Rome in the Footsteps of an XVIIIth Century Traveller

En Route to Genazzano

In summer 1856 Ferdinand Gregorovius spent three months in the small town of Genazzano; he described his stay there and in other nearby towns in Aus der Campagna von Rom (About the Roman Campagna) (you can read the English translation by Dorothea Roberts in Bill Thayer's Web Site); he started his account by describing the itinerary he followed to reach Genazzano; he left Rome at Porta Maggiore and took Via Labicana (today usually referred to as Via Casilina) along which he saw the newly built railroad which linked Rome to Naples and the arches of ancient Roman aqueducts; he then reached Tor Pignattara (the name given to the mausoleum of St. Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine) and San Cesareo on the slopes of the Alban hills, a location notorious for the brigands' assaults on the stagecoaches which used this route. He then passed near two small towns which were fiefdoms of the Colonna before being sold to other families.

Colonna

Colonna seen from Monte Porzio

Now comes our first station, Osteria della Colonna, by the sixteenth milestone. On an isolated hill which the Alban Mountains have here sent forth into the plain, is lifted up the town of Colonna, which was the cradle of that great race in the Middle Ages. Then comes (..) San Cesario - merely a lonely hostelry among vineyards on broken ground, once famous for its robberies, for here bandits were wont to waylay the diligence in a hollow of the road. Gregorovius
San Cesareo is located at the foot of a small hill which has at its top Colonna, a tiny town (it can be seen in the 1765 Grand View of Rome by Giuseppe Vasi) which was the first fiefdom of the family by the same name; in his account Gregorovius imagined the Colonna watching some of their possessions from the cradle of their power: Zagarolo, Palestrina, Genazzano and Paliano to the east and Marino to the south.

(left) A modern fountain with the symbol of the town and of the Colonna family; (right) coat of arms of the Pallavicini on an old farmhouse which they still own

In 1856 the town did not belong to the Colonna any longer because in 1622 it was sold to Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi, nephew of Pope Gregory XV; his heirs sold it to Cardinal Lazzaro Pallavicini who included it in the dowry of his niece Maria Camilla who in 1670 married Giovan Battista Rospigliosi, nephew of Pope Clement IX. A child of the couple, in order to comply with a condition set in his will by Cardinal Pallavicini in 1680, changed his surname to Pallavicini (more on this topic in a page about Palazzo Pallavicini Rospigliosi in Rome; you may wish to see the couple's rather gruesome funerary monument at S. Francesco a Ripa).

S. Nicola (designed by Clemente Orlandi)

Colonna was surrounded by walls, but there is almost no remaining evidence of them because Pope Boniface VIII, during his conflict with the Colonna, ordered the town to be razed to the ground and forbade its reconstruction. Eventually Colonna was rebuilt, but it lost importance and it became an appendage of Zagarolo; its houses were built upon the ruins of the former walls in order to grant some protection to the inhabitants.
In 1756-1771 the Pallavicini built a new church in what was at the time the main square of the town; it was consecrated by Henri Benedict Stuart, Cardinal of York and Bishop of Frascati.

View from Colonna: in the foreground the dome of S. Pietro, the main church of Zagarolo and in the background, on the slope of a mountain, Palestrina

At Colonna, Zagarolo may be discovered peeping out of the greenery of luxuriant vines. This is the old fief of the Colonna family, whose territories we have entered. (..) From thence, mounting ever higher and higher, after a few miles, we reach the town of Palestrina. Gregorovius

Zagarolo

View of Zagarolo with the dome of S. Pietro by Nicola Michetti (1717-1725), the architect who designed also the Rospigliosi funerary chapel at S. Francesco a Ripa

Zagarola is about four miles distant from Palestrina, and gives a title to the eldest son of Prince Rospigliosi, to whom it now belongs; but was before possessed by the Boncompagnis (Ludovisi), and anciently by the Colonnas, whose arms are still to be seen on fountains and other buildings. It is surrounded by delightful valleys, which afford a variety of picturesque views.
Ellis Cornelia Knight - Description of Latium: or, La Campagna di Roma - 1805

(left) Piazza S. Maria outside the city gate with an ancient basin of baths similar to those in Piazza Farnese in Rome; (right) portico of S. Maria, the church of the Franciscan convent, with some ancient columns

Zagarolo is, or ought to be, that ancient Pedum, known to readers of Horace. Gregorovius
Zagarola, 21 miles from Rome, will scarcely be made the object of an especial excursion, but may be visited by those who drive to Palestrina. (..) It now gives a ducal title to the Rospigliosi. Many Roman antiquities found in the neighbourhood are built up into the walls and houses.
Augustus J. C. Hare - Days near Rome - 1875
Today the site of ancient Pedum is located at Gallicano, not far from Zagarolo, but the countryside around the town was rich of evidence of Roman villas and it was only a few miles from Gabii, an ancient town which became a Roman municipium.

