Italy, Poli

A feature of Poli, a centre on a ridge of the Prenestini mountains east of Rome, is that the roads are in the shape of 'herringbone' with 35 lanes radiating out from the main road. The ancient village of Poli is located in a valley surrounded by woods and the town is surrounded by mountains. For many years it was controlled by the Benedictine monastery of Scaurus and the Abbey of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. After 1200 it was a fief of the Counts until their extinction in 1808. Since then it has changed families but has not seen the pomp of the past.