Bettona (Latin: ''Vettona'') is an ancient 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 ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

in central

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

at the northern edge of the Colli Martani range. It is 5 km (3 mi) E of Torgiano and 12 km (7 mi) SW 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 arou ...

. Passaggio, Colle and Cerreto are

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 comune.

History

The town is of Etruscan origin; its people are first referred to i
Pliny, NH III.114 (''Vettonenses'')
then in other ancient authors and inscriptions. Vettona was once the seat of a bishopric. While legend associates two other bishops with the see, the only historically documented one is Gaudentius, who took part in a synod at Rome called by Pope Hilarius in 465. Under the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

name Bettonium the bishopric is listed by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

as a

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 archbi ...

.''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), p. 849

Main sights

Bettona still retains a complete circuit of medieval walls incorporating portions of the original Etruscan walls. The town was sacked in 1352 and very little remains save the churches that have since been completely updated. The town was ordered rebuilt by Cardinal Albornoz who built a small rocca where the Church of San Crispolto stands. (Cardinal Albornoz is also responsible for the roccas at Assisi, Spoleto, and Orvieto among others.) The remains of a draw bridge can be found in a piazza now used for parking near the town's rear gate, Porta Romana. The Pinacoteca Comunale in the ''Palazzetto del Podestà'' (1371) has a painting by

Perugino Pietro Perugino (, ; – 1523), born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael was his most famous pupil. ...

, the ''Madonna of Mercy'', as well as other works by Jacopo Siculo, Dono Doni,

Fiorenzo di Lorenzo Fiorenzo di Lorenzo ( 1440 – 1522) was an Italian painter, of the Umbrian school. He lived and worked at Perugia, where most of his authentic works are still preserved in the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria. Fiorenzo is known from a few s ...

and Della Robbia. Santa Maria Maggiore church, situated in the historical centre, is the main church of the Comune of Bettona. A Gothic chapel located near the nave entrance and dedicated to

Saint Rita Rita of Cascia, born Margherita Lotti (1381 – 22 May 1457), was an Italian widow and Augustinian nun venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. After Rita's husband died, she joined an Augustinian community of religious sisters, whe ...

, is the only remaining part of the original church. The main altar is in the shape of domed temple, by Cruciano Egiduzio. The apse was frescoed in 1939 by the futurist painter Gerardo Dottori. The church of San Crispolto was erected by monks to preserve the body of the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

(8th century). The current façade is by Antonio Stefanucci. In the “Oratorio of St. Andrea” is a series of paintings from the school of

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto ( , ) and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/ Proto-Renaissance period. G ...

, dated 1394, which show the Passion of Christ rediscovered during a 1980s restoration. There is also a beautiful carved wooden ceiling and baroque altar.

References

External links

Bettona
official site, also in English • http://www.prolocobettona.it/ For information on events in Bettona, visit the site of our Proloco
{{Authority control Hilltowns in Umbria