Experience medieval Italy at Il Borgo di Tragliata.

Located at the entrance to Rome, Il Borgo di Tragliata is an ancient semi fortified village dating back 928 A.D.

We are located on a large estate which is 17 km north of Rome. Il Borgo di Tragliata stands like a sentinel in the enchanted and unspoilt Etruscan countryside close to the seaside.

The location has a great suggestion, offering a combination of open countryside and deep Etruscan ravines. Inside the medieval borgo, several apartments, all elegantly furnished, clustered harmoniously around a grassy courtyard, with a church, a working medieval bread oven and a tavern for guests. All this is framed by a parapet overlooking the fields of Etruria.

Excellent for guests who want to have family reunions, parties, weddings, ceremonies or country meals at home or in the tavern. The borgo is also excellent for those who are simply looking to experience ancient Italy.

The owners, Andrea and Giulia specialize in cultivation of natural products.

Apartments:

The apartments provide ample living space each sleeping from two to eight people. They are furnished in traditional style with carefully selected original furniture.

Restaurant:

Open for dinner on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and for lunch on Sunday.

The "Cantina del Borgo" Restaurant is known for its fine quality cuisine, light and fragrant traditional Roman dishes, homemade pasta and for the special attention given to the food’s preparation.

We use only organic produce from our garden such as a variety of vegetables. We also use natural honey and fine meats.

We serve a fixed menu of mixed hors d'oeuvres, two first dishes, two second dishes with vegetables, one of which is vegetarian, and dessert.

Weddings:

Wedding ceremonies and banquets between 30 and 200 people are organized in the gardens, on the terraces and in the community rooms of the inn. Organization of these events is conducted completely by the “Borgo di Tragliata” staff.

It is possible to organize private parties or thematic musical events with either live music or a specialized DJ.

Saint Isidoro Church is a splendid baroque style church which holds approximately 300 people (150 for each the bride and groom respectively) and is just a few meters from the restaurant. It offers the possibility to combine the wedding ceremony and banquet into an extended uninterrupted celebration.

The Story:

Il Borgo di Tragliata rises above an impressive tufa buttress. Archeological sources provide evidence that this area has been inhabited since ancient times. The discovery of the famous, “Oinochoe of Tagliatella” vase confirms the existence of human settlements since the Etruscan era within an area subject to control by either Ceri or Veio.

The name “Tragliata” takes note of the place names, Talianum Tagliata or Terlata, during medieval times and appears to be derived from “Tagliata” (meaning “cut”), which is the word given to the paths dug into the tufa by the Etruscans.

There are numerous sources, which provide research on the Roman era, particularly between the republican and imperial ages.

The presence of several tombs dug into the tufa along the east slope of the hill on which the village sits, along with several clay artifacts found in the area, are evidence which suggest the presence of a small agricultural settlement. In addition, other documentation reports the findings of the remains of a Roman villa on Tragliata property. It is also known that the two marble memorial stones found in this area have inscriptions dating back to the third century AD.

The documentation of continual colonial life in the village doesn’t date back before the fifth century. First, the fall of the Roman Empire and then the Gothic-Byzantine war caused the near complete abandonment of the region. Considering its easily defendable position, the presence of a human settlement during such dark times can be only hypothesized. The acquisition of Tragliata by the Roman church must be considered in this hypothesis, an acquisition which has had written notarization only since the ninth century.

Midway through the eighth century, this area of the Roman countryside saw a period of repopulation thanks to the intelligence and will of Pope San Zaccaria (741-752) and Pope Adriano I (772-793). Encouraged by political and religious motives, these two Pontiffs presented an energetic revival and control of the territory. It is from this movement which brought forth the birth of the “Domuscultae” (cultivation house), a district comprised of many small agricultural agglomerations, which are spread out over a large zone. They are each centered on a church and on an administrative and agricultural production control center.

The existing chapel and administrative center suggest that the village took part in these realities during this period. The nearby domuscultae in Galeria, found on the adjacent street, via Clodia, proves the validity of this hypothesis. Founded in 780 by Adriano I, Galeria represented one of the most important “cultivation houses” in the countryside north of Rome: Tragliata would have taken part in a system which had its center on this property, resting outside at nearby Cere. Unfortunately, the nearly complete absence of reliable sources makes it almost impossible to go beyond this hypothesis.

During ninth and tenth centuries the historical scene began to change, the Roman countryside, with less support for the Papacy by the Carolugian empire, was made subject to continual and bloody raids by the Saracen pirates. The system of the “Domuscultae” entered into definite crisis, superceded by a strong defense system of towers and small castles; several coastal light towers were constructed to be used as bright defense signals to alert the inland region upon the pirates’ approach. This new system almost naturally laid over the old network of Domuscultae.

The adoption of this solution is easily explainable: with posts in an intermediate zone amongst the great means of communication, the “Domus” generally occupied an elevated position, which was ideal for the defense and control of the territory.

The construction of Tragliata’s small castle and tower date back to the ninth century, according to sources at the nearby Boccea castle. One can easily notice how our village was constructed much like a “fortified chess-board” by observing the remains of the original wall.

The villages were linked in the directions of Aurelia/Clodia, Boccea/Torquinia: In the south-west direction, it was linked to the important “Casal de Ricci,” while to the southeast, in the direction of ancient Cornelia, it was linked to Boccea Castle. It was connected to Galeria to the north, not to mention the towers of Pascolaro and Malvicino, “Testa di Lepre” castle and Tragliatella, also known as Civitella. Existing accurate testimonies allow us to follow the events, which characterize the village during these times, more accurately.

The estate still belongs to the Vatican Basilica, even if time after time it was more or less controlled directly by others. In 1201, for example, it was ruled by a certain Jocobus de Traliata who occupied it, possibly as a lord. Several years later Tragliata, together with nearby “castium” Loterni, became subject to the interests of the turbulent Normanni family.

A passage, derived from an original document, helps us to clarify what happened: the men of the powerful family, under the cover of darkness “noctis armis prohibitis cum scalis, picconibus, balisis, portas Basilice frangi fecerunt et assaliverunt canonicos... res Basilice invadendo, deprendendo, perrimpiendo.”

We don’t know exactly if the Normanni obtained control of Tragliata, what is certain, however, is that the situation in Rome in those years was particularly unstable from a political standpoint. It is important to note how the events during this period characterized Tragliata’s history, having greatly suffered continual disputes between the Pope, the empire or from warring, Roman families who were always prepared to contend for power and money.

It is possible that Tragliata was invaded and its castle dismantled when Giacomo Savelli attacked Boccea in 1341 during a battle with Pope Benedetto XII. It follows that, in midst of the continual political twisting during those years, it appears rather difficult to determine with certainty who “controlled” the estate on behalf of the Chapter.

In 1389, the “grazing rights” were given to a certain Lello Maddaleni, but the tenants’ names hadn’t changed until the end of the century. In 1493, the Tragliata estate, together with the centers of Boccea and Civitella, was leased to the powerful Crescenzi family. A more stable control of the Chapter in the village of Tragliata and its tenants seems to have emerged beginning in this period. During the second half of the 1700’s, the small village chapel, now in ruins, wasn’t sufficient for the current needs of the agricultural community, thus a larger church was built beside it in baroque style, named, “Sant’Isidoro Agricola.”

In 1885, the Chapter granted the Tragliata estate to Mr. Nicola Santovetti as the perpetual leaseholder. Consequently, Santovetti sold the lease to Mr. Domenico Lanza in 1917, (the great grandfather of the present proprietor, Andrea de Gallo di Roccagiovane) who then took over as a tenant to finally gain possession of the estate in the following years.