Ancient legend connects the town's name and
Aricia, the wife of
Hippolytus (Virbius), the Roman forest god who lived in the sacred forests near Aricia. According to a vague reference by
Gaius Julius Solinus, Ariccia was founded by Archilocus Siculus ("Archilocus of the
Siculi" or
Sicels) in very ancient times. Ruins found in the city confirm the existence of a settlement in the 8th–9th centuries BC. From the end of the 6th century BC until 338 BC, the city was the central member of the
Latin League. In its territory, which then included the
Lake of Nemi, was located the sanctuary of
Diana Aricina (or
Diana Nemorensis) held by the Latin cities in common, and presided over by the
Rex Nemorensis. The association with the cult of Diana led to its development as an influential and affluent centre of healing and medicine. In 508 BC,
Lars Porsena king of
Clusium (at that time reputed to be one of the most powerful cities of
Etruria) departed Rome after ending his
war against Rome by peace treaty. Porsena split his forces, and sent part of the Clusian army with his son Aruns to wage
war on the
Latin city of Aricia. The Aricians sent for assistance from the
Latin League, and also from the Greek city of
Cumae. When support arrived, the Arician army ventured beyond the walls of the city, and the combined armies met the Clusian forces in battle. According to Livy, the Clusians initially routed the Arician forces, but the Cumaean troops allowed the Clusians to pass by, then attacked from the rear, gaining victory against the Clusians.
Livy says the Clusian army was destroyed. In 495 BC, Aricia was the site of a battle between the
Aurunci and Rome, Rome being the victor. Aricia was definitively conquered by the
Romans under Caius Maenius in 338 BC, and became a
civitas sine suffragio ("city without the vote"), but was soon given full rights. Being rather near to the Imperial capital, and favoured by a fresher climate, Aricia was chosen by many of Rome's
patricii as a location for their leisure villas. It also was recognized for the calibre of its wine and foodstuffs.
Martial wrote favourably of its leeks and
Pliny relished a unique variety of Arician cabbages. Because of its wealth and its strategic location near the coast, the city was sacked several times during and after the fall of the
Roman Empire, by
Goths,
Vandals and, finally, by the
Saracens who destroyed it in 827. The inhabitants subsequently moved to the ancient acropolis and founded a new community. In 990 the
Castrum Ariciensis ("Ariccia's Castle") was a dominion of Guido, count of
Tusculum. During the reign of
Pope Nicholas II the castle was absorbed by the
Papal States, from which it, in turn, passed again to the Earls of Tusculum as a fiefdom (1116). The
Roman Church regained Ariccia in 1223 with
Pope Honorius III, of the
Savelli family, and maintained it until the first half of the 15th century. The population of Ariccia began to decline, however. After a period under the administration of the castle of
Lariano, it passed to the
Genzano district, which at that time registered only 100 residents. Around 1400 all the territory became the property of the Monastery of
Sant'Anastasio alle Tre Fontane and, after a brief period under the Savelli once more, was sold to the Abbey of
Grottaferrata. by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
Pope Sixtus IV handed Ariccia over to the Savelli, who executed several works to improve its condition, including the draining of the volcanic lake (Lake of Vallericcia) which lay to the west, between the hills and the sea. Systematic
archaeological excavations of the site began around this period. In 1637
Giovanni Argoli, at the request of his patron the
Cardinal Lelio Biscia, writes up a description of
votive objects and
inscriptions found during excavations at Aricia. In 1661 the city passed to the powerful
Chigi family, who rebuilt the splendid
Palazzo Savelli Chigi in the main square, in which the invaluable Chigi archives were housed. The Chigi
Pope Alexander VII lived for long periods in Ariccia and drastically changed its character, with important contributions from the prominent Baroque sculptor and architect
Gian Lorenzo Bernini, designer of the piazza of
St Peter's Basilica in Rome. Among Bernini's rich contributions to the character of the town were the piazza and the
Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta which faces the palazzo. In 1854
Pope Pius IX ordered the construction of a bridge. This bridge bypassed the large wood (now the
Parco Chigi) in the valley, which hindered access to Ariccia from Rome along the Via Appia. Nearly a century later, the bridge—along with much of the city—was destroyed by retreating
German troops during World War II. Rebuilt in 1947, it crumbled suddenly in 1967 and was rebuilt again. In 2015, the Roman Curia's yearly Lenten spiritual exercises were again held at Ariccia, at the Casa Divin Maestro (House of the Divine Master), from 16:00 on the First Sunday of Lent, February 22, 2015, to the morning of Friday, February 27, 2015. The 2015 exercises were to be led by Carmelite Father
Bruno Secondin, on the theme from the readings of the Prophet Elijah, "Servants and prophets of the living God"; during the retreat, all audiences are suspended. ==Main sights==