(left) Street leading to the southern gate of the town; (right) portal along the street which led to the gardens on the rear of Palazzo Rospigliosi Colonna

The road is excellent, and an avenue of trees leads to the town. At the end of a long street is a gate, and has relief on it of good sculpture. Knight
Zagarolo is situated on a plateau between two deep ravines. The plateau is very narrow and because of this the historical part of Zagarolo has only one street, from which dead end alleys lead to the houses which are on the edge of the ravines.

(left) Porta Rospigliosi; (right) detail highlighting the presence of columns (real and in the stucco decoration), the heraldic symbols of the Colonna

Zagarolo belonged to the Colonna until 1622 when it was sold to Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi; in 1668 it was acquired by Giovanni Battista Rospigliosi; in 1722 his son Clemente Domenico placed a large inscription with the family name on the main gate of Zagarolo; because of this, the gate is known as Porta Rospigliosi, although it was built by Marzio Colonna in ca 1600. The use of a local brown tufo stone to obtain contrasting decorative effects is a characteristic of all the monuments of the town.

Porta Rospigliosi: ancient reliefs with scenes of triumphal processions (above/middle) and a fragment of a sarcophagus with Dionysiac subjects (below); the image used as background for this page shows a lion mane, another relief which decorates the gate

Zagarolo had a medieval aspect until 1569 when the Colonna were given the title of Dukes of Zagarolo by Pope Pius V; in particular Marzio Colonna, son of Pompeo who fought with Marcantonio II Colonna at the 1571 Battle of Lepanto, decided to live in the town and to give it an appearance appropriate to his rank; Marzio's choice of two reliefs shown above was probably suggested by the triumphal procession Pope Pius V granted to Marcantonio Colonna at his return from Lepanto (it is re-enacted every year at Marino).

(left) Side of Palazzo Rospigliosi Colonna; (right) painted window embrasure; the interior of the palace with its many late XVIth century frescoes is shown in a second page

Marzio Colonna turned the medieval family castle at Zagarolo into a modern building by adding two long wings. It does not retain almost any signs of its former use apart from the width of the walls of the central tower.
Perhaps the first consistent bohemian, Caravaggio was in permanent revolt against authority, and his wild and anarchic character brought him into more than one conflict with the police. In 1606 he had to flee from Rome because of a charge of manslaughter.
Rudolf Wittkower - Art and Architecture in Italy 1600-1750 Penguin Books 1958
Marzio Colonna gave temporary asylum to Caravaggio at Zagarolo, in return for some paintings.

Palazzo Rospigliosi Colonna: (left) site of a fountain between two ancient columns which acted as heraldic symbols; (centre/right) the Rospigliosi's coat of arms on top of an ancient column

Some imposing ancient granite columns were placed outside the palace. They were most likely found by excavations made by Marzio Colonna in the gardens of Palazzo Rivaldi, near Tempio di Venere e Roma in 1596 and/or at Valle Mariani, a site near Frascati in 1597.

Roman memories: (left) a "strigilato" sarcophagus above a funerary inscription; (right-above) funerary altar supporting another "strigilato" sarcophagus which is shown in a glossary page explaining the meaning of "strigilato"; (right-below) inscription making reference to Emperor Claudius near Piazza del Mercato

By and large most of the antiquities which embellish Zagarolo are dated Ist or IInd century AD.
The archaeological excavations, the renovation of the town and the enlargement of the family palace were financed by Marzio Colonna with the sale of springs he owned to Pope Sixtus V. They were used for Acqua Felice, the long aqueduct built by the Pope who in 1586 inspected the works and was welcomed by Marzio Colonna at Zagarolo.

View towards Piazza del Mercato from Palazzo Rospigliosi Colonna

The redesign of Zagarolo was based on the urban redevelopment of Rome which was promoted by Pope Sixtus V. It was based on long straight streets having a monument (the façade of a church, an obelisk or a column) at their end. At Zagarolo a straight street linked the palace to the main square of the town and to the façade of the church of S. Lorenzo (that of S. Pietro was yet to be built).

(left) Portico of the public weighbridge along the main street; (right-above) inscription stating that "The prince established right weight measures; they should be respected and the wrong ones eliminated"; (right-below) length standard measurements

The Duchy of Zagarolo was a pretty tiny one, yet it had its own set of standard measures and in general the institutions of an independent political body. The Colonna enjoyed a wide range of rights, exemptions and other prerogatives which made them very independent from the Papal government.
In 1856, forty years after the abolition of feudal rights, Gregorovius noted: The evil of these inequalities is to be explained by the agrarian condition under which the peasant exists. From remote ages the occupier of the land has had to give a fourth of his produce to his feudal lord - Prince Colonna. It is this ancient curse of the taxation which impoverishes the people.
Occasionally the peasants revolted, but they were harshly punished, e.g. at Rocca di Papa in 1855.

(left) S. Lorenzo; (centre) detail of its façade; (right) an ancient statue in a niche at Piazza del Mercato

The church was built in 1553-1580 on the site of a medieval one and Pope Sixtus V gave it the title of Collegiata, i.e. a church with a college of canons, the highest rank before that of cathedral. Marzio Colonna improved its aspect and its completion was celebrated in 1602.

Interior of S. Lorenzo: details of two side chapels

The church was bombed in 1944 and its ceiling and dome collapsed, but some of the side chapels were spared. They retain a rich decoration which is typical of the Late Renaissance.

Piazza del Mercato seen from S. Lorenzo and the street leading to Palazzo Rospigliosi Colonna (the buildings to the right were rebuilt/restored after WWII)

Piazza del Mercato, the heart of Zagarolo, was given a very urban appearance and the buildings which surrounded it housed the Town Hall and the Tribunal; the porticoes were used as a marketplace; the decoration of the complex was based on columns and two-tailed mermaids, another heraldic symbol of the Colonna.

Palazzo Comunale (Town Hall) in Piazza del Mercato with the inscription "Principis Munificentia S. P. Q. Gabiorum Curia M. D. C. V."

The building had the pompous title of Senate of the City of Gabii. It actually housed the administrative activities of the Duchy. The design of the square and of its buildings is generally defined as vignolesco, with reference to Giovanni Barozzi da Vignola, an Italian architect who worked with Michelangelo and wrote Canon of the Five Orders of Architecture, a treatise which guided the activity of many architects of the late XVIth century. He is best known for his activity at Palazzo Farnese di Caprarola. Some sources indicate the name of Carlo Maderno for the final design of the Tribunal and of the Town Hall.

Piazza del Mercato: (above) inscription on the Tribunal: "Princeps Juri Paci Securitatique Gabiorum Hic Sedem Statuit MDCV" (The Prince established the see of Justice, Peace and Security for the inhabitants of Gabii in 1605); (below) decoration of an arch of the portico with the motto "In adversis lucet", a quotation from Claudian meaning "he/it shines (more) in a difficult time"

The late XVIth century was a period of centralization of the Papal State mainly meant to ensure religious orthodoxy. The Tribunale del Sant'Uffizio had jurisdiction on all charges of heresy, but the efforts of the papal courts to undermine the traditional privileges of the nobility were gradual, uneven, and also often less than completely successful, so that Marzio Colonna could deliver justice to his subjects on most matters. His authority was strengthened in 1601 by his being inducted into the Order of the Golden Fleece by King Philip III of Spain.

(left) Porta S. Martino; (right) coat of arms of the Rospigliosi surrounded by the Collar the Golden Fleece (Giuseppe Rospigliosi was inducted into the order in 1803 by the Austrian Emperor)

The Colonna enlarged (or rather stretched) the town by developing its northern end; the new quarter and the new gate were dedicated to St. Martin in honour of Pope Martin V, the only pope of the Colonna family. The internal side of the gate was decorated with military emblems, but the curved lines which were in fashion at the time made the Roman military equipment more likely to be worn by dancers than by soldiers.

Porta S. Martino: (left) internal side; (right) detail of the decoration

Move to page two and visit the interior of Palazzo Rospigliosi Colonna.

Introductory page on Ferdinand Gregorovius
Next pages in this walk: Palestrina, Cave, Genazzano, Olevano, Paliano and Anagni
Other walks:
The Ernici Mountains: Ferentino; Frosinone; Alatri; Fiuggi (Anticoli di Campagna); Piglio and Acuto
The Volsci Mountains: Valmontone; Segni; Norma; Cori
On the Latin shores: Anzio; Nettuno and Torre Astura
plus An Excursion to Ardea and An Excursion to Lavinium (Pratica di Mare)
Circe's Cape: Terracina; San Felice
The Orsini Castle in Bracciano
Subiaco, the oldest Benedictine monastery
Small towns near Subiaco: Cervara and Rocca Canterano; Trevi and Filettino.