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Church of St Jerome in Nerola: Where the Cairoli Brothers Planned the March on Rome
The Church of St Jerome stands on the edge of the village of Nerola, in the province of Rome. Built in the late 15th century by the Compagnia di San Girolamo (Confraternity of St Jerome), it has survived wars, expansions and rebuilds, yet its most intense moment lasted a single night: the night of October 1867, when the Cairoli brothers organised the expedition that would end in bloodshed at Villa Glori.
From chapel to parish church
It was originally a rectangular chapel with a single altar. In 1725 it was enlarged to serve temporarily as the parish church while the main one was being restored. The plan became a Latin cross, with an apse and two side chapels. During the Second World War, retreating German troops mined the building. Nothing survived of the canvases or sepulchral inscriptions of confraternity members. Reconstruction came in stages: the side walls in 1952, the roof and interior in 1968, followed by the bell gable and the altar, redesigned in accordance with the new liturgy.
The night of the Cairoli brothers
In 1867 Garibaldi’s volunteers halted here. Enrico and Giovanni Cairoli arrived from Terni with a group of volunteers, and it was in this very church that they organised the Legion of the Seventy (Legione dei Settanta). The order was to march on Rome against the Papal army. On 23 October of that year the clash took place at Villa Glori, where Enrico lost his life. The church in Nerola remains the last place where the expedition was still on the drawing board.
