Rocca Priora is a small town and comune

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:...

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...

, Lazio, Italy

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...

. It is one of the Castelli Romani

Castelli Romani

The Castelli Romani is a group of communes in the province of Rome, Italy. They are located at short distance south-east to Rome, at the feet of the Alban Hills.-Overview:...

 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...

 about 25 km south east 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...

, situated in the Regional Park known as the "Parco Regionale dei Castelli Romani".

History

Rocca Priora occupied the area of the old Latins

Latins

"Latins" refers to different groups of people and the meaning of the word changes for where and when it is used.The original Latins were an Italian tribe inhabiting central and south-central Italy. Through conquest by their most populous city-state, Rome, the original Latins culturally "Romanized"...

 town of Corbium; here several battles, described by famous historians, were fought by Italic peoples.

After the destruction of Tusculum

Tusculum

Tusculum 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...

 in 1191, the population increased. In the 14th century the Savelli family rose to prominence in the area, after Pope Sixtus V

Pope Sixtus V

Pope Sixtus V , born Felice Peretti di Montalto, was Pope from 1585 to 1590.-Early life:The chronicler Andrija Zmajević states that Felice's family originated from modern-day Montenegro...

 endorsed Rocca Priora as a feudal possession for them. They held the town and its castle until the 17th century, apart from two short periods in 1436-1447 and in the early 16th century, when it went to Cesare Borgia

Cesare Borgia

Cesare Borgia , Duke of Valentinois, was an Italian condottiero, nobleman, politician, and cardinal. He was the son of Pope Alexander VI and his long-term mistress Vannozza dei Cattanei. He was the brother of Lucrezia Borgia; Giovanni Borgia , Duke of Gandia; and Gioffre Borgia , Prince of Squillace...

. According to some sources, the town was destroyed by Renzo da Ceri's troops during the conflict between Pope Clement VII and the Colonna, and by the imperial

Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

 troops in the wake of the Sack of Rome (1527)

Sack of Rome (1527)

The Sack of Rome on 6 May 1527 was a military event carried out by the mutinous troops of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in Rome, then part of the Papal States...

.

After a period as a direct Papal rule, it was sold in part to the Rospigliosi family, who held it until 1870, when it became a commune as part of the newly formed Kingdom of Italy.

Famous citizens and residents

• Gregorius Maltzeff, painter (1881–1953)
• Marco Amelia
  Marco Amelia
  Marco Amelia, Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Milan. He was part of the Italian squad that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup.-Early career:Amelia grew up as part of the Roma youth system...
  
  , football player (1982)