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Rocca Sinibalda

Rocca Sinibalda, dominated by the imposing 11th century Castle, stands on the hills of Alta Sabina, between the green woods and the valley crossed by the river Turano.

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Population

795

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Area

49,56 km²

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Altitude

552 m

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Where is it?

Rocca Sinibalda, with its 700 inhabitants, is located 552 m. above sea level, about 20 km from Rieti, and covers an area of 49 square km. The territories of Alta Sabina, between the hills and slopes of the picturesque Turano Valley, are crossed by the spiritual Way of San Benedetto da Norcia. This small medieval village is the arrival point of the 6th stage of the journey and the starting point of the 7th. The medieval castle – redesigned in the 16th century by Baldassarre Peruzzi – controls the village and overlooks the valley below. Beyond the village, the road continues south, crossing woods, clearings, the pretty hamlet of Posticciola, passing by the imposing Turano dam, built in the 1930s to bar the course of the Turano river and give rise to the homonym artificial lake. The surrounding landscape includes several villages and other attractions such as the “Old bridge” of Beatrice Cenci, the Belvedere of Rocca Sinibalda, the Fab Lab Turano, the Agapito Miniucchi Civic Museum in Rocca Sinibalda and the widespread Museum of the Peasant Arts in Posticciola.

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Its origins?

The toponym probably derives from Sinibaldo, a nobleman of Lombard origin who was count and rector of Sabina. The village seems to date back to the 10th century, if we identify it with the fortress (Rocca) that Teudino, son of Count Berardo, received in exchange from the Abbot of Farfa in 986. On the other hand, the name of Rocca Sinibalda - as mentioned today - appeared in the some documents dated 1084, when it returned under the control of the Sabine monastery. Between the 12th and 13th centuries, Roccasinibalda belonged to the De Romania, the most important family of the rural nobility of Sabina, who kept control of it until the late 14th century, when it passed to the Mareri family. In 1526 Pope Clement VII confiscated Muzio Mareri’s share of the fiefdom due to him, and donated it to Alessandro Cesarini the following year. After more than 70 years, in 1600, Giuliano Cesarini sold Roccasinibalda and Belmonte to the brothers Ciriaco and Hasdrubale Mattei, to whom it remained until 1676, when it was purchased by the Lante della Rovere family. Meanwhile, in 1615, Roccasinibalda became a marquisate at the behest of Paul V and later, in 1685, it obtained the appointment of dukedom by Innocent XI, in favour of Ippolito Lante della Rovere. In 1739 the Lante della Rovere sold the municipality to the Muti Bussi, from whom it passed to the Milanese nobleman Antonio Menafoglio and then to the Lepri family. With the annexation to the Kingdom of Italy, the municipality was included in the province of L'Aquila until 1927, when it passed to the newly established province of Rieti.

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What to see?

Rocca Sinibalda is overlooked by an imposing castle, one of the most fascinating Italian castles dating back to the year 1000 and recognized as a national monument in 1928. The current form of the castle, open to visitors all year round, was designed in the Renaissance by Baldassarre Peruzzi. Its structure includes the castle’s keep and the elegant residential building, that are connected by a system of walls and towers. Other historical-architectural attractions include the Parish Church of Sant'Agapito, located inside the town, characterized by bell gable, that preserves a 16th-century canvas of the Roman school, and Church of Santa Maria della Neve , located in the hamlet of Vallecupola. On a cultural point of view, the municipality of Rocca Sinibalda is famous for the Library and House-Museum dedicated to the local poet and sculptor Angelo Di Mario. This complex contains about 9,000 volumes and magazines, in addition to almost 300 bronze and ceramic sculptures, and is located in the small hamlet of Vallecupola, a place of poetic and artistic inspiration where Angelo Di Mario lived up to the age of 30.