by Mary Jane Cryan
Vetralla, an hour north of Rome and the airports of Fiumicino and Ciampino, is a small town known for its olive oil, Etruscan sites and excellent climate . It is the only town in Italy (and perhaps the world) that can boast the historic protection of the English crown . Visitors from England will feel doubly at home when they arrive here and see the town banner fluttering from the city hall for it is emblazoned with the red St. George Cross on a white background.
Climbing up the city hall’s staircase they will note the large marble plaque dated 1512 sculpted with three majestic heraldic crests. Flanking the arms of Pope Julius II (under whose direction Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel) are those of Henry VIII and of his ambassador, Christopher Cardinal Bainbridge. These are indications of Vetralla’s official status and the protection of the English crown, a relationship which has continued irregardless of the Spitfire incursions the town endured during World War II. Bullet holes still mark the venerable old buildings and not far from town abandoned prison camp barracks where shot-down British airmen were held in 1944 can be glimpsed among the olive groves.
Hundreds of letters conserved in Windsor Castle’s archives make up part of the correspondence between the Stuart rulers and Vetralla’s town fathers during the 17th and 18th centuries. The last of the Stuarts in exile, Cardinal Henry , the Duke of York, visited the town in 1776 during one of his month-long holiday voyages to Tuscany and northern Lazio. His elegant marble portrait bust donated to the town in 1802 can be admired in the city council chamber where nostalgic Jacobites often leave bouquets of heather carried from the Scottish highlands.
The diaries of the Stuart Cardinal’s voyages form the basis for the recently published book “Travels to Tuscany and Northern Lazio†and contain descriptions of Lucca, Bologna, Florence, Orvieto, Pisa and other towns visited by the Cardinal and his entourage during the years 1763 to 1776.
Read more about Vetralla, its English connections and “Travels to Tuscany and Northern Lazio†on www.elegantetruria.com .
