Castro was an ancient city on the west side of

Lake Bolsena Lake Bolsena ( it, Lago di Bolsena) is a lake of volcanic origin in the northern part of the province of Viterbo called ''Alto Lazio'' ("Upper Latium") or ''Tuscia'' in central Italy. It is the largest volcanic lake in Europe. Roman historic ...

in the present-day ''

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 also ...

'' of

Ischia di Castro Ischia di Castro is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Viterbo in the Italian region Latium, located about northwest of Rome and about northwest of Viterbo. Ischia di Castro borders the following municipalities: Canino, Cellere, Far ...

, northern

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. It was destroyed at the conclusion of the Wars of Castro in the 17th century.

Early history

The settlement of Castro was founded in prehistoric times, and was later the seat of an unspecified

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities ** Etrusca ...

city, probably Statonia. In the

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

it had a castle (Latin: ''castrum''), hence the name. Although an autonomous commune, it remained nonetheless under papal suzerainty. In 1527 a pro-independence faction assumed power, but they were later ousted by

Pier Luigi Farnese Pier Luigi Farnese (19 November 1503 – 10 September 1547) was the first Duke of Castro from 1537 to 1545 and the first Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1545 to 1547. Born in Rome, Pier Luigi was the illegitimate son of Cardinal Alessandro Farn ...

, whose family was to rule Castro until the 17th century. In the same year another Farnese, Gian Galeazzo, sacked it in the wake of the Sack of Rome. Ten years later, in 1537, three years after the election of Alessandro Farnese as Pope Paul III, it became the seat of an independent duchy under his son

. The town, which in the meantime had been reduced to "gypsies' huts" (in the words of a contemporary), was reconstructed according to the design of

Antonio da Sangallo the Younger 250px, A model of the Apostolic Palace, which was the main project of Bramante during Sangallo's apprenticeship. 250px, The church of Santa Maria di Loreto near the Rome.html"_;"title="Trajan's_Market_in_Rome">Trajan's_Market_in_Rome. image: ...

The Renaissance and the Wars of Castro

The Farnese treated Castro well and consecutive family patriarchs made improvements to the city including churches and their own ''Palazzo Farnese''. Between 1639 and 1641, the Farnese, then led by Duke of Parma

Odoardo Farnese Odoardo Farnese (28 April 1612 – 11 September 1646), also known as Odoardo I Farnese to distinguish him from his grandson Odoardo II Farnese, was Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Castro from 1622 to 1646. Biography Odoardo was the eldest legit ...

, came into conflict with the powerful

Barberini The House of Barberini are a family of the Italian nobility that rose to prominence in 17th century Rome. Their influence peaked with the election of Cardinal Maffeo Barberini to the papal throne in 1623, as Pope Urban VIII. Their urban palace ...

family of Pope Urban VIII who responded by sending an army to occupy Castro. The Farnese and the papacy fought a stalemate war and the Pope agreed to treaty terms only months before his death in 1644. When

Pope Innocent X Pope Innocent X ( la, Innocentius X; it, Innocenzo X; 6 May 1574 – 7 January 1655), born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (or Pamphili), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death in Januar ...

replaced Urban, he demanded that Duke Odoardo's son

Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma Ranuccio II Farnese (17 September 1630 – 11 December 1694) was the sixth Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1646 until his death nearly 50 years later and Duke of Castro from 1646 until 1649. Biography Birth and Succession Ranuccio was the elde ...

adhere to the conditions of the peace treaty. Ranuccio refused to pay the agreed reparations. He also refused to admit the newly appointed bishop of Castro. When the latter was on his way to take possession of his see, he was murdered, a crime for which Innocent X placed the blame on Ranuccio. He sent troops to Castro and had the city razed on 2 September 1649. He erected a column reading "Quì fu Castro" ("Here stood Castro"). It was never rebuilt. The seat of the diocese of Castro, which is believed to have dated back to the 8th century, was transferred to

Acquapendente Acquapendente is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, in Lazio (Italy). Acquapendente is a centre for the agricultural production of vegetables and wine, and has a tradition of pottery craftsmanship. History The area of modern Acquapen ...

. No longer a residential bishopric, Castro (Castrum in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

) is today listed by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

as 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 archbis ...

.''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), p. 862

Sources

* *

References

*Cigola, Riccardo
"History: Facts & Persons"
Retrieved January 23, 2005.

External links

- Author George Dennis describes the ruins of Castro in this 1848 book.

- a brief description of Castro's history, and how it appears today. {{DEFAULTSORT:Castro (City) Archaeological sites in Lazio Roman sites in Lazio Cities and towns in Lazio 1649 disestablishments Former populated places in Italy Razed cities Populated places disestablished in 1649 Duchy of Castro

Early history

The Renaissance and the Wars of Castro

Sources

See also

References

External links