Arsoli is a town and comune

Comune

In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

in the province of Rome

Province of Rome

The Province of Rome , is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. The province can be viewed as the extended metropolitan area of the city of Rome, although in its more peripheral portions, especially to the north, it comprises towns surrounded by rural landscape.-Geography:The Province of Rome...

, central Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

.

The fair held on St. Bartholomew's Day at Arsoli is one of the oldest attested fairs of the region.

History

Arsoli was mentioned first in AD 997.

The narrow ancient streets of the picturesquely sited and massed medieval centre are still preserved, as well as the castello, once a possession of the Benedictine Order; it dates from the 11th century. The castle is built at the end of a spur, overlooking Arsoli on one side and extending formal gardens on the other. four frescoed rooms on the piano nobile

Piano nobile

The piano nobile is the principal floor of a large house, usually built in one of the styles of classical renaissance architecture...

are flanked by guardrooms hung with arms and armor and family portraits: it has been in the possession of the Massimo family

Massimo

Massimo is the name of a Roman princely family of great age; which by its own tradition descends from the ancient Maximi of republican Rome and from Quintus Fabius Maximus , called Cunctator...

, whose head, H.E. the Prince Massimo

Massimo

Massimo is the name of a Roman princely family of great age; which by its own tradition descends from the ancient Maximi of republican Rome and from Quintus Fabius Maximus , called Cunctator...

, is Principe e Signore di Arsoli (Prince and Lord of Arsoli). This rocca

Rocca (architecture)

Rocca is an Italian term meaning a high, fortifiable stronghold, usually located in smaller towns, beneath or on which the village or town clustered, within which its inhabitants might take refuge at times of trouble; under its owners' patronage the settlement might hope to find prosperity in...

has been in his possession since it was purchased by Fabrizio Massimo in 1574. He commissioned Giacomo Della Porta

Giacomo della Porta

Giacomo della Porta was an Italian architect and sculptor, who worked on many important buildings in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica. He was born at Porlezza, Lombardy and died in Rome.-Biography:...

 to remodel the church and commissioned the construction of an aqueduct to supplement inadequate wells, for the abundant springs of Arsoli have been tapped to serve the city of Rome since 600 BC, traditional date of an aqueduct, built, according to tradition, by Ancus Marcius

Ancus Marcius

Ancus Marcius was the legendary fourth of the Kings of Rome.He was the son of Marcius and Pompilia...

.