Palombara Sabina - Aerial View - Photo courtesy of Cyhawk/Wikimedia

The Borgo Castello di Castiglione or the castle town of Castiglione is located one km away from the town of Palombara Sabina. The castle is quite magnificent and is known to be one of the best examples of medieval structure. The building of the castle itself dates back to the later half of the 13th century and stands dominating the entire territory due to its location at a high altitude. The construction of the castle was probably done at a single time. The castle is spread over an area of 1200 square meters. The castle is located on top of a hill at a height of 750 meters close to the Monte Lucretti Park in the Rome province.

History of the Castle

The castle had been built in the later half of the 13th century thought the exact year of construction is not known. The first time that the castle had been mentioned in a document had been in the year 1276. In the year 1276, the castle had been sold to the family of Renaud Palombara and the castle then had been passed on to the Savelli family when it had been sold to James Savelli. The castle of Castiglione remained with the Savelli family until the mid 14th century.

Pope Honorius IV and his Savelli family, kept the castle until the end of the 14th century. There had been a document dating back to the year 1427 which mentioned that the castle along with several other monuments and castles in the Monte Lucretti area had been abandoned due to an epidemic. While others believe that the castle itself had been badly damaged due to earthquakes.

Borgo Castello di Castiglione, Palombara Sabina - Photo courtesy of mondimedievali.net

The Castle

The castle itself had been built in pure medieval style. The San Martino hermitage was located close to the castle which dated back to the year 1000. The hermitage had existed till around the 17th century when it had been completely destroyed. The castle is spread over an area of 1200 square meters and includes double circular walls which are still quite well preserved. The walls are still buried but can be partly seen.

A Roman cistern and a church had been built inside the castle using the remains of an older Roman castle which had been built earlier in the area. Because of the Roman cistern it is believed that the area might have been inhabited since the Roman times. There had been a series of terraces which had been built in the area for making the slopes of the hills cultivable and had been used till recent times.

Palombara Sabina - Aerial view - Photo couresy of Mario1952/Wikimedia

Palombara Sabina

The town of Palombara Sabina where the castle is located in situated in the province of Rome. The historical center of the town is worth a visit since it has plenty of ancient buildings like the beautiful Savelli Torlonia palace which had been built by Crescenzi Ottaviani and today is home to a nature museum. A permanent exhibition in the palace showcases a Roman marble sculpture which had been found in the area.