Città di Castello
Encyclopedia
Città di Castello is a city and comune
in the province of Perugia
, in the northern part of the Umbria
region of Italy
. It is situated on a slope of the Apennines, on the flood plain of the river Tiber
. The city is 56 km (35 mi) north of Perugia
and 104 km (65 mi) south of Cesena
on the S3bis. It is connected to the A1 highway by the SS 73 from Arezzo
.
tribes. The Romans
knew it as Tifernum Tiberinum ("Tifernum on the Tiber") or Civitas Tiberina. Just nearby, Pliny the Younger
built his villa in Tuscis, which is identified with walls, mosaic floors and marble fragments surviving at a place now called Colle Plinio, the "Hill of Pliny". The town may have come into conflict with the Etruscans.
In 550, Tifernum was largely destroyed during the Ostrogothic
campaign by Fantalogus, at the orders of Totila
. The town was subsequently rebuilt by its bishop, Floridus, around a castle, and renamed first Castrum Felicitatis and later Civitas Castelli. By the Donation of Pepin
of the Frankish king Pepin the Short in 752, it went to the Holy See, though in practice it was disputed between the papacy, Perugia and Florence. It was ruled by the Vitelli family, even after Cesare Borgia
attached the city more directly to the Holy See.
In subsequent centuries, it had various rulers, among them Pier Saccone Tarlati di Pietramala
, brother of Guido, Bishop of Arezzo. Pier Saccone sold it in 1322 to Guido Alberto de' Guidi di Modigliana. In the later Middle Ages it was governed successively by the Guelphs and Ghibellines. In 1375, Città di Castello joined the insurrection of other cities of the States of the Church. Cardinal Robert of Geneva (later antipope as Clement VII), tried to capture it using Breton mercenaries, but was repulsed. Under Pope Martin V
in 1420, it was taken by the condottiero Braccio da Montone
. Later Niccolò Vitelli
, aided by Florence and Milan, became absolute ruler or tiranno. Antonio da Sangallo the Younger
built an extensive palace for the Vitelli
family.
In 1474, Sixtus IV sent his nephew, Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere (later Julius II); after fruitless negotiations he laid siege to the city, but Vitelli did not surrender until he learned that the command of the army had been given to Duke Federico III da Montefeltro. The following year Vitelli tried unsuccesefully to recapture the city; fear of Cesare Borgia induced him to desist, since Cesare Borgia had his father strangled and Città di Castello added to the papal possessions.
Towards the end of the twentieth century, the city has seen a considerable expansion northwards toward San Giustino, with industrial parks tracking the river, railroad and main highway: the area produces farm machinery, textiles, ceramics and furnishings.
works, notable for its external decoration by Giorgio Vasari
.
The much reworked cathedral, now mostly from the 18th century with an unfinished 17th century façade, has an altar-front (paliotto) of chased silver dating to the 12th century, and a crosier from the 15th. It also houses works by Niccolò Circignani
, Rosso Fiorentino
and Raffaellino del Colle
. The bell tower is in Romanesque
style (13th century). The Cathedral's museum is home to the Canoscio hoard
, a set of Late Antique
silver spoons and plates with Christian motifs, as well as a silvered altarpiece donated by Pope Celestine V in the 12th century, a Madonna by Pinturicchio
(1486) and Angels by Giulio Romano
.
The city has memorialized the abstract painter and sculptor Alberto Burri
, who was born in Città di Castello, with the "Fondazione Palazzo Albizzini Collezione Burri" housing a large permanent museum of his works in the former Palazzo Albizzini.
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
in the province of Perugia
Province of Perugia
The Province of 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...
, in the northern part of the Umbria
Umbria
Umbria is a region of modern central Italy. It is one of the smallest Italian regions and the only peninsular region that is landlocked.Its capital is Perugia.Assisi and Norcia are historical towns associated with St. Francis of Assisi, and St...
region of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. It is situated on a slope of the Apennines, on the flood plain of the river Tiber
Tiber
The Tiber is the third-longest river in Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Umbria and Lazio to the Tyrrhenian Sea. It drains a basin estimated at...
. The city is 56 km (35 mi) north of Perugia
Perugia
Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....
and 104 km (65 mi) south of Cesena
Cesena
Cesena is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, south of Ravenna and west of Rimini, on the Savio River, co-chief of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. It is at the foot of the Apennines, and about 15 km from the Adriatic Sea.-History:Cesena was originally an Umbrian...
on the S3bis. It is connected to the A1 highway by the SS 73 from Arezzo
Arezzo
Arezzo is a city and comune in Central Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about 80 km southeast of Florence, at an elevation of 296 m above sea level. In 2011 the population was about 100,000....
.
History
The town was founded by the UmbriUmbri
The Umbri were an Italic people of ancient Italy. A region called Umbria still exists and is currently occupied by Italian speakers. It is somewhat smaller than the ancient Umbria....
tribes. The Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
knew it as Tifernum Tiberinum ("Tifernum on the Tiber") or Civitas Tiberina. Just nearby, Pliny the Younger
Pliny the Younger
Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo , better known as Pliny the Younger, was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate him...
built his villa in Tuscis, which is identified with walls, mosaic floors and marble fragments surviving at a place now called Colle Plinio, the "Hill of Pliny". The town may have come into conflict with the Etruscans.
