History

According to some historians, Monterotondo is the heir of ancient Sabine town of Eretum

Eretum

Eretum , was an ancient town of the Sabines, situated on the Via Salaria, at its junction with the Via Nomentana, a short distance from the Tiber, and about 30 km from Rome....

, although the modern settlement appeared in the 10th-11th centuries in a different location. The name derives from the medieval corruption (then Mons Teres, then Monte Ritondo) of the original Mons Eretum.

In the Middle Ages, due to its location across the Via Salaria

Via Salaria

The Via Salaria was an ancient Roman road in Italy.It eventually ran from Rome to Castrum Truentinum on the Adriatic coast - a distance of 242 km. The road also passed through Reate and Asculum...

, Monterotondo was a strategic point for the defense 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...

. Initially under the Capocci family, it was sold in the 12th century to the Orsini, who held it until the 18th century. In 1432 it was seized by the condottiero Niccolò Fortebraccio

Niccolò Fortebraccio

Niccolò Fortebraccio , also known as Niccolò della Stella, was an Italian condottiero.Born in Sant'Angelo in Vado, he was the son of Stella, sister of Braccio da Montone. His half-brother Oddo and his cousin Carlo were also condottieri....

, and in 1485 it was set on fire by the Orsini.

In 1634 the Barberini

Barberini

The Barberini are a family of the Italian nobility that rose to prominence in 17th century Rome. Their influence peaked with the election of Cardinal Maffeo Barberini to the papal throne in 1623, as Pope Urban VIII...

 acquired the town, restoring or enlarging several edifices, and building the Cathedral (1639). On 28 April 1864 the Rome and Monterotondo Rail Road was opened for service.

In 1943, after the Italian armistice with the Allies, 800 German paratroopers tried unsuccessfully to reconquer it.

Main sights

• The Baroque Duomo (Cathedral)
• Church of Madonna delle Grazie
• Palazzo Orsini, including frescoes by Girolamo Siciolante, the Zuccari brothers
  Federico Zuccari
  Federico Zuccari, also known as Federigo Zuccaro , was an Italian Mannerist painter and architect, active both in Italy and abroad.-Biography:Zuccari was born at Sant'Angelo in Vado, near Urbino ....
  
   and Perin del Vaga
  Perin del Vaga
  Perino del Vaga was an Italian painter of the Late Renaissance/Mannerism.-Biography:...
  
   (attributed).
• Archaeological museum, with remains from Eretum, Crustumerium
  Crustumerium
  Crustumerium was an ancient town of Latium, on the edge of the Sabine territory, near the headwaters of the Allia, not far from the Tiber....
  
   and Nomentum.