Bassano Romano, Italian comune
Bassano Romano is a hilltop commune in the Province of Viterbo, in the Lazio region, sitting above open farmland and wooded slopes. The center is made up of narrow lanes, old stone houses, and a large palace complex that takes up a considerable part of the upper town.
The settlement dates to the medieval period, when it was built as a fortified village on the hill, and it later passed into the hands of the Giustiniani family. They turned the original castle into a noble residence, a change that gave the town its current layout and most of its surviving buildings.
The Palazzo Giustiniani stands at the center of town and is the first thing visitors notice when they walk in from the main entrance. The church next to it follows the same pattern, with the two buildings together showing how one family shaped nearly everything visible in this place.
The town sits north of Rome and is most easily reached by car, as the roads into the center are straightforward. Visitors exploring the old center on foot should wear sturdy shoes, since many of the lanes are steep and paved with uneven stone.
The Christ statue inside the town church was started by Michelangelo but abandoned after he found a dark vein running through the marble near the face. Bernini later completed the work, making this one of the few sculptures in the world that carries the hands of both artists.
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