Licenza an ancient village nestled among woods and olive groves in the Monti Lucretili Regional Natural Park, was the favourite place of the Roman poet Quintus Horatius Flaccus, who chose to retreat here to meditate, write, and read.
The area has been inhabited since the Palaeolithic, but, in the Roman era, permanent agricultural settlements developed. After the barbarian invasions, which started in the sixth century, castles and fortified fortresses were built on the less accessible hills. In 1632, the Orsini Family ceded part of the fiefdom to the Borghese, who acquired the entire possession in 1761.
The Orsini Nymphaeum – www.licenzaturismo.it
“O fons Bandusiae splendidior vitro dulci digne mero non sine floribus [ ]. Fies nobilium tu quoque fontium, me dicente cavis impositam ilicem saxis, unde loquaces lymphae desiliunt tuae”
Thus sang Horace, describing the Orsini Nymphaeum. Standing near Villa of Horatius, likely on the site of the ancient Bandusia Fountain mentioned by the poet, it consists of a Renaissance building with lateral columns and a volute tympanum with a splendid cascade that flows from an altitude of three metres into a semicircular pool. Some Roman artifacts have been discovered on the site.
Horace’s Villa in Licenza – www.licenzaturismo.it
No be missed in Licenza is a visit to the Villa of Horatius.
The Horatian Civic Museum in Licenza – www.licenzaturismo.it
The Horatian Civic Museum, established in 1993 to commemorate the 2,000th anniversary of Horatius’s death, mainly displays the historical and archaeological artefacts from the territory of Licenza and the fundus in Sabina donated to Quintus Horatius Flaccus, by Octavian Augustus, the founder of the Roman Empire, through Gaius Maecenas, between 33 and 32 BC. The first nucleus is on preserved in Palazzo Orsini, now the Horatian Archaeological Museum.
The Garden of the Five Senses – www.licenzaturismo.it
The historic centre of Licenza hosts the Baronial Palace and the Church of the Beata Vergine Immacolata, designed by the renowned architect Luigi Maria Valadier. The Art Trail in the Garden of the Five Senses in the Monti Lucretili Natural Park, is enriched by seven Roman travertine sculptures created in 2011 by the students of the Corso di Scultura Ambientale e Lapis Tiburtinus in the “Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma”.
Belvedere in Civitella di Licenza – www.licenzaturismo.it
The belvedere in the hamlet of Civitella, with its splendid view a of the Monti Lucretili Park is also worth a visit.
Two traditional pasta dishes are the frascarelli and the sagne, the latter celebrated in October with the Sagne ‘e Farre festival. Other typical recipes are the maltagliati (pasta with beans), served during a festival in April, and the polenta rencocciata, sliced, grilled, and topped with wild boar sauce, celebrated on the last Sunday of February. Food stands are animated by performances, games, and tours of the ruins of the Orsini Nymphaeum, the Horace’s Villa, and the Horatian Museum. Among the unmissable events, noteworthy is the Feast of San Rocco in August.