Rubianum 997

The day it all began

June 28, 997, is a foundational date for Roviano: official chronicles record a document from Pope Gregory V in which the village castle, established as a new settlement and entrusted to the Abbey of Subiaco, is mentioned for the first time. Over a thousand years later, the community has chosen to turn that parchment into a festival: Rubianum 997, named after the village's Latin moniker, is the event that returns the historic center to its medieval roots every year at the end of June.

A young palio for a millennial village

Launched in 2025 by the Pro Loco of Roviano, the event is a deliberately new tradition: a journey of rediscovery of collective identity built together by associations, volunteers, and citizens. A working group has shaped a unique vision, with four districts each featuring its own colors and symbols, ready to compete for a banner that represents the unity and pride of all.

The four districts

• Torre — the castle, the ancient heart of the village: maroon and white, the same colors as the flag of Roviano.
• Bosco — the Boschetto of Roviano: the green of oak leaves and the orange of sunsets.
• Leveta — the highest district of the village: the blue of the sky and the yellow of blooming broom.
• Vagli — yellow like the morning sun and green like the Simbruini Mountains it overlooks.

The challenges and the Gonfalone delle Contrade

The format is that of a traditional palio: from Friday afternoon to Saturday evening, the districts face off in a mix of challenges and popular games to win the Gonfalone delle Contrade. The banner itself tells the story of the event's participatory spirit: it was created inspired by Chilean arpilleras, through a collective workshop hosted at the Museum of Peasant Civilization, located in the Brancaccio Castle. In the first edition in June 2025, the Torre district triumphed.

Roviano, the Aniene Valley, and Lazio

Roviano is a village of a few hundred inhabitants perched along the Via Tiburtina Valeria, in the Aniene Valley, at the eastern edge of the metropolitan city of Rome, in Lazio. The Municipality of Roviano holds a remarkable heritage for its size: the Brancaccio Castle, now municipal property and home to the Museum of Peasant Civilization of the Aniene Valley, dominates the village and tells its long history, from the possessions of the Abbey of Subiaco to the noble families who succeeded in the fiefdom. Rubianum 997 thus fits into the rich calendar of re-enactments and identity-focused festivals that animate the small towns of Lazio.

A community event

The event is organized by the Pro Loco of Roviano together with the Municipality of Roviano, the L'Aquila Reale ETS Collective, the Civic Volunteers of Culture, and the Rovi ETS: a network of local entities that makes participation the true heart of the festival. More than just a costume re-enactment, Rubianum 997 is a community ritual in the making, designed to grow edition after edition and become the village's defining annual appointment.