Sutri (Latin ''Sutrium'') is an Ancient town, modern ''

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 ...

'' and former bishopric (now a Latin

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 archbish ...

) 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 C ...

, about from

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 ...

and about south of Viterbo. It is picturesquely situated on a narrow

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...

hill, surrounded by ravines, a narrow neck on the west alone connecting it with the surrounding country. The modern ''

'' of Sutri has a few more than 5,000 inhabitants. Its ancient remains are a major draw for tourism: a Roman amphitheatre excavated in the tuff rock, an Etruscan necropolis with dozens of rock-cut tombs, a

Mithraeum A Mithraeum , sometimes spelled Mithreum and Mithraion ( grc, Μιθραίον), is a Mithraic temple, erected in classical antiquity by the worshippers of Mithras. Most Mithraea can be dated between 100 BC and 300 AD, mostly in the Roman Emp ...

incorporated in the crypt of its church of the Madonna del Parto, a Romanesque Duomo.

History

Ancient Sutrium occupied an important position, commanding as it did the road into

Etruria Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria. Etruscan Etruria The ancient people of Etruria are identified as Etruscan civiliza ...

, the later

Via Cassia The ''Via Cassia'' ("way of Cassius") was an important Roman road striking out of the ''Via Flaminia'' near the Milvian Bridge in the immediate vicinity of Rome and, passing not far from Veii, traversed Etruria. The ''Via Cassia'' passed throug ...

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...

describes it as one of the keys of Etruria, nearby

Nepi Nepi (anciently ''Nepet'' or ''Nepete'') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, Lazio, central Italy. The town lies southeast of the city of Viterbo and about southwest from Civita Castellana. The town is known for its mineral s ...

being the other. It came into the hands of Rome after the fall of

Veii Veii (also Veius; it, Veio) was an important ancient Etruscan city situated on the southern limits of Etruria and north-northwest of Rome, Italy. It now lies in Isola Farnese, in the comune of Rome. Many other sites associated with and in the ...

, and a Latin colony was founded there; it was lost again in 386 BC, but was recovered and recolonized around 383 BC. It was besieged by the

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization () was developed by a people of Etruria in ancient Italy with a common language and culture who formed a federation of city-states. After conquering adjacent lands, its territory covered, at its greatest extent, rou ...

in 311–310 BC, but not taken. With

and ten other Latin colonies it refused further help in 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 ...

in 209 BC. Its importance as a fortress explains, according to

Festus Festus may refer to: People Ancient world *Porcius Festus, Roman governor of Judea from approximately 58 to 62 AD *Sextus Pompeius Festus (later 2nd century), Roman grammarian *Festus (died 305), martyr along with Proculus of Pozzuoli *Festus (h ...

, the proverb ''Sutrium ire'', of one who goes on important business, as it occurs in

Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the gen ...

. It is mentioned in. the war of 41 BC, and received a colony of veterans under the

triumviri A triumvirate ( la, triumvirātus) or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs ( la, triumviri). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are ...

(''Colonia coniuncta lulia Sutrina''). Inscriptions show that it was a place of some importance under the empire, and it is mentioned as occupied by the

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...

. Sutri retained its strategic importance as a fortified place near the borders of the

Duchy of Rome The Duchy of Rome ( la, Ducatus Romanus) was a state within the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna. Like other Byzantine states in Italy, it was ruled by an imperial functionary with the title ''dux''. The duchy often came into conflict with the Papa ...

. The

Donation of Sutri The Donation of Sutri was an agreement reached at Sutri by Liutprand, King of the Lombards and Pope Gregory II in 728. At Sutri, the two reached an agreement by which the city and some hill towns in Latium (like Vetralla) were given to the Papa ...

was an agreement reached at Sutri between the Lombard king

Liutprand the Lombard Liutprand was the king of the Lombards from 712 to 744 and is chiefly remembered for his multiple phases of law-giving, in fifteen separate sessions from 713 to 735 inclusive, and his long reign, which brought him into a series of conflicts, mos ...

and

Pope Gregory II Pope Gregory II ( la, Gregorius II; 669 – 11 February 731) was the bishop of Rome from 19 May 715 to his death.

in 728. At Sutri the two reached an agreement, by which Sutri and some hill towns in

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whi ...

