Acquasparta is a town and ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' in the

province of Terni The province of Terni () is the smaller of the two provinces in the Umbria region of Italy, comprising one-third of both the area and population of the region. Its capital is the city of Terni. The province came into being in 1927, when it was ca ...

(

Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...

, central

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

). It is located on a hill above the Naia Valley and the river of the same name, facing the Monti Martani mountain range. It is one of

I Borghi più belli d'Italia () is a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest, that was founded in March 2001 on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities, with the a ...

("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). It also sits between two hot springs, the Amerino and the Furapane.

History

The name's origin is traditionally connected to the Roman toponym of ''Aquas Partas'' ("divided waters" or "between the waters"), about which, however, no documentation exists. More probably, the name born from the presence of several different water sources in the area. During the ancient

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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

domination the area was a retreat – a spa whose mineralized hot water baths were easily accessible from Rome along the west branch of the

via Flaminia The Via Flaminia () was an ancient Roman roads, Roman road leading from Rome over the Apennine Mountains to ''Ariminum'' (Rimini) on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, and due to the ruggedness of the mountains was the major option the Romans had f ...

. Thermal baths remain open to the public today. The city was later part of the Terre Arnolfe, and was later subjected to

Todi Todi (; ''Tuder'' in antiquity) is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) of the province of Perugia (region of Umbria) in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant view ...

. Subsequently, in 1588, it became a fief of the Cesi family.

Monuments and sites of interest

Its historical center was once surrounded by medieval walls but, now mostly torn down, leaving only short stretches and a few cylindrical towers that at one time served as part of the town's defenses. Inside the old part of town, which is quiet and unprepossessing, the principal building of note is the Renaissance-style , started in 1564 and completed in 1579 by the architect Giovanni Domenico Bianchi. The Palazzo is owned by the

University of Perugia The University of Perugia ( Italian ''Università degli Studi di Perugia'') is a public university in Perugia, Italy. It was founded in 1308, as attested by the Bull issued by Pope Clement V certifying the birth of the Studium Generale. The offi ...

and is in very poor, but improving, condition. The main portal includes some fine ashlar work and its interior features impressive carved wooden ceilings. It also possesses a capacious and delightful courtyard. Next to the Palazzo is a loggia with some remnants of Roman foundations. The palace's original owner,

Federico Cesi Federico Angelo Cesi (; 26 February 1585 – 1 August 1630) was an Italian scientist, naturalist, and founder of the Accademia dei Lincei. On his father's death in 1630, he became briefly lord of Acquasparta. Biography Federico Cesi was ...

, sponsored here an early "scientific society" known as the

Accademia dei Lincei The (; literally the "Academy of the Lynx-Eyed"), anglicised as the Lincean Academy, is one of the oldest and most prestigious European scientific institutions, located at the Palazzo Corsini on the Via della Lungara in Rome, Italy. Founded in ...

, attracting such teachers as

Galileo Galilei Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...

. Today the palace hosts a small museum with a number of ancient artefacts, including Roman stone work from nearby Carsulae. The building is also used for meetings and traveling exhibitions. The surrounding countryside is charming in the Umbrian way, spotted with a few small castles such as the one at Configni. Also, along the

, going north, is the ruins of another Roman bridge, the Ponte Fonnaia.

Religious sites and monuments

* San Francesco: Romanesque church built in 1290, but with a

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High Middle Ages, High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved f ...

facade *Madonna of the Cross: church completed in 1606 * Madonna del Giglio *Santissimo Sacramento: church incorporating a Roman Mosaic in its floor, is a very good example of 17th-century architecture *

Santa Cecilia Santa Cecilia (English: Saint Cecilia) may refer to: Places Brazil * Santa Cecília, Santa, Catarina, a city * Santa Cecília (district of São Paulo), a district of the city of São Paulo and a neighbourhood within the district * Santa Cecília ...

, built in the 16th century, contains an elegant chapel in which lies the tomb of Federico Cesi. * San Giovanni de Butris: church a short way from Acquasparta, built on the remains of a Roman bridge, and incorporates very large Roman stone blocks.

References

External links

Official websiteBill Thayer's Gazetteer of Italy

{{authority control Cities and towns in Umbria Borghi più belli d'Italia