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Bassano Romano, the Tuscia village that boasts an unfinished Michelangelo statue
Bassano Romano is located in Tuscia Viterbese, halfway between Lake Bracciano and Lake Vico. With fewer than five thousand inhabitants, the village’s historic centre is framed by unspoiled landscapes, and houses a statue that Michelangelo Buonarroti left unfinished.
The Giustiniani family and their palace
The history of Bassano Romano revolves around one family: the Giustiniani. Marquis Vincenzo Giustiniani took the old Anguillara castle and transformed it, between the 16th and 17th centuries, into a residence now known as Palazzo Giustiniani. The interior halls are decorated with frescoes by Francesco Albani, Antonio Tempesta, and Domenichino. From the palace, an overpass leads to a 40-hectare park and pavilion.
The churches and an unfinished Michelangelo
The Church of San Vincenzo Martire (St Vincent Martyr) stands on a panoramic hilltop; Marquis Giustiniani had it built as a family mausoleum. It is here that the first version of the Christ Carrying the Cross — or Christ of the Minerva - sculpted by Michelangelo is kept. Left unfinished due to a black vein in the marble of the cheek, the story goes that Vincenzo Giustiniani purchased it, and had the young Gian Lorenzo Bernini complete it. His nephew Andrea brought it here in 1644.
Two dates to remember
Among the most interesting events here are the 17th-Century Markets in mid-July, recreating life in the time of the Giustiniani, with costume parades and music, and the Summer Carnival on August 14.
