A stage along the Northern Via Francigena, Ronciglione hosts, in its upper and lower districts, a medieval historic centre and a Renaissance area added to its lower part in 1550 by the Farnese Family. The town’s renowned Carnival entered in 2023 the list of the ten most beautiful events of this kind in Italy.
The upper village, sitting on a cliff, preserves its ancient charm, with its narrow uphill lanes and tuff houses, in contrast with the Renaissance straight streets and noble buildings and monuments, such the Apostolic Palace, today’s Town Hall, and the Fountain of the Unicorn.
The Church of Santa Maria della Provvidenza
The eleventh century Church of Santa Maria della Provvidenza, once dedicated to Sant’Andrea, changed its name in 1742, when the fresco of the “Madonna and Child” was found, it is said, thanks to a vision received by the Venerable Mariangela Virgili.
In Ronciglione, it is possible to visit her house and contemplate her objects, testimonies of her miracles and the story of a woman, who was denied, due to her poverty, the opportunity to follow her vocation and become a nun.
The Church of Sant’Eusebio
The Church of Sant’Eusebio on the Cimina Variant of the Northern Via Francigena is also very interesting. A former pagan burial ground, it preserves seven sarcophagi from the third century. In the fourth century, it was turned into the Christian Church of Sant’Eusebio Vescovo. Here, some pilgrims, who were walking along the Northern Via Francigena, engraved fifty-three prayers in Roman Uncial, the transition tongue from Latin into vulgar language.
The Church of Sant’Eusebio
The Church houses three noteworthy frescoes: the oldest representation of the “Visitatio Virginis” from the eighth century, a “Last Supper” of unique style from 1100, and the eleventh century “Tree of Jesse”, the oldest fresco that depicts Jesus’ family tree starting from Jesse, father of King David. Representations of this kind are rarely found in Italy, just like the Madonna in an almond also hosted in the Church.
Almost unknown is the single-arch, Eiffel-style iron bridge, built in 1928 over the Rio Vicano Valley by the “Officine Savigliano”.
The railway From Civitavecchia to Orte, closed in the ‘90s, was once running here, and the old station, still visible today, was chosen as a set for a few scenes of “Life is beautiful”. Ronciglione itself has often been a movie location much appreciated by famous directors, such as Antonio Pietrangeli, who, in 1956, filmed here some scenes of “The Bachelor” with Nino Manfredi and Alberto Sordi.
But the highlight of Ronciglione is Lago di Vico, the large body of water of volcanic origin within the Nature Reserve of the same name, between the Venere and Fogliano Mountains.
The Historic Carnival of Ronciglione is one of the most important in Lazio and among the top ten most beautiful events of this kind in Italy. Multicoloured masks and allegorical floats parade throughout the streets, accompanied by music bands. A troop of Hussar soldiers also march in the procession, in memory of a French captain who fell in love with a local girl and therefore wanted to impress her.
Much funnier are the jokes by the “Red Noses”, the traditional masks who, singing hymns to wine, offer participants rigatoni with tomato sauce, served in the traditional night-pots. The statue of “Red Nose” is a symbol of the Ronciglione Carnival, established in 1900, when, it is said, a drunken resident fell asleep on a plate of rigatoni and then woke up with a red nose, dirty of ragout.
www.corseavuoto.it
During the five-hundred years old “Corse a vuoto”, jockey-free horses run throughout the Renaissance streets of Ronciglione. Of Roman origins, they are held today at the end of August, on the Feast of the Patron Saint Bartolomeo. The route winds along eight-hundred metres with a final stretch uphill towards Montecavallo.
The speciality of Ronciglione is the Tortorelli, a traditional poor pasta dish based on water and flour and seasoned with a simple tomato sauce, garlic and oil. Also worth tasting is the typical walnut (Nocciola Romana DOP) from Cimini Mountains and, last but not least, the Christmas cake Pangiallo.