Viterbo ( it, provincia di Viterbo) is a
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...
in the
Lazio
it, Laziale
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region of
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. Its capital is the city of
Viterbo.
Geography
Viterbo is the most northerly of the provinces of Lazio. It is bordered to the south by the
Metropolitan City of Rome Capital and to the south-east by the
Province of Rieti. It is also bordered by the
regions of
Tuscany
it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman)
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, demogra ...
(
Province of Grosseto) to the north and by
Umbria (
Province of Terni) to the east. The
Tyrrhenian Sea is located to the west.
As of 2017, the province has a total population of 318,163 inhabitants over an area of , giving it a population density of 89.05 inhabitants per square kilometre. The provincial president is Marcello Meroi and the province contains 60 ''
comuni''.
History
The area of the province of Viterbo contained a number of Etruscan cities including Tuscania, Vetralla, Tarquinia, and Viterbo.
Viterbo was conquered by the Roman Republic in 310 BCE; despite this, minimal information is known of Viterbo until it was utilised in 773 CE by King of the Lombard Kingdom
Desiderius as a base against the Holy Roman Empire.
Matilda of Tuscany gifted the city to the papacy in the 11th century.
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor was based in Viterbo as he planned to invade Rome in 1153, and Frederick I conquered the city in 1160 while preparing to attack Rome.
After a period as a free commune, in the early 13th century Viterbo became part of the
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...
.
The
Knights of Saint John
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headqu ...
were
expelled from Rhodes in the 16th century and were temporarily granted refuge in Viterbo before they could travel to Malta.
Pope Paul III described himself as a citizen of Viterbo and formed a university in the city. It joined the Kingdom of Italy on 12 September 1870 and during World War II, Viterbo was heavily bombed.
Gallery
Image:Viterbo Papi.jpg, Viterbo, the Palace of the Popes.
Image:Vista di Civita Castellana.jpg, Panorama of the walls of Civita Castellana
Civita Castellana is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Viterbo, north of Rome.
Mount Soracte lies about to the south-east.
History
Civita Castellana was settled during the Iron Age by the Italic people of the Falisci, who called it " ...
.
Image:Tarquinia Tomb of the Leopards.jpg, Tarquinia, wall painting in the Tomb of the Leopards
The Tomb of the Leopards (Italian: ''Tomba dei Leopardi'') is an Etruscan burial chamber so called for the confronted leopards painted above a banquet scene. The tomb is located within the Necropolis of Monterozzi, near Tarquinia, Lazio, Ital ...
Image:Vetralla 001.JPG, Vetralla
Vetralla is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Viterbo, in central Italy, south of that city, located on a shoulder of Monte Fogliano.
History
Vetralla's dominating fortified position in the heart of Etruscan territories has been cont ...
.
Image:Tuscania 01.JPG, Tuscania
Tuscania is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Viterbo, Lazio Region, Italy. Until the late 19th century the town was known as Toscanella.
History
Antiquity
According to the legend, Tuscania was founded by Aeneas' son, Ascanius, wh ...
.
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Viterbo