History

Anguillara Sabazia is a medieval town of about 14.000 inhabitants, standing at 185 m. on a headland jutting into the lake.
Anguillara takes its name from ‘Angularia’, an ancient Roman villa so called because it stood a right-angle bend in the shore of the lake. Its history was closely linked with that of the Anguillara family, who also owned property in Rome. They kept their estate here until 1488, when the last of them died. The castle was then bought by Gentil Virginio Orsini who already held Bracciano and Trevignano.
In 1693 ownership passed from the Orsini family because they were by now up their necks in debt and had to hand over Bracciano to the Odescalchis, and Trevignano and Anguillara to two members of the Grillo family.
Anguillara thus passed to Francesco Grillo de Mari, Duke of Mondragone. From the end of the 18th century little is heard of the town; but in the last fifty years or so Anguillara has become a popular tourist destination, especially for Romans and foreigners, and not just at weekends. Residential villas have sprung up along the lakeside and some houses in the old town have been bought as second homes.

The town is picturesquely situated overlooking the lake and has preserved its medieval centre. This is crossed in a straight line by the main thoroughfare leading up to the old Collegiate Church of  the
Assumption.
The entrance to the old centre is guarded by a 16th-century gate surmounted by a clock. Inside, to the left, a small square looks out over the lake and is graced by the ‘Fountain of the Eels’, by the famous sculptor Jacometti. On the right stands the 16th-century Palazzo Baronale, which is today the Town Hall; inside, notable frescoes have recently been restored. Behind the Town Hall stand the walls of the Medieval Tower which now houses the Museum of Peasant and Popular Culture. From here the stepped main street leads to the Church of the Assumption which contains a ‘Madonna and Child’, an ‘Assumption’ by Munziano and several 15th-century Angels. In the lower part of the town is the Church of San Biagio, the patron saint. Down by the lake in the little Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie is the statue of a Madonna which in 1796 is said to have miraculously moved its eyes. Not far from the centre are the 15th-century Church of San Francesco with its wealth of fine frescoes, and the little Church of the Trinity.
The so-called ‘Walls of Saint Stephen’ and ‘Walls of Saint Andrew’ are remains of Roman villas sited just outside Anguillara. A few years ago a Neolithic village, with two dug-out canoes, was discovered in the lake. Dating from 5500 BC, it is the oldest shoreside village discovered in Western Europe. Some of the finds are in the Pigorini Prehistorical Museum in Rome.