The pre-Roman era, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, all found in a single municipality. Only three kilometers separate Cicignano and Collevecchio, and yet both are part of each other, on account of the fact that the former constitutes, from an administrative point of view, a district of the latter.
Mid-way, the Church of Sant’Andrea
There are two hills, facing each other, joined by a road roughly three kilometers long, in the center of which stands the Church of Sant’Andrea. It is so central, so equidistant, that in the past it also gave rise to a dispute between the two villages. Each claimed possession of the church dedicated to the patron saint, which was built towards the end of the sixteenth century at the initiative of the Capuchin friars, on the ruins of previous buildings of worship, however, eventually adding a convent to it. Yet, to date, the two villages are part of the same territorial reality, and if one visits Collevecchio they basically also visit Cicignano, and vice versa.
Collevecchio, a Renaissance hamlet
We do not know exactly when Collevecchio originated, yet we can however hypothesize a medieval origin, given its current structure and given that a place called Colavetus was included in the registers of the papal archives of the time. Fact is, Pope Innocent IV, through a special document dating back to 1254, authorized the inhabitants of a nearby village, found at the bottom of the valley, in an unhealthy and marshy area, to move to this location, at about 250 meters above sea level. It seems, according to tradition, that the seat of the new town was chosen thanks to the longevity of an old centenarian who lived there, a guarantee of a certain healthiness, which would also explain the origin of the toponym (vecchio-old).
The destiny of Collevecchio is common to other Sabine villages, except that, after the Orsini domination and the return under the direct jurisdiction of the Pope, it was chosen by Pope Paul V Borghese as the seat of the Governorate of Sabina, in 1605. It remained so until the end of the eighteenth century. And it is during these two centuries that Collevecchio took the form of a Renaissance village which can still be seen today: its prestige, its power and its wealth were flaunted in the magnificent buildings built, which we can still enjoy today.
It was during this time period, the 17th century, that renovation work was carried out on the Collegiate Church of Santissima Annunziata, which is as old as Collevecchio, therefore no later the 18th century. It was these later works that gave it its baroque appearance, which however is revealed by the interiors, given that the portal dates back to a few centuries earlier. All perfectly placed within the features of the historic center, where noble palaces can be highlighted that are attributed to artists belonging to the Sangallo or Vignola school. Palaces that speak of the Renaissance.
Cicignano, a return to the Middle Ages
Moving on to Cicignano, one gets the impression of changing timeline, and if in Collevecchio we breathe an air of Renaissance, here we find ourselves in the Media Aetas.
Circular in shape, a form created by the surrounding walls that protected it, today Cicignano consists of two concentric rings, made up of buildings juxtaposed one next to the other, with the central square in the center, on which stands the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, built in 1448 at the behest of the Orsini, lords of the town. This testifies a passage of an even more ancient history, dating back to at least 768, when the Casalem Cicinianus was donated to the Abbey of Farfa; it can, however, be dated still further back. It seems, in fact, that the toponym Cicinianus can, without any particular need to force the imagination, be traced back to the gens of the Cecilii, who must have owned estates in Sabina.
Strolling through Cicignano it is impossible to ignore the parish church, with its eighteenth-century paintings and above all its panorama which will leave you truly entranced: its altitude, almost 300 meter high, offers a spectacular view which, it is said, allows you to embrace simultaneously a hundred different towns, along with the solemnity of the mountains in the background.
Poggio Sommavilla, the Sabina before the Romans
Speaking of Collevecchio and Cicignano, we cannot but dedicate a (too) small space to Poggio Sommavilla, another of Collevecchio’s hamlets, which offers visitors a taste of an even more ancient period, thanks to the discovery of a pre-Roman necropolis found close to it.
Poggio Sommavilla, a separate hamlet, is also subject to the typical events of medieval castles, with the domination of various noble families, and it owes its fame to the pre-Roman necropolis discovered following the archaeological excavations that began at the end of the nineteenth century. Very ancient tombs were found, dating between the 7th and 6th century BC which allow you to discover the history of pre-Roman Sabina, in a kaleidoscope of eras that alternate without discontinuity, and which have left traces to be admired.
