Standng on the top of the huge fortress, looking over the rolling landscape, Nepi was a prized possession for Roman emperors, medieval popes and Renaissance dynasties. Defended on two sides by river channels and with a commanding position over rich agricultural land and abundant water springs, the town, less than an hour north of Rome, has been a witness and a contributor to history for over two millennia.

Much of that history has been marked by intrigue, violence and war. Most famously, Nepi was ruled by the 15th-century Spanish cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, who gave it to his daughter Lucrezia after he became Pope Alexander VI. Lucrezia stayed at the fortress (today known as the Borgia Castle) following the murder of her second husband in 1500.