Riofreddo and the Museum of Cultures

Riofreddo, at 705 meters above sea level, with approximately 780 inhabitatnts , is a small town but is very alive and appreciated by inhabitants , who keep it with great care and enthusiasm for tradition.
The origins of the town are very old: already in the 4th century B.C. the town was Romanized.
The town, thanks to easy accessibility to the Tiburtina Valeria, was very frequented by merchants long ago, a place of notable trade activity, which intensified during the transhumance, even with fairs and weekly markets; it had a Hospital, to which the sick came from all over the surrounding territory, the SS Annunziato, which today is City Hall and a "dogana di finanza" (customs point).
Since the 16th and 17th centuries some well-known families of the Papal State have come to the town for business. Since the end of the 1800's, the railway has made Riofreddo a vacation spot in the summer for a small group of upper class that have fun dancing, playing games, and going on hunting trips.
Since 1888, the family of Ricciotti Garibaldi, son of Giuseppe and Anita, came to the town on holiday, making it another attraction.
Still, Ricciotti Garibaldi was not exactly a valid businessman and at a certain point he had to declare bankruptcy. The law at that time said that in case of bankruptcy you had to give up the smallest of your real estate properties, which in the case of Ricciotti was a plot of land in Riofreddo with a small house, where he had moved to live with his family.
He then purchased another plot of land where he began to construct a large house, the actual Villa , which he managed to complete with the collective help of the town's citizens , who had a strong affection for the family, his wife Costanza, and the children. It seems that the initial design was even more ambitious and planned to have four towers.
The family lived at the villa (Ricciotti Costanza until her death with the two daughters and after only the two daughters, Rosa and Italia) until 1962, when Italia died. The building had a long period of decline, until restoration began , which in 2001 led to the opening of the Museum of Cultures of Villa Garibaldi.
Undoubtedly, it is the major attraction of the town.
Recently built, it is laid out with great care and elegance, according to the museum's criteria and is very efficient on a communication level.

Museum hours: Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday
winter: 10.30/13.30 – 15.00/18.00
summer: 10.30/13.30 – 16.00/19.00
tel. 0774 929186 – 0774 929116