Castel di Tora

Castel di Tora which, until 1864, was called the Castel Vecchio, is a town of 218 inhabitants in the province of Rieti, located in the Turano Valley. Castel di Tora, between Carsoli and Rieti, and along the valley of the Turano (now imposing village, overlooking the homonymous lake), traces its origins to the beginning of the year one thousand, at the time of the phenomenon of "fortifications" and is mentioned for the first time in documents of Farfa, in 1035, under the name of "Castrum Vetus Ophiano" (Chronicon Farfense).

The original name was changed after the unification of Italy in 1864 to Castel di Tora, in memory of an ancient Roman Sabine pagus called Thora Thiora. The Abbey of Farfa owned the territory of Castel di Tora, and it was gifted by Rusticelli-Guidoni, Lombard lords of Tora in 1092, along with the mountain Antuni, the ancient "Castrum Antoni" the stronghold overlooking the mountain. In 1440 the estate passed to the Orsini of Castelvecchio and from 1558 to 1570 to the Estouteville. From that date, Castel di Tora passed back to the Orsini until 1634, before being owned by the Borghese (lords of Castelvecchio). Following the French Revolution there was the abolition of the feudal system.

The village of Antuni, however, belonged to the Brancaleoni until 1583, then the Cesarini and then the Mattei until 1676. It passed then to the Lante della Rovere until 1729, then to the Gentiles, and in 1800 to the Principles of the Dragon. The village was bombed by U.S. planes in 1944 and in 1950 completely abandoned by the inhabitants. Most of them where surnamed Franchi and Federici in clear memory of the Imperial stronghold. After more than 40 years of abandonment and neglect, the village of Antuni was reduced to a heap of ruins, until in 1992 the Palazzo del Drago was purchased by the City of Castel di Tora. I

n this complex of buildings uo to the Mount Antuni, there was created a multipurpose cultural center and museum, while the houses are intended to lodge for social tourism. In the years 1935-38 was built the Posticciola dam and created the artificial lake Turano, which buried the most fertile soils of the valley, causing a massive emigration of the local population, that by then had about 1000 inhabitants. With the gradual depopulation in recent years, there has been a complete transformation of the local economy, that from agriculture and pastoralism is gradually changing and moving towards the service sector trade and tourism.