Zagarolo

The Palazzo Rospigliosi, in the city centre, occupies the site of an ancient medieval castle, which is first referenced to when Pope Paschal II destroyed Zagarolo in the early 12th century after the rebellion of the Colonna family, of which the palace was one of the strongholds. For many centuries it remained under the Colonna influence, and was besieged and destroyed several times due to the rivalry between the papacy and the Colonna family. In the 16th century, the Colonnas and the papacy started having peaceful relations, and Zagarolo became a duchy, hence the Palace became known as Palazzo Ducale.

The palace came to be used as a residence and two additional major wings were built towards the piazza, frescoes were added and a hanging garden was built. It was in this Palace that in 1591 a commission of eight cardinals met to revise the Bible for a printed edition, among them cardinal Marcantonio Colonna and Saint Robert Bellarmine. The building is characterized by frescoes painted by mannerist artists of the 16th century, attributed to Dutch painters, to Antonio Tempesta, and to the Zuccaris (Taddeo Zuccari and Federico Zuccari). Here in 1606 Caravaggio created masterpieces for the Colonna family, in exchange for refuge on his journey to Naples, between Zagarolo and Paliano he executed the Supper at Emmaus, Mary Magdalen in Ecstasy and perhaps Saint Francis in Prayer. The Palace also saw the of Carlo Maratta and of Ludovico Gimignani, the latter dying there in 1697.

In 1668, when the Rospigliosi acquired the duchy of Zagarolo, the Palace became their property, and was later in possession of the Pallavicini family, until it was sold to the comune in 1979. During World War II the palace was transformed into a German military hospital. Today the local library and Toy Museum are housed in the Palace, and it is used for conventions, exhibitions and other cultural events.[3]

The Church of St Lawrence Martyr (1607) (Chiesa di San Lorenzo Martire), located in Piazza del Risorgimento, is the church dedicated to the patron saint of Zagarolo, St Lawrence of Rome.

The Convent and Church of St Mary of the Graces (Santa Maria delle Grazie), is located in Piazza Santa Maria. The Church of St Annunziata (1580–1582) (Chiesa di Santissima Annunziata), has a peculiar octagonal belltower, and dominates the skyline of Zagarolo.

The Church of St Peter (1717–1722) (Duomo di San Pietro Apostolo), a Baroque church built on the site of a more ancient church. It has an elliptical dome 46 metres high.

The first gate to be encountered entering the city centre from the southeast is Porta Rospigliosi, decorated with bas-reliefs in the 16th century and Roman busts and theatrical masques. The other gate, at the northwest entrance to the city is Porta San Martino, named in honour of Pope Martin V (Oddone Colonna).

The Zagarolo Toy Museum is located in Rospigliosi Palace. The Museum offers a social reconstruction of toys and the act of playing in a series of sections that, through a historic excursus, crosses the fundamental periods of the 20th century. The communal council decided to create the museum in 1998. It was inaugurated in 2005 with a positive response from critics and the public. It holds over 800 examples of Italian and European toys of the 20th century.[5]

Outside the town centre is the Tondo (as it is called by the local population), located at the hill called the Colle del Pero. It is a rare example of an ancient Roman Ludus dated to the 1st century AD, a sort of little amphitheatre used as a gym or training ground for gladiators (see List of Roman amphitheatres).

Zagarolo has a Mediterranean climate with warm and dry summers and cool and wet winters. Summer is mostly hot and sunny, with temperatures that may reach peaks above 37C (100F) for a few days. Summer is dry with occasional thunderstorms. Winter is cold with temperatures going often below 0C (32F). Zagarolo typically gets one small snowstorm in the winter. A historic half-metre snowstorm hit Zagarolo in 1982, isolating the town for a few days.