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Italy > Zagarolo
Zagarolo
Zagarolo is located on the far slopes of the Castelli Romani and the Prenestini
Mountains south of Rome, in a lush area, entrenched on a tufaceous bank about
2 kilometres long. Most historians believe that the hill on which the town
lies was home to “Sagarii”, that is, craftsmen who specialized in the production
of Sagum, the cloaks worn by soldiers, from which the name “Zagarolo” come.
The earliest confirmed information we have about the settlement dates to 970
when Pope John XIII gave the land to his sister, Stefania Conti di Tu- scolo.
The Colonna family took control in the year 1000. So began the historical struggle
between the Co- lonnas and the Papal court which influenced the towns history
for the next several centuries. In 1622, Pier Francesco Colonna gave the Duchy
of Zagarolo to Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi. It was then sold to the Rospigliosi
family, followed by Princess Pallavicini who made the Ducal Palace a centre
of art and culture. In keeping with this tradition for culture, the Zagarolo
Youth Orchestra of the Goffredo Petrassi Chamber was founded in 1985 in order
to encourage young musicians. The town’s main industry is wine production.
Archeological studies strongly suggest that a town already existed in this
area in the VI century. It probably rose on the ruins of the old Latin town
Bolae or on the ruins of Lucio Murena's villa. Another possibility is that the
Gabii who escaped from their massacre founded the town. According to legend
the town's name comes from the 'sagarii', the weavers who produced the tunics
(called 'saghi' for this reason) for the soldiers of Julius Ceaser's army. Cea-
sar himself had a villa in San Cesareo.
Things to see
- Historical town Centre
- Rospigliosi Mansion
- Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, (XIII century)
- Church of San Lawrence martyr
- Church of SS. Annunziata
- Church of San Peter apostolo
- Demo-anthropological Museum of toys
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