Past Italia: Il Castello di Santa Severa

The medieval castle of Santa Severa faces out to sea on the Lazio coast, just 40 minutes north of Rome

Castello di Santa Severa, Lazio italy

The Castle of Saint Severa is named after a young girl whose entire family was martyred. Her father was a Roman military commander who converted to Christianity and was put to death for refusing to renounce his faith. But it didn’t end there: his wife and children, among them Severa, were also killed. There has been a fort here of some kind or other since that time, but the site is older than that. This was once the Etruscan port of Pyrgi. Recent renovation efforts have helped develop the castle as a tourist destination.

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