Oriolo Romano is a small town just past the halfway point between Rome and Viterbo, at a short distance from Lake Bracciano. Oriolo has around 3000 inhabitants. The main sights are on or close to the central square Piazza Umberto I.
All about Oriolo Romano (Province of Viterbo)
Useful information
The address of the town hall is Via Emanuele III, 3 – 01010 Oriolo Romano (Tel: +39 0699837144). The postal code is 01010 and the area code is 06.
How to get there
From Viterbo by car: first follow the SR2 and then the SS493 in southern direction.
From Rome by car: follow Via Cassia (SS493) until you reach Oriolo.
Public transportation: The FR3 train between Viterbo and Rome stops at Oriolo Romano. The railway station is a 10 minute walk from the center. Note that the train station is not manned, so it is recommended to buy your ticket beforehand.
Festivals Oriolo Romano
- Oriolo Romano‘s Sagra dei Funghi Porcini is famous in the area. It is generally held in September.
Tourist Attractions Oriolo Romano
The city’s main attractions are centered around the picturesque central square Piazza Umberto I.
Palazzo Altieri di Oriolo: This palace can be found on the Piazza Umberto I (Tel. 06 99837145; admission: 5 Euros). Pope Clement X, an Altieri family member, had the building enlarged in 1674. The outside is rather austere, while the inside is decorated with frescoes of Old Testament scenes and landscape paintings of villages that used to belong to the Altieri family. In the eastern wing of the Palazzo Altieri the Galleria dei Papi (Gallery of Popes) can be seen. When the portraits of the popes in the Basilica of Saint Paul’s outside the Walls in Rome were destroyed in a fire, these were used as models.
Fontana delle Picche: Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola designed this Fountain of the Pikes in the middle of the Piazza Umberto I.
Mola del Biscione: Giorgio Santacroce, who founded Oriolo Romano constructed this mill, of which only the outside walls and a series of canals off the river Mignone are left.
Olmate: Oriolo is connected to the village of Montevirginio (part of Canale Monterano) by a series of elm tree-lined lanes.
The Church of San Giorgio is the main church of the city. It is located just off the main square.
Top 10 tourist attractions Oriolo Romano
Nature reserves
There are two protected natural areas on the territory of the city. The Faggeta Vetusta of Monte Raschio, which has been on the UNESCO World Natural Heritage List for several years, is a large beech forest. It is unusual in that the trees already start growing at 450 m instead of 700 m above sea level. The Mola di Oriolo is a beautiful natural area crossed by the river Mignone. It contains archaeological Roman remains, a hydraulic mill dating from 1573 and a number of sulphurous and ferruginous springs.
A brief history of Oriolo Romano
Until 1872, the municipality was simply called Oriolo. The town was founded in the 16th century by Giorgio Santacroce, who had received the territory on loan from the Orsini family. Santacroce populated the area with poor farm laborers from Tuscany and Umbria, who had to reclaim the land in exchange. At the beginning of the 17th century the Orsini got the land back, only to sell it in 1671 to the Altieri. This family held the town until 1922.