Civita Castellana 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 Viterbo The province of Viterbo () is a Provinces of Italy, 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 Cit ...

, north of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. Mount Soracte lies about to the south-east.

History

Civita Castellana was settled during the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

by the Italic

Falisci The Falisci were an Italic peoples, Italic tribe who lived in what is now northern Lazio, on the Etruscan side of the Tiber River. They spoke an Italic languages, Italic language, Faliscan language, Faliscan, closely related to Latin. Origina ...

, who called it "

Falerii Falerii is a village in the municipality of Fabrica di Roma in the Province of Viterbo, Italy. Its name is better known for two nearby ancient cities, '' Falerii Veteres'' (old Falerii) and '' Falerii Novi'' (new Falerii). ''Falerii Veteres'' ...

". After the Faliscan defeat 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

, the Romans built a new city, about away, "

Falerii Novi Falerii Novi ( English: New Falerii) was an ancient Roman walled town in the Tiber River valley, about north of Rome and west of Civita Castellana. Its impressive gate and the whole perimeter of its city walls are still visible. History Ac ...

." The abandoned city was repopulated beginning in the early

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, with the new name of Civita Castellana 'City of the Castle' first mentioned in 994. In the following centuries the city was a flourishing independent commune, often disputed between the Pope and the Holy Roman Empire. Captured by

Pope Paschal II Pope Paschal II (; 1050 1055 – 21 January 1118), born Raniero Raineri di Bleda, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was creat ...

at the beginning of the 12th century, the city was given as a fief to the Savelli by

Gregory XIV Pope Gregory XIV (; ; 11 February 1535 – 16 October 1591), born Niccolò Sfondrato or Sfondrati, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 December 1590 to his death, in October 1591. Early career Niccolò S ...

Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV (or Xystus IV, ; born Francesco della Rovere; (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 until his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included ...

assigned the city to Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, the future

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI (, , ; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja; epithet: ''Valentinus'' ("The Valencian"); – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503. Born into t ...

, who started the construction of the Rocca ("Castle"), which was completed under

Julius II Pope Julius II (; ; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...

. Civita Castellana became an important road hub with the connection to 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 ...

(1606) and the construction of Ponte Clementino sometime after the

Battle of Civita Castellana A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

, a French Army victory against a Neapolitan Army here on December 5, 1798 while this community was still part of the 1798-1799 Roman Republic after the fall of the 754-1798 Papal States but before the return of the 1799-1809 Papal States.

Main sights

*'' Santa Maria di Pozzano'' (Santa Maria Maggiore): the cathedral of the town, it possesses a fine

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

, erected in 1210 by

Laurentius Romanus Laurentius is a Latin given name and surname that means "''From Laurentum''" (a city near Rome). It is possible that the place name ''Laurentum'' is derived from the Latin ''laurus'' ("laurel"). People with the name include: In Early Christianit ...

, his son Jacobus and his grandson Cosmas, in the

Cosmatesque Cosmatesque, or Cosmati, is a style of geometric decorative inlay stonework typical of the architecture of Medieval Italy, and especially of Rome and its surroundings. It was used most extensively for the decoration of church floors, but was also ...

style, with ancient columns and

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

decorations. The interior was modernized in the 18th century, but has some fragments of Cosmatesque ornamentation. The high altar is made out of a Paleo-Christian sarcophagus of the 3rd or 4th century. The ancient crypt and the old sacristy are also home to examples of central Italian medieval art. *''Santa Chiara'': church with Renaissance portal from 1529 *'' Santa Maria del Carmine'': church with small belltower from the 12th century, including ancient Roman

spolia ''Spolia'' (Latin for 'spoils'; : ''spolium'') are stones taken from an old structure and repurposed for new construction or decorative purposes. It is the result of an ancient and widespread practice (spoliation) whereby stone that has been quar ...

. *'' San Francesco - Church rebuilt in 18th century *''Rocca'' (citadel) was erected by

from the designs of

Antonio da Sangallo the Elder Antonio da Sangallo the Elder (c. 145327 December 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 woodw ...

, over pre-existing fortifications, and enlarged by Julius II and

Leo X Pope Leo X (; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political and banking Me ...

. *''Ponte Clementino'', the bridge by which the town is approached, dates to the 18th century. The town also contains the ruins of the Castle of Paterno, where, on 23 January 1002, Emperor

Otto III Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was the Holy Roman emperor and King of Italy from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was c ...

died at the age of 22. The National Museum of the Faliscan Countryside contains findings from the ancient Falerii and the surrounding areas.

People

Scalimoli Scalimoli was a Franciscan friar and Catholic theologian, better known by his religious name, Andrea di Castellana, from his place of origin in Apulia, southern Italy. Biography He entered the Order of the Conventual Franciscans in the Province ...

References

Sources

* Boscolo, Silvia, Luca Creti, Consuelo Mastelloni (1993) Il pavimento cosmatesco della Cattedrale di Civita Castellana. Biblioteca e società 23(1-2

* * *De Lucia Brolli, Maria Anna, and Jacopo Tabolli. 2013. "The Faliscans and the Etruscans." In ''The Etruscan World,'' edited by

Jean MacIntosh Turfa Jean MacIntosh Turfa (born 1947 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American archaeologist and authority on the Etruscan civilization. Jean MacIntosh graduated from Abington High School in Philadelphia and then earned her bachelor's degree at ...

, 259–80. Abingdon: Routledge. *Tabolli, Jacopo, and Jean MacIntosh Turfa. 2014. "Discovered Anew: A Faliscan Tomb-Group from Falerii-Celle in Philadelphia." ''Etruscan Studies'' 17(1): 28–62.

External links

* {{Authority control Falisci Archaeological sites in Lazio