On the historic Via Francigena leading to Rome, Monterosi is a land of historical events and, today, of festivals and festivals all year round.
Its location on the Via Cassia favoured economic and cultural connections with all of Southern Etruria, and for the same reason, it was subject to raids and subsequent sieges. Romans, Goths, Lombards have left traces of their passage. Originally, the village developed on the hill and only later downhill, where it is today, near the small circular lake of just 600 meters in diameter, formerly called Janula. On its shores, in 1155, the historic meeting between Pope Adrian IV and Frederick Barbarossa took place, where, it is said, the Emperor refused to hold the stirrup for the Pope who was mounting a horse. More recently, a memorable episode was the assassination in 1649 of Monsignor Giada, a deputy of Pope Innocent X, killed by Ranuccio Farnese’s assassins; the Pope punished the misdeed with the destruction of Castro.
Notable is the Church of Santa Croce from the 1500s, with a sail-shaped bell tower, and the Cardinal’s Palace, once a monastery.
Many popular initiatives are enlivened by the Santa Cecilia di Monterosi music band. At the end of January, the Feast of Saint Anthony is a three-day celebration of folklore and food stands, and still in January, for the Feast of the Patron Saints Vincenzo and Anastasio with the Sagra della Pizzantiella, a thick crepe, sweet or salty filled, the town is adorned with smiles and traditions. In the summer, even better: from June to September, “Summer with Us” with the Beer Festival; in June, the Festa dei Borghi features the historical procession of the three Villages, Madonna della Centura, Romano, and Aldobrandino, and the historical reenactment; the Sagra del Bighero, at the end of July, is a gastronomic weekend with bigheri, a special homemade pasta with sauce; in September, there is the Janula Tuscia Poetry Week, and at the end of the year, the traditional Christmas market.