The municipality of Mandela is located in the heart of the Aniene Valley. A small town with just under 1000 inhabitants, it was already well known in the times of Horace, who mentioned it in a letter in relation to a villa called Sabinum.
Allow yourself a few leisure hours to visit the historic town centre with its wonders, including the Borgo Del Gallo and the Church of the Santo Patrono S. Nicola; the entire town developed around this building, the first to be erected there.
The geographical context surrounding Mandela is enchanting, a position that even in the past was excellent for the surveillance of traders travelling to Rome.
Mandela took this name again only after 1870. In the Middle Ages it was called Cantalupo Bardella and with this name was granted to the Orsini as a feud by Pope Celestine III.
In 1650 it passed from the Orsini to the Nunez, then in 1814 to the Marquises Del Gallo of Roccagiovine. In the mid-19th century, Giulia Bonaparte created a literary salon in Mandela frequented by artists, painters and men of culture.
Among the typical products of Mandela, worthy of mention are the polenta with sausages and spare ribs, the fettuccine, the walnut “nociata,” the biscuits flavoured with aniseed and the biscuits made with wine.
A rich programme of events will give you an opportunity to get to know the town of Mandela more closely, along with its food and wine delicacies. Let’s start with the Olive Oil and Polenta Festival, the Panarda, the Festa Padronale and the Estate a Mandela summer festival. From July to December a whirlwind of emotions will accompany you in this beautiful territory.