Sabina, the Land of the Romans' Wives: Fara Sabina and Montorio Romano

  Fara Sabina and Montorio Romano
  (detail of a mural painting in Montopoli)

If you came directly to this page you may wish to read an introduction to this section first.

Fara Sabina

Views: (above) Fara Sabina; (middle) Mount Soratte seen from Fara; (below) S. Angelo Romano and Montecelio seen from Fara

The further mountain is crowned by a castle. This is the famous fortress of Fara, which protected the abbey (of Farfa) at its feet in time of trouble, and which is spoken of in the chronicle of Farfa.
Augustus J. C. Hare - Days near Rome - 1875
Fara is situated in a commanding position over the valley of the River Tiber. Its name indicates that it housed a fara, a clan of Longobard warriors who watched over the border between the Longobard Duchy of Spoleto and the Byzantine territories around Rome (there are seven other Italian towns having the same name).

XIth century abandoned church on Monte Aguzziano opposite Fara

Monte Aguzziano (It. aguzzo means pointed), a bare and isolated hill opposite Fara was the initial location of a monastery from which Abbazia di Farfa originated. In the XIth century at a time of fierce conflicts between the Popes and the German Emperors, the monks considered relocating again on Monte Aguzziano and they built a large church surrounded by fortifications. The site was eventually abandoned.

(left) Restored walls of the castle; (right) a quiet corner

The military importance of Fara waned when the whole region of Sabina became part of the Papal State and its fortifications were not upgraded to the requirements of cannon warfare. Today the castle at the top of the town retains only a small section of its medieval walls. Fara continued to provide assistance to the monks of Farfa as a haven where they escaped malaria which in summer plagued the area around the Abbey.

Symbols of Monte di Piet� and Monte Frumentario on the gate of Fara (left), on a 1588 cistern (centre), on the portal of the parish church (right) and in the image used as background for this page

In 1549 Cardinal Ranuccio Farnese, grandson of Pope Paul III and Abbot of Farfa, promoted the creation at Fara of a Monte di Piet�, a charitable institution which lent money without charging interest with the objective of helping the poor. In 1714 the activities of Monte di Piet� were complemented by the foundation of Monte Frumentario (It. frumento = corn) which helped farmers providing them with seeds. In the XIXth century, unlike other parts of the Papal State which lay in abandonment, the countryside near Fara was covered with olives, chestnuts, and peach-trees, with an under-carpet of corn (Hare).

(left/centre) Palazzo Orsini, the five-petal roses are the heraldic symbol of the family; (right) 1580 portal

Fara is a very small town yet it retains some interesting XVth/XVIth century buildings. In recent years many inhabitants relocated to the plain near Via Salaria where there is a railway station from which they can easily commute to Rome.

(left) Collezione Torlonia: reconstructed statue said to portray Germanicus; (right) the original part of the statue, i.e. the bronze torso and left leg; the other parts are made of painted plaster

The territory of Fara includes the remains of Cures, a Sabine/Roman town which is mentioned by Pliny and which was most likely destroyed by the Longobards. A fine bronzo torso was found there at the end of XVIIIth century.

Montorio

View of Mount Terminillo from Montorio

Montorio was first recorded as Mons Aureus (Golden Mountain) in a IXth century list of fiefdoms belonging to Abbazia di Farfa. The name most likely was due to the presence of yellowish rocks and eventually it was Italianized as Montorio, the alternate name of Janiculum. Unlike most of the towns of Sabina it turns its back to the River Tiber valley and instead it has a commanding view towards the eastern part of Sabina.

(left) Baronial palace; (right) one of its windows which has retained its original frame (VENDESI = On Sale)

The medieval settlement was extremely small and it was protected by a castle which eventually was turned into a residence for the representatives of the families who owned the fiefdom (the Savelli of Palombara, the Orsini of Nerola and eventually the Barberini, the family of Pope Urban VIII). In many small Italian towns the palace of the local lords has been turned into the Town Hall, thus ensuring its conservation. Unfortunately this did not occur at Montorio and the building was parcelled out into flats which are poorly kept.

(left) Entrance to the oldest part of the town; (centre) bell tower; (right) a street in the oldest part of the town