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Castelnuovo di Farfa: The Sabine Hill Town Where Olive Oil is Contemporary Art
In the heart of the Sabina region, about 55 kilometres from Rome, Castelnuovo di Farfa is a medieval hill town perched 358 metres a.s.l., wedged between the Farfa river and the Riana torrent. It is the ideal destination for those in search of quiet, stone lanes, and there is an olive oil museum quite unlike any other. The PDO Sabina olive oil produced here is more than a local product: it is the thread running through a narrative that weaves together art, rural memory, and contemporary installations.
From Castle to Village
The earliest traces date back to 977: a Castellum Sancti Donati that grew up around the Church of St Donatus, a 6th-century building still visible in the surrounding area, its niches adorned with frescoes. Destroyed by the Saracens, rebuilt, and eventually abandoned, the site was reborn at the end of the 13th century as Castellum Novum. The Tower of Porta Castello and nine wall towers have survived from the original defensive system.
What to See
The Museo dell'Olio della Sabina (Sabina Olive Oil Museum), housed in Palazzo Perelli, displays works by Maria Lai and Alik Cavaliere, alongside the Oleophona installation by Gianandrea Gazzola, in which dripping oil turns into sound. The 18th-century Palazzo Salustri-Galli houses frescoes and an Italian-style garden, which can be visited by appointment. The Church of San Nicola di Bari (St Nicholas of Bari, 1779), with its elliptical plan, was rebuilt in 1939 by the Salustri Galli family, as was the Church of the Madonna degli Angeli (Our Lady of the Angels), originally erected in 1600 as an act of thanksgiving for deliverance from the plague. The village lies close to the Gole del Farfa (Farfa Gorges): 35 hectares of protected land, with small waterfalls, a Roman bridge, and moss-draped woodland.
