Manziana, Canale Monterano and Vejano

Introduction

This itinerary provides an alternative route to reach Viterbo from Bracciano by visiting some small towns which in some aspects seem untouched by modern life. The starting point, the small town of Manziana a few miles north of Bracciano, can be easily reached by train from Rome (1 hour ride). From there it is possible to reach the other towns by bus (a careful consultation of the timetables available on the web site of COTRAL is definitely useful).

Map of this itinerary (in green)

Manziana

View of the Lake of Bracciano from Manziana: in the distance Anguillara, in the foreground arches of Acqua Paola

Manziana, maybe named after the manzi (steers) which were raised in the area, was a fiefdom of the di Vico family who ruled this region for many centuries and during the absence of the popes from Rome in the XIVth century made an attempt to establish a sovereign state in northern Latium. The return to Rome of the popes from Avignon put an end to the expansion of the di Vico. Eventually an attempt by the di Vico to undermine the authority of Pope Eugenius IV ended in defeat. In 1435 the last of the di Vico was beheaded in Soriano.

Palazzo Tittoni and XVIIIth century fountain in the main square
Manziana became a possession of Ospedale di S. Spirito and Manziana owes to a Cardinal in charge of the hospital its nice 1732 fountain and the reshaping of the fortifications built by the di Vico into a residential palace, now named after Tommaso Tittoni (1855-1931), a politician who set his residence in Manziana.

Main church
The cardinal (Pietro de Carolis) completed his improvement of the main square of Manziana by building a relatively large church.

Canale Monterano

Ruins of Monterano and an old painting showing Monastero di S. Bonaventura
On December 20, 1669 65 cardinals met to elect the successor of Pope Clemens IX. 61 cardinals were Italians, but they had to take into account the pressures of France and Spain. The most obvious candidates were vetoed by one or the other great power. Four months later the cardinals were still in conclave and the delay embarrassed most cardinals who eventually decided to elect Cardinal Emilio Altieri, assuming that his age (80) would have made him accepted as an interim solution by both the French and the Spanish ambassadors, who on behalf of their lords tried to influence the outcome of the conclave. The interim solution lasted longer than expected; Pope Clemens X, as Cardinal Altieri chose to be called, ruled the church for more than 6 years.
His (adopted) nephew Cardinal Paluzzi-Altieri was appointed Secretary of State to run the administration of the papal state. Maybe because he feared he would have covered this role for a very short time, he devoted all his efforts to benefit as much as possible from it. Eventually Clemens X passed away, by which time Cardinal Paluzzi-Altieri had ensured the family's wealth for centuries to come. The Paluzzi-Altieri acquired several fiefdoms between Bracciano and Viterbo, the most notable being Oriolo, where they built a large palace. In Monterano the palaces and churches they built are today just ruins.

Lion designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini for the lost Palazzo Altieri of Monterano
Monterano was located between the hills surrounding the lake of Bracciano and the hills of Tolfa on the coastline. This position required continuous attention to ensure rainfall found its way towards either the sea or the lake. But the economic policy followed by the popes did not promote farming: the popes bought large quantities of wheat and oil abroad and sold them at very low price to the many religious institutions that cared for the poor. This depressed the price of agricultural yields and in turn led to the abandonment of most of the land near Rome. This occurred also in Monterano and without the continuous work of the farmers, the area became marshy and unhealthy: Monterano was almost a ghost town when in 1799 the French set fire to it.
For their newly acquired fiefdom the Altieri sought the advice of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who supervised the work of one of his pupils, Mattia de' Rossi. Monterano had a baronial palace, a cathedral, a large monastery and a monumental fountain.

S. Maria Assunta and a fountain once near Monastero di S. Bonaventura
The hamlet of Canale, located on higher ground, some three miles east of Monterano, retains a church designed by Mattia de'Rossi and a fountain which once stood before a monastery of Monterano (as shown in the image used as background for this page). The statue of a lion, which once was at the top of a monumental fountain, can now be seen in the town hall of Canale together with paintings showing the monuments of the old town.

Veiano

Fortress of Vejano and coat of arms of the Altieri
Santacroce and Altieri are the families who are associated with the fortress of Vejano and the small burg it protected. It is a "modern" fortress in the sense that it was designed to withstand the effects of modern artillery. It was erected by Giorgo Santacroce who acquired the fiefdom of Vejano in 1493, but soon he came in conflict with the ruling pope, Alexander VI Borgia, who was trying to create a kingdom for his son Cesare. The fortress was seized by the papal troops and its towers were pulled down. But the fortunes of the Borgia did not last after the pope's sudden death in 1503. The fortress was rebuilt in 1518 by Giorgio Santacroce's son, Onofrio most likely following a design by Antonio da Sangallo il Giovane.

Cappella Santacroce and an old building
Antonio da Sangallo designed a chapel in the only street of the old burg, where some of the Santacroce were buried.

Move on to Barbarano, Blera and Vetralla.



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.