Cineto Romano is a small town, 75 kilometres from Rome, located in the area of the short, ramified valley of the Ferrata stream.
In winter, it barely has 600 inhabitants, while in summer there are about 3000.
Called Scarpa until the end of the 19th century, for a long time, Cineto Romano was a feudal dominion.
“Ostium no Hostium”, or “This is not the door of the enemies”: this writing appears on the ancient tombstone of 1556 at the entrance to the Orsini Castle overlooking the village.
The built-up area consists of the town’s ancient section, all built around the Orsini Castle and a new and residential part.
The imposing and superb Baronial Castle, built in the 11th century, still preserves the charm of a typical medieval castle, complete with archers’ slots surmounted by Ghibelline battlements, overlooking the whole valley.
Visiting the manor, a wide staircase takes you to the ancient guard post, which was the main entrance to the castle and whose tower hosted the civic bell, replaced in the 15th century by the great municipal clock, which is still admired today.
Then, passing through a small piazza, where an old fountain gushes pure Cineto water, you come to the imposing rustic gate that leads to the castle’s inner courtyard.
Worth mentioning are the churches of San Giovanni Battista and Santa Maria delle Grazie. The Pozzo delle Morge, an open pit 50 meters deep and 3 metres in diameter also deserves a visit. For walking and nature sports enthusiasts, we recommend the “Madonna del lago” tourist route.
Local gastronomy is related to Roman cuisine.
Especially noteworthy are the fettuccine with papalina, a variant of carbonara, artichoke hearts with marjoram, fried mozzarella and tripe alla romana.