Il Torrione e i Giardini

Anguillara Sabazia's circular Torrione rises above the historic town and Lake Bracciano. Its fortified masonry and adjoining terraced gardens preserve different chapters in the development of the hilltop stronghold.

Why it matters

The keep is generally dated to the second half of the fifteenth century and attributed, with caution, to Francesco di Giorgio Martini. It belongs to the defensive landscape shaped by the Anguillara and Orsini families; the gardens show how that military setting was later adapted for aristocratic pleasure.

What to notice

Four levels divide the tower, including a former prison floor with eighteenth-century prisoner graffiti. In the gardens, a retaining wall preserves two of three semicircular niches originally intended for statues. The terraces frame the Collegiata, clustered roofs and the open water of the lake.

Context and history

Garden works began in 1579 for Paolo Giordano Orsini and are tentatively associated with Giacomo del Duca and the master builder Jacopo Barbone. In the early nineteenth century, Filippo Agapito Grillo's earthworks covered military passages and reshaped the summit. The complex thus combines Renaissance fortification with later changes to its landscape.