Gualdo Tadino (Latin: ''Tadinum'') is an ancient town 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 ...

, in the

province of Perugia The Province of Perugia ( it, Provincia di Perugia) is the larger of the two provinces in the Umbria region of Italy, comprising two-thirds of both the area and population of the region. Its capital is the city of Perugia. The province covered al ...

in northeastern

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

, on the lower flanks of Monte Penna, a mountain of the Apennines. It is NE of

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and pa ...

History

Gualdo has a long history and was originally an

Umbrian Umbrian is an extinct Italic language formerly spoken by the Umbri in the ancient Italian region of Umbria. Within the Italic languages it is closely related to the Oscan group and is therefore associated with it in the group of Osco-Umbrian ...

village known as Tarsina. Conquered by the

Romans 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 lette ...

in 266 BC and re-christened Tadinum, it was a station on the Via Flaminia. In 217 BC it was destroyed by Hannibal's troops. A similar defeat was inflicted on it in 47 BC by

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

and in 410 AD by Alaric's

Visigoths The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...

. In 552, the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

general

Narses , image=Narses.jpg , image_size=250 , caption=Man traditionally identified as Narses, from the mosaic depicting Justinian and his entourage in the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna , birth_date=478 or 480 , death_date=566 or 573 (aged 86/95) , allegi ...

briefly restored Italy to the empire by defeating the Ostrogoth king Baduila in what is now known as the

Battle of Taginae At the Battle of Taginae (also known as the Battle of Busta Gallorum) in June/July 552, the forces of the Byzantine Empire under Narses broke the power of the Ostrogoths in Italy, and paved the way for the temporary Byzantine reconquest of the It ...

, the exact site of which is not known, but thought by most scholars to be a few kilometers from the town, in the plain to the west at a place called Taino. This suspicion may have received confirmation in 2004. The ancient city survived that war, only to be destroyed in a later war at the instigation of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto III in 966. It was later rebuilt, only to be destroyed a second time by fire in 1237. Finally, the Emperor Frederick II ordered the city rebuilt for a third time in 1239, and it is this incarnation which survives today. Gualdo Tadino sister cities are: West Pittston, PA (USA) and

Audun-le-Tiche Audun-le-Tiche (; ; ) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Location and rail links Audun-le-Tiche is located adjacent to Esch-sur-Alzette, on the border with Luxembourg, and close to the borders of German ...

, France

Main sights

Rocca Flea The Rocca Flea ( it, Flea Castle) is a fortification, fortified palace in Gualdo Tadino, Umbria, central Italy. It is located in the upper part of the hill on which the town lies. History Although it has been speculated that its construction cou ...

, a 12th-century castle which is now the main monument of the town. * San Francesco (13th century), housing frescoes by Matteo da Gualdo. *Church of ''Santa Chiara'' (13th century). *''Palazzo del Podestà''. *''Torre Civica'' (Town Tower). * Gualdo Tadino Cathedral (Church of St. Benedict), with an external fountain attributed to

Antonio da Sangallo the Elder Antonio da Sangallo the Elder (c. 1453December 27, 1534) was an Italian Renaissance architect who specialized in the design of fortifications. Biography Antonio da Sangallo was born in Florence. Sangallo's father Francesco Giamberti was a wood ...

(16th century). *Civic Gallery, with works by Matteo da Gualdo and others.

Economy

The city was famous in the Middle Ages for the manufacture of

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

ware; in the late 20th century, the ceramic industry was revived, and Gualdo is now an important center for the manufacture of industrial ceramics and bathroom fittings.

Transportation

Gualdo Tadino has a railway station on the line from

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. The journey time to Ancona is typically one hour and 45 minutes, and to Rome two hours.

''Frazioni''

Boschetto, Busche, Caprara, Cerqueto, Corcia, Crocicchio, Gaifana, Grello, Palazzo Mancinelli, Petroia, Piagge
Pieve di Compresseto
Poggio Sant'Ercolano, Rasina, Rigali, Roveto, San Lorenzo, San Pellegrino, Vaccara

References

External links

Official website

{{Authority control Hilltowns in Umbria Roman sites of Umbria