Located along the Via Francigena pilgrimage road to Rome, the village was originally settled by the Cistercian Order, who built an abbey and a monastic complex there in the 11th and 12th centuries, which now lie in ruins. The complex was abandoned in the 1500s and the land was given to Olimpia Maidalchini Pamphilj—better known as simply “Donna Olimpia”—by her brother-in-law Pope Innocent X. He also awarded her the title of “Princess of San Martino al Cimino.”

Donna Olimpia was a famous and powerful woman in Rome at the time, and was often the target of jeering comments and the satires of the “talking statues” of Rome (stone figures that served as a way for the public to voice criticism under Papal control). This derision was a reflection of the strong influence Donna Olimpia held over her brother-in-law, which earned her another nickname: the “Papessa,” roughly translating to “Lady Pope.”