Colfiorito (; "Flowery Hill") is a village in

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, now a (borough) of the (municipality) of

Foligno Foligno (; Central Italian, Southern Umbrian: ''Fuligno'') is an ancient town of Italy in the province of Perugia in east central Umbria, on the Topino river where it leaves the Apennine Mountains, Apennines and enters the wide plain of the Clit ...

. Under its Roman name Plestia, it was the seat of a Roman Catholic bishopric which is currently a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

. It is known for a variety of

lentil The lentil (''Vicia lens'' or ''Lens culinaris'') is an annual plant, annual legume grown for its Lens (geometry), lens-shaped edible seeds or ''pulses'', also called ''lentils''. It is about tall, and the seeds grow in Legume, pods, usually w ...

s grown in its territory.

Geography

It is located on a plateau at 760 m over the sea level, on the road from municipal seat Foligno to

Macerata Macerata () is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy, the county seat of the province of Macerata in the Marche region. It has a population of about 41,564. History The historical city centre is on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza (ri ...

, which houses a total of c. 5,000 inhabitants (part of it is under the jurisdiction of Serravalle di Chienti,

Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...

). The village contains Umbria's smallest natural park.

History

In the plateau tombs from the 10th century BC and an

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 ...

village (9th century BC) have been found. In 178 BC existed here the Roman city of ''Plestia'', which had a forum, a temple and other edifices and shortly was a bishopric. The town was abandoned in the 10th century: the site is now marked by the church of ''Santa Maria in Plestia''. The area was repopulated by the ''

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 ...

'' of Foligno, who built here the castle (1269) from which originated the modern village. Colfiorito was heavily damaged by the

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

which rocked

and

regions on September 26, 1997.

Ecclesiastical History

In the 5th century, AD a Diocese of Plestia was established, which was suppressed in 560, its territory being reassigned to the Diocese of Camerino. In 950 it was restored as Diocese of Plestia, regaining its territory from the above bishopric of Camerino. In 1006 it was again suppressed, its territory now being divided between the then dioceses of

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; ) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is south of Trevi, north of Terni, southeast of Perugia; southeast of Florence; and north of Rome. H ...

and Nocera Umbra. No residential incumbents available.

Titular see

In 1966 it was nominally restored as a Latin

Titular bishopric A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

, which has had the following incumbents, all of the lowest (episcopal) rank ''except the archiepiscopal first one'': *'' Titular Archbishop Leo Christopher Byrne (1967.07.31 – 1974.10.21)'' * Bruno Foresti (1974.12.12 – 1976.04.02) (later Archbishop) * Bolesław Filipiak (1976.05.01 – 1976.05.24); previously Dean of

Sacred Roman Rota The Roman Rota, formally the Apostolic Tribunal of the Roman Rota (), and anciently the Apostolic Court of Audience, is the highest appellate tribunal of the Catholic Church, with respect to both Latin Church members and the Eastern Catholic m ...

(1967.06.26 – 1976.05.01), later created

Cardinal-Deacon A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

of S. Giovanni Bosco in Via Tuscolana (1976.05.24 – death 1978.10.14) * John Nicholas Wurm (1976.06.25 – 1981.09.19) * Anthony Michael Milone (1981.11.10 – 1987.12.14) * Thaddeus Joseph Jakubowski (1988.02.16 – 2013.07.14) * Francisco José Villas-Boas Senra de Faria Coelho (2014.04.17 – 2018.06.26),

Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

(Portugal) * Thomas Joseph Neylon (2021.07.06 – incumbent),

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Main sights

* Church of Santa Maria in Plestia (5th century - see description here). * Castle of Colfiorito. * ''Castelliere'' of Monte Orve. * Archaeological Museum of the

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 ...

Plestini

Notes and references

Sources and external links

GCatholic with titular incumbent bio links
{{authority control Frazioni of Foligno Hilltowns in Umbria Castles in Italy