In 550, Tifernum was largely destroyed during the Ostrogothic
Gothic War
Gothic War can refer to several periods of warfare between the Roman empire and the Goths, including:*Gothic War – Greuthungs and Thervings against the Eastern Roman Empire*Gothic War – Visigoths against the Western Roman Empire...
campaign by Fantalogus, at the orders of Totila
Totila
Totila, original name Baduila was King of the Ostrogoths from 541 to 552 AD. A skilled military and political leader, Totila reversed the tide of Gothic War, recovering by 543 almost all the territories in Italy that the Eastern Roman Empire had captured from his Kingdom in 540.A relative of...
. The town was subsequently rebuilt by its bishop, Floridus, around a castle, and renamed first Castrum Felicitatis and later Civitas Castelli. By the Donation of Pepin
Donation of Pepin
The "Donation of Pepin", the first in 754, and second in 756, provided a legal basis for the formal organizing of the Papal States, which inaugurated papal temporal rule over civil authorities...
of the Frankish king Pepin the Short in 752, it went to the Holy See, though in practice it was disputed between the papacy, Perugia and Florence. It was ruled by the Vitelli family, even after Cesare Borgia
Cesare Borgia
Cesare Borgia , Duke of Valentinois, was an Italian condottiero, nobleman, politician, and cardinal. He was the son of Pope Alexander VI and his long-term mistress Vannozza dei Cattanei. He was the brother of Lucrezia Borgia; Giovanni Borgia , Duke of Gandia; and Gioffre Borgia , Prince of Squillace...
attached the city more directly to the Holy See.
In subsequent centuries, it had various rulers, among them Pier Saccone Tarlati di Pietramala
Pier Saccone Tarlati di Pietramala
Pier Saccone Tarlati di Pietramala was an Italian condottiero from Pietramala d'Arezzo in the Val d'Arno, a rocca that controlled the mule track between his native town of Arezzo and Anghiari...
, brother of Guido, Bishop of Arezzo. Pier Saccone sold it in 1322 to Guido Alberto de' Guidi di Modigliana. In the later Middle Ages it was governed successively by the Guelphs and Ghibellines. In 1375, Città di Castello joined the insurrection of other cities of the States of the Church. Cardinal Robert of Geneva (later antipope as Clement VII), tried to capture it using Breton mercenaries, but was repulsed. Under Pope Martin V
Pope Martin V
Pope Martin V , born Odo Colonna, was Pope from 1417 to 1431. His election effectively ended the Western Schism .-Biography:...
in 1420, it was taken by the condottiero Braccio da Montone
Braccio da Montone
frame|Braccio da Montone.Braccio da Montone , born Andrea Fortebracci, and also known as Braccio Fortebraccio, was an Italian condottiero.-Biography:...
. Later Niccolò Vitelli
Niccolò Vitelli
Niccolò Vitelli was an Italian condottiero of the Vitelli family from Città di Castello.The son of Giovanni Vitelli and Maddalena dei Marchesi di Petriolo, he was orphaned and grew under the tutelage of his uncle Vitellozzo who introduced him into the political life of the area...
, aided by Florence and Milan, became absolute ruler or tiranno. Antonio da Sangallo the Younger
Antonio da Sangallo the Younger
thumb|250px|The church of Santa Maria di Loreto near the [[Trajan's Market]] in [[Rome]], considered Sangallo's masterwork.thumb|250px|View of St. Patrick's Well in [[Orvieto]]....
built an extensive palace for the Vitelli
Vitelli
The Vitelli, among other families so named, were a prominent family of Umbria, rulers of Città di Castello and lesser rocche. In spite of ambitious genealogies, there is no demonstrable connection with the ancient Roman Vitellius...
family.
In 1474, Sixtus IV sent his nephew, Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere (later Julius II); after fruitless negotiations he laid siege to the city, but Vitelli did not surrender until he learned that the command of the army had been given to Duke Federico III da Montefeltro. The following year Vitelli tried unsuccesefully to recapture the city; fear of Cesare Borgia induced him to desist, since Cesare Borgia had his father strangled and Città di Castello added to the papal possessions.
Towards the end of the twentieth century, the city has seen a considerable expansion northwards toward San Giustino, with industrial parks tracking the river, railroad and main highway: the area produces farm machinery, textiles, ceramics and furnishings.
Main sights
The city is mostly built of brick, since the local sandstone erodes very rapidly. Its principal monuments include the medieval Palazzo Comunale and a tall thin tower, the Torre Comunale; and the Pinacoteca Comunale, an art museum with mostly RenaissanceRenaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
works, notable for its external decoration by Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari was an Italian painter, writer, historian, and architect, who is famous today for his biographies of Italian artists, considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing.-Biography:...
.
The much reworked cathedral, now mostly from the 18th century with an unfinished 17th century façade, has an altar-front (paliotto) of chased silver dating to the 12th century, and a crosier from the 15th. It also houses works by Niccolò Circignani
Niccolò Circignani
Niccolò Circignani was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance or Mannerist period.Born in Pomarance, he is one of three Italian painters called Pomarancio. His first works are documented from the 1560s, where he painted frescos on the Old Testament stories for the Vatican Belvedere, where he...
