Monte Porzio Catone
Encyclopedia
Monte Porzio Catone is a comune
(municipality) in the Province of Rome
in the Italian
region Latium
, located about 20 km southeast of Rome
, on the Alban Hills
.
Monte Porzio Catone borders the following municipalities: Frascati
, Grottaferrata
, Monte Compatri
, Rome
.
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
(municipality) in the Province of Rome
Province of Rome
The Province of Rome , is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. The province can be viewed as the extended metropolitan area of the city of Rome, although in its more peripheral portions, especially to the north, it comprises towns surrounded by rural landscape.-Geography:The Province of Rome...
in the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
region Latium
Latium
Lazio is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy, situated in the central peninsular section of the country. With about 5.7 million residents and a GDP of more than 170 billion euros, Lazio is the third most populated and the second richest region of Italy...
, located about 20 km southeast of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, on the Alban Hills
Alban Hills
The Alban Hills are the site of a quiescent volcanic complex in Italy, located southeast of Rome and about north of Anzio.The dominant peak is Monte Cavo. There are two small calderas which contain lakes, Lago Albano and Lake Nemi...
.
Monte Porzio Catone borders the following municipalities: Frascati
Frascati
Frascati is a town and comune in the province of Rome in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is located south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills close to the ancient city of Tusculum. Frascati is closely associated with science, being the location of several international scientific...
, Grottaferrata
Grottaferrata
Grottaferrata, Italy is a small town and comune in the province of Rome, situated on the lower slopes of the Alban Hills, 20 km south east of Rome. It is bounded by other communes, Frascati, Rocca di Papa, Marino, and Rome.-History:...
, Monte Compatri
Monte Compatri
Monte Compatri is a comune in the Province of Rome in the Italian region Latium, located about 20 km southeast of Rome on the Alban Hills. It is one of the Castelli Romani.-History:...
, Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
Main sights
- The Astronomical Rome ObservatoryRome ObservatoryThe Rome Observatory is one of twelve Astronomical Observatories in Italy. It consists of three sites: Monte Porzio Catone, Campo Imperatore and Monte Mario...
is located 2 km out of city centre. It was built starting from 1939, being finished in 1965. It rises above the remains of a Roman villa, the "Matidia's Villa", from the first century AD. The imposing construction is rationalist in style and was used for preserving the equipment of the National Observatory in Rome; subsequently it became a structure to promote the astronomic and scientific studies. Currently the observatory is endowed with the Astrolab and other didactic resources for initiatives to schools, university, associative and private groups.
- The Hermitage Tusculan Monastirian was founded in 1607 by CamaldoleseCamaldoleseThe Camaldolese monks and nuns are part of the Benedictine family of monastic communities which follow the way of life outlined in the Rule of St. Benedict, written in the 6th century...
Monks of Monte Corona. In 1613 the building was completed. The convent's church is devoted to Saint RomualdRomualdSaint Romuald was the founder of the Camaldolese order and a major figure in the eleventh-century "Renaissance of eremitical asceticism"....
. The hospitality to male pilgrims by the hermitHermitA hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
s is guaranteed. Women are forbidden entry to the Hermitage.
- Other sights include the church of St. Gregory the Great, erected in 1666 by Carlo RainaldiCarlo RainaldiCarlo Rainaldi was an Italian architect of the Baroque period.Born in Rome, Rainaldi was one of the leading architects of 17th century Rome, known for a certain grandeur in his designs. He worked at first with his father, Girolamo Rainaldi, a late Mannerist architect in Rome. After his father's...
for the Borghese family, and the remains of the ancient TusculumTusculumTusculum is a ruined Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy.-Location:Tusculum is one of the largest Roman cities in Alban Hills. The ruins of Tusculum are located on Tuscolo hill—more specifically on the northern edge of the outer crater ring of the Alban volcano...
.