Rocca di Papa
Encyclopedia
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
in the province of Rome
Province of Rome
The Province of Rome , is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. The province can be viewed as the extended metropolitan area of the city of Rome, although in its more peripheral portions, especially to the north, it comprises towns surrounded by rural landscape.-Geography:The Province of Rome...
, Lazio, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. It is one of the Castelli Romani
Castelli Romani
The Castelli Romani is a group of communes in the province of Rome, Italy. They are located at short distance south-east to Rome, at the feet of the Alban Hills.-Overview:...
about 25 km south east of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
on the Alban Hills
Alban Hills
The Alban Hills are the site of a quiescent volcanic complex in Italy, located southeast of Rome and about north of Anzio.The dominant peak is Monte Cavo. There are two small calderas which contain lakes, Lago Albano and Lake Nemi...
. It is bounded by the other communes of Velletri
Velletri
Velletri is an Italian town of 53,298 inhabitants. It is a comune in the province of Rome, on the Alban Hills, in Lazio - Italy. It is bounded by other communes of Rocca di Papa, Lariano, Cisterna di Latina, Artena, Aprilia, Nemi, Genzano di Roma, Lanuvio...
, Rocca Priora
Rocca Priora
Rocca Priora is a small town and comune in the province of Rome, Lazio, Italy. It is one of the Castelli Romani on the Alban Hills about 25 km south east of Rome, situated in the Regional Park known as the "Parco Regionale dei Castelli Romani"....
, Monte Compatri
Monte Compatri
Monte Compatri is a comune in the Province of Rome in the Italian region Latium, located about 20 km southeast of Rome on the Alban Hills. It is one of the Castelli Romani.-History:...
, Grottaferrata
Grottaferrata
Grottaferrata, Italy is a small town and comune in the province of Rome, situated on the lower slopes of the Alban Hills, 20 km south east of Rome. It is bounded by other communes, Frascati, Rocca di Papa, Marino, and Rome.-History:...
, Albano
Albano Laziale
Albano Laziale is a comune in the province of Rome, on the Alban Hills, in Latium, central Italy. It is also a suburb of Rome, which is 25 km distant. It is bounded by other communes of Castel Gandolfo, Rocca di Papa, Ariccia and Ardea. Located in the Castelli Romani area of Lazio...
and Marino
Marino, Italy
Marino is an Italian city and comune in Lazio , on the Alban Hills, Italy, 21 km south east of Rome, with population of 37,684 and a territory of 26.10 km2...
. It is the centre of the Regional Park known as the "Parco Regionale dei Castelli Romani".
History
Documents from 12th century name Rocca di Papa as Castrum Rocce de Papa ("Rock Castle of the Pope"), because Pope Eugene IIIPope Eugene III
Pope Blessed Eugene III , born Bernardo da Pisa, was Pope from 1145 to 1153. He was the first Cistercian to become Pope.-Early life:...
lived there.
In 1541 Pier Luigi Farnese, with French troops, destroyed the castle.
In 1855 the people proclaimed the "Rocca di Papa Republic" against prince Colonna and the Papal States government.
In 1889 the "Royal Geodynamic Observatory" was built on the top of Rocca di Papa, near the little Church of the Crucified. Between 1922 and 1935 the scientist Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor, known as the father of long distance radio transmission and for his development of Marconi's law and a radio telegraph system. Marconi is often credited as the inventor of radio, and indeed he shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand...
carried out several experiments from this building in radio-transmission, wireless transmission and broadcasting.
In 1944, during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Rocca di Papa was bombed. The Centre of the city was destroyed. Thirty four people died in that air strike and 35 died in a second air strike on May 25. The city was liberated from the Nazi German occupation on June 4, 1944 by the 85th Infantry Division.
Main sights
- Papal Fortress, known since medieval times but restored in the current form during the reign of Pope Paul III.
- Santuario Madonna del Tufo
- Chiesa del Crocefisso
- Church of the Assunta, built in the 18th century. It is dedicated to the Assumption, and was rebuilt after the earthquake of 1806 in larger size.
- Fontana della Barcaccia
- Quartiere dei Bavaresi, built by Bavarian militiamen left here by Emperor Louis IV in 1328.
