Guidonia Montecelio

Guidonia Montecelio (Italian pronunciation: [ɡwiˈdɔːnja ˌmonteˈtʃɛːljo]), commonly known as Guidonia, is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Lazio, central Italy.

Guidonia Montecelio
Comune
Comune di Guidonia Montecelio
Panorama of Guidonia
Coat of arms
Guidonia within the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital
Location of Guidonia Montecelio
Guidonia Montecelio Location of Guidonia Montecelio in Italy Show map of Italy Guidonia Montecelio Guidonia Montecelio (Lazio) Show map of Lazio
Coordinates: 42°00′N 12°43′E
Country	Italy
Region	Lazio
Metropolitan city	Rome (RM)
Frazioni	Albuccione, Bivio di Guidonia, Colle Fiorito, Colleverde, La Botte, Marco Simone, Montecelio, Pichini, Setteville, Setteville Nord, Villalba, Villanova
Government
• Mayor	Mauro Lombardo
Area [1]
• Total	79.47 km2 (30.68 sq mi)
Elevation	105 m (344 ft)
Population  (31 August 2021)[2]
• Total	86,814
• Density	1,100/km2 (2,800/sq mi)
Demonym	Guidoniani
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	00010, 00011, 00012, 00014
Dialing code	0774
Patron saint	Maria Beata Vergine di Loreto
Saint day	10 December
Website	Official website

Geography

The municipality of Guidonia Montecelio, formed by the main towns of Guidonia and Montecelio, lies to the north-east of Rome, some kilometres from the Grande Raccordo Anulare - a ring-shaped motorway which forms a circle around the capital. The terrain of Guidonia Montecelio is mainly flat, and the community lies in between the Via Nomentana and the Via Tiburtina.

It borders with Fonte Nuova, Marcellina, Palombara Sabina, Rome, San Polo dei Cavalieri, Sant'Angelo Romano and Tivoli. The hamlets (frazioni) are Albuccione, Bivio di Guidonia, Colle Fiorito, Colleverde, La Botte, Marco Simone, Montecelio, Pichini, Setteville, Setteville Nord, Villalba and Villanova.

History

Montecelio was founded in 998 as a fortified castrum (Castrum Monticellorum).

In 1915 the Regio Esercito (Italian Royal Army) built a major military airport in the area for its Corpo Aeronautico Militare (Military Aviation Corps), the predecessor of the Italian Royal Air Force founded in 1923.

Guidonia was erected as a comune in 1937 by Benito Mussolini, its name chosen to honour the Regia Aeronautica general Alessandro Guidoni (1880–1928), who had died on 27 April 1928 while testing a new parachute at the air force facilities.

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1861 - —     1871 2,799 —     1881 3,208 +14.6% 1901 4,094 +27.6% 1911 4,440 +8.5% 1921 4,943 +11.3% 1931 5,696 +15.2% 1936 6,597 +15.8%	Year Pop. ±% 1951 12,811 +94.2% 1961 22,205 +73.3% 1971 32,399 +45.9% 1981 49,328 +52.3% 1991 55,544 +12.6% 2001 67,516 +21.6% 2011 81,447 +20.6% 2021 88,642 +8.8%
Source: ISTAT

Economy

Travertine quarries in Guidonia.

Today the town is part of the Rome metropolitan area, with a massive presence of industry (mainly travertine caves and cement industry) and the service sector. The number of residents commuting to Rome is high, with transport in a critical situation.

Guidonia is also home to Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, which was announced as the host of the 2022 Ryder Cup in June 2015, but with the COVID-19 pandemic postponing the 2020 Ryder Cup to 2021, subsequent matches were pushed back a year with Marco Simone then hosted the event in 2023.

Climate

Climate data for Guidonia (Guidonia Air Base), 1991–2020
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	13.2 (55.8)	14.3 (57.7)	17.3 (63.1)	20.5 (68.9)	25.0 (77.0)	29.8 (85.6)	33.1 (91.6)	33.5 (92.3)	28.1 (82.6)	23.3 (73.9)	17.9 (64.2)	14.0 (57.2)	22.5 (72.5)
Daily mean °C (°F)	7.8 (46.0)	8.5 (47.3)	11.2 (52.2)	14.1 (57.4)	18.4 (65.1)	22.7 (72.9)	25.5 (77.9)	26.0 (78.8)	21.5 (70.7)	17.3 (63.1)	12.6 (54.7)	8.8 (47.8)	16.2 (61.2)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	2.4 (36.3)	2.6 (36.7)	5.1 (41.2)	7.7 (45.9)	11.8 (53.2)	15.6 (60.1)	18.0 (64.4)	18.4 (65.1)	14.9 (58.8)	11.3 (52.3)	7.4 (45.3)	3.5 (38.3)	9.9 (49.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	64.1 (2.52)	107.3 (4.22)	70.6 (2.78)	83.7 (3.30)	82.8 (3.26)	53.1 (2.09)	39.2 (1.54)	33.2 (1.31)	119.6 (4.71)	129.2 (5.09)	127.4 (5.02)	94.6 (3.72)	1,004.9 (39.56)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm)	7.4	7.8	7.3	8.3	7.9	4.8	3.2	3.1	6.6	7.5	10.2	8.8	82.9
Average relative humidity (%)	73.7	70.2	69.0	69.3	68.0	65.6	63.3	63.9	67.6	71.9	75.4	74.6	69.4
Source: NOAA[3]

People

• David Di Michele - Football player

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Italy

Guidonia Montecelio is twinned with:

• Kawasaki, Japan
• Cape Canaveral, United States.
• Kashira, Russia