Fabrica di Roma, located near Lake Vico, in the province of Viterbo, is renowned for its Faliscan ruins and culinary traditions.
The Farnese Castle, with its tall tower dominating the village, and the Collegiate Church of San Silvestro Papa are the highlights of the medieval historic centre.
The apse and frescoes in the Collegiate Church of San Silvestro Papa
The Collegiate Church of San Silvestro Papa houses magnificent frescoes adorning the entire apse, a small Renaissance masterpiece by the Torresani brothers, influenced by the Raphaelite school. The church also preserves the remains of San Giustino, who, along with San Matteo, is the patron saint of the village.
The two of them are celebrated on September 21 and 22, while, every five years, the reliquary containing the body of San Giustino is carried in a procession. The feast also includes a race with handcrafted carts, the carrettini, in which participants run down the Circonvallazione from the church towards Via Roma.
The Race of the Macchina of Saint Matteo Photo: comune.fabricadiroma.vt.it
Every year, the town also hosts the Race of the Macchina di San Matteo. The members of a confraternity carry a canopy with the effigy of the saint up the road from the Circonvallazione to Piazza Duomo, among the enthusiast spectators. Both these and other celebrations are accompanied by the Fabrica di Roma town band, an institution founded in 1873.
Other attractions in Fabrica di Roma are the Church of Santa Maria della Pietà and the imposing Rocca from the 13th century, today privately owned and not open to the public..
Falerii Novi
The evocative archaeological site of Falerii Novi lies just a few kilometres from Fabrica di Roma, in Civita Castellana. It was built by the Romans in 241 BC for the survivors of the earthquake, that destroyed the pre-existing town of Falerii.
These ancient ruins, located on a stretch of the Via Amerina, still include defensive walls and the Gate of Jupiter, as well as various buildings within the ancient Forum, now overgrown with vegetation.
Abbey of Santa Maria in Falleri inside the ancient city of Falerii Novi,
The beautiful Romanesque Abbey Church of Santa Maria in Falleri, built around 1100 AD probably by Cistercian monks, features five apses adorned with small decorative arches. Its portal and interior, though modified over time, have been recently restored, returning the place of cult to its former splendour.
Among the gastronomic events, Fabrica di Roma hosts, in September, a festival dedicated to the carne bean, a prized legume only cultivated in this area, once used as a form of currency. Another unmissable feast is the most awaited Sagra della Pecora, held in July, where it is possible to enjoy sheep and mutton dishes.