lake and Mezzano Lake, is important for volcanic underground activity near the town centre. It has a small rock with a medieval palace ...

, 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 Castro, ...

, San Lorenzo Nuovo, Valentano.

History

Gradoli's origins date to the Middle Ages, 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 in the 11th century. In the following century the town became a

free commune Medieval communes in the European Middle Ages had sworn allegiances of mutual defense (both physical defense and of traditional freedoms) among the citizens of a town or city. These took many forms and varied widely in organization and makeup. C ...

, 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 compl ...

. 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 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 participated by future prime minister Romano Prodi) as the possible location of the politician and therefore searched. It was later discovered that the Red Brigades, the terrorist group who had captured him, had in fact a base at Rome, in via Gradoli.

History

Local attractions

References

External links