Situated to the north of Rome, the Castle of Santa Severa on the Tyrrhenian Coast is one of the most striking and evocative places in the Region of Lazio. It owes its present name to St. Severa, a Christian girl traditionally believed to have been martyred on 5 June 298 C.E. under Emperor Diocletian. Parts of the Early Christian church dedicated to her (built in the late 5th century or the early 6th century) can be seen in the Piazza della Rocca. This area has ancient origins which date back to the Bronze Age.
The castle was built in the mid 9th century when Pope Leo X commissioned the main structure – the Maschio, known in the past as the Castle Tower. The castle gained a rectangular layout in the 14th century along with the addition of corner towers and a wooden drawbridge over the moat. Its present-day appearance owes much to the restructuring carried out in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Used by the Germans as a base during WWII, it has belonged to the Regione Lazio since 2000 and was opened to public in 2014.
Roma Lazio Film Commission
Via Parigi 11 – 00185, Roma
Phone: +39 06 72286273/320
Fax: +39 06 722 1127
Email: info@romalaziofilmcommission.it
