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Rocca Sinibalda Castle: Peruzzi's Masterpiece
Located 70 km from Rome, perched on a rocky spur overlooking the Turano Valley, the Castle of Rocca Sinibalda is one of Italy's most enigmatic Renaissance buildings. A national monument since 1928, it owes its name to Sinibaldo, Count and Rector of Sabina between 1058 and 1065. In the following centuries, it was passed on to the Benedictines of Farfa, then to the Buzzi and Brancaleone families, until Pope Clement VII (de' Medici) granted ownership to Cardinal Alessandro Cesarini.
The Peruzzi Paradox
The Sack of Rome in 1527 prompted Cesarini to transform the old fortress. He chose Baldassarre Peruzzi, an architect skilled in both military and civil design, and famed for Rome's Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne. Peruzzi developed a plan—preserved in three drawings at the Uffizi—featuring a sharp spur, a defensive "tail," and a central body clinging to the ridge. Work began in 1532, but Peruzzi died in poverty in 1536. The project was likely completed by pupils of the Sangallo family. The result is a hybrid structure often interpreted in zoomorphic terms: an eagle with outspread wings (perhaps a tribute to the Habsburg eagle of Charles V) or, according to some, a scorpion.
Frescoes and History
The interiors were decorated by Girolamo Muziano and by Roman Mannerist workshops, with cycles inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Over the centuries, the castle endured wars, sieges, a powder magazine explosion in 1710, and fires. It was owned by several noble families, including the Mattei, Lante della Rovere, Muti-Bussi, and Lepri.
