Ariccia - History

History

There is a connection between the town's name and Aricia, the wife of Hippolytus (Virbius), the Roman forest god who lived in the sacred forests near Aricia. According to a vague reference by Caius Julius Solinus, Ariccia was founded by Archilocus Siculus ("Archilocus of the Siculi" or Sicels) in very ancient times.

Ruins found in the city confirm the existence of a settlement in the 8th-9th centuries BC. From the end of the 6th century BC until 338 BC, the city was the central member of the Latin League.

In its territory, which then included the Lake of Nemi, was located the sanctuary of Diana Aricina (or Diana Nemorensis) held by the Latin cities in common, and presided over by the Rex Nemorensis made famous in Frazer's The Golden Bough. The association with the cult of Diana led to its development as an influential and affluent center of healing and medicine.

In 508 BC, Lars Porsena king of Clusium (at that time reputed to be one of the most powerful cities of Etruria) departed Rome after ending his war against Rome by peace treaty. Porsena split his forces, and sent part of the Clusian army with his son Aruns to wage war on the Latin city of Aricia. The Aricians sent for assistance from the Latin League, and also from the Greek city of Cumae. When support arrived, the Arician army ventured beyond the walls of the city, and the combined armies met the Clusian forces in battle. According to Livy, the Clusians initially routed the Arician forces, but the Cumaean troops allowed the Clusians to pass by, then attacked from the rear, gaining victory against the Clusians. Livy says the Clusian army was destroyed. .

Aricia was definitively conquered by the Romans in the 4th century BC. It received the title of municipium, and expanded towards the valley below, where the Via Appia connected it with Rome. Ariccia became, therefore, the first main posting station on the overland journey from Rome towards southern Italy.

Being rather near to the Imperial capital, and favoured by a fresher climate, Ariccia was chosen by many of the Rome's patricii as a location for their leisure villas. It also was recognized for the caliber of its wine and food stuffs. Martial wrote favorably of its leeks and Pliny relished a unique variety of Ariccian cabbages.

Because of its wealth and its strategic location near the coast, the city was sacked several times during and after the fall of the Roman Empire, by Goths, Vandals and, finally, by the Saracens who destroyed it in 827. The inhabitants subsequently moved to the ancient acropolis and founded a new community.

In 990 the Castrum Ariciensis ("Ariccia's Castle") was a dominion of Guido, count of Tusculum. During the reign of Pope Nicholas II the castle was absorbed by the Papal States, from which it in turn passed again to the Earls of Tusculum as a fiefdom (1116). The Roman Church regained Ariccia in 1223 with Pope Honorius III, of the Savelli family, and maintained it until the first half of the 15th century.

The population of Ariccia began to decline, however. After a period under the administration of the castle of Lariano, it passed to the Genzano district, which at that time registered only 100 residents. Around 1400 all the territory became property of the Monastery of Sant'Anastasio alle Tre Fontane and, after a brief period under the Savelli once more, was sold to the Abbey of Grottaferrata.

Pope Sixtus IV handed Ariccia over to the Savelli, who executed several works to improve its condition, including the draining of the volcanic lake (Lake of Vallericcia) which lay to the west, between the hills and the sea.

In 1661 the city passed to the powerful Chigi family, who rebuilt the splendid Palazzo Savelli Chigi in the main square, in which the invaluable Chigi archives were housed. The Chigi Pope Alexander VII lived for long periods in Ariccia and drastically changed its character, with important contributions from Gian Lorenzo Bernini, designer of the piazza of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Among Bernini's rich contributions to the character of the town were the piazza and the Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta which faces the palazzo.

In 1854 Pope Pius IX ordered the construction of a bridge. This bridge bypassed the large wood (now the Parco Chigi) in the valley, which hindered access to Ariccia from Rome along the Via Appia.

Nearly a century later, the bridge—along with much of the city—was destroyed by retreating German troops during World War II . Rebuilt in 1947, it crumbled suddenly in 1967 and was rebuilt again.