Three hundred and forty-three years have passed since that distant 1675, which marked a momentous turning point for Lanuvio on the road to its renewal. At that time, Rome was preparing for its fifteenth Jubilee, a celebration perceived at the time with an emphasis certainly unheard of in modern times. A profound renewal process was then set in motion, aimed at best preparing the Roman city for such an important event, both religiously and politically. And this wave of renewal reached the gates of Lanuvio, as well as other neighboring towns in the Castelli Romani. During that historical period, the town of Lanuvio belonged to Duke Filippo Cesarini, who can be credited with embellishing its squares and streets. He called upon the architects Carlo Fontana and Tommaso Mattei, who had acquired skill and good taste working on Roman construction sites alongside Bernini, one of the architects of Rome's artistic and cultural Renaissance.
Consequently, several construction projects were undertaken in Lanuvio, though not as impressive as those in nearby Genzano, where the Cesarini family had their family villa and were keen to assert their power. Even today, some of Lanuvio's beauty stems from these works. The aqueduct was reactivated and the marvelous Fontana degli Scogli was built. The Church of Santa Maria Maggiore was restored and modernized. Fountains appeared within the village, and ancient sarcophagi were converted into public fountains. All these works enriched the town, making it more modern and pleasant for the time, in keeping with the drive for renewal that was gaining ground in all the other towns of the Castelli Romani.
If we take a stroll through the village, squinting, we can imagine what Lanuvio must have looked like in 1675: a vibrant, active construction site, bustling with activity, with workers and designers bustling about. We might see laborers moving on the church's scaffolding, or workers securing the materials needed for the Fontana degli Scogli, or the delicate operations of transporting the basins into the village. When you contribute to the creation of something lasting and important, you leave a mark destined to endure over time, to be passed down through history. And that mark left by the people of Lanuvio in 1675 is still visible in all its beauty when we listen to the rush of the water from the Fontana degli Scogli or when we enter the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore on Sundays to attend Mass.