, Rosso Fiorentino
Rosso Fiorentino
Giovanni Battista di Jacopo , known as Rosso Fiorentino , or Il Rosso, was an Italian Mannerist painter, in oil and fresco, belonging to the Florentine school.-Biography:...
and Raffaellino del Colle
Raffaellino del Colle
Raffaellino del Colle was an Italian Mannerist painter active mostly in Umbria. He was born in Colle, Borgo Sansepolcro, Tuscany.He is also called Raffaellino della Colle. A pupil of Raphael, whom he is held to have assisted in the Farnesina and the Vatican. After Raphael's death, Raffaellino...
. The bell tower is in Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
style (13th century). The Cathedral's museum is home to the Canoscio hoard
Canoscio
Canoscio is a frazione of Città di Castello, Umbria.It is home to the Shrine of the Madonna of Canoscio , atop a hill overlooking the upper valley of the Tiber at 449 m...
, a set of Late Antique
Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...
silver spoons and plates with Christian motifs, as well as a silvered altarpiece donated by Pope Celestine V in the 12th century, a Madonna by Pinturicchio
Pinturicchio
Bernardino di Betto, called Pintoricchio or Pinturicchio was an Italian painter of the Renaissance. He acquired his nickname, Pintoricchio , because of his small stature, and he used it to sign some of his works....
(1486) and Angels by Giulio Romano
Giulio Romano
Giulio Romano was an Italian painter and architect. A pupil of Raphael, his stylistic deviations from high Renaissance classicism help define the 16th-century style known as Mannerism...
.
The city has memorialized the abstract painter and sculptor Alberto Burri
Alberto Burri
Alberto Burri , was an Italian abstract painter and sculptor. Città di Castello has memorialized him with a large permanent museum of his works....
, who was born in Città di Castello, with the "Fondazione Palazzo Albizzini Collezione Burri" housing a large permanent museum of his works in the former Palazzo Albizzini.
Famous inhabitants
For persons from the city, see People from Città di Castello. In addition, the following are believed to have had a local connection, usually through long residence there:- Pliny the YoungerPliny the YoungerGaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo , better known as Pliny the Younger, was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate him...
- Pope Celestine IIPope Celestine IIPope Celestine II , born Guido di Castello, was pope from 1143 to 1144.-Early life:Guido di Castello, possibly the son of a local noble, Niccolo di Castello, was born either in Città di Castello, situated in Paterna Santa Felicita upon the Apennines, or at Macerata in the March of Ancona.Guido had...
- Monica BellucciMonica BellucciMonica Anna Maria Bellucci is an Italian actress and fashion model.-Early life:Bellucci was born in Città di Castello, Umbria, Italy as the only child of Luigi Bellucci, who was born in the British protectorate of Zanzibar, East Pakistan...
- Vitellozzo VitelliVitellozzo VitelliVitellozzo Vitelli was an Italian condottiero. He was lord of Montone, Città di Castello, Monterchi and Anghiari.-Biography:...
- Alberto BurriAlberto BurriAlberto Burri , was an Italian abstract painter and sculptor. Città di Castello has memorialized him with a large permanent museum of his works....
- Salvatore SciarrinoSalvatore SciarrinoSalvatore Sciarrino is an Italian composer of contemporary classical music.-Biography:In his youth, Sciarrino was attracted to the visual arts, but began experimenting with music when he was twelve. Though he had some lessons from Antonino Titone and Turi Belfiore, he is primarily self-taught as a...
Frazioni
Antirata, Astucci, Badiali, Badia Petroia, Barzotti, Baucca, San Martino d'Upò, Belvedere, Bisacchi, Bonsciano, Caifirenze, Candeggio, Canoscio, Capitana, Celle, Cerbara, Cinquemiglia, Colcello, Coldipozzo, Cornetto, Croce di Castiglione, Fabbrecce, Fiume, Fraccano, Grumale, Lerchi, Lugnano, Madonna di Canoscio, Marchigliano, Montemaggiore, Monte Ruperto, Morra, Muccignano, Nuvole, Palazzone, Petrelle, Piosina, Promano, Riosecco, Roccagnano, Ronti, Rovigliano, San Leo Bastia, San Biagio del Cornetto, San Lorenzo Bibbiana, San Maiano, San Martin Pereto, San Martino di Castelvecchio, San Pietro a Monte, San Secondo, Santa Lucia, Scalocchio, Seripole, Terme di Fontecchio, Titta,Trestina, Uppiano, Userna, Userna Bassa, Valdipetrina, Vallurbana, Vingone, Volterrano.Sources and external links
- Youtube.com Newadvent.org
- Touring Club Italiano, 1966. Guida d'Italia: Umbria pp136–42.
- Official homepage (in Italian) (in English)
- Bill Thayer's site
- Basic information at Umbria Online (in English)
- Umbria Travel: Città di Castello
- Bella Umbria - Città di Castello (in English)