Amatrice (; Sabino: ) 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 Rieti, in northern

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

(central

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 ...

), and the center of the food-agricultural area of

Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park The Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park is a natural park located mostly in Abruzzo, Italy. It was established in 1991, it has an area of , and it is mainly spread out across the province of Teramo, L'Aquila, Pescara, with small areas ...

. The town was devastated by a powerful earthquake on 24 August 2016.

History

Archaeological discoveries show a human presence in the area of Amatrice since prehistoric times, and the remains of Roman buildings and tombs have also been found. After the fall of the

Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period ...

, the area became part of the Lombard

Duchy of Spoleto The Duchy of Spoleto (, ) was a Lombard territory founded about 570 in central Italy by the Lombard '' dux'' Faroald. Its capital was the city of Spoleto. Lombards The Lombards had invaded Italy in 568 AD and conquered much of it, establishi ...

, included in the comitatus of Ascoli. The town of Matrice is mentioned in the papers of the

Abbey of Farfa Farfa Abbey ( it, Abbazia di Farfa) is a territorial abbey in northern Lazio, central Italy. In the Middle Ages it was one of the richest and most famous abbeys in Italy. It belongs to the Benedictine Order and is located about from Rome, in t ...

in 1012 as commanding the confluence of the

Tronto The Tronto ( la, Truentus) is a long Italian river that arises at Monti della Laga and ends in the Adriatic Sea at Porto d'Ascoli, San Benedetto del Tronto. It traverses the Lazio, Marche, and Abruzzo regions of Italy. The source of the Tron ...

and Castellano rivers. In the year 900 the Pope was from Amatrice.

The medieval and early modern periods

In 1265, during the reign of Manfred of Sicily, Amatrice became part of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

. After the capture of Naples by the Angevins, Amatrice rebelled but was vanquished by

Charles I of Anjou Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and Forcalquier (1246–48, 1256–85) i ...

in 1274, although it maintained some sort of autonomy as an ''universitas''. In the 14th and 15th century, Amatrice was frequently in conflict with the neighbouring cities of

Norcia Norcia (), traditionally known in English by its Latin name of Nursia (), is a town and comune in the province of Perugia ( Italy) in southeastern Umbria. Unlike many ancient towns, it is located in a wide plain abutting the Monti Sibillini, a ...

, Arquata and

L'Aquila L'Aquila ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of both the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. , it has a population of 70,967 inhabitants. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valle ...

, and its troops took part in the siege of l’Aquila under Braccio da Montone. In the course of the conflict between Angevins and the Aragonese for the possession of the Kingdom of Naples, Amatrice sided with Naples. The Church of Sant'Agostino (''pictured left'') was built in 1428. In 1529, Amatrice was stormed by troops of Philibert of Chalon, a general in the service of Emperor Charles V, who gave it to its general Alessandro Vitelli. The city was severely damaged by an earthquake in 1639. Later, Amatrice was held by the Orsini and the

Medici The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mu ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

, who kept it until 1737.

The modern period

After the unification of Italy in the 19th century, Amatrice became part of the province of L'Aquila in the region of

Abruzzo , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1 ...

, eventually being annexed to

in 1927. On 24 August 2016, a powerful earthquake struck Amatrice, devastating the town and killing at least 295 people. Sergio Pirozzi, at the time the mayor of Amatrice (in March 2018 he was elected in the

Regional Council of Lazio The Regional Council of Lazio (''Consiglio Regionale del Lazio'') is the parliament, legislative assembly of Lazio. It was first elected in 1970, when the Regions of Italy, ordinary regions were instituted, on the basis of the Constitution of It ...

), said that the town "is no more". Later, Pirozzi said that "three-quarters of the town was destroyed". Nearby

Accumoli Accumoli is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Rieti in the Italian region Lazio, located about northeast of Rome and about northeast of Rieti. It is located in the natural park known as the "Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Pa ...

and Pescara del Tronto were also devastated.

Historical buildings

‡ Withstood the 2016 earthquake
† Did not withstand the earthquake

Cuisine

Amatrice is especially famous for a

pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils, ...

sauce In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi-solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French wor ...

, ''

sugo all'amatriciana Sugo all'amatriciana (), or alla matriciana (in ''Romanesco'' dialect),Ravaro (2005), p. 395 also known as salsa all'amatriciana, is a traditional Italian pasta sauce based on guanciale (cured pork cheek), pecorino romano cheese, tomato, and, in ...

'', usually served with a long pasta such as bucatini, spaghetti, or

vermicelli Vermicelli (; , , also , ) is a traditional type of pasta round in section similar to spaghetti. In English-speaking regions it is usually thinner than spaghetti, while in Italy it is typically thicker. The term ''vermicelli'' is also used ...

. According to popular tradition, numerous cooks of the Popes down the centuries came from Amatrice.

People

* Nicola Filotesio (1480 or 1489–1547 or 1559), Italian painter, architect and sculptor of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

period. *Giovanni Domenico Roberto Minozzi (1884-1959), Italian Roman Catholic priest who founded Opera nazionale per il Mezzogiorno d'Italia. * Elio Augusto Di Carlo (1918–1998), Italian ornithologist, historian and physician. *

Sara Pichelli Sara Pichelli (born 15 April 1983) is an Italian comics artist best known for first illustrating the Miles Morales version of ''Ultimate Spider-Man''. After starting her career in animation, Pichelli entered the comic book industry working for ID ...

(born 1983), artist.

''Frazioni''

Frazioni A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'' of the town include Aleggia, Bagnolo, Capricchia, Casale, Casale Bucci, Casale Celli, Casale Masacci, Casale Nadalucci, Casalene, Casale Nibbi, Casale Sanguigni, Casale Sautelli, Casale Zocchi, Casali della Meta, Cascello, Castel Trione, Collalto, Collecreta, Collegentilesco, Collemagrone, Collemoresco, Collepagliuca, Colletroio, Colli, Conche, Configno, Cornelle, Cornillo Nuovo, Cornillo Vecchio, Cossara, Cossito, Crognale, Domo, Faizzone, Ferrazza, Filetto, Fiumatello, Francucciano, Le Forme, Moletano, Musicchio, Nommisci, Osteria della Meta, Pasciano, Patàrico, Petrana, Pinaco Arafranca, Poggio Vitellino, Prato, Preta,

Rio Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

, Retrosi, Roccapassa, Rocchetta, Saletta, San Benedetto, San Capone, San Giorgio, San Lorenzo a Pinaco, San Sebastiano, Santa Giusta, Sant'Angelo, San Tommaso, Scai, Sommati, Torrita, Torritella, Varoni, Villa San Cipriano, Villa San Lorenzo e Flaviano, and Voceto.

References

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Lazio Municipalities of the Province of Rieti