(see

Vetralla Vetralla is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, in central Italy, south of that city, located on a shoulder of Monte Fogliano. History Vetralla's dominating fortified position in the heart of Etruscan territories has been continu ...

) were given to the

Papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, "as a gift to the blessed

Apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

and

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

" according to the ''

Liber Pontificalis The ''Liber Pontificalis'' (Latin for 'pontifical book' or ''Book of the Popes'') is a book of biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the ''Liber Pontificalis'' stopped with Pope Adrian II (867� ...

''. The pact formed the first extension of

Papal territory The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from ...

beyond the confines of the

. An important hoard of jewellery dating from this time, known as the

Sutri Treasure The Sutri Treasure is an important Lombardic hoard found at Sutri, Italy in the late nineteenth century that is currently in the collections of the British Museum in London. Discovery The rich grave group was found in 1878 near the town of Sutr ...

, was found near the town in the 19th century. It is now in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

.British Museum Highlights
/ref> Sutri, the seat of a bishopric (see below), was retrieved for the Papacy after the defeat of the Lombards.

Pope Gregory VI Pope Gregory VI ( la, Gregorius VI; died 1048), born Giovanni Graziano (John Gratian) in Rome ( la, Johannes Gratianus), was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 1 May 1045 until his resignation at the Council of Sutri on 20 Decembe ...

abdicated at Sutri on December 20, 1046, following the

Synod of Sutri The Council of Sutri (or Synod of Sutri) was called by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry III and opened on December 20, 1046, in the hilltown of Sutri, at the edge of the Duchy of Rome. The Catholic Church does not list this as an ecumenical council. ...

convened at the request of Emperor Henry III. In 1111 it was the seat of the treaty between Paschal II and Emperor Henry V; in 1146 and 1244

Eugene III Pope Eugene III ( la, Eugenius III; c. 1080 – 8 July 1153), born Bernardo Pignatelli, or possibly Paganelli, called Bernardo da Pisa, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1145 to his death in 1153. He w ...

and Innocent IV took refuge here, respectively. In 1244 it was conquered by Pietro di Vico, but was later taken by Pandolfo, count of Anguillara, who gave it back to the Papal States. The city witnessed the struggles between

Guelphs and Ghibellines 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 ...

. In 1433 the condottiero

Niccolò Fortebraccio Niccolò Fortebraccio (1375–1435), also known as Niccolò della Stella, was an Italian condottiero. Born in Sant'Angelo in Vado, he was the son of Stella, sister of Braccio da Montone. His half-brother Oddo and his cousin Carlo were also condo ...

set fire to Sutri, and from that point onward the city declined in favour of

Ronciglione Ronciglione (locally ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, Lazio (central Italy), about from Viterbo. The city is located in the Monti Cimini, Cimini mountains, over two tuff scarps, on the SE slope of the former volcano crater ...

Ecclesiastical history

Established circa 500 as Diocese of Sutri (Italian) or Sutrium (Latin), without direct predecessor. In 900 it gained canonical territory from the suppressed Diocese of Monterano.

abdicated at Sutri on December 20, 1046, following the

, a non-ecumenical council convened at the request of Emperor Henry III to resolve three rival claims to the papacy, ultimately in favor of an imperial German protégé,

Pope Clement II Pope Clement II ( la, Clemens II; born Suidger von Morsleben; died 9 October 1047), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1046 until his death in 1047. He was the first in a series of reform-minded popes f ...

. On 1435.12.12 it was suppressed itself, its territory and title being merged into the newly renamed

Diocese of Nepi-Sutri The diocese of Nepi-Sutri was a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in central Italy, created in 1435 by unifying the diocese of Nepi and the diocese of Sutri. It existed until 1986, when it was united into the current diocese of Cività Castell ...

. Recorded incumbent Bishops ''(very incomplete):'' * Tommaso,

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

(O.P.) (1325.06.07 – ?)

Titular see

The diocese was nominally restored in 1991 as Latin

Titular bishopric 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 archbish ...

of Sutri (Curiate Italian) or Sutrium (Latin). It has had the following incumbents, of the fitting episcopal (lowest) rank ''with two archiepiscopal exceptions:'' * ''Titular Archbishop:

Paolo Sardi Paolo Sardi (1 September 1934 – 13 July 2019) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who spent his career in the Roman Curia. He was patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta from 2009 to 2014. Early life and priesthood Sardi wa ...

