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Ronciglione

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Municipal of Ronciglione:
Tel: 0761-62901
Web Site: www.comune.ronciglione.vt.it

Charming little town on the brim of the south side of the Cimini Mountains at a level of 410 meters, situated only three kilometers from Lake Vico, Ronciglione is the entrance to the province of Viterbo.
Its history, monuments, and traditions, including the celebrated Carnival, makes it one of the most important touristic centers in the Cimini Mountains.

History

The founding of Ronciglione, according to the historian Cipriano Manente, dates back to 1045 and the Prefect of Vico.
The medieval nucleus was developed on a tuffaceous spur and consists of boroughs called "di Sotto" (under) and "di Sopra (over), which are concentrated around the Castello dei Di Vico and the church of Sant' Andrea. In 1537, Paolo III Farnese added the county to the Duchy of Castro; it was a period of maximum urban and productive activity when churches, monuments and numerous factories were built along the Valley of the Rio Vicano.
In 1649, Pope Urbano VIII took the Duchy of Ronciglione and Caprarola away from the Farnese returning them to the direct domain of the Popes.

Church of Saint Eusebio

The Church of Saint Eusebio is situated about 2 kilometers from the inhabited center and can be reached by two paths both branching in the direction of the road Via Cassia Cimina.
The present building, developed around a Roman mausoleum from the 4th century A.D., not withstanding the repeated re-facings, presents itself in a from that denounces its Roman origins.
The central part of the façade and the central nave, whose columns and capitals are decorated in zoomorphisms, are particularly attributed to the 11th and 12th centuries.
Inside, frescoes from different époques are found: on the lft of the entrance we see L'Albero di Iesse (XII century) along with the fresco L'Ultima Cena (the Last Supper), situated on the right wall of the presbytery, constitute testimony of an antique pictorial cycle.
The fresco on the triumphal arch depicts the clypeate bust of Salvatore Benedicente, 13th century, surrounded by four saints. The wall at the end of the mausoleum is characterized by the presence of a fresco of the Virgin Mary with child (15th century), but most likely put there in the 17th century, period when it belonged to Saint Stefano and Eusebio, the bishop portrayed on the sides.
On the right wall of the mausoleum, graffiti dating back to the 8th -10th centuries are still visible, constituting the devotional pleas made by the presbyters.

The church of Santa Maria del Fiore

The church of Santa Maria del Fiore, attached to the convent of Maestra Pie Venerini, is situated in the medieval borough of Ronciglione in front of the Castello Della Rovere.
The church was donated in the 15th century by Count Everso of the Anguillara to the Compagnia della Disciplina.
The building has a sole nave and guards a painting, done in tempera, depicting the Madonna with Child on a richly decorated throne on the table of the Viterbese School (mid 15th century).
In the painting, the Virgin Mary is wearing a dark blue mantle, elegantly decorated with plant motifs, and in her right hand, she holds a bouquet of flowers, the element which gave the church its name.
On the left wall, the elegant fresco of Sposalizio della Vergine (Marriage of the Virgin), 1521, is decoratively framed from the late 1500's.
In the middle of the fresco we find the officiants of the ceremony, Maria with her nuptial court of women on the right, and on the left, Joseph and his groomsmen