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Visit Palestrina

Palestrina is an important historical town in Italy, in the Lazio region and east of Rome.

A visit to Palestrina can start from the famous Roman sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia, an imposing and complex architecture (II - I century BC) and one of the major classical age shrines. Particularly significant is the 'Cave of the Sorti’, a small cave where encrypted blocks - the so-called ‘Sorti of Praeneste' - were found. The upper part is characterized by terraces connected by ramps and stairways. The Sanctuary of Fortuna is one of the major monuments in Italy from the period between the middle of the second and early first century BC, and is a work of exceptional technical and stylistic merit. It is also one of the most majestic and imposing Hellenistic architecture in Italy, inspired by eastern styles (characterized by the importance of the frontal view, which integrates the spectacular building and the landscape).

Colonna-Barberini palace

Another destination of great interest in Palestrina is the National Archaeological Museum. Located in the 'Colonna–Barberini' Palace, the museum has a collection of locally discovered materials, including a famous mosaic with the landscape of the Nile, and it offers interesting information on the civilization of Latium from the 8th to the 4th century BC.

The old palace was built by the Colonna on the structures of the “Fortune Primigenia” shrine around 1050, when the family settled in Palestrina. The building was destroyed in 1298 when Palestrina, after a siege that lasted nearly a year, was razed by order of Boniface VIII, who had ordered the confiscation of assets to the Colonna after they opposed his election. The city was quickly rebuilt and with it the residence of the prince, but it suffered a second disastrous devastation in 1437, by Eugene IV (1383-1447), who came into contention with the Colonna and gave orders to Cardinal Vitelleschi, head of the papal troops, to move on Palestrina.

Between the 16th and 17th century some artists of the School of the Zuccari (Taddeo [1529-1566] and Federico [1539-1609]) painted some frescoes of the Palace, still partly visible. In 1630, the Colonna sold the city and building to Carlo Barberini (1562-1630), brother of Pope Urban VIII (1568-1644), for 775,000 crowns. The building was rebuilt in its present form by Taddeo Barberini (1603-1647) in 1640, when Cardinal Francesco Barberini (1597-1679) placed the famous mosaic of the Nile. A few years later the adjacent church of Santa Rosalia was built by Francesco Contini (17th century) - the church was commissioned by Maffeo Barberini (1568-1644) in thanksgiving for the salvation of the city from a plague epidemic, where, for long time,  was kept the “Pieta Barberini”, attributed to Michelangelo (1475-1564), and now in the “Galleria dell'Accademia” in Florence.

Art works in the palace

Within some of the palace rooms there are remarkable frescoes attributed to the school of the Zuccari. Note particularly the first floor room to the left with a decorated vault, which has at the centre Parnassus with Apollo in the nine muses, while to the sides Venus's chariot drawn by doves and pulled to Juno by peacocks are still visible. In the lunettes there are landscapes and marine scenes within medallions around the arms of the Barberini. On the second floor, the paintings in Halls IX and X consist of a series of paintings with mythological scenes (Polyphemus), Biblical (Sodom and Gomorrah), historical and mythological (horse of Troy, Pyrrhus, Attilio Regulus, Muzio Scaevola ). Among these paintings there is  an interesting view of Palestrina, which gives us the appearance of the city in the early seventeenth century.

On the other side of the second floor there is the trophy room, where the decoration was done in two stages; originally it was to be composed of a frieze high on the walls, with panels depicting landscapes alternating panels with classical motifs; later the underside with a series of trophies of arms and alternating caryatids, holding up a fringed canopy. The painting is in strong chiaroscuro, with a prevalence of dark red tones, and the figures have fat and mobile forms. In the room below, as well as a marble fireplace of 16th century, we can note a door, now closed, which gave access to the apartment of Pope Urban VIII.

Continuing a tour of Palestrina

Also worthy of mention in Palestrina are various of the churches, among which we mention first the Palestrina Cathedral, built on an ancient square building. It was restored by Leo III in 898, who brought here the body of the martyr Agapito (3th century). Transformed into a cathedral, it maintained its original form until the bishop Conone restructured it, transforming into a big church. On that occasion the two aisles were added, and the central apse of the building was extended, where the sacred temple of the “Fortuna Primigenia” is located. One of the most famous Roman mosaics (above), called "the Nile", was found in the sacred area here.

The Church of Santa Rosalia, built by Maffeo Barberini (1656-60) and designed by Francesco Contini, preserves four tombs of the Barberini in its rich interior, including those of Cardinal Antonio Barberini (1607-1671) and Taddeo Barberini, prefect of Rome (1704), with the busts by Bernardino Cametti (1669-1736). It is dedicated to the Sicilian Saint for gratitude, because she preserved the Barberini family and the city from an epidemic of plague that raged in the Latium region between 1656 and 1657. The architect Francesco Contini built a Baroque church, and Bernardino Cametti made the sculptures. Besides the graves of Taddeo Barberini and Cardinal Antonio Barberini, there is a special funeral chapel, where until 1938 the "Pieta" by Michelangelo was held.

Outside Palestrina

The Prenestine Mountains are rich in vegetation, which consists of mainly olive, beech and oak trees. A pleasure to explore and a chance to enjoy the local cuisine with its traditional recipes such as dumplings called "a coda de soreca", game (wild boar) and the typical biscuits called “Giglietti” - invented by a French cook employed by the Barberini, gentlemen of the City, in the late seventeenth century, these biscuits are celebrated each year with a “Giglietti Festival”, which takes place the first week of August.

See also history of Palestrina