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 , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

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) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , 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

* {{Authority control Viterbo