Cantalupo in Sabina

What to see?

Cantalupo can be rightly defined as an "open-air museum", including the Porta Maggiore, Palazzo Camuccini, and the numerous churches scattered throughout its territory. Palazzo Camuccini dates back to the Renaissance period and was built by Cardinal Pier Donato Cesi on the ruins of the Rocca of the Counts of Eustachius and Counts Savelli. Later it became the home of the feudal lords, Vaini and Lante Della Rovere and then bought by Giovanni Battista Camuccini who transformed it into a museum. Here Giuseppe Garibaldi stayed in one of the rooms of the baronial palace, before the battle of Mentana. Porta Maggiore, also known as Porta dell Orologio, is the main gate of the town. There are also numerous churches in the municipal area, the most imposing and famous of which is the Parish Church of St. Mary of Assumption, located next to the Palazzo Camuccini. In Piazza Garibaldi stands the Church of San Girolamo, built at the end of the 15th century, by the will of the company of San Girolamo. During the Second World War the church was undermined by retreating Germans but was rebuilt between the 1950s and 1960s. Today it is used as an oratory. The church dedicated to the patron saint of the town, St. Biagio, is located outside the walls, together with the annexed Convent of the Carmelites. The church of St. Adam is the oldest in the town and is situated on the trace of the ancient Via Salaria. Mentioned in several scrolls since 1150 was built on the tomb of the hermit monk Adam, who lived here in the 11th century. Originally it was a chapel with a simple gabled facade and a small central bell tower: in the fifteenth century it was enlarged, taking the current appearance of a single-nave church with the north-facing entrance, rarely found in Sabina. Due to its atmosphere, typical of a country village rich in historical memories, Cantalupo is frequently chosen as buen retiro and holiday resort by Italians and foreigners.