Il processo formativo del piccoli centri storici. Dalla villa al villaggio, dal monastero al castello, al palazzo. The formation process of small historical towns. From villa to village, from monastery to castle, to palace

In accordance with a consolidated methodology, by
analysing small historical towns and their landscape it is
possible to acknowledge the urban fabric’s formation phases
before considering their transformation project. The province
of Rome’s so-called «small» historical towns are an
important cultural resource and, together with their tangible
and intangible cultural heritage, form a unique social capital
which must be optimised, protected and above all
documented, before an uncontrolled urban development will
erase their historical memory for ever. The case of San Vito
Romano, analysed in accordance with the «close correlation
between ancient documents and the settlements’ physical
conformation», is characterised by separate phases that
can be interpreted with a certain clarity. The study presented
herein focuses on the area between Tivoli, Subiaco and
Palestrina: an area characterised by various ethnic ridges,
the Aequan, the Hernic and the Latial ridges. Specifically,
three small towns have been selected as case studies:
Bellegra, San Vito Romano and Pisoniano, considered as
an organic part of the same orographic ridge, the watershed
between the hydrographic basins of the Rivers Aniene and
Sacco which marked the boundary between various cultural
areas as from ancient times.