Borgo Castello Panicaglia is a location with an extraordinary history. It is a medieval hamlet built around a castle and a church. In our case the castle dates back to the XIII century.
Castello Panicaglia is strategically located on a hilltop, overlooking the valley, the Via Flaminia and the road to Assisi. For centuries it was owned by the noble Mancini family. When Pope Pius IX was forced to flee from Rome with his entourage, the Mancinis sheltered one of his cardinals within the safe walls of the castle. They also helped him escape after his hiding place had been discovered by a spy. This act led to the arrest of all male members of the Mancini family by Garibaldi’s republican forces. They were imprisoned in the fortress of Spoleto, awaiting execution.
The women of the family then went to Anita Garibaldi to plead for mercy. Deeply moved by their story, she granted clemency and the men were released. In gratitude for the risks the Mancinis had taken, the Pope bestowed upon them the title “Cavalieri dello Stato Pontificio” (Knights of the Papal State). This honor was proudly added to the family’s coat of arms, which can still be seen on the southwestern façade of the castle today.
The history of Castello Panicaglia, however, reaches much further back than the time of the Mancinis. The area around Nocera Umbra has been inhabited since prehistory: archaeologists have uncovered tools dating back more than 500,000 years. Later, the Umbrian tribes settled here, followed by the Romans, who constructed the famous Via Flaminia. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Lombards took control of the region, leaving behind rich archaeological finds in their burial grounds.
The castle itself was built in 1266, commissioned by the Papal State as a defensive stronghold along the Via Flaminia. With its thick walls, narrow windows, and robust stone construction, it offered both protection and oversight of the trade and pilgrimage routes leading toward Assisi. Around the fortress a small hamlet — the borgo — gradually developed, with farmhouses and its own chapel. This chapel, still part of the complex, is used every year on May 18th for a procession and a solemn blessing of the surrounding land. This tradition, dating back to the 16th century, continues to bind Castello Panicaglia to the religious heart of the region.
In addition to the knightly title, a papal bull granted the Mancinis another rare privilege: for three generations, any son of the family who joined the Church was entitled to call himself cardinal. The last of them was Giovanni Battista Mancini, father of Daniele Mancini, a renowned architect in the area.
After his passing in 2002, his wife, Ing. Sabrina Guerra, undertook the careful restoration of the borgo, following the severe damage caused by the earthquake of 1997. The ancient oven, once used to bake bread for the Mancinis’ tenants and farmers, was faithfully rebuilt. Today, the restored stone walls, wooden beams, and chapel still bear witness to the centuries of history that live on here — from Umbrian tribes and Roman soldiers to papal knights and modern-day restorers.