(1996.12.10 – 2010.11.20), between Roman Curia offices: previously Vice-Assessor for General Affairs of

Papal Secretariat of State The Secretariat of State (Latin: ''Secretaria Status''; Italian: ''Segreteria di Stato'') is the oldest dicastery in the Roman Curia, the central papal governing bureaucracy of the Catholic Church. It is headed by the Cardinal Secretary of Stat ...

(1992 – 1996.12.10), later

Vice-Chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church The Apostolic Camera ( la, Camera Apostolica), formerly known as the was an office in the Roman Curia. It was the central board of finance in the papal administrative system and at one time was of great importance in the government of the Sta ...

of the

Apostolic Camera The Apostolic Camera ( la, Camera Apostolica), formerly known as the was an office in the Roman Curia. It was the central board of finance in the papal administrative system and at one time was of great importance in the government of the Stat ...

(2004.10.23 – 2011.01.22), Pro-Patron of

Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

(2009.06.06 – 2010.11.30), created

Cardinal-Deacon A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

of S. Maria Ausiliatrice in Via Tuscolana (2010.11.20 011.05.24– ...), promoted Patron of above Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta (2010.11.30 – 2014.11.08)'' * Titular Bishop:

Christoph Schönborn Christoph Maria Michael Hugo Damian Peter Adalbert Graf von Schönborn, O.P. (; born 22 January 1945) is a Bohemian-born Austrian Dominican friar and theologian, who is a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He serves as the Archbishop of Vienna and ...

Dominican order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

(O.P.) (1991.07.11 – 1995.04.13) as Auxiliary Bishop of Wien (Vienna,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

) (1991.07.11 – 1995.04.13); later promoted

Coadjutor Archbishop The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadj ...

of above Wien (Austria) (1995.04.13 – 1995.09.14), succeeding as Metropolitan Archbishop of above Vienna (Wien, Austria) (1995.09.14 – ...), also Ordinary of Austria of the Eastern Rite (1995.11.06 – ...), created

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

of Gesù Divin Lavoratore (1998.02.21 998.11.22– ...), President of Episcopal Conference of Austria (1998.06.30 – ...), Member of Commission of Cardinals overseeing the Institute for Works of Religion (2014.01.15 – ...) * Titular Archbishop:

Antonio Guido Filipazzi Antonio Guido Filipazzi (born 8 October 1963) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who has worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See since 1992. He has been Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria since 2017 and before that was Nuncio to In ...

(2011.01.08 – ...)

Main sights

There are some remains of the ancient city walls of rectangular blocks of tuff on the southern side of the town, and some rock-cut sewers in the cliffs below them. The cathedral, of Romanesque origin, is largely modern: of the medieval edifice the belltower (1207) and the crypt, from the Lombard period, with seven naves divided by twenty columns of different origin. In the cliffs opposite the town on the south is the rock-cut church of the ''

Madonna del Parto A Madonna del Parto ("Madonna of Parturition") is an iconic depiction of the Virgin Mary shown as pregnant, which was developed in Italy, mainly in Tuscany in the 14th century. Examples include works by Taddeo Gaddi, Bernardo Daddi and Nardo di C ...

'', developed out of one of the numerous Etruscan tombs of the area (according to some scholars, it was a

mithraeum A Mithraeum , sometimes spelled Mithreum and Mithraion ( grc, Μιθραίον), is a Mithraic temple, erected in classical antiquity by the worshippers of Mithras. Most Mithraea can be dated between 100 BC and 300 AD, mostly in the Roman Emp ...

, pagan soldier cult site). The most striking edifice is the rock-hewn

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

of the

Roman period The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

, one of the most suggestive monuments of the ancient

(Lazio). Of elliptical plan, it measures about .

Transportation

Sutri can be reached through the

from Rome or

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history. ...

. The nearest railway station, on the line for Rome, is that of Capranica.

References

* , an account of the author's time in Sutri.

Sources and external links

George Dennis on Sutri in 1848

{{Authority control Roman sites in Lazio Cities and towns in Lazio Roman amphitheatres in Italy