Nespolo

Its origins?

The origin of the toponym is uncertain. However, the most accredited etymological hypothesis suggest it derives from the same Latin name defining the plants of the common medlar. According to another supposition, instead, it probably derives from the Greek phrase "Nea Poli". In any case, there are no news about Nespolo before 1024. Farfa's interests in the area gravitated around the church of San Sebastiano, of which it maintained possession at least until 1252. It is difficult to identify the time when the scattered settlement were reunited in a fortified "castrum"; it is likely that, also in this case, the lords of Collalto reorganized the population of the area during their hegemony that reached its peak between the 12th and 13th centuries. However, no historical element concerning Nespolo can be separated from the history of the barony of Collalto, established in the 13th century. The barony belonged to the Marsi family until the early 16th century, when it was sold to the Savelli family: the will drawn uo by Antimo Savelli in 1513 mentions the castles of Collegiove, Paganico, Ricetto, Nespolo and San Lorenzo as forming the barony of Collalto. Following the transition from the Marsi to the Savelli, the entire barony abandoned the area influenced by the Kingdom of Naples, moving to the papal territory. As from 1698 he Urbano Barberini became lord of the barony that belonged to his family until the French period. With the establishment of the First Roman Republic, the barony was divided into three distinct autonomous municipalities: Collalto, Nespolo and Collegiove; Nespolo was first ascribed to the department of Clitunno and then to the department of Rome, district of Rieti. With the Restoration and reform of 1816 Nespolo returned to the reconstituted barony of Collalto, returning to the province of Sabina, delegation of Rieti, district government of Rieti. In December 1817, following the renunciation of feudal rights by Prince Francesco Barberini, it became a common enfeoffed of Collalto; in the territorial division of 1831 it was an autonomous municipality depending on the government of Canemorto, but later it had to pass again under in Collalto. After the annexation to the Kingdom of Italy, which took place in 1860, Nespolo definitively obtained its autonomy and was included in the province of Perugia, passing to the province of Rome from 1923 until 1927, when it was annexed to the newly established province of Rieti.