The historic center of Gallese is located on a plateau bordered by two rivers. The human presence in the area dates back even to the Paleolithic, as documented by various archaeological finds near the Tiber.
With the Faliscan civilization, contemporary to the Etruscan one, it reached the height advantage of the connection to the Tiber River and to the ancient wood and metal roads.
Around the XI century A.C. the people who lived in the area decided to settle down on a tufa plateau, the place where today the old city center stands.
In the third century A.C. because of the Roman presence in the territory, the hill town was abandoned in favor of a settlement in the plains, and then the population went back again to the mountain. After the Roman Empire in fact, the citizens, because of the many barbarian invasions, moved in the ancient Byzantine village to build a new city defense. Thus it was born around the Rock of Gallese, the new village, which developed both inside and outside the town walls.
The Christian faith was very important for the community of Gallese, as proven by numerous churches and the fact that the town was the birthplace of two Popes: Marino I and Romano I.
Between the sixth and seventh century P.C. Gallese became a noble fiefdom in which several families, including the Spinelli, the Colonna, the Orsini, Borgia and Della Rovere alternated each other. In these centuries extensions and features to the castle and the walls were executed. In particular the main gate was built, today the only access to the city.
In addition to the works carried out over the castle, in the sixteenth century several palaces were built and in the eighteenth centurie a new cathedral was erected.
Finally, after the French occupation and the Roman Republic, also Gallese, like many other towns in Italy, was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy.