Alla mia famiglia e amici.: Ariccia: pronounced A-ree

Ariccia, Italy, a small community located less than 20 miles from Rome will be where I call“home” for the 12 weeks I’m abroad. Up for a quick history lesson?

My Location; Ariccia, Italy

Aricia boasts very ancient origins. As in all Latin cities, the first inhabitants of these places had to fight to maintain their independence. "Aricia" was the capital of the Latin League at the end of the 4th century B.C., and the battle of Aricia successfully thwarted the military ambitions of the Etruscans in Southern Latium. The "Ariccini" also fought against Rome until being subjugated in the 4th century B.C.

Ariccia became one of the most important Roman communities because of its geographical position between two volcanic lakes, Albano Lake and Nemi Lake.

The people of Ariccia were devout worshippers of the goddess Diana, . Her temple, located in the "Nemus Aricinum", now Nemi, was one of the main sanctuaries in the Latin territory dedicated to the goddess . During the Middle Ages, Ariccia was sacked and pillaged by barbarians during the Roman campaign.

In 1473 Ariccia passed into the hands of the Savelli Family, which started the reconstruction of the territory, and began work on the noble palace. The development of Ariccia is strictly associated with Pope Alexander VII and his family, the Chigi, who in 1661 acquired this small fief from the Savelli. Pope Alexander VII asked Gian Lorenzo Bernini to redesign Ariccia to change the rural aspect of the newly acquired possession and to give it a very modern and urban appearance. the town was completely re-zoned by the architectural genius. He collaborated with many artists, Carlo Fontana being the most well known amongst them.

Ariccia, Italy

In the beginning of the 1700's, Ariccia became a haven for important artists and writers of the time. Creativity flourished between the second half of the 18th Century and the beginning of the 19th Century, during which time the best artists, decorators, writers and poets worked in Ariccia during the Grand Tour.

In the course of the 19th century, the layout of the town changed greatly when the Appian Way, which went down through the valley (Valle Ariccia) was bonified, under the auspices of Pope Pius IX. Thanks to him, in fact, a bridge with three orders of arches was constructed over the thickly wooded area (now Chigi Park), where the road reached up to Galloro hill.

So that’s where I’ll be living for the next three months, Ariccia, Italy with a little history lesson to go with it. (13 days till departure)