Scheggino is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces ('' province''). The can ...

'' (municipality) in the

Province of Perugia The Province of Perugia ( it, Provincia di Perugia) is the larger of the two provinces in the Umbria region of Italy, comprising two-thirds of both the area and population of the region. Its capital is the city of Perugia. The province covered al ...

in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

region

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

, located about 60 km southeast of

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and par ...

. As of January 2020, it had a population of 464 and an area of 35.2 km².All demographics and other statistics: Italian statistical institute

Istat The Italian National Institute of Statistics ( it, Istituto nazionale di statistica; Istat) is the main producer of official statistics in Italy. Its activities include the census of population, economic censuses and a number of social, economic ...

. Scheggino borders the following municipalities:

Ferentillo Ferentillo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Terni in the Italian region Umbria, located about 60 km southeast of Perugia and about 12 km northeast of Terni. The ''comune'', located in the valley of the Nera, is divided ...

Monteleone di Spoleto Monteleone di Spoleto (in Antiquity, the Roman town of ''Brufa''), is a town and ''comune'' of Italy, in the province of Perugia in southeast Umbria at 978 meters (3209 ft) above sea-level overhanging the upper valley of the Corno River. ...

, Sant'Anatolia di Narco,

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; la, Spoletum) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome. History Sp ...

Physical geography

The small village of Scheggino is located in the heart of the Valnerina, in the south-eastern part of Umbria. The territory is entirely mountainous and is crossed by the river Nera. From the sloping castle set at the top of a rock, Scheggino develops downstream to the village that runs alongside the river, merging into a single complex. The area is at high

seismic risk Seismic risk refers to the risk of damage from earthquake to a building, system, or other entity. Seismic risk has been defined, for most management purposes, as the potential economic, social and environmental consequences of hazardous events th ...

as indicated in the P.C.M. n. 3274 of 20/03/2003 and in the Delibera Giunta Regionale of 18 September 2012 n. 1111, which places Scheggino together with the neighbouring municipalities in zone 1, the most dangerous and with high seismic intensity.

History

A town of medieval origin with remains of walls and a semi-destroyed donjon from the same period, it was built in the 12th century by the

Duchy of Spoleto The Duchy of Spoleto (, ) was a Lombard territory founded about 570 in central Italy by the Lombard '' dux'' Faroald. Its capital was the city of Spoleto. Lombards The Lombards had invaded Italy in 568 AD and conquered much of it, establish ...

as a defensive outpost and for this reason was attacked and sacked several times. The 16th century was characterised by a series of struggles between the aristocratic families of the

Orsini Orsini is a surname of Italian origin, originally derived from Latin ''ursinus'' ("bearlike") and originating as an epithet or sobriquet describing the name-bearer's purported strength. Notable people with the surname include the following: * Ange ...

, supporters of the

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Well ...

, and the

Colonna The House of Colonna, also known as ''Sciarrillo'' or ''Sciarra'', is an Italian noble family, forming part of the papal nobility. It was powerful in medieval and Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope ( Martin V) and many other church and politi ...

, allies of the 23

Ghibelline The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, ri ...

castle-communes of the Spoleto district. In 1522 Scheggino was besieged by the neighbouring castles, led by Picozzo Brancaleoni and Petrone da Vallo, who took advantage of the absence of the men occupied in the fields to conquer the village, but did not succeed in their undertaking as they were repelled by the women and young people who rushed to defend their homes.

Main Sights

The Church of San Nicola dates back to medieval times and was extensively renovated in the first half of the 16th century. The building contains frescoes inspired by the forms of

Giovanni Di Pietro Lo Spagna (died ''c.'' 1529), "the Spaniard" in Italian, was a painter of the High Renaissance, active in central Italy. His name was Giovanni di Pietro, but he was known as ''Lo Spagna'' because he was born in Spain. After Raphael, he was a ma ...

. As a tribute to Spoleto, the

Coronation of the Virgin The Coronation of the Virgin or Coronation of Mary is a subject in Christian art, especially popular in Italy in the 13th to 15th centuries, but continuing in popularity until the 18th century and beyond. Christ, sometimes accompanied by God th ...

was painted in the apse just like in the

Cathedral of Spoleto Spoleto Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta; ''Duomo di Spoleto'') is the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Spoleto-Norcia created in 1821, previously that of the diocese of Spoleto, and the principal church of the Umbrian city of Spole ...

