Vicovaro (, Romanesco: ) is a ''

comune 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 ...

'' (municipality) 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 ...

in the

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 ...

region

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

, located about northeast 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, ...

History

The area of Vicovaro was inhabited as early as the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

period, as testified by remains dating from this period to the late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

. It was a city of the

Aequi 300px, Location of the Aequi (Equi) in central Italy, 5th century BC. The Aequi were an Italic tribe on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains to the east of Latium in central Italy who appear in the early history of ancient Rome. After a long stru ...

, later colonized by Rome. During the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

domination, it was known as ''Vicus Varronis'', ''Vicus Vari'' or ''Vicus Valerius''. It was on the

Via Valeria The Via Valeria was an ancient Roman roads, Roman road of Italy, the continuation north-eastwards of the Via Tiburtina from Tivoli, Lazio, Tibur. It probably owed its origin to Marcus Valerius Messalla, Roman censor, censor in 154 BC. A second V ...

Pope Celestine III Pope Celestine III (; c. 1105 – 8 January 1198), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 March or 10 April 1191 to his death in 1198. He had a tense relationship with several monarchs, including Emperor ...

granted Vicovaro to his

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 ...

relatives. The town held strategic importance in the Aniene valley. In 1533, Ludovico Gonzaga seized Vicovaro in a conflict between the Orsini and the Medici pope

Clement VII Pope Clement VII (; ; born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the most unfortunate of ...

. After the surrender, Gonzaga was assassinated by Napoleone Orsini who shot him with an

arquebus An arquebus ( ) is a form of long gun that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. An infantryman armed with an arquebus is called an arquebusier. The term ''arquebus'' was applied to many different forms of firearms ...

. In 1692, Orsini properties were auctioned off to satisfy debts, and Vicovaro fell to Count Paulo Bolognetti. His son, Ferdinando, married Flavia Theodoli, sister of Marchese Gerolamo Theodoli. The Bolognettis refurbished and expanded the Orsini castle and initiated other building projects in the city. Theodoli oversaw the restoration of the Church of San Pietro for his nephew, Giacomo Bolognetti.Catini, Raffaella. "Theodoli, Gerolamo", ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'' - Volume 95, 2019
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Main sights

*Palazzo Cenci Bolognetti, a former residence of the Orsini. It includes parts of a ''rocca'' (castle) with cylindrical towers, remains of the keep and an entrance with a Gothic marble arch from the 14th century. *Church of San Giacomo, commissioned by Giovanni Antonio Orsini to

Giovanni Dalmata Giovanni Dalmata (; c. 1440 – c. 1514), born Ioannes Stephani Duknovich de Tragurio, also known as Giovanni Duknovich di Traù in Italy and Ivan Stjepanov Duknović in Croatia, was a sculpture, sculptor from Trogir, Dalmatia, who was mainly acti ...

(upper part) and others (lower part). *Church of San Pietro (17th century) *Monastery of San Cosimato (6th century)

References

External links

Comune di Vicovaro
* {{authority control Cities and towns in Lazio