Forte Sangallo
Description
Forte Sangallo is a Renaissance fortress near the historic center of Civita Castellana (Viterbo). Since 2014 it has been managed by the Italian Ministry of Culture, together with the Archaeological Museum of the Faliscan Region housed inside.
Built starting in 1494 for Pope Alexander VI as part of the Borgia family’s defensive network, it was designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Elder, with later work by Bramante and Antonio da Sangallo the Younger under Pope Julius II. The fortress served both as a modern military stronghold and as a papal residence, featuring innovative 16th-century defensive structures—an irregular pentagonal plan, recessed bastions, a deep moat, and an octagonal keep.
Over the centuries it was used as a papal residence, then as a prison (especially in the 19th century), and later as a depot and wartime shelter. After restoration campaigns begun in the 1960s, it reopened as a museum.
Inside today is the Archaeological Museum of the Faliscan Territory, showcasing the most important collection of artifacts from the ancient Faliscan civilization, arranged by chronology and type within the upper loggia of the fortress.
Address
Via del Forte 82, Civita Castellana, Italy
Established
1494