Massa Martana (near the well attested ancient site of the ''

Vicus Martis Tudertium The ''Vicus Martis Tudertium'' is an archaeological site in Umbria, central Italy. It is located c. south of Massa Martana, a small ''comune'' in the province of Perugia. Origins and history Most historians associate the site's foundation with ...

'' on the

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 ...

) is an ancient

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 ...

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 Monti Martani mountain range 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 ...

(

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

). It is 10 km N of

Acquasparta Acquasparta is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Terni (Umbria, central Italy). It is located on a hill above the Naia Valley and the river of the same name, facing the Monti Martani mountain range. It also sits between two hot springs, th ...

, 18 km N of

San Gemini San Gemini is a ''comune'' (municipality) of c. 5,000 inhabitants in the province of Terni in the Italian region Umbria, located about 60 km south of Perugia and about 10 km northwest of Terni. San Gemini borders the municipalities of Mo ...

and 32 km N of

Narni Narni (in Latin, Narnia) is an ancient hilltown and ''comune'' of Umbria, in central Italy, with 19,252 inhabitants (2017). At an altitude of 240 m (787 ft), it overhangs a narrow gorge of the Nera River in the province of Terni. ...

; 14 km S of Bastardo and 27 km S of

Bevagna 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 and ...

. As of the 2003 census, the town had 3558 inhabitants. It is one of the classic walled towns of central Italy, and in its main gate can be seen several ancient inscriptions, including a Roman one of some interest. The modern town has spread northwards along the road.

Territory

The territory of the commune includes three well-preserved Romanesque churches, each built in part of Roman stone in the abbeys of S. Fidenzio, of Santa Maria in Pantano and of San Faustino. The medieval abbey church of

Santa Maria in Viepri The abbey of Santa Maria di Viepri is a Romanesque, former Benedictine monastery and church in Viepri, a hamlet of the town of Massa Martana, province of Perugia, Umbria, Italy. History The church was erected circa 1150 by the lords of Castelvecc ...

was erected in the 12th century. The modern shrine at Colvalenza (6 km southwest) now draws pilgrims. Other churches include: *Santa Maria della Concezione *Sant'Ippolito *San Giovanni Battista *Santuario della Madonna di Castelvecchio *San Pietro in Monte *Sant'Arnaldo *San Sebastiano * San Felice *

Santa Maria della Pace Santa Maria della Pace is a church in Rome, central Italy, not far from Piazza Navona. The building lies in rione Ponte. History The current building was built on the foundations of the pre-existing church of Sant'Andrea de Aquarizariis in 1482 ...

*San Valentino *Sant'Ilario *Chiesa dell'Ascensione *Sant'Antonino de Castro * Santa Illuminata *San Pietro sopra le acque *Sant'Antonio del Busseto *Santa Maria delle Grazie *San Giovanni *Santa Degna *San Sebastiano *San Bernardino

Earthquake of 1997

The buildings of the walled town suffered major damage in an earthquake on May 12, 1997, a precursor of the 1997 earthquake which damaged much of Umbria, including the

Basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

and city of

Assisi Assisi (, also , ; from la, Asisium) is a town and ''comune'' of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio. It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Propertius, born aroun ...

. The Commune celebrated the completion of restoration works and the reopening of the old town in August 2006, ten years after the earthquake.

Culture

Massa Martana town has an annual ice-cream festival ("''sagra del gelato''") in early August each year. Similar food festivals are celebrated in summer months in a number of surrounding villages and hamlets within the commune, including Colpetrazzo and Villa San Faustino. During the Christmas period in Massa Martana is held a popular Christmas Exhibition, named "Presepi d'Italia" with Traditional Christmas Cribs and Art works: all dedicated to the Holy Nativity. The artworks are coming from all the Italian regions and are characterised by their local tradition and different culture.

References

External links

Official site
''(The text of this article is partly based on the article in Bill Thayer's Gazetteer of Italy, by permission.)'' {{Authority control Cities and towns in Umbria Roman sites of Umbria