Allumiere , nestled among the woods of the Tolfa Mountains, owes its name to the deposits of alunite, widely used in the past to tan leather, dye paper and fabrics, and even for medical purposes.
Allumiere
This mineral was discovered in Allumiere around 1460 by the Papal official Giovanni da Castro. Open-sky excavations have been carried out in the deposits for over three centuries.
The Allumiere quarries
This technique altered the physiognomy of the territory, which, even today, reveals cracks and craters. The discovery of artificial alunite in the late eighteenth century led to the final closure of the plants in 1941.
Church of Santa Maria Assunta in Cielo in Allumiere
The village preserves several places of worship, such as the Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie and the Church of Santa Maria Assunta in Cielo in Piazza della Repubblica.
The ancient Acquedotto Traianeo Innocenziano in Allumiere
Just outside Allumiere, immersed in greenery, runs the ancient Acquedotto Traianeo Innocenziano. Built in 107 AD, in the Trajan era, it was used as a water supply for the Port of Centumcellae under construction.
The Church in the ancient village of Farnesiana
On the northern slopes of the Tolfa Mountains, in the countryside around Allumiere, lies the ghost village La Farnesiana, built by Giovanni da Castro to accommodate the alunite miners. In 1590, the Farnese Jesuits, linked to the Farnese family, settled here with the aim to develop the burg’s fullest potential. In the mid-1800s, the neo-gothic Church of Santa Maria della Farnesiana was built in the area. Today the village belongs to a farm but can be visited.
The signage along the Miners’ Route in Allumiere
The territory of Allumiere is crossed by the Miners’ Route, a network of circular paths created by the CAI (Club Alpino Italiano) among old quarries and chestnut and beech woods.
The Palace housing the “Museo Civico Adolfo Klitsche de la Grange”
The small “Museo Civico Adolfo Klitsche de la Grange” , inside the ancient Palazzo della Camera Apostolica, in the historic centre of Allumiere, tells the cultural history of the inhabitants of the Tolfa Mountains, from prehistory to the exploitation of the alunite mines in the nineteenth century.
The “Monumento Naturale Faggeto di Allumiere”
The impressive landscape around the village of Allumiere is a mosaic of beech forests and open spaces, where Maremma cows and horses graze in the wild. The protected beech wood “Monumento Naturale Faggeto di Allumiere” is considered one of the oldest forests in Lazio, with over five-hundred years old trees.
“Palio delle Contrade” in Allumiere
Many visitors are attracted every year to the village by numerous festivals and celebrations, like the Autumn Feast and popular games in October, and “Asinitaly”, the national donkey fair, in June. But the most awaited event is the “Palio delle Contrade di Allumiere”, a spectacular donkey bareback race. This event dates back to the early 1500s, when Agostino Chigi “Il Magnifico” decided to replicate with donkeys the famous competition held in Siena, his hometown. The first edition was held on September 11, 1965, in honour of the Madonna delle Grazie, but, from the following year onwards, the tournament has been taking place on the Sunday after August 15, in conjunction with the celebrations of the Madonna Assunta in Cielo, the Patron Saint of Allumiere.
Six Districts compete in the Palio: Burò, Ghetto, La Bianca, Nona, Polveriera and S. Antonio. During the event, it will be possible to appreciate music and typical food and wines. A historical parade in sixteenth-century dress will march throughout the village, closed by the Carroccio. The big cart pulled by oxen carries the coveted Cencio, or Palio, a work by local painters depicting every year a different event, theme or character. The highlight of the parade is the performance of the flag-wavers.
The typical yellow bread of Allumiere
As for gastronomy, the protagonist of the festival is the yellow bread of Allumiere, prepared, according to the traditional recipe, with twice-milled durum wheat flour and the black truffle from the Tolfa Mountains.