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Civita Castellana
—  Comune  —
Comune di Civita Castellana
Piazza Matteotti in Civita Castellana by night.
Coat of arms
Civita Castellana Location of Civita Castellana in Italy
Coordinates: 42°17′N 12°24′E / 42.283°N 12.4°E / 42.283; 12.4Coordinates: 42°17′N 12°24′E / 42.283°N 12.4°E / 42.283; 12.4
Country	Italy
Region	Lazio
Province	Viterbo (VT)
Frazioni	Borghetto, Pian Paradiso, Sassacci
Government
- Mayor	Gianluca Angelelli
Area
- Total	83.28 km2 (32.2 sq mi)
Elevation	145 m (476 ft)
Population (2008)
- Total	16,722
- Density	200.8/km2 (520.1/sq mi)
- Demonym	Civitonici
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	01033
Dialing code	0761
Patron saint	Sts. John and Marcianus
Saint day	September 16
Website	Official website

Civita Castellana is a town and comune in the province of Viterbo, 65 km north of Rome.

The façade of the Cathedral of Civita Castellana.

Mount Soracte lies about 10 km to the south-east.

History

Civita Castellana was settled during the Iron Age by the Italic people of the Falisci, who called it Falerii. After the Faliscan defeat against the Romans, a new city was built by the latter, about 5 km away, and called Falerii Novi.

The abandoned city was repopulated beginning in the early Middle Ages, with the new name of Civita Castellana (roughly translated as "City of the Castle") mentioned first in 994. In the following centuries the city was a flourishing independent commune, often contended by the Pope and the Holy Roman Empire. Captured by Pