Saint Benedict's first monastery, exempt from any bishop since 939, rules the upper Aniene valley like a small principality: the town of Subiaco under a viscount named by the abbot, and a ring of castles in the Simbruini hills held by the abbey's vassals.
It sits on the road from Tivoli into the Abruzzi, a day's ride from the frontier of the Kingdom of Sicily.
Who holds it
- Name
- Romano
- Title
- Abbot of Subiaco
- Since
- Before 5 April 1193; abbot until 29 August 1216 (it.wikipedia list of abbots)
- Confidence
- medium
Abbot Romano rules the abbey through the whole pontificate of Innocent III. In 1193, early in his rule, the townsmen of Subiaco won a limited self-government by paying an 'assisa', though the town stayed under the abbot (Enciclopedia Italiana).
What it holds
- Subiaco: lordship of the town through a viscount named by the abbot; townsmen with limited self-government since 1193 (Enciclopedia Italiana)
- Castles of the upper Aniene and the Simbruini hills: Jenne, Cervara, Camerata, Agosta, Marano, Canterano, Rocca Canterano, Gerano, Cerreto, Rocca Santo Stefano, Affile, Arcinazzo, Roiate [names from the abbey's later territory; each one's holding in 1200 not pinned]
- Vassals in two ranks: pedites (free artisans) and maiores (vassals owing military service to the abbot) (Enciclopedia Italiana)
- At its height the abbey's land ran from Vallepietra to Tivoli and from Carsoli to Olevano (Enciclopedia Italiana)
How it was acquired
Exempt from episcopal jurisdiction on 29 May 939 (it.wikipedia). The lordship was built in the 11th century, above all by Abbot Giovanni VII (1065-1117), when the abbey reached the peak of its power.
How things stand that morning
Held by the abbot under papal protection; the town has its own officers since 1193.
Wealth
Pasture and timber of the Simbruini hills; mills and fisheries on the Aniene; pilgrims to the Sacro Speco, Benedict's cave; the road from Tivoli to the Abruzzi.
Threats
- Slack discipline and debt (Innocent III will visit and reform the abbey in 1202)
- Pressure from Tivoli and the Roman barons
- Raids from the Kingdom's frontier during the regency war [thin]
Advocates and rivals
Tivoli and the Roman barons on the lower Aniene; the lords of the Abruzzi frontier; the abbey's own vassals; the pope as protector.
Places of note
- Sacro Speco: Benedict's cave monastery above Santa Scolastica
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The abbot and the shape of the lordship are documented; the castle list is the later abbatial territory and may be slightly too generous for 1200.
On the map: Drawn as the communes of the later abbatial territory, minus Trevi and Bellegra; the abbey's 1200 lordship was probably close to this but is not pinned castle by castle.
Primary sources for Papal State
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Annals of Montecassino; Annals of Ceccano (Fossanova) (12th and early 13th centuries; Ceccano to 1217). Two sets of annals from either side of the papal and Sicilian frontier. Read online
- Chronicle of Richard of San Germano, Richard of San Germano (first version about 1216, enlarged to 1243). The fullest southern narrative of the Hohenstaufen kingdom, written by a notary on the border of the Terra di Lavoro. Read online
- Chronicle of Alberic of Trois-Fontaines, Alberic of Trois-Fontaines (about 1227 to 1241, at the Cistercian abbey of Trois-Fontaines in Champagne). The widest net of any Latin chronicle for 1200, compiled from dozens of sources, many now lost. Read online
- Chronicle of Andres, William of Andres (about 1220 to 1234). The chronicle and cartulary of a small abbey between Guines and Ardres, near the border of Flanders and Boulogne. Read online
- Chronicle of Burchard of Ursberg, Burchard of Ursberg (about 1229 to 1230, reworked by Conrad of Lichtenau). Written a generation later by a fierce partisan of the Staufen and a critic of Innocent III. Read online
- Chronicle of Robert of Auxerre, Robert of Auxerre (Robert of Saint-Marien) (about 1190 to 1211; continued at Saint-Marien to 1227). A universal chronicle whose last twenty years are contemporary and well informed from Burgundy and the Auxerrois. Read online
- Chronicle of Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year. Read online
- Chronicle of Sicard, bishop of Cremona, Sicard of Cremona (about 1210 to 1213). A universal chronicle whose last part is a well-placed eyewitness account by a Lombard bishop who served emperors and popes. Read online
12 more in the sources library for Southern Italy and the Islands.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.