HISTORY

The area, Etruscan in origin and delimited by the natural line of the Tiber River, was settled by primitive peoples, as is proved by the findings at the Marziano Jana locality, where chamber tombs and crypts were discovered. In 993 Count Offredo, who arrived from Germany following the Emperor Otto III, founded the town of Alviano and gave rise to the Alviano family. His successors built Attigliano, which by the 11th century was already a fortified village and had a small river port at the locality today known as "Portovecchio."

During the feudal era the town was first subject to the rule of the Orsini, followed by the Borghese and the Alviano families. After various vicissitudes, in the 15th century it became part of the Papal States, which governed Attigliano until the birth of the Kingdom of Italy (1860).

ART, CULTURE, ENVIRONMENT

Towering above Piazza della Rocca is the original clock tower: showing 12 hours and having a single hand, it is an evolution from the 6 hour clock of the 1600s. Also on the same square is the Fontana dei Delfini, or "Dolphin Fountain."

The castle was built by the successors of Count Offredo in the late Middle Ages. The small fortress was protected by a moat with a drawbridge. The towers were built during the seigniory of Bartolomeo di Alviano, and the pentagonal tower was fitted with a kind of catapult called the "Bombarda." In the mid-1960s the old castle was declared unsafe and demolished. Next to the Castle Tower was the Baronial Palace, built in the 16th century and enlarged under the rule of the Farnese; only a few traces of it remain today.

The town has an interesting modern parish church, San Lorenzo Martire, with stained glass windows and a bronze portal of considerable artistic value.

Nearby, at the Marziano Jana locality, the remains of Etruscan tombs and crypts can be seen.

The natural terrace overlooking the Tiber Valley can be seen from the town, offering an enchanting, picturesque view.