del Gallo Castle and Gardens of Horace
del Gallo Castle and Gardens of Horace
There is a corner of Italy, between Rome and Subiaco, where time seems to have decided to slow down. Here, between the gentle profiles of the Mandela hills, flow the Aniene and Licenza rivers, the same ones that the poet Horace celebrated in his lyrics over two thousand years ago. A real and imagined place at the same time, where nature, history and art intertwine in a delicate balance.
33 BC
Horace receives the villa
The Latin poet Quintus Horatius Flaccus, better known as Horace, was granted a villa by his patron Maecenas — a central figure in Augustan cultural politics — situated in a lush and secluded countryside between the hills and the Digentia stream (now called the Licenza). Horace also mentions in his First Epistle to a Friend that it brings him joy to bathe in the Licenza River during the summer, which flows beneath the village of Mandela, at the edge of the farm. This residence served as a contemplative and philosophical retreat for Horace. Here, he developed a vision of the landscape as a space of harmony and inner freedom, reflected throughout his writings.
In his works — notably the famous Epistle I, 16 — Horace lyrically describes the Sabine landscape: “...the brook murmuring among the rocks,” “the twisted olive tree and the shade of the trees,” “the hut sufficient for a wise man.” His words not only immortalise the place but also establish it as a cultural ideal: a living landscape, a dialogue between man and nature, free from constraints.
After Horace’s death (8 BC), the villa passed into imperial hands, used as a resting place en route to the residences at Subiaco (Nero’s villa) and Arcinazzo (Trajan’s villa).
Middle Ages (9th–13th century)
Fortification of Mandela and the Benedictine Influence
With the fall of the Roman Empire, the territory suffers depopulation and instability. The fortified village of Mandela is born , strategic in the Aniene valley. The area is controlled first by the Abbots of Subiaco , then by the Orsini Family .
The memory of the Horatian villa is reinterpreted in the Christian world: the landscape is no longer just a refuge, but also a sacred and agricultural place, close to the monastic paths.
1706
The arrival of the Nuñes-Sanchez family
Mandela Castle was purchased by the Nuñes-Sanchez family, Portuguese nobles in the service of the Church who began a major restructuring of the Castle.
They also created an Arab or formal garden with hydraulic systems in the keep, and transformed the beautiful views over the agricultural land surrounding the Castle into an English landscape park.
In 1726, the Marquis Vincenzo Nuñes Sanchez, a devout Dominican, commissioned a church dedicated to San Vincenzo Ferrer, a Spanish miracle-working friar and preacher. The project was entrusted to Girolamo Theodoli, known for having also worked on Santa Maria dei Miracoli in Rome. The Church was decorated with frescoes by Corvi and Odazzi.
18th century
del Gallo Family, Marquises of Mandela
From the mid-eighteenth century, ownership of the Castle and lands of Mandela gradually passed to the del Gallo family, an ancient Roman family of medieval origins.
The marriage between the Nuñes-Sanchez and the del Gallo family marked this transition, consolidating the bond between Roman nobility and international aristocracy. From then on, the del Gallo family became custodians of the estate, initiating a long phase of cultural, agricultural and architectural transformations.
1835
The del Gallo Family and Julie Bonaparte
They created an international “cultural salon” that attracted prominent figures from the French Academy, as well as writers and intellectuals travelling the Grand Tour.
The del Gallo/Bonaparte family took care of the gardens and the English landscape, enhancing Hackert’s “ideal views”. They added a romantic French woodland with shaded paths and a microclimate for the strolls of Julie's guests of the salon. This was not merely an ornamental intervention, but a garden designed to “appear natural,” in keeping with the spirit of the English landscape tradition.
The myth of Horace regained central importance: the landscape was rediscovered as an “inner” and aesthetic landscape, in line with nineteenth-century sensibilities.
19th century
Mandela, a privileged stop on the Grand Tour
Between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the European route to classical Italy often passed through Mandela, a village in the Aniene valley on the way to Horace's Villa. The place captivated young aristocrats, scholars, and artists drawn to its landscape and rich cultural layers. Goethe, alongside German, French and English landscape painters - including Jakob Philipp Hackert - frequented the castle and its surroundings. The Horatian “inner landscape” was transformed, through a Romantic lens, into a space of reflection and identity.
The del Gallo family contributed to this vision, shaping the environment as a garden of the mind. Described in travel diaries as a “poetic and melancholic fortress,” Mandela Castle became a cultural crossroads.
del Gallo Castle and Gardens of Horace
The Ideal Views
Around the Castle of Mandela, the famous "ideal view" unfolds, conceived in the eighteenth century by Jacob Philipp Hackert, court painter to Queen Maria Carolina. Hackert selected a privileged spot along the hill overlooking the Licenza river to paint a series of views, including three dedicated to Mandela. This panoramic perspective, composed and harmonious, reflects the romantic and neoclassical philosophy of the "landscape according to nature": not a faithful representation, but an ideal reconstruction, intended to evoke a place of memory, contemplation, and inspiration.
Today, the English garden of the Castle maintains this vision: the arboreal backdrops designed with oaks, cypresses, and holm oaks, and the Giulia tower facing the valley, restore the original visual experience, partly reviving the same atmosphere that captivated Goethe and the Romantic artists.
The Castello del Gallo and the Gardens of Horace are not merely a place to visit, but a living and pulsating organism, an extraordinary laboratory where landscape, history, and community intertwine in a unique way. Here, nature is not just a backdrop, but a true protagonist, engaging in dialogue with the culture and spirituality of a territory rich in memories and charm. The complex regularly hosts concerts, educational activities for all ages, cultural events, and nature walks that allow visitors to discover this place in an immersive and participatory way.
Today, the Castello del Gallo and the Gardens of Horace open their doors to the public, offering the opportunity to live an authentic experience: to walk through history, in a landscape that is not only beautiful to behold, but to feel and live intensely, in the cool microclimate of the romantic forest. Visiting the Castello del Gallo and the Gardens of Horace means immersing oneself in a slower time, far from the frantic pace of daily life, to rediscover a deep connection with the memory of the territory.
Events Conferences and Concerts
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Guided tour with aperitif at Castello del Gallo
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Mandela and Ancient Origins Nestled in the lush greenery of the Mandela countryside, the Castle is a monument that spans the centuries, carrying with it a rich historical and cultural leg...
Church of Saint Vincent Ferrer
The Saint and His Exceptional Spiritual Legacy Named after Saint Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419) a Valencian Dominican famous for his austere life, his charismatic preaching and more than 80 recogn...
The English Landscape Park is much more than a simple garden: it is a bridge between past and present, where nature mixes with art and history. Walking among its oaks and historical remains, one c...
An experience to live
