This town in upper Tuscia, near the Tuscan border, was a
fief owned by the Monaldeschi della Cervara, who kept the castle until 1561,
fostering work in the social and artistic field. The town subsequently came
into the hands of several aristocratic families, including the Pacelli
family (present until 1700). One of the family's more memorable figures was
Marcantonio Pacelli, founder of the Vatican newspaper Osservatore Romano and
Minister of the Interior during the papacy of Pius IX. His grandson Eugenio
later became pope Pacelli (Pius XII), who spent his childhood in Onano.
Another illustrious figure was Lina Cavalieri, "the
most beautiful woman in the world": her mother, Teonilla Peconi, was
from Onano. The little church of Madonna del Piano has a pleasant
surprise in store for visitors - a fresco by Pastura, who painted his
melancholic Virgin in 1500.
The frescoes by the Sienese school in the church of
the Grazie are also worth seeing.
