Elegant and imposing, the Alviano Castle is located on a hill and dominates proudly the Tiber Valley from all sides. The manor, founded in 995, in the Middle Ages, was built as a military fortress. Then, in 1490, the illustrious leader and architect Bartolomeo d’Alviano renovated it in a way that peculiarities of a fortress and of a noble residence could coexist. The Castle has a trapezoidal plan, with four circular towers. Inside there is a beautiful Renaissance courtyard with a portico with a double order of round arches. Once, in the basement, there were stables and cold storage rooms, while today there are two interesting museums, the “Capitani di Ventura” and the “Peasant Civilization” museums. In the same spaces, there is the cistern of the castle, from which the water was ingeniously filtered and then taken from the well into the cloister for the needs of both the gentlemen who lived there and their animals. Inside, you can also admire a series of frescoed rooms and a splendid chapel dedicated to the miracles of Saint Francis who came here in 1212, and where the memorable “Miracle of the Swallows” took place. This is a fascinating and well-preserved place where you have the opportunity to enjoy both history and nature “. There are numerous legends about its inhabitants, especially those about Olimpia Maidalchini, known as the “Pimpaccia”, sister-in-law of Pope Innocent X.