Fire

There is one night each year when Rome and Tuscia seem to hold their breath. The ancient stones of Viterbo and the solemn palaces of Piazza Navona appear to tremble, as if an invisible presence is passing through them. It is the night of the Pimpaccia, Donna Olimpia Maidalchini Pamphilj, the woman who defied popes, bent courts to her will, and etched her name into the great book of restless souls.

🌟 From the Streets of Viterbo to the Papal Palaces

It was the year 1592 when, among the narrow alleys of a stern and industrious Viterbo, Olimpia Maidalchini was born.

Daughter of a modest but ambitious family, she showed a sharp and brilliant mind from childhood—keen as the edge of a blade. She never accepted the role fate seemed to assign her: she wanted power, she wanted glory. And, like all determined souls, she found her way.

A first marriage—wealthy but brief. A second—more strategic than loving—bound her to the rising Roman family of the Pamphilj. When her brother-in-law, Giovanni Battista Pamphilj, became Pope Innocent X, it was Olimpia—not the pontiff—who truly ruled Rome.

👑 The Papess of Rome

In the opulent halls of Piazza Navona, among golden tapestries and flickering chandeliers, Olimpia directed the beating heart of Christendom.

Anyone seeking a favor, a position, a blessing, had to go through her. And the price was steep: favors, wealth, absolute loyalty.

It was said that every papal decree bore the invisible imprint of her will.

The people feared and despised her. They dubbed her “la Pimpaccia,” a popular distortion of her surname Maidalchini, evoking greed and audacity.

The pasquinades—those anonymous satirical verses posted on the walls of Rome—targeted her mercilessly. But she laughed at their jabs from behind brocade curtains.

In the heart of Tuscia, in San Martino al Cimino, Donna Olimpia brought her princely vision: she refounded the village, uplifted its people, built monuments. She was a sovereign in every sense—both admired and feared.

🕯️ The Fall and the Return

When Pope Innocent X died on January 7, 1655, the fortune of the Pimpaccia vanished like mist in the sun. Exiled from Rome, she sought refuge in her Viterbo estates, where—by a cruel twist of fate—the plague claimed her life.

But not her spirit.

Legend has it that on the anniversary of the pope’s death, Donna Olimpia returns:

🕯️ Aboard a flaming black carriage drawn by ghostly horses, the Pimpaccia races through Piazza Navona, skims past the Janiculum Hill, and crosses Villa Pamphilj.

The roar of wheels, the wild neighing of horses, the crackling fire all seem to pierce the veil of night.

And then, suddenly, all vanishes: the carriage plunges into a fiery chasm, leaving only cold and terror in its wake.

Even in San Martino al Cimino, the elders say you can sometimes hear eerie creaks in the ancient halls, whispers along the walls, fleeting shadows on the stairs: the passing of the eternal sovereign who never wished to abandon her domain.

⚡ Between History and Legend

Who was Donna Olimpia, truly?

A ruthless, greedy, power-hungry woman?

Or an extraordinary figure, capable of rewriting her destiny in an era that offered women only silence and obedience?

As with all great tales, the truth lies suspended between history and myth.

What is certain is that the name Pimpaccia still echoes among the stones of Rome and Tuscia, like a taut string that no one has managed to cut.

And on those nights when the wind whispers loudly and the moon is veiled in mist, if you close your eyes and listen closely, you might hear the gallop of her carriage…

…and perhaps, a thin, cruel, invincible laugh echoing through the deserted alleys.

👑 In Short:

• Donna Olimpia Pamphilj: The woman who ruled Rome and Tuscia with intelligence and ambition.

• The Pimpaccia: Queen of papal favors and target of Rome’s biting satire.

• The Ghost: Every January 7th, the legend awakens in flames, ghostly carriages, and spectral apparitions.