Monterano stands on a tuffaceous rise whose sides slope for about 100 metres over two underlying gorges formed by the Mignone River, to the north, and the Bicione Torrent, to the south and east.
Situated west of Lake Bracciano and about 2 km from the town of Canale Monterano, the village straddles the Tolfa and Sabatini Mountains in the heart of the Monterano Nature Reserve.
Like all Etruscan centres, Monterano was also subjugated to the Romans from the 2nd century BC.
They extended the road network and built several works, including the aqueduct.
From the 4th century A.D., when the Roman Empire was progressively falling under the pressure of the barbarian invasions, the Monterano territory also suffered the same fate.
The Lombard domination did nothing but impoverish the population further. This was the case, at least until the Christian bishop and the remaining inhabitants of the nearby Forum Clodii, decided in the early 16th century to abandon their lands and move to Monterano in a more defensible position.