Acquapendente is a city and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in the

province of Viterbo Viterbo ( it, provincia di Viterbo) is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. 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 ...

, in

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

(

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 ...

). Acquapendente is a centre for the agricultural production of

vegetables Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems ...

and

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented grapes. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different ...

, and has a tradition of

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...

craftsmanship.

History

The area of modern Acquapendente was settled by Etruscans in

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

times, as archaeological finds have shown. However, the first historical document of the modern city dates from the 9th century AD, with a town named ''Farisa'' or ''Arisa'' along the Via Francigena. A document from Emperor

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of He ...

, dated 964, contains the first recorded use of the name ''Acquapendentem'' which means "hanging water", from several small waterfalls in the Paglia river on the boundary between Lazio and

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

Acquapendente was the first stop in Italy in the travels of

Saint Roch Roch (lived c. 1348 – 15/16 August 1376/79 (traditionally c. 1295 – 16 August 1327, also called Rock in English, is a Catholic saint, a confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August and 9 September in Italy; he is especially invoked a ...

in the early 14th century; the saint supposedly spent several days in the hospital there curing

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

victims. The city was later part of the

March of Tuscany The March of Tuscany ( it, Marca di Tuscia; ) was a march of the Kingdom of Italy and the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages. Located in northwestern central Italy, it bordered the Papal States to the south, the Ligurian Sea to the we ...

and, from the end of the 14th century and beginning of the 15th, it was part of the commune (later Republic) of Siena. In 1449 it became an independent centre within 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 ...

. After the complete destruction of

Castro, Lazio Castro was an ancient city on the west side of Lake Bolsena in the present-day '' comune'' of Ischia di Castro, northern Lazio, Italy. It was destroyed at the conclusion of the Wars of Castro in the 17th century. Early history The settlement o ...

in 1649, Acquapendente, previously part of the diocese of

Orvieto Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are comp ...

, became the seat of a diocese that included what had been the diocese of Castro. The diocese of Acquapendente continued in existence until 27 March 1986, when its territory was added to that of

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history ...

. No longer a residential bishopric, Aquipendium, as it is called in Latin, is today listed by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

as a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

.''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), p. 823

Geography

Located in the north of the

, near the borders with

and

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

, the municipality of Acquapendente borders with

Allerona Allerona is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Terni in the Italian region Umbria, located about 50 km southwest of Perugia and about 60 km northwest of Terni. Wartime tragedy On 28 January 1944, during World War II, the Or ...

( TR),

Castel Giorgio Castel Giorgio is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Terni in the Italian region Umbria, located about southwest of Perugia and about 60 km northwest of Terni on the Alfine Highland, facing the Lake Bolsena. The municipality of Ca ...

(TR),

Castel Viscardo Castel Viscardo is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Terni in the Italian region Umbria, The town lies about 60 km southwest of Perugia and about 35 km northeast of Terni. Castel Viscardo borders the following municipal ...

(TR),

Grotte di Castro Grotte di Castro is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Viterbo in the Italian region Latium, located about northwest of Rome and about northwest of Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in ...

Onano Onano is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Viterbo in the Italian region Lazio, located about northwest of Rome and about northwest of Viterbo. Onano borders the following municipalities: Acquapendente, Gradoli, Grotte di Castr ...

, Proceno, San Lorenzo Nuovo,

San Casciano dei Bagni San Casciano dei Bagni is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Siena in the Italian region of Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence and about southeast of Siena. Geography San Casciano dei Bagni borders the following munic ...

( SI) and

Sorano Sorano is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Grosseto, southern Tuscany ( Italy). It as an ancient medieval hill town hanging from a tuff stone over the Lente River. History Sorano was probably inhabited by Villanovan culture, but the f ...

( GR).

Main sights

* Acquapendente Cathedral (1149) *The Watch Tower, remains of the Imperial Castle *The church of St. Augustine (16th century) *The church of St. Francis *The castle of the ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a '' comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate terri ...

'' Torre Alfina, whose central tower ( it, cassero) was built by the Lombard king

Desiderius Desiderius, also known as Daufer or Dauferius (born – died ), was king of the Lombards in northern Italy, ruling from 756 to 774. The Frankish king of renown, Charlemagne, married Desiderius's daughter and subsequently conquered his realm. Des ...

. The castle was captured by the Neapolitan ''condottiero'' Fabrizio Maramaldo during the 1527 Siege of Rome, but the defenders gallantly retained the Cassero. *The castle of the ''

'' Trevinano known from the 12th century. *The Monte Rufeno Natural Reserve, north of the city, at an elevation of . It has spectacular woods housing wildlife including, among others,

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species i ...

Eurasian eagle-owl The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Eurasia. It is also called the Uhu and it is occasionally abbreviated to just the eagle-owl in Europe. It is one of the largest species of owl, and femal ...

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked t ...

s and

beech marten The beech marten (''Martes foina''), also known as the stone marten, house marten or white breasted marten, is a species of marten native to much of Europe and Central Asia, though it has established a feral population in North America. It is li ...

s. *A

POW camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...

from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Personalities

Hieronymus Fabricius Girolamo Fabrici d'Acquapendente, also known as Girolamo Fabrizio or Hieronymus Fabricius (20 May 1533 – 21 May 1619), was a pioneering anatomist and surgeon known in medical science as "The Father of Embryology." Life and accomplishments ...

(1537–1619),

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...

and

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

References

External links

Sagra della Fregnaccia in Acquapendente at Discover SorianoOfficial website

Monte Rufeno Natural ReserveTuscia 360 about Acquapendente
with VR panoramas of Pugnaloni
Acquapendente pro loco association
{{Authority control Gothic sites in Lazio