Nepi is a town and comune

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 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...

 in the province of Viterbo

Province of Viterbo

The Province of Viterbo is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Viterbo. It is bordered to the north by the Province of Grosseto and Siena, by the north-east with the Province of Terni and Rieti, in the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea and south by the Province of Rome.It...

, region of Lazio. The town lies 30 km southeast of the city of Viterbo

Viterbo

See also Viterbo, Texas and Viterbo UniversityViterbo is an ancient city and comune in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It is approximately 80 driving / 80 walking kilometers north of GRA on the Via Cassia, and it is surrounded by the Monti Cimini and...

 and about 13 km southwest from Civita Castellana

Civita Castellana

Civita Castellana is a town and comune in the province of Viterbo, 65 km north of Rome.Mount Soracte lies about 10 km to the south-east.-History:...

.

The town is known for its mineral springs, sold and bottled under the Acqua di Nepi brand throughout Italy.

History

The location of the city was already occupied in the 8th century BC, and neighbouring Pizzo in the Bronze Age. Nepet then became Roman

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....

 before 386 BC, when Livy

Livy

Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...

 speaks of it and Sutrium as the keys of Etruria

Etruria

Etruria—usually referred to in Greek and Latin source texts as Tyrrhenia—was a region of Central Italy, an area that covered part of what now are Tuscany, Latium, Emilia-Romagna, and Umbria. A particularly noteworthy work dealing with Etruscan locations is D. H...

. In that year it was surrendered to the Etruscan

Etruscan civilization

Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to a civilization of ancient Italy in the area corresponding roughly to Tuscany. The ancient Romans called its creators the Tusci or Etrusci...

s and recovered by the Romans, who beheaded the authors of its surrender. It became a colony in 383 BC. It was among the twelve Latin colonies that refused further help to Rome in 209 BC. After the Social War it became a municipium. It is hardly mentioned in imperial times, except as a station on the road (Via Amerina) which diverged from the Via Cassia

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...

 near the modern Settevene and ran to Amelia

Amelia

-Places:* Amelia, Umbria, a town in Italy* Amelia, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, United States* Amelia, Nebraska, an unincorporated community in Holt County, Nebraska, United States...

 and Todi

Todi

Todi is a town and comune of the province of Perugia in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant views in every direction.In the 1990s, Richard S...

.

In the 8th century AD it was for a short while the seat of a duchy.

Main sights

• Borgia castle, a 15th century reconstruction of a feudal manor. It has massive walls and four towers, one of which visitable.
• Cathedral of the Assunta, built in the 12th century over a pagan temple. It has been rebuilt in 1831 after the French troops had set it on fire during the Napoleonic Wars. Of the ancient structure the crypt
  Crypt
  In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
  
   remains, which includes the primitive pagan altar
• Town Hall, designed by 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]]....
  
   in the 15th century, was completed in the 18th century only. The bottom part made by stone, ist embellished by a porch and the upper part by windows and a balcony with an original bell-tower on the top. Just in front of it there's a fountain that is presumed to be designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini
  Gian Lorenzo Bernini
  Gian Lorenzo Bernini was an Italian artist who worked principally in Rome. He was the leading sculptor of his age and also a prominent architect...
  
  . On the inside there is a Museum with archaeological founds of the local area.
• Santa Savinilla Catacombs (800 B.C.)