- Via Sacra (The Sacred Way of Monte CavoMonte CavoMonte Cavo is the second highest mountain of the complex of the Alban Hills, near Rome, Italy. An old volcano extinguished around 10,000 years ago, it lies about from the sea, in the territory of the comuneof Rocca di Papa. It is the dominant peak of the Alban Hills...
). - Convent of Palazzolo, located on top of a rock dominating the east shore of Lake Albano. The old Roman buildings (on the site on which some scholars place the ancient Albalonga) was turned into monasteries and a church dedicated to St Mary of Palatiolo. In the orchard of the convent is a sepulchral monument of the 2nd century BC with a staircase pyramid. Currently the Abbey and the church belongs to the English CollegeVenerable English College, RomeThe Venerable English College, commonly referred to as the English College, is a Roman Catholic seminary in Rome, Italy, for the training of priests for England and Wales...
.
Economy
Economy of Rocca di Papa is mostly based on tourism and agriculture, the latter dominated by wine and vine production.Festivals
The most important festival held in Rocca di Papa is the Roast Chestnut Festival (3rd week-end of October), in which is possible to eat the roast chestnut (the "Rocchicianelle") with wines of Castelli RomaniCastelli Romani
The Castelli Romani is a group of communes in the province of Rome, Italy. They are located at short distance south-east to Rome, at the feet of the Alban Hills.-Overview:...
pouring out by stands in the streets of the town.
Geophysical Museum
The Geophysical Museum illustrates the idea and the scientific data that have brought to the modeling of the inside of the Earth, preserve tools and scientific documents of the geology, geography and terrestrial physics.The astronomic observatory
The astronomic observatory "Franco Fuligni", located in the frazione of Vivaro, is a public structure, available for whoever (skygazings, curious, mateur astronomerAmateur astronomy
Amateur astronomy, also called backyard astronomy and stargazing, is a hobby whose participants enjoy watching the night sky , and the plethora of objects found in it, mainly with portable telescopes and binoculars...
s, groups and students) is interested in astronomy.
Sports
Federal Equestrian Centre of C.O.N.I. - Pratoni del VivaroIt is situated on a knoll in the centre of the communal farm of "Domatore". From 1960, when for the Olympic Games
1960 Summer Olympics
The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...
the equipment for the horse-riding events was installed, it has been the centre of equestrian championships and a meeting place for horse-riders. The equipment has been improved and enlarged to form an adequate spot for the preparation of the best horse-riders, offering an excellent track with every kind of difficulty and obstacle.
Transport
The funicularFunicular
A funicular, also known as an inclined plane or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope; the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalance each other.-Operation:The basic principle of funicular...
of Rocca di Papa was inaugurated in 1906: it connected “Valle Oscura” to avenue "Silvio Spaventa" and it worked thanks to a system of communicating large cases, with the movement furnished by the counterweights of the same ones moved by the water every time, regulated according to the number of passengers. Dismantled the previous one, an electric funicular was inaugurated on June 28, 1932, connecting the station of “Valle Vergine” with Margherita Square; it remained in service until to 1962.
Rocca di Papa was also connected to Rome by the Castelli Romani tramway, dismantled in the 1960s and replaced by a bus service. Direct road connection to Rome is provided by the SS511 Anagnina State Road and by the Via dei Laghi (former SS217 State Road). The nearest railway station is that of Frascati
Frascati
Frascati is a town and comune in the province of Rome 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, being the location of several international scientific...
.
Famous people
- Massimo Taparelli (1798–1866) the Marquis d'Azeglio, Italian statesman, novelist and painter
- Theodore William AchtermannTheodore William AchtermannTheodore William Achtermann was a German sculptor. Born in Münster, he initially worked on a farm before becoming a cabinetmaker. His carving was so clever and graceful that it attracted attention, and procured him the good will of some art patrons, who sent him to Berlin in 1831...
(1799–1884) sculptor - Luise Rinser (1911–2002) writer
- Domenico TojettiDomenico TojettiDomenico Tojetti was an Italian American painter.Born in Rocca di Papa, near Rome, the artist frequented the Roman circle of the Torlonia Princes, providing frescos in the ballroom of Villa Torlonia under the direction of his teacher, Francesco Coghetti.The artist provided also frescoes in the...
(Rocca di Papa 1807 - San Francisco 1892) painter
Reference
- 1960 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. p. 81.
External links
- Official site Geophysical Museum
- Official site Astronomic observatory
- Official site of Palazzola-Venerable English College