Hispellum (modern
Spello
Spello (in Antiquity: Hispellum) is an ancient town and ''comune'' (township) of Italy, in the province of Perugia in eastern-central Umbria, on the lower southern flank of Mt. Subasio. It is 6 km (4 mi) NNW of Foligno and 10 km (6 ...
) was an ancient town of
Umbria
it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman)
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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 re ...
, north of
Fulginiae, on the road between it and
Perusia
The ancient Perusia, now Perugia, first appears in history as one of the 12 confederate cities of Etruria. It is first mentioned in the account of the war of 310 or 309 BC between the Etruscans and the Romans. It took, however, an important par ...
.
History
Hispellum is mentioned in
Pliny
Pliny may refer to:
People
* Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'')
* Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...
Strabo
V.2.10, and Ptolemy's ''Geography''
, but apparently by no earlier author. It was one of the Umbrian cities that sent aid to Rome during the
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...
.
The town seems to have been established by
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
, who at any rate founded a colony there (Colonia Julia Hispellum) as a reward for soldiers who fought on his side against
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the autoc ...
in the
Perusine War
The Perusine War (also Perusian or Perusinian War, or the War of Perusia) was a civil war of the Roman Republic, which lasted from 41 to 40 BC. It was fought by Lucius Antonius and Fulvia to support Mark Antony against his political enemy Octav ...
(41-40 BC). Augustus also extended its territory to the springs of the
Clitunno
The Clitunno, in Antiquity the Clitumnus, is a river in Umbria, Italy. The name is of uncertain origin, but it was also borne by the river god. The Clitunno rises from a spring within a dozen metres of the ancient Via Flaminia near the town of ...
, 20 km distant, which had originally belonged to the territory of
Mevania
Bevagna is a town and ''comune'' in the central part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria), in the flood plain of the Topino river.
Bevagna is south-east of Perugia, west of Foligno, north-north-west of Montefalco, south of Assisi an ...
, and the city provided a public bath and accommodation there.
Hispellum received the name of ''Flavia Constans ''by a
rescript
In legal terminology, a rescript is a document that is issued not on the initiative of the author, but in response (it literally means 'written back') to a specific demand made by its addressee. It does not apply to more general legislation.
Over ...
of the
emperor Constantine
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterranea ...
, a copy of which on a marble tablet is still preserved at the Communal Palace of Spello, and which showed that it had a certain importance in the following centuries, as it was the seat of the annual meetings of the Umbrian peoples, which previously took place in
Volsinii
Volsinii or Vulsinii (Etruscan: Velzna or Velusna; Greek: Ouolsinioi, ; ), is the name of two ancient cities of Etruria, one situated on the shore of Lacus Volsiniensis (modern Lago di Bolsena), and the other on the Via Clodia, between Clusium (C ...
.
Sights
![Aqueduct Spello](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Aqueduct_Spello.jpg)
A survey of the upper town in the late 20th century showed that about 80% of the buildings lie on Roman foundations, making Spello the most Roman town in modern Umbria.
Roman remains also include:
* The rich and elaborate Villa of the Mosaics has been excavated in recent years and is open to the public.
* The 1.8 km-long walls are among the finest specimens of Roman wall in central Italy, formed by a very thick and compact concrete structure, covered on both sides by a very regular face of rectangular blocks of local pink limestone
* The gate by which the town is entered (''Porta Consolare'') is ancient and has three portrait statues above it, although they are not original to the gate, having been found in the area of the amphitheatre
* Five other gates may still be seen as part of the city wall, built of rectangular blocks of
Subasio limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
. They include the Porta Venere, Porta dell'Arce, Porta Urbica
* The upper town also has vestiges of what is possibly a triumphal arch: the inscription is dedicated to Augustus.
* In the interior of the city are sections of large block walls, substructures for terracing the hill.
* Remains of the amphitheatre, the entrance and some stone curtain, which stood in the plain alongside the road to Assisi, can be seen to the northwest of the town.
* In the grounds of the Villa Fidelia also to the northwest may be a temple of
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
.
* Baths have been excavated beneath the church of San Claudio near the amphitheatre with geometric mosaic floors and heated rooms.
* The
forum
Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to:
Common uses
* Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States
*Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city
**Roman Forum, most famous example
*Internet ...
: the whole area between the Palazzo Comunale and the Convent of S. Andrea was terraced on the eastern and south-eastern sides by a supporting wall in local limestone preserved for about 130 m.
* a ''villa rustica'' in via Baldini from the 1st/2nd centuries AD with thermal baths in 3 rooms. It was sited on a necropolis of the Republican age. The walls are preserved to their full height in the SE corner where part of a basin with stone slabs covered in ''
cocciopesto
''Opus signinum'' ('cocciopesto' in modern Italian) is a building material used in ancient Rome. It is made of tiles broken up into very small pieces, mixed with mortar, and then beaten down with a rammer. Pliny the Elder in his '' Natural Histor ...
'' has been brought to light: In the southwest corner are remains of the lower part of a square basin and tiled flooring in tiles (perhaps a settling tank), as in the immediate vicinity are traces of a furnace.
* A large collection of local Roman inscriptions is housed in the Palazzo Comunale.
* Roman remains under the present Piazza della Repubblica.
Villa of the Mosaics
The villa
[https://www.villadeimosaicidispello.it/en/] is one of the most important Roman sites in Umbria, even in Italy, with its spectacular mosaic floors of extraordinary technical quality in terms of design and colour rendering.
Of a total area of 500m
2, there are 20 rooms remaining, 10 of which contain magnificent mosaic floors with geometric motifs and figures in various colours: white, red, black. green and yellow. A large peristyle, a porticoed courtyard that surrounded the garden complete with statues and fountains, was surrounded by a series of elaborate rooms with mosaics. The most important room was the
triclinium
A ''triclinium'' (plural: ''triclinia'') is a formal dining room in a Roman building. The word is adopted from the Greek ()—from (), "three", and (), a sort of couch or rather chaise longue. Each couch was sized to accommodate a diner who ...
with the Seasons mosaic.
It was first built in the
Augustan age and modified at the end of the 2nd century. The villa was located along a secondary branch of the ancient
Via Flaminia
The Via Flaminia or Flaminian Way was an ancient 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 ...
road, which came from Rome and extended through Umbria and continued to Rimini. It was a ''
villa rustica
Villa rustica () was the term used by the ancient Romans to denote a farmhouse or villa set in the countryside and with an agricultural section, which applies to the vast majority of Roman villas. In some cases they were at the centre of a large ...
'', a farming estate with an agricultural part including several service rooms.
It was discovered in 2005, while building a carpark in a sports field just outside Spello's walls.
The sanctuary complex
A sanctuary of the Augustan period has been found in the grounds the Renaissance-type villa Fidelia to the northwest of the city which included a grandiose theatre-temple-amphitheatre complex. Research with geophysical surveys has allowed reconstruction of the sanctuary, with its relationship to the theatre. The sanctuary occupied the area close to the Spello hill as part of a scenographic layout. Two mighty walls in Roman concrete (''
opus caementicium
Roman concrete, also called , is a material that was used in construction in ancient Rome. Roman concrete was based on a hydraulic-setting cement. It is durable due to its incorporation of pozzolanic ash, which prevents cracks from spreading. B ...
'') covered with
opus vittatum
''Opus vittatum'' ("banded work"), also called ''opus listatum'', was an ancient Roman construction technique introduced at the beginning of the fourth century, made by parallel horizontal courses of tuff blocks alternated with brick
A br ...
which supported the upper terraces are visible. The lower wall has remains of a large fountain and a quadrangular niche. Of the upper wall only the internal part in ''opus caementicium'' remains. On the other side of the road are the scanty remains of the theatre, as well as the amphitheatre.
During construction of the villa Fidelia, around 1600, an inscription was found on a mosaic floor (CIL, XΙ, 5264), with a dedication of a statue and a base to Venus by the
quinquennial
An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saints. ...
duumvirs
The duumviri (Latin for "two men"), originally duoviri and also known in English as the duumvirs, were any of various joint magistrates of ancient Rome. Such pairs of magistrates were appointed at various periods of Roman history both in Rome its ...
M. Granius and S. Lollius. The Church of S. Fedele in
opus mixtum
Example of ''opus mixtum'' in the substruction of France.html"_;"title="Brest_Castle,_France">Brest_Castle,_France_
''Opus_mixtum''_(Latin:_"mixed_work"),_or_''opus_vagecum''_and_''opus_compositum'',_was_an_Roman_architecture.html" "title="ran ...
is probably to be connected with the late phase of the sanctuary mentioned by a Constantinian
rescript
In legal terminology, a rescript is a document that is issued not on the initiative of the author, but in response (it literally means 'written back') to a specific demand made by its addressee. It does not apply to more general legislation.
Over ...
(CIL,XI, 5265) of 333-337 AD, in which the emperor at the request of the inhabitants of the city allows the Umbrian population to be able to meet, no longer in Volsinii, and celebrate the theatrical and gladiatorial games with the Etruscan population.
The precious epigraphic text, found downstream from the sanctuary, testifies that the sacred theatre-temple structure existed prior to the rescript and must have already served for the annual meetings of the league of the Umbrians. The special geographical position of the sanctuary appears particularly strategic within the Umbrian valley, at the branch of the Via Flaminia towards
Perusia
The ancient Perusia, now Perugia, first appears in history as one of the 12 confederate cities of Etruria. It is first mentioned in the account of the war of 310 or 309 BC between the Etruscans and the Romans. It took, however, an important par ...
and in visual and ideological connection with the sanctuaries at Mevania,
Vettona,
Urvinum Hortense and
Trebiae
Trevi () (Latin: Trebiae) is an ancient town and ''comune ''in Umbria, Italy, on the lower flank of Monte Serano overlooking the wide plain of the Clitunno river system. It is 10 km (6 mi) SSE of Foligno and 20 km (12 mi) nor ...
.
The aqueduct
The Roman Aqueduct from
Collepino to Spello is almost 5 km long has been recently restored. It was mainly underground but has been exposed in several places. It runs to the side of the Chiona river forming an artificial terrace and was used until the 19th century. On the lower wall of the aqueduct are many rectangular openings for inspection.
Porta Urbica
Also known as the Porta San Ventura from the nearby church of the same name, this gate has a monumental character with a sober façade, and is a decorative arch inserted in the western walls. Built in the Augustan age, the gate has a single round arch and is built of ashlars of local limestone and is supported by smooth Tuscan pillars with no base, and with an architrave above crowned by a pediment. The gate was reopened in I960 after being walled up for many years.
References
External links
Hispellum(at LacusCurtius)
''Some of the text of this article was taken from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.''
{{coord, 42, 59, 30, N, 12, 40, 12, E, type:landmark_region:IT_dim:700, display=title
Roman towns and cities in Italy
Hispellum, Villa of the Mosaics