The history of the Borgo

The Tenuta di Procoio Vecchio estate, of which the Borgo is part, is a farm owned by the Boncompagni Ludovisi family.

Part of the fiefdom of Riano, it was purchased by the Cesi family in 1571 and then resold in 1710 to Prince Francesco Maria Ruspoli, who, as soon as he acquired the fiefdom, set about building the church, commissioning the then famous architect Carlo Marchionni.

During the same period other work was done on all the farmhouses that already existed.

The feud of Riano was sold by the Ruspoli family in 1818 to Prince Don Luigi Boncompagni Ludovisi and The estate of Procoio Vecchio is still owned by the direct descendants of Prince Luigi Boncompagni Ludovisi.

The Borgo, begun in 1600, is the heart of the Procoio Vecchio estate consisting of several buildings and outbuildings and a patron's villa.

Past the gate on Via Tiberina, one enters the park that surrounds the Borgo enveloped in the greenery of its gardens with tall trees, lawns and fountains. Spaces that retain the same flavor of its ancient charm. Indeed, one has the feeling that nothing has changed since the architects of the Ruspoli Princes intervened to restore the buildings and erect the new 18th-century constructions. At the top of the hill, protected by a small pine forest, one can see remains of a square tower dating back to the 14th century.

The Church

The church was built in 1744 by Francesco Maria Ruspoli Prince of Cerveteri, who purchased the fiefdom of Riano from the Cesi family in 1710.

For the construction of the church Prince Ruspoli turned to the architect Carlo Marchionni (1702-1786), one of the most renowned architects in Rome at that time.

Marchionni, as early as 1756, became head of the Chamber administration in the St. Peter's factory, later succeeding Vanvitelli as head of the same factory.

He then designed the casino of Villa Albani, appointed prince of the Academy of St. Luke.

We show some of Marchionni's watercolor pencil and pen drawings, preserved in the Vatican library.

The church, formerly called "Procoio Church," was later dedicated to St. Francis.