Civita Castellana is a town and ''

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 ...

'' in the

province of Viterbo Viterbo ( it, provincia di Viterbo) is a 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 City of Rome ...

, north of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Mount Soracte Monte Soratte (ancient: ''Soracte'') is a mountain ridge in the Metropolitan City of Rome, central Italy. It is a narrow, isolated limestone ridge with a length of and six peaks. Located some south east of Civita Castellana and c. north of R ...

lies about to the south-east.

History

Civita Castellana was settled during the Iron Age by the Italic people of the

Falisci Falisci ( grc, Φαλίσκοι, ''Phaliskoi'') is the ancient Roman exonym for an Italic tribe who lived in what is now northern Lazio, on the Etruscan side of the Tiber River. They spoke an Italic language, Faliscan, closely akin to Latin. ...

, who called it "

Falerii Falerii (now Fabrica di Roma) was a city in southern Etruria, 50 km (31 mi) northeast of Rome, 34 km (21 mi) from Veii (a major Etruscan city-state near the River Tiber) and about 1.5 km (0.9 mi) west of the ancient Via Flaminia. It was the main c ...

." After the Faliscan defeat against 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 ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, a new city was built by the latter, about away, and called "

Falerii Novi Falerii Novi (English: New Falerii) was a walled town in the Tiber River valley, about north of Rome and west of Civita Castellana. History According to Polybius and Livy, the Falisci people of Falerii Veteres revolted against the Roman Republ ...

." 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 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 a ...

, with the new name of Civita Castellana (roughly translated as "City of the Castle") mentioned first in 994. In the following centuries the city was a flourishing independent commune, often contended by the Pope and the Holy Roman Empire. Captured by

Pope Paschal II Pope Paschal II ( la, Paschalis II; 1050 1055 – 21 January 1118), born Ranierius, 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 cre ...

at the beginning of the 12th century, the city was given as fief to the Savelli by Gregory XIV. Sixtus IV assigned the city to Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, the future

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...

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

Julius II Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio 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 or the ...

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

, 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 Civita Castellana Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Maggiore or ''Santa Maria di Pozzano'') is a cathedral in Civita Castellana, central Italy. It is the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Civita Castellana. History The edifice was built f ...

'' (Santa Maria Maggiore): the cathedral of the town, it possesses a fine portico, 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 Christian ...

, 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 u ...

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, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

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: 'spoils') is repurposed building stone for new construction or decorative sculpture reused in new monuments. It is the result of an ancient and widespread practice whereby stone that has been quarried, cut and used in a built ...

. *'' 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. 1453December 27, 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 wood ...

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

Leo X Pope Leo X ( it, Leone 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 an ...

. *''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 Holy Roman Emperor from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of the Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was crowned as King of ...

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 Roman Catholic Church, Catholic theology, theologian, better known by his religious name, Andrea di Civita Castellana, Castellana, from his place of origin in Apulia, Mezzogiorno, southern Italy. Biography He ...

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 Gw ...

, 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 Italic archaeological sites