Italy, Civitella San Paolo

Civitella San Paolo is located northwest of Rome in the Tiber valley, along the via Valeria Tiburtina and via Flaminia. It was one of the seven Civitas, federal cities of Capenati, a proud pre-Roman people. These ancient origins can be found in the two cemeteries that have been found. During Roman times, there were large agricultural estates (probably Emperor properties). Around 1000 Civitella (Civitas de Collinis) appears in the early documents as one of the possessions of the Abbey of St. Paul Outside the Walls. The pontiffs had donated to the abbey many castles to create a monastic feudal state faithful to the Holy See. On the other side of the Tiber, however, the Abbey of Farfa was faithful to the emperors. A small town was founded around a castle and several families succeeded to control the fief, but only for short periods. Civitella San Paolo has been under the control of the abbey almost up to the present day. In these centuries, the monks took care of the castle and the village and, over time, built architectural works and public utilities such as the castle, the walls, the fountains, the mill wheels, the statute of 1616 on parchment and the churches of Santa Maria, San Giacomo and San Lorenzo.