In Torricella in Sabina, the village of Ornaro has always been a strategic point of control on the Via Salaria.
Here in the Middle Ages there was a castrum which then turned into a fortress/castle.
The earliest records of the castle date back to 1254, with the 'Brancaleoni of Romanea' who held it until 1480, when the Brancaleoni daughter married an Orsini.
The Orsini were divided into two branches of the family that started fighting,
It was Pope Leo X who was brought in to settle the dispute and to give the castle to the Orsini of Monterotondo who held it up to 1617.
In that year the family had no heirs and the castle passed to the Apostolic Chamber.
Then follow several families. The castle is now private and belongs to Mrs. Elsa Sormani.
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