Cesi is a ''
frazione
A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') 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 consolidat ...
'' of the
Italian ''comune'' of
Terni
Terni ( ; ; ) is a city in the southern portion of the region of Umbria, in Central Italy. It is near the border with Lazio. The city is the capital of the province of Terni, located in the plain of the Nera (Tiber), River Nera. It is northeast ...
, 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 ...
, southern
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 ...
, Italy. The small borgo, which retains its late-medieval aspect, set among olive groves, lies "stretched out lengthwise along a narrow contour on the slopes of M. Torre Maggiore," about 18 km north of Terni at an altitude of 437 m, one of the southernmost peaks of the
Monti Martani. As of 2001 there were 682 residents.
History
Testaments to the likely
Umbri
The Umbri were an Italic peoples, Italic people of ancient Italy. A region called Umbria still exists and is now occupied by Italian speakers. It is somewhat smaller than the Regio VI Umbria, ancient Umbria.
Most ancient Umbrian cities were sett ...
an origin of the site of ''Clusiolum'' are remains of walling slightly below the present village. Above it, near the peak of the Torre Maggiore (1121 m.) are the remains of an
Italic religious complex dating to the sixth century BCE, brought to light by an excavation.
The name ''Cesi'' derives from
Late Latin
Late Latin is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the 3rd to 6th centuries CE, and continuing into the 7th century in ...
''caesa'', a place cleared of woodland.
In the Middle Ages Cesi was a fief of the Arnolfi, the chief seat of the ''Terre Arnolfe''. The family claimed descent from the
Lombard Arnulf, who established himself in the region. The noble family of Cesi, dukes of
Aquasparta, derive their name from this place. Of this family was
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 ...
, founder of 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 ...
'', Rome.
During 10–14 July 1849,
Garibaldi
Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...
encamped here, on his retreat from Rome after the fall of the
revived Roman Republic.
[(TCI) ''Umbria'', ''eo. loc.''.]
Places of interest
*At San Erasmo above the village there is an astronomical observatory.
* Church of S. Michele Arcangelo (1080), a
Romanesque church partly rebuilt in the thirteenth century with four pointed arches supporting its roof, now the site of the annual concerts of the ''Settembre musicale cesano''.
* Palazzo Contelori, former seat of the suppressed commune now joined to Terni; it was partly rebuilt in the seventeenth century.
*Church of S. Andrea (1160),
[(TCI) ''Umbria'' p. 347.] with fragments of carved funeral reliefs from Roman
Carsulae embedded in the façade; the entrance is through a door in the long side; there is a second, smaller, ''porta del morto'' through which coffins were carried not to bring ill-omen on the usual entrance. Palazzo Cesi faces the church.
* Parish church of S. Maria Assunta (sixteenth-seventeenth centuries); altarpiece of ''Madonna and Child with Saints'' (dated 1308) by the
anonymous Master of Cesi, and a detached fresco ''Madonna and Child'' by Tommaso Papacello da Cortona (1538).
* Palazzo Cittadini-Cesi (sixteenth century);
* Medieval city walls and watchtowers.
*Umbrian archways (sixth-fifth centuries BCE)
* The little Church (''Chiesetta'') of S. Erasmo, in Romanesque style; it was founded by the
Benedictines
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...
in the twelfth century.
* Palazzo Stocchi, from which there is access to the ''grotta Eolia''.
* Palazzo Eustachi.
* Church of Sant'Onofrio.
Notes
References
*Drawn in large part from Italian Wikipedia article, "Cesi".
External links
Bill Thayer's Gazetteer of Italy: Cesi (Umbria)
{{authority control
Frazioni of the Province of Terni
Terni
Former municipalities of Umbria