The Colonna's stronghold, built in terraces into the ruins of the great sanctuary of Fortuna on the slope of Monte Ginestro, looking over the Via Prenestina and the Sacco valley road.
Who holds it
- Name
- The Colonna
- Title
- Lords of Palestrina
- Since
- Restored to Pietro de Columna by Honorius II (1124-1130)
- Confidence
- medium
it.wikipedia (Colonna): Palestrina became the centre of the family's power after Honorius II restored it to Pietro. A suburbicarian see (its cardinal-bishop is a Church map record; none is listed among the four cardinal-bishops in GM Part 4).
Lord in 1200
The Colonna.
Overlord
The Colonna, under the pope.
Allies and rivals
See Colonna.
How things stand that morning
Colonna.
Wealth
Farms, road.
Military
A strong place.
Council
The lords' court.
Militia
The Colonna's men.
Walls and castle
Town on the terraces of the ancient sanctuary; the Colonna castle above at Castel San Pietro.
Trade and crafts
Farming; the Prenestina road.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Colonna lordship well established by 1200.
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.