Cottanello

Its origins?

The name Cottanello derives from an important branch of the Aurelia gens, the Aurelii Cottae, who seem to have descended from King Numa Pompilius and who served Rome with prominent figures in political and military life, from the 3rd century BC to the 1st AD. The first Cottanello was first mentioned in 1027, when the Lombard Susanna, daughter of Landulf and Taxia, and wife of Attone Count Sabino, ceded it to the Monastery of Farfa for the remission of sins. Francis of Assisi also passed through Cottanello, around 1217: according to Franciscan sources this was the place where St. Francis made the double miracle of taming the packs of wolves that infested the area and of putting an end to the hail that ruined the crops. In 1283, the inhabitants of Cottanello entrusted the perpetual control of the castle to the leader Orso, of the Orsini family, whose dominion lasted over the centuries. In the Baroque age, Cottanello marble, also known as Persian stone extracted in the quarries of Monte Lacerone, became very famous. The use of Cottanello marble in Rome was documented for the first time in 1648 in the Fabbrica di San Pietro, the Roman shipyard par excellence, where artists such as Bramante, Michelangelo and Bernini had worked. Cottanello always remained faithful to the Papacy, so much that it turned against the invading Napoleonic troops. During this period, the rule of the Orsini family also ceased and Cottanello passed directly to the Apostolic Chamber. The village, destroyed by the wars, was slowly rebuilt and the population, living in a state of total abandonment, in the shadow of the few wealthy families owning land and livestock, slowly recovered. In 1860 Cottanello voted unanimously for the acceptance of the Kingdom of Italy.