PALAZZOLA CONVENT

For the first time in its history, the Palazzola Convent in Rocca di Papa (Rome), a real jewel of the Castelli Romani (= Roman Castles, (a group of villages and towns located south-east of Rome, around the Alban Hills) opens its doors to the public.

Situated in a breathtaking location overlooking the volcanic Lake Albano, opposite Castel Gandolfo, the Palazzola Convent boasts a thousand-year history full of incredible events.

It was originally a Roman villa (Palatiolus), with the remains still visible today of the enormous rock tomb of a Roman consul, possibly G. Cornelius Scipio Hispalus, who died c. 176 B.C. By the 10th century, Christian hermits who were living in caves on the slopes of the lake moved into the ruins of Palatiolus and then joined the order of the Augustinians. In 1237 Pope Gregory IX assigned Palazzola to the Cistercians; in 1244, through a papal bull, Innocent IV made Palazzola an abbey with the name Santa Maria in Palatiolis. In 1391 Pope Boniface IX entrusted the complex to the Carthusians. In 1463 Pope Pius II visited Palazzola and was impressed by the monastery garden, the “Grottoes where abundance of water bubbles up and the clear springs fill the fish ponds”, the “large natural cave always shady till noon” and noted the tomb of the Roman consul: “At the left before you enter the monastery, there is a high wall-like rock on which according to ancient custom were sculptured the fasces of a Roman consul and twelve axes.” In the 16th century, the Convent passed to the Franciscans, and it was thanks to the Portuguese Franciscan friar Jose Maria Fonseca, ambassador to the Holy See of John V of Braganza, King of Portugal and the Algarve, that Palazzola reached the height of its splendour, thanks to a major restoration and transformation project that took place between 1730 and 1740 at a cost of almost eighty thousand scudi. At the end of the 18th century and until 1815, the Convent was occupied by the French troops; then, with the seizure of Rome in 1870 and the subsequent confiscation of ecclesiastical property by the Kingdom of Italy, the Franciscans managed to remain in Palazzola, placing themselves under the protection of the Portuguese government. In 1910, the Portuguese revolution sanctioned the end of the Portuguese constitutional monarchy, at which point the Franciscans had to abandon the Convent, which, in 1915, became a clinic for recovering alcoholics; then, in 1920, it was acquired by the Venerable English College. During the Second World War, Palazzola housed an orphanage run by Calasanctian sisters, but in 1944 it was occupied by German troops. On 4 June 1944, the Allies liberated Palazzola. In 1998, thanks to funds made available by the Italian Ministry of the Cultural Heritage, a major restoration project was started that brought the convent back to the 18th-century splendour of the Portuguese period, when it reached its peak.

The Palazzola Convent has also been the set of numerous feature films, including Federico Fellini’s Nights of Cabiria (1957).

Mirabilia Art Wonders is exclusively entrusted with the organization of cultural guided tours to the Palazzola Convent on behalf of the Venerable English College.

The tour allows visitors to admire the church, some exterior and interior areas of the ancient convent, the cloister, the natural grotto and the large garden, from which one of the most beautiful views of the can be enjoyed, overlooking Lake Albano.

Guided tours are organised periodically and, when available, can be booked here→ PALAZZOLA CONVENT GUIDED TOURS 

It is also possible to stay overnight at the Palazzola Convent; for information write to mirabilia@artwonders.it

How to reach Palazzola Convent
Palazzola can be reached in an hour’s drive from Rome
Address:
Palazzola Convent
Via dei Laghi, km 10.800
00040 Rocca di Papa (Roma)