Home

Visit Rome following 8 XVIIIth century itineraries XVIIIth century Rome in the 10 Books of Giuseppe Vasi - Le Magnificenze di Roma Antica e Moderna The Grand View of Rome by G. Vasi The Environs of Rome: Frascati, Tivoli, Albano and other small towns near Rome A 1781 map of Rome by G. Vasi An 1852 map of Rome by P. Letarouilly Rome seen by a 1905 armchair traveller in the paintings by Alberto Pisa The 14 historical districts of Rome An abridged history of Rome How to spend a peaceful day in Rome Baroque sculptors and their works The coats of arms of the popes in the monuments of Rome Pages on a specific pope Pages complementing the itineraries and the views by Giuseppe Vasi Walks in the Roman countryside and in other towns of Latium following Ferdinand Gregorovius A Directory of links to the Churches of Rome A Directory of links to the Palaces and Villas of Rome A Directory of links to the Other Monuments of Rome A Directory of Baroque Architects with links to their works A Directory of links to Monuments of Ancient Rome A Directory of links to Monuments of Medieval Rome A Directory of links to Monuments of Renaissance A Directory of links to Monuments of the Late Renaissance A list of the most noteworthy Roman Families Directories of fountains, obelisks, museums, etc. Books and guides used for developing this web site An illustrated Glossary of Art Terms Venice and the Levant Roman recollections in Florence A list of Italian towns shown in this web site Venetian Fortresses in Greece Vienna seen by an Italian XVIIIth century traveller A list of foreign towns shown in this web site
What's New!

Detailed Sitemap

All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it. Text edited by Rosamie Moore.

To the Italian visitors of my web site

Branching off Via Flaminia - part one: Riano and Castelnuovo di Porto
(Renaissance relief in Riano)

Introduction

XVIIIth century travellers had the choice of three roads to reach Rome: very few travelled along Via Aurelia: it was unhealthy and there were no interesting sites to see. Via Cassia was chosen by those who wanted to visit Siena, but brigands overran a stretch of the road near Acquapendente; the safest (but not the shortest) route between Florence and Rome was via Perugia, Assisi and Foligno. From this town travellers reached Rome along Via Flaminia.

Inscription and map
(left) Inscription at a staging post along Via Flaminia near Castelnuovo di Porto; (right) 1923 map of the area: Riano, Castelnuovo di Porto, Morlupo and Leprignano are covered in this section and are underlined in red; in addition the map shows Malborghetto (underlined in green), Monterotondo and Mentana (underlined in blue)

This page deals with the small towns near the last stretch of Via Flaminia between Civita Castellana and the outskirts of Rome (Malborghetto). At Castelnuovo di Porto a 1580 inscription celebrates the efforts made by Clarice Colonna Anguillara to improve Via Flaminia.

Tufa rock near Morlupo
An isolated tufa rock near Morlupo

Most XVIIIth century travellers found the last leg of Via Flaminia very boring and desolate. J. W. Goethe to the contrary was impressed by the landscape he saw: "it is only the water tearing across the volcanic areas which has carved them into extremely picturesque shapes, overhanging cliffs and other accidental features." (Italian Journey - October 28, 1786).

Inscription on a house of Castelnuovo di Porto
Inscription on a house of Castelnuovo di Porto

Grand Tour travellers were not the only users of Via Flaminia; during the Succession Wars (1701-48) several armies followed this road to reach the Kingdom of Naples: in 1734, at the age of 18, Don Carlos, Duke of Parma, commander of a small army, led his troops along this route on their way to conquer that kingdom: he spent a night at Castelnuovo di Porto and the event was celebrated by a lengthy inscription.
In 1787 this stretch of Via Flaminia lost importance because Pope Pius VI opened a new road between Civita Castellana and Monterosi (which is located along Via Cassia) and most travellers preferred to reach Rome by the new road.

Riano

Views of the castle
Views of Castello Boncompagni Ludovisi

Riano is located on a small isolated tufa rock which has been fortified since the time of the ancient Romans. The medieval castle at its western end was turned into a palace by the Cesi, who acquired Riano in 1571. For many centuries Riano, similarly to Civitella S. Paolo and Leprignano, had belonged to Monastero di S. Paolo.

Tufa rock near Morlupo
Parish church (SS. Concezione): (left) bell tower; (right) detail of the 1738 ceiling: (left) coat of arms of a Cardinal Ruspoli (associated with the coat of arms of Pope Clement XII); (right) coat of arms of the Boncompagni Ludovisi (added at a later period)

In 1710 the Cesi sold Riano to the Ruspoli who later on sold it to the Boncompagni Ludovisi: the owners of Riano are remembered by many coats of arms and by the names of the streets.

Gate and fountain
(left) Main gate; (centre) coat of arms of the Ruspoli Cesi; (right) XVIIIth century fountain

In 1713 Prince Francesco Maria Ruspoli placed his coat of arms on the only gate of Riano: it is associated with that of the Cesi (the previous owners): the two can be seen also in nearby Vignanello. In 1730 he built at the foot of the tufa rock a fountain which bears just his coat of arms: you can see it in the image used as background for this page.

Castelnuovo di Porto

View
View from Via Flaminia

The reference to Porto in the name of Castelnuovo is most likely due to the town being included in the diocese of Porto, which was held by a senior Cardinal. Castelnuovo was for many centuries a fiefdom of the Colonna, one of the few this powerful family had north of Rome.

The castle
(left) The castle; (upper right corner) coat of arms of Pope Urbanus VIII; (lower right corner) inscription below a (lost) coat of arms of Pope Nicholas V

Towards the end of the XVIth century the Colonna had significant financial difficulties (more on this following this link) and Castelnuovo became a direct possession of Camera Apostolica, the body of the Papal State in charge of the fiscal system. This explains why in 1624 a coat of arms of Pope Urbanus VIII was placed on one of the side walls of the castle.

Collegiata
(left) Collegiata; (centre) its bell tower; (right) SS. Agostino e Antonio Abate

The Cardinals of Porto were keen on providing the inhabitants of Porto with well kept churches.

Strolling
Strolling in Castelnuovo

Move to Morlupo and Leprignano.


Pages on towns of Latium other than Rome In the Duchy of Castro: Farnese, Ischia di Castro, Valentano, Gradoli, Capodimonte, Marta In Maremma: Corneto (Tarquinia), Montalto, Canino A Pilgrim's Way: Via Francigena: Acquapendente, Bolsena, Montefiascone In and about Viterbo: Viterbo, Bagnoregio, S. Martino al Cimino, Tuscania, Bomarzo, S. Maria della Querce, Bagnaia, Orte, Vasanello, Vitorchiano From Civitavecchia to Civita Castellana: Civitavecchia, Tolfa, Allumiere, Oriolo Romano, Capranica, Sutri, Bassano, Monterosi, Nepi, Castel d'Elia, Civita Castellana From Bracciano to Viterbo: Manziana, Canale Monterano, Vejano, Barbarano, Blera, Vetralla Around Monte Cimino: Ronciglione, Caprarola, Carbognano, Fabrica, Corchiano, Vignanello, Vallerano, Soriano The Bracciano Lake: Bracciano, Trevignano, Anguillara At the foot of Monte Soratte: S. Oreste, Rignano, Faleria Land of the Romans' wives: Montopoli, Poggio Mirteto, Casperia, Cantalupo, Roccantica Sentinels on the Highway: Fiano Romano, Civitella S. Paolo, Nazzano, Torrita Tiberina, Filacciano, Ponzano Along Via Aurelia: Palidoro, Palo, S. Severa and S. Marinella A Walk to Malborghetto: Prima Porta, Malborghetto Branching off Via Cassia: S. Maria di Galeria, Formello, Isola Farnese To Nomentum and beyond: Mentana, Monterotondo, Palombara A Walk to Ponte di Nona: ancient monuments along Via Prenestina Via Appia Antica A short and delicious digression: Tivoli, Montecompatri, Monte Porzio Catone, Frascati, Grottaferrata, Marino, Castelgandolfo, Albano, Ariccia, Genzano, Velletri, Nemi, Rocca di Papa, Rocca Priora, Civita Lavinia (Lanuvio), Porto, Ostia Where the painters found their models: Anticoli Corrado, Castelmadama, Vicovaro, Arsoli Subiaco The Roman Campagna: Palestrina, Genazzano, Paliano, Anagni The Ernici Mountains: Ferentino, Alatri The Volsci Mountains: Valmontone, Colonna, Segni, Norma, Cori On the Latin Shores: Anzio, Nettuno, Torre Astura On the edge of the marsh: Sermoneta, Sezze, Priverno Circe's Cape: S. Felice, Terracina Veroli Branching off Via Flaminia: Riano, Castelnuovo di Porto, Morlupo, Leprignano (Capena)

Latium was enlarged in the 1920s with territories from the neighbouring regions: the map on the left shows the current borders of Latium; the map on the right has links to pages covering towns of historical Latium: in order to see them you must hover and click on the dots.