Italy, Cantalupo in Sabina

Cantalupo in Sabina is a picturesque village situated on a hill between the Apennines and the Tiber River to the north east of Rome. In Roman times Cantalupo was an area of villas that were inhabited until the Middle Ages when the Barbarian invasions forced the population to seek refuge in tall, fortified places. The "Castrum Cantaloupes" created under the protection of the Abbey of Farfa, and the first news of this castle is found in a register of 1037. In the twelfth century, it enjoyed a period of autonomy. In 1278 he became a dominion of the Holy See and, at the beginning of the fourteenth century, it became part of the possessions of the family of Saint Eustachio (Eustace). For many years it was fought over between the Savelli family and the Church. Later on several illustrious families controlled the town: Cesi, Vaini and Lante della Rovere.