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Amelia is a town and ''
comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...
'' located in central
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
which is part of the province of Terni. The city is located in
Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...
not far from the border with
Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...
.


Geography

The city of Amelia sits on a defensive rocky spur, and is almost entirely surrounded by ancient
Cyclopean walls Cyclopean masonry is a type of stonework found in Mycenaean architecture, built with massive limestone boulders, roughly fitted together with minimal clearance between adjacent stones and with clay mortar or no use of mortar. The boulders typi ...
believed to date from the 7th and the 4th centuries BC). Situated in the southwest portion of Umbria, the city overlooks the
Tiber River The Tiber ( ; ; ) is the List of rivers of Italy, third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the R ...
to the east and the Nera River to the west. The city is north of Narni, from
Orte Orte is a town, ''comune'', former Catholic bishopric and Latin titular see in the province of Viterbo, in the central Italian region of Lazio, located about north of Rome and about east of Viterbo. Geography Orte is situated in the Tiber V ...
and approximately from
Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...
. It is about north of
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
.


History

According to some Italian scholars, Amelia is the oldest town in Umbria. In the third book of his "Naturalis Historia",
Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...
reports a statement made by Cato according to which the origins of the city were said to date back to the period of a mythical Umbrian king called Ameroë, the son of Atlas (hence the name of Ameria, by which the city was known in the ancient time). In this recording, it is said that that Ameria was founded 963 years before the war with Perseus (171–168 BC), so 1134 BC, a date which is likely unreliable, though the city shows evidence that the hill that forms the nucleus of modern Amelia had already been settled in the eleventh or tenth century. In its ancient past, the city was subsequently dominated by the
Pelasgians The name Pelasgians (, ) was used by Classical Greek writers to refer either to the predecessors of the Greeks, or to all the inhabitants of Greece before the emergence of the Greeks. In general, "Pelasgian" has come to mean more broadly all ...
, by the
Umbrians The Umbri were an Italic people of ancient Italy. A region called Umbria still exists and is now occupied by Italian speakers. It is somewhat smaller than the ancient Umbria. Most ancient Umbrian cities were settled in the 9th-4th centuries BC ...
, and finally by the
Etruscans The Etruscan civilization ( ) was an ancient civilization created by the Etruscans, a people who inhabited Etruria in List of ancient peoples of Italy, ancient Italy, with a common language and culture, and formed a federation of city-states. Af ...
, and later still by the Romans, although it is not mentioned by name in the history of the Roman conquest of Umbria. Ameria occupied a strategic location in the Second Latin War (340–338 BC), lying on a loop of the ''
Via Cassia The Via Cassia () 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 through Baccanae, Sutrium ...
'' called the '' Via Amerina'', which started at Falerii and crossed the Tiber at Castellum Amerinum (probably
Orte Orte is a town, ''comune'', former Catholic bishopric and Latin titular see in the province of Viterbo, in the central Italian region of Lazio, located about north of Rome and about east of Viterbo. Geography Orte is situated in the Tiber V ...
). By the late fourth or early third century BCE Ameria had likely been granted the status of a municipium as maps of the territory document the Via Amerina extending from Ameria (Amelia) to Perusia (
Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...
) at some time in the 3rd century BC. This road is also referred to in the
Tabula Peutingeriana ' (Latin Language, Latin for 'The Peutinger Map'), also known as Peutinger's Tabula, Peutinger tablesJames Strong (theologian) , James Strong and John McClintock (theologian) , John McClintock (1880)"Eleutheropolis" In: ''The Cyclopedia of Bibli ...
, a unique map of the road system for the cursus publicus, the public transport system in use in the Roman Empire. The town gained political status as a self-governing ''
municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (: ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ('duty holders'), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privileges ...
'', possibly as early as 338 BC, but certainly by the middle of the 1st century BC. Citizens of the town were members of the '' tribus Clustumina''.
Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...
's speech in defence of Sextus Roscius Amerinus (the '' pro Roscio Amerino'') describes Ameria as a flourishing place in 80 BC, with a fertile territory extending to the Tiber. Its fruit is often extolled by Roman writers.
Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
divided its lands among his veterans, but did not plant a
colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...
. The bishopric of Ameria was founded in the middle of the fourth century. During the barbaric invasions, the city was besieged and badly damaged by the
Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...
, but was rebuilt by the time the
Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...
descended from the north and asserted control over most of what is now Umbria. The Lombards, in turn, were forced out by the Byzantines, and thereafter, throughout the Middle Ages, and up to the time of
Italian unification The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...
in 1860, Amelia stayed more or less under the domination of the
Roman 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 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
within the
Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...
. During the period when the Lombards remained in control of the ''
Via Flaminia The Via Flaminia () was an ancient Roman roads, 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 f ...
'', Amelia was an important stop on a vital alternative route, the so-called Byzantine Way, which connected Rome to the exarchate in
Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...
. During the Middle Ages, Amelia went through the political convulsions common to other Umbrian cities: struggles that saw it emerge as an independent-minded comune, then as a city under the control of a succession of powerful families, sometimes ecclesiastical, and subject to internecine warfare between
Guelphs The Guelphs and Ghibellines ( , ; ) were Political faction, factions supporting the Pope (Guelphs) and the Holy Roman Emperor (Ghibellines) in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy during the Middle Ages. During the 12th ...
and
Ghibellines The Guelphs and Ghibellines ( , ; ) were factions supporting the Pope (Guelphs) and the Holy Roman Emperor (Ghibellines) in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy during the Middle Ages. During the 12th and 13th centurie ...
. The
campanile A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...
of the cathedral was erected in 1050 using fragments of Roman buildings.


Main sights

Amelia is especially known for its almost intact, defensive Pre-Roman walls, built by Italic civilizations (Umbrians and Pelasgians) in the centuries between the 6th and 4th BC. The oldest of these are located inside the historic center between the Teatro Sociale and the Porta della Valle. Large segments of these were constructed using
polygonal masonry In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...
of a type defined as "cyclopean", meaning they are characterized by limestone blocks of considerable size (sometimes exceeding 2 metres), cut with great precision in the shape of irregular polygons and then stacked without using mortar. A thirty-meter segment of this wall collapsed in 2006 and remains under repair. The walls were further fortified and enlarged during Roman times and at various times during the Middle Ages. The walls run about 720 meters and are about 3.5 meters thick, and have four main gates: the imposing Porta Romana to the south, the main access to the city; Posterola to the north; Porta Leone to the east; and Porta della Valle to the west. The Romans left other traces of their occupation, including a complex of ten underground cisterns, built in the first century AD, which collected rainwater to feed the city's water supply. There are also snatches of Roman roads within the city, some of them only recently uncovered. A larger-than-life gilt bronze statue of
Germanicus Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was a Roman people, Roman general and politician most famously known for his campaigns against Arminius in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicu ...
was unearthed just outside the Porta Romana in 1963 and is now a featured object of the city's Museo Civico Archeologico. Today, old Amelia inside the walls, which is most accessible through the Porta Romana, is a well-preserved medieval city. The upper part also offers a panoramic view of the Tiber Valley. The center of the city is the Piazza del Duomo where the cathedral and the thirty-meter-high ' (Civic Tower) are located. Amelia Cathedral was built originally in 872, and totally rebuilt in
Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
style after a fire in 1629: its façade is of pink cotto and was completed only in the nineteenth century. The interior has works by
Federico Zuccari Federico Zuccaro, also known as Federico Zuccari and Federigo Zucchero ( July/August 1609), was an Italian painter, draughtsman, architect and writer. He worked in various cities in Italy, as well as in other countries such as Spain, France, t ...
, Lavinia Fontana, Agostino di Duccio, an organ from 1600, and a Turkish banner captured at Lepanto. Nearby are the Archaeological Museum and the ' (Municipal Gallery), housed in the old Boccarini college. *'' San Francesco''- construction of the church was begun in 1287, is in Piazza Vera, with a cloister and a convent, which was added in the fourteenth century, and renovated with some
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
influences in the sixteenth. The church is capped with an impressive dome that dates to the eleventh century and was modified in the seventeenth century. There is also a bell tower, rebuilt in 1932, while the Romanesque-Gothic façade was finished between 1401 and 1406. Inside are housed sculptures by
Duccio Duccio di Buoninsegna ( , ; – ), commonly known as just Duccio, was an Italian painter active in Siena, Tuscany, in the late 13th and early 14th century. He was hired throughout his life to complete many important works in government and religi ...
, and some Baroque material from the seventeenth and eighteenth century; the noteworthy Geraldini Chapel is from the fifteenth century. *''Sant'Agostino'', consecrated in 1288, has a façade that is an example of
Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...
with a Gothic overlay. The Marotti pipe organ was only installed in 1841. The annexed cloister, designed by the Lombard master Martino Tartaglia in 1492, has a portico surmounted by a
loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...
with small Corinthian columns. The church of S. Pancrazio features a main door that is a decorative tour-de-force. Of note also is the church of the ''Madonna delle Cinque Fonti''. The now deconsecrated church of S. Giovanni Decollato, also called the Ospedaletto, can be viewed outside. *''S. Magno'', a Benedictine monastery along via Posterola is for cloistered nuns. Inside its little church is a perfectly restored and utterly unique (none other exists) double keyboard organ from 1680. Among the non-religious buildings there are palaces built during the fourteenth and fifteenth century by the overlords of the city: ''Palazzo Farrattini'' and ''Palazzo Petrignani''. The ''Teatro Operino'' is an opera house built in the eighteenth century and features frescos by nineteenth-century artist Domenico Bruschi.


Surrounding area

The hilly countryside around Amelia presents several points of interest. The Convent of the ''Santissima Annunziata'', founded by St. Francis'
Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (commonly called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the t ...
, has a
planetarium A planetarium (: planetariums or planetaria) is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetariums is ...
. The
Cistercians The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...
established a convent at Foce, the Sanctuary of the Virgin. The small fraction of Porchiano del Monte has Medieval walls featuring a number of guard towers, and a small Romanesque church, ''San Simeone''. The church of S. Timoteo, also Romanesque, has fourteenth- and fifteenth-century frescoes. Fornole is home to the Romanesque church of San Silvestro, with an interesting fresco cycle showing the saint freeing the town from the grasp of a dragon. Near the town is the ''Lago Vecchio'' ("Old Lake") formed by a dam on a small river, the Rio Grande. Rowing boats can be rented to come around in the shade of alder, poplar and willow trees, looking for sometimes surprised ducks and herons. There is a small park called ', a former horse racing track, with a walking — or jogging — path around the track, now used for weekend dances and social gatherings.


International Academic Partnerships

In 2009, the city of Amelia formed a partnership with the Association for Research into Crimes against Art (ARCA) inviting the researchers to host their professional development Postgraduate Certificate Program in Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection, inside the city's 14th century Collegio Boccarini cloister adjacent to the Museo Civico Archeologico. This program is held from late May through mid August annually in the historic center of Amelia in collaboration with the city of Amelia. In addition, since April 2024, the city of Amelia has also been hosting the Amelia International Conservation Studies (AICS) summer field school, organized by the Art Restoration and Conservation International Field School (ARCIFS). The AICS program offers comprehensive education and training in the disciplines of historic preservation, restoration, and conservation. Through a combination of lectures, activities, fieldwork, workshops, and field trips, students gain practical and theoretical knowledge in art restoration and conservation, working on real conservation projects under the guidance of industry professionals.


Twin towns

*
Civitavecchia Civitavecchia (, meaning "ancient town") is a city and major Port, sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea west-northwest of Rome. Its legal status is a ''comune'' (municipality) of Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Rome, Lazio. The harbour is formed by ...
, Italy, since 1995 * Joigny,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, since 2005 * Stylida,
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, since 2002


References


External links

*
Amelia sotterranea
Underground Amelia)

(Thayer's Gazetteer)
The Association for Research into Crimes Against Art

Postgraduate Certificate Program

Art Crime Conference
*
Franco Della Rosa


{{Authority control Cities and towns in Umbria Hilltowns in Umbria