This content was automatically translated. View the original text.
Mentana: the Garibaldian Village 20 Kilometres from Rome, Risorgimento History and Sabine Necropolises
Mentana is located in the Tiber Valley, 20 kilometres from Rome, 132 metres above sea level. The village stands on a hill overlooking the plain, in a territory inhabited since archaic times by the Sabines. The historic centre preserves its medieval layout, with narrow alleyways and stone houses, but Mentana is known above all for the Battle of Mentana of 3 November 1867, when the Garibaldians led by Giuseppe Garibaldi were defeated by Franco-Papal troops. The clash blocked the capture of Rome for three years.
The Battle Museum
The Garibaldian Museum is located on Via Nomentana, and displays uniforms, weapons, documents and relics from the 1867 conflict. There are Chassepot rifles used by the French, original red shirts, letters from fallen Garibaldians and a reconstruction of the battle with maps and explanatory panels. The museum was founded in 1906 by veterans, and expanded after the Second World War. Every year, on 3 November, a historical re-enactment is held with a costumed procession.
What Can Be Seen Today
The village preserves some 17th-century noble palaces and the Church of San Nicola di Bari (St Nicholas of Bari), rebuilt in the 18th century on medieval foundations. In the surrounding area there are remains of Roman villas and Sabine necropolises, with chamber tombs carved in tufa. Mentana is also known for the production of Sabina PDO extra virgin olive oil. From the village the view opens up onto the Tiber plain as far as the Monti Lucretili.
