The most famous and important tourist attractions of Ariccia were designed by the famous architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who was the house architect of the then Pope.
Top 10 tourist attractions Ariccia
01. Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
The Santa Maria Assunta Church was designed by Bernini. Its design, based on the Pantheon, is sometimes seen as a prototype for St. Peter’s Basilica itself. It was built between 1663 and 1665.
02. Palazzo Chigi
The Palazzo Chigi was also a project by Bernini, although he had help from Carlo Fontana. At present this palace, which belonged to and was built by order of the pope-supplying Chigi family, is used as a museum. It also includes a very beautiful, according to Stendhal even the most beautiful in the world, park.
03. Piazza di Corte
The Piazza di Corte is the central square and another baroque project by Bernini. Both buildings mentioned above stand along this square, which is entered through the Porta Napoletana. The construction was started in 1661.
04. Porta Napoletana
The Porta Napoletana was designed by Carlo Fontana. This gateway to the central square was built between 1666 and 1673 and is called thus because this is where people started when they wanted to travel towards Naples.
05. Porta Romana
The Porta Romana is the “Roman Gate” and it is through this gate that people travelled, when they were on their way to the capital. It is located in the Via Laziale and was built in 1673. Gian Lorenzo Bernini was responsible for its project, Luigi Bernini and Giovan Battista Contini took care of the execution.
06. Palazzo Bonaparte-Primoli
The Palazzo Bonaparte-Primoli is a Neoclassical palace and is located in Piazza della Repubblica, 4-10. It was built around 1830 by Luciano Bonaparte (brother of) and greatly enlarged in 1858 by Carlotta Bonaparte. Count Giuseppe Primoli had his residence here after the unification of Italy.
07. Piazza San Nicola
Piazza San Nicola is the other important central square of the city. Here is the former San Nicola Church, along with the ex-Collegio di San Nicola, which is the current town hall of Ariccia. The Fountain of the Bella Flora in the square is considered a symbol of Ariccia.
08. Parco della Rimembranza
The Parco della Rimembranza is a municipal garden in the historic center of the city. In the center of the garden you can see the Monumento ai Caduti, dedicated to the victims of all wars.
09. Monument to Menotti Garibaldi
Menotti Garibaldi was a hero from the countryside around Ariccia. In front of the entrance to the Villa Comunale is a monument dedicated to the man, sculpted in 1903 by Ernesto Biondi di Morolo. The reliefs on the pedestal depict the city and the surrounding landscape, including aqueducts.
10. Monumental Bridge (Ponte di Ariccia)
The Ponte Monumentale of Ariccia is not really a bridge, but a viaduct built in the 19th century over the Via Appia. Until protective barriers were put up, this bridge had the unfortunate nickname of Ponte del Suicidio.
More Sights in Ariccia
La Locanda Martorelli
The Locanda Martorelli (formerly the Casino Stazi) is located in Piazza di Corte. The building is famous for the murals created between 1770 and 1771 by the Polish painter Taddeusz Kuntze, whose subject is the mythological origin of Ariccia. Currently, it serves as the seat of the Museum of the Grand Tour.