Full Description

The castle's origins are around the XI century; it is placed on a wonderful town of about 250 inhabitants.It is about 67 km far from Rome. The origin of the name Vacone comes from the Vacuna goddess and to the "Fanum vacunae" that means the Vacuna's goddess temple. The Vacuna's worship was really famous at that age and also Numa Pompilio,Sabin king of Rome,teached to the roman people the respect to this goddess. According to the tradition the Goddess used to protect the holiday makers that went to the country to regenerate their bodies and souls. So the latin word "vacare" means to relax from worries. The Italian word "vacanza"(Holiday) derives to it and means that period of the year dedicated to relax and hobbies. According to experts, Vacuna should be considered as the goddess of woods, nature and fertility. On its land there are a lot of roman items such as the villa's structure of the great latin poet Quinto Orazio Flacco. The presence of the Bandusia spring(Fons Bandusiae), the glade in the wood called Pago(Pagus),the view of Soratte's mountain; seems it be the fundus given to the latin poet by Mecenate in 33 a.C. The very first news about the castle are dated 1027 when Susanna and her husband Attone gave all her parents inheritance in the Vacone 's castle to the monastery. At the beginning to the XII century the castle went to a roman noble family (Ogdolina) but the population reacted violently to the power so the Pope Gregorio IX was obliged to get back the castle's rights. In 1364 the castle went to Orsini and then to Caetani by inheritance, they sell it to the Count Gasparo Spada. Count Spada's power was very hard to the population expecially because they helped paying the expenses for his new baron palace. After his death, in 1624, his widow Virginia Mattei succeeded. The castle was sold to Caccia of Sant'Oreste and then to marquis Angioletti. The bolognese noble sold it in 1658 to Guido Vaini. After his death the castle was sold to the noble Antonio Clarelli. On November 18th ,1816 The marquis Clarelli renounced to all his feudal rights on Vacone so the city was independent on 1827. Nowadays, the castle has got a private owners.