Castello Theodoli
This castle was called this way because of the many elder trees flourishing there (sambuco=elder). Sambuci owes its origin, like many other small viliages in the area of the Anio valley, to the affirmation of the order of Subiaco's Benedictine monks. The lasting control of the monks saw the transformation of the site into castrum about two hundred years later and only in the XII century Sambuci was handed over to the De Antiochias who managed the fortress building.
From 1541 onwards the fiefdom went under the domination of different noble families until when in 1654 Cardinal Camillo Astalli, secretary of Pope Innocenzo X, fallen into disfavour, moved there definitely. The event was of particular interest for the history of Sambuci and its castle since, for reasons of prestige and to welcome there Roman ambassadors and noblemen, the cardinal turned the village into a piace of representation and added to the castle a loggia with counterforts open to the park in order to give the manor the aspect of a noble residence. During the XVIII century they also added a garden, widened in the following century and consisting of two parts, the Italian one with terraces and flowerbeds forming the coat of arms of the Astalli and Theodoli families and the English one romantic characterised by the spontaneous growth of the green. However the castle was sacked by the French during the occupation of the end of the XVIII century but in 1878 the Theodolis became its owners.
During the second world war it was transformed by the Germans into a headquarters and underwent serious damage. In 1991 it went under the control of the local authorities which restored it in order to make it fit for the public.
Modified over the centuries, the castle, however, keeps the old Medieval forms intact as we can see from the typical plan with angular towers and from the presence, outside the fortress, of stables and houses for the fiefdom workers. The interior setting of the environments according to the original manner is furthermore very interesting: kitchens on the basement, rooms for the daily work on the ground floor, private rooms of owners and representation rooms above the noble floor, rooms for guests on the second floor and badrooms on the third.
Many of these environments are completely decorated with interesting cycles of frescoes based on religious, mythological, landscape and literary themes made by painter Giovan Angelo Canini, pupil of Domenichino, in the half of the XVII century: the Room with Perspectives with a gallery which opens on false landscapes; the Bathroom with the scene of Moses and the miracle of water; the Room of Cyclopes and the Room of Freed Jerusalem based on Torquato Tasso's poem. Furthermore, to make the environments more precious, there are the beams and ceilings covered with pure gold given by the sovereigns of Spain to Giovanni Theodoli in 1510 after the first expedition to America and in particular the wood ceiling with the scene of the Cart of the Sun by the XVII painter specialising in Flemish-style still nature, Mario de'Fiori.

Other things to see
The Park adjacent to the castle, built at the end of the XVII century, stretches along 55,000 square metres and consists of two distinct areas: an Italian style garden with the characteristic geometric flowerbeds encompassing the coat of arms of the Astallis and Theodolis and an English style area fashionable at that time.
The Italian style garden stretches castwards where upwards is the open gallery. By climbing two elliptic staircases we arrive at a fountain called "la bocca storta" (crooked mouth). At the junction of two alleys delimited by high hedges of bay where once there was the riding school, we can see a big tub with fake grottoes and a small waterfall. From the entrance gate situated at Piazza della Corte we get through an alley to a wider part where the Four Seasons represented with small stone statues are placed.
The second area of the park is on the right side of the castle where there's a lot of green thanks to the park and with at its centre two old cedars and delimited by trees such as firs, pines, oaks, holm oaks.

The borgo of Sambuci
Through one of the two doors we enter the borgo: it is the enlargement of the town made between the XVII and XVIII century by the Astalli family. In fact the Borgo consists of Via Girolamo Theodoli where it is possible to see the buildings dating back to different times and redone in order to gíve them their original architecture. The street goes into Piazza Roma which on the opposite side is delimited by two cylindrical turrets. By walking along them we arrive at the Corte Coperta (Covered Court) where there are some buildings annexed to the castle. This is the strect which leads to the oldest part of the settlement. The access is through a magnificent XVIII portal situated near the cylindrical tower on the left side.

The convent and the church of santa Maria delle Grazie
The former Franciscan convent with the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie is the fìrst
testimony of a certain historical and artistic value which arrived in the town. The convent, initially belonging to the Augustinian Hermits and later to the Franciscans, even if of Medieval origins, was remade in 600 by the Astallis and for a few years it has been restructured by the local authorities. It has a rectangular plan on two floors, it winds around a simple cloister with arcades on cross-vaulted pillars. On the cloister ceiling is a sequence of lunettes frescoed with Franciscan storics whose precise dating is still to be checked. The
story starts on the southern side with the scene of the birth of the Saint and continues anti-clockwise.
At the centre of the cloister a pebble floor garden hosts a fountain with a polygonal tub and the higher floor of the convent was for the friars' cells, the lower floor rooms were for the toilets.
The church of Santa Maria delle Grazie is practically the convent church: called also della Santissima Vergine della Natività it is situated outside the borgo. It is certainly one of the churches in Sambuci which is worth admiring: built between the XVII and XVIII century while the Astallis were the owners of the town.
The materials used are quite modest. However the building has a certain elegance. The original wood portal and the fire brick flooring of the inside which has an only nave where verticality prevails over horizontality are noteworthy. The scenes painted in false marble and surmounted by a perimetric frame are highlighted on the walls. Two small chapels with altars in stucco and plaster painted in Baroque style open laterally while two steps raise the central altar (in brickwork below) which appears delimited by a wood fence from the XVIII century created by Franciscan friars. The coats of arms of the Astallis are well shown in the lower part of the Baroque wood elevation. The fake marble coverings are noteworthy. A bust of Madonna is kept closed in a case.

The Spring
By going up Via Alberto Theodoli, passing by the town council buildings and the monument to the fallen we arrive at the spring, restored not so long ago which dates back to the XVII century: the double function of a piece of furniture and of a place of provisions can be seen in the tripartite architectural structure. At the centre the elegant body with two circular tubs linked by the naturalistic motif of the fake rock with moss and wild ferns and on the sides two simple rectangular tubs with tube for drinking, in the past also animals' drinking trough.
The drinking water of the spring is the one of the Vigne wanted by Cardinal Camillo Astalli. The spring deserves to be admired by putting oneself beyond the part leading to the XVII century borgo. This way it is possible to appreciate the picturesque effect researched by its architect who imagined it framed by the arch with green hills as the backdrop.

Chiesa della Santa Croce
Along Via Girolamo Theodoli on the right side we find the church Chiesa della Santa Croce. The dedication inscription informs us that it was built in 1662. The coat of anns of Cardinal Astalli is in line with the travertine portal and with the big window. The beauty of the tympanum and pilaster strips is noteworthy.

Chiesa di S. Pietro
It is the parochial church founded by the Benedectines. The XVII century façade presents the coat of arms of the Astallis. It has an only nave and a rectangular apse decorated with false coffers and barrel vaulted. Also in this church like in others there are false marbles. Under the higher altar of the Sixties which appears surmounted by a big spade, where the Saviour who is about to give the keys to Saint Peter is represented, are the relics of San Celso, patron of Sambuci.
The XVIII century organ situated on the entrance wall is very beautiful as well as the scene of the Glory of St.Peter the Apostle with allegories of the four Virtues situated in the central area of the ceiling.

The Park of Monti Ruffi
From an etymological point of view Ruffi derives from the Roman surname Rufus: this gens was very present in the Valley of the torrent Fiumicino or Giovenzano (in the Middle Ages all the area was called Massa Giovenzano). The elements of the landscape characterising it are a marked process of erosion of karstic type due to the presence of massive limestone rocks which gives rise to minicavity, acquariums called this way because rainwater is accumulated there: very useful to shepherds who once practised the transhumance because they were useful for the water supply.
We owe always to the karst phenomenon the formation of red lands, insoluble impurities present in the limestone which is concentrated at the bottom of the dolines, thus creating temporary water gatherings.
Another characteristic of the Monti Ruffi are the numerous springs of limestone rocks and the penetration of the rainwater explains the presence of springs situated very high, with a very limited reach. On top of the highlands are other medium and high capability springs.
Among the multiple activitics connected to the mountain, particular importance has to be given to the Integrated Project promoted by the Councillorship for Agriculture and Environment of Provincia di Roma for the development of environmental tourism of the Media Valle of the Anio, through the recuperation of the ancient minor roads.
The initiative involves geographically the entire Subapennine chain of Monti Ruffi which has always been considered very important from a naturalistic and historical point of view and interested from an administrative point of víew by ten Town Councils: Agosta, Anticoli Corrado, Canterano, Cerreto Laziale, Gerano, Marano Equo, Rocca Canterano, Sambuci, Saracinesco and Subiaco where popular traditions and original cultural events are handed down.

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