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Church of Our Lady of the Angels at Castelnuovo di Farfa: A Vow Made by Plague Survivors
Just outside the walls of Castelnuovo di Farfa, the Church of the Madonna degli Angeli harbours a story of fear and gratitude. It was built in the Jubilee year of 1600, when the plague was devastating the surrounding villages, and the people of Castelnuovo — who had been spared — wished to give thanks to the Virgin Mary for the protection they had received. It is the same epidemic that Alessandro Manzoni would immortalise in “The Betrothed” two centuries later.
A Small Round Church in Local Stone
The work was entrusted to Mastro Plauto and Mastro Giovanni, who built a small church based on a circular plan, with four side chapels and a small apse, using the porous stone typical of the area. The façade, plain and rendered, looked out over the countryside. The bell tower was added in 1698.
Collapse and Reconstruction
In 1933 the church collapsed. Only the wall housing the niche of the Madonna remained intact. Angelo Salustri Galli, from the family that had administered the lands of Farfa Abbey for centuries, entirely funded the rebuilding, which was completed in 1939, faithfully following the original layout. The same family owned — and still owns — the palazzo with its Italian-style garden overlooking the square in front of the church.
A Celebration Four Centuries Old
Every year on the first Sunday of August, Castelnuovo marks the feast of the Madonna degli Angeli with a procession and festivities, renewing the vow made in 1600.
