Originally an Etruscan settlement, the town of Castel Viscardo (TR) was founded in 1263 by Giuscardo da Pietrasanta, Pope Urban IV's nephew. For many years the towers of the Castle and the Vitiano turret provided a strategic lookout point over the Mid and Upper Paglia Valley. The town owes its development to the presence of the Castle of the Dukes of Montevecchio which was, until the 16th century, the stronghold of the Monaldeschis, and later fief of the Spada princes. Castel Viscardo became an independent commune only in 1860 with the creation of the Kingdom of Italy. Known as the "Castle of the Madonna": it has an irregular polygonal shape with a wide moat crossed by a bridge leading up to an elegant Baroque entranceway featuring a round arch adorned with side niches containing statues, topped by an 18th century clock. The mighty outer walls are in local stone while the windows are framed in stone from Bagnoregio. Also of interest is the Church of Maria Santissima Annunziata (1682) with paintings by Carlo Maratta (1683-84) and Giacomo Wernle (a German painter in the service of the Spada family).
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