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Scandriglia

A town to be discovered in every corner: the "noise" of nature and the gaze lost in fields: this is Scandriglia.

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Population

3.128

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Area

63,35 km²

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Altitude

535 m

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Where is it?

Scandriglia rises on the northern offshoots of the Lucretili mountains, 535 meters above sea level. The municipality has more than 3000 inhabitants and covers an area of 63 square kilometers.

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Its origins?

Scandriglia has its roots in Roman legend. Since that time, the territory was inhabited by a prosperous town known by the name of Mefila. When Rome began to become powerful, the village followed the fate of the whole Sabina, which became the surest support of the Roman republic. Around the 9th and 10th centuries, the inhabitants were terrified by the Saracens who invaded Sabina and settled permanently in Scandriglia. In the same period Castrum Scandriliae, a Castle dominating two fertile valleys was built to gather the people lost in the mountains and the countryside. Count Erbeo, who dominated Scandriglia in 1084, donated it to the monastery of Farfa, under whose influence it remained for some centuries. Then it passed to the Orsini and Anguillara. The Palace of the Anguillara family can still be admired for its fifteenth-century magnificence. Scandriglia has always been part of the Papal State. At least until 1860, it became part of the Kingdom of Italy, incorporated in the Province of Perugia and then of Rome. in 1927, it became part of the newly established Province of Rieti.

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What to see?

Scandriglia is a town rich in marvelous civil and religious monuments. Of great prestige is the Palazzo Degli Anguillara, dating back to 1400, is well preserved and has Renaissance architecture such as late Gothic features. Much loved by faithful tourists is the Church of the Assumption, which overlooks the entire territory of the ancient town. The plant is medieval and was built in the tenth century, with subsequent eighteenth-century renovations. The church tower was built on a Roman watchtower. Near the Church of the Assumption is the Rocca, which offers distinctly medieval evidence. Moving to the hamlet of Ponticelli, you can find one of the first churches founded in Sabina: The Church of St. Mary of Colle. It was established around the thirteenth century and has a simple and elegant Romanesque facade with convex windows. On the road from Scandriglia to Ponticelli, there is also a religious complex dating back to 1370: the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Grace. In Contrada, Saint Barbara is a rural church dedicated to the Saint. According to tradition, she was martyred by her father in this place; this is also why Saint Barbara is the village patron saint. It must be mentioned the park of the Lucretili Mountains, with several paths that wind from the town to the top of Pellecchia Mountain. These allow you to appreciate the mountainous territory on which the park unfolds. Inside the park, there was the Convent of St Nicholas, a very suggestive place built in the fifteenth century on a twelfth-century church. It remains a triptych in painted panels, currently kept on the town hill. On the other hand, the Benedictine monastery of the Holy Savior, located on Mount Pendente, is perfectly preserved. From here, it is possible to reach an ancient connecting road called Ginocchio Du Bove, once used for goods exchanges between the original populations of Scandriglia and Orvinio. In the same area, in the locality of Le Mura (Rocca Sollana), there are remains of ancient houses built by the local populations during the invasion of the Saracens (from 875 to 925). In Scandriglia, for those who love history, it is also possible to visit various archaeological remains of ancient settlements: from those of Cima Coppi, consisting of a settlement tower and an altar to Jupiter, to those in Madonna of Colors, in which you can admire the remains of ancient Roman villas and the Milestones of the Roman Bridge. Finally, an unmissable visit to the so-called Devil's Bridge: A Roman terracing wall located along the path of the Via Salaria.