Castiglione Castle
Description
The castle-village of Castiglione (Castrum Castillionis) is an Early Medieval fortress built on the western slope of Monte Le Carbonere, at 468 m above sea level, facing the town of Palombara Sabina, within the Lucretili Mountains Park (province of Rome).
The castle was built between 870 and 920 AD and is first documented in 1276 as property of Rainaldo of Palombara. The fortified village had two concentric defensive walls: an outer wall protecting the settlement and an inner one enclosing the castle, used as a final refuge during sieges. A Roman-style cistern suggests the site was previously occupied by a Roman villa, later reused for the medieval fortification.
The outer walls originally had 17 towers, and the castle appears to have been built in a single construction phase. The surrounding area shows evidence of Roman agricultural terraces, some of which are still visible.
In the late 13th century the castle passed to Pope Honorius IV and later to the Savelli and Della Valle families. By the 14th–15th centuries it was already abandoned and in ruins, likely due to epidemics, noble conflicts, earthquakes, and the growth of nearby Palombara Sabina.
Today only ruins survive. The complex once covered about 1,200 m² and included a village, a church, and a large Roman cistern, probably located beneath the keep.
Address
Palombara Sabina, Italy
Established
870-920 AD