. Also of interest is the church of

Santa Felicita Santa Felicita (Church of St Felicity) is a Roman Catholic church in Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy, probably the oldest in the city after San Lorenzo. In the 2nd century, Syrian Greek merchants settled in the area south of the Arno and are th ...

(12th century), which retains its original appearance with the exception of the façade, which was modified in the 17th century.

Demographic evolution

Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:455 height:303 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:2000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:1000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:200 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1861 text:1861 bar:1871 text:1871 bar:1881 text:1881 bar:1901 text:1901 bar:1911 text:1911 bar:1921 text:1921 bar:1931 text:1931 bar:1936 text:1936 bar:1951 text:1951 bar:1961 text:1961 bar:1971 text:1971 bar:1981 text:1981 bar:1991 text:1991 bar:2001 text:2001 PlotData= color:barra width:20 align:left bar:1861 from: 0 till:821 bar:1871 from: 0 till:889 bar:1881 from: 0 till:915 bar:1901 from: 0 till:890 bar:1911 from: 0 till:911 bar:1921 from: 0 till:890 bar:1931 from: 0 till:894 bar:1936 from: 0 till:890 bar:1951 from: 0 till:887 bar:1961 from: 0 till:777 bar:1971 from: 0 till:624 bar:1981 from: 0 till:550 bar:1991 from: 0 till:493 bar:2001 from: 0 till:458 PlotData= bar:1861 at:821 fontsize:XS text: 821 shift:(-8,5) bar:1871 at:889 fontsize:XS text: 889 shift:(-8,5) bar:1881 at:915 fontsize:XS text: 915 shift:(-8,5) bar:1901 at:890 fontsize:XS text: 890 shift:(-8,5) bar:1911 at:911 fontsize:XS text: 911 shift:(-8,5) bar:1921 at:890 fontsize:XS text: 890 shift:(-8,5) bar:1931 at:894 fontsize:XS text: 894 shift:(-8,5) bar:1936 at:890 fontsize:XS text: 890 shift:(-8,5) bar:1951 at:887 fontsize:XS text: 887 shift:(-8,5) bar:1961 at:777 fontsize:XS text: 777 shift:(-8,5) bar:1971 at:624 fontsize:XS text: 624 shift:(-8,5) bar:1981 at:550 fontsize:XS text: 550 shift:(-8,5) bar:1991 at:493 fontsize:XS text: 493 shift:(-8,5) bar:2001 at:458 fontsize:XS text: 458 shift:(-8,5) TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Data from ISTAT

Traditions and folklore

*On the night between the ninth and tenth of December, the '' Festa della Venuta'' is celebrated by lighting large bonfires.La Venuta in Umbria
*On 23 July there is the ''Festa delle Donne'' ("Women's Festival") with a re-enactment of the historical episode of 1522 that saw the women of Scheggino as protagonists in the defence of the castle from the invasion by the castles of Valnerina, who were against the alliance between the village and the Duchy of Spoleto. *On

Epiphany Day Epiphany ( ), also known as Theophany in Eastern Christian traditions, is a Christian feast day that celebrates the revelation (theophany) of God incarnation (Christianity), incarnate as Jesus Christ. In Western Christianity, the feast commem ...

, the ''Canto della Pasquarella'' is celebrated in which young people go around the village collecting gifts which are then consumed in the evening at a communal dinner.

Infrastructure and transport

Railways

From 1926 to 1968 Scheggino (together with the municipality of Sant'Anatolia di Narco) was served (through the homonymous station) by the Spoleto-Norcia railway, a narrow-gauge line connecting Spoleto with

Norcia Norcia (), traditionally known in English by its Latin name of Nursia (), is a town and comune in the province of Perugia (Italy) in southeastern Umbria. Unlike many ancient towns, it is located in a wide plain abutting the Monti Sibillini, a su ...

, which remained in operation from 1 November 1926 to 31 July 1968, when it was abolished. The traces of the railway are almost all preserved, and the trackbed has been converted into a cycle path.

References

{{authority control Cities and towns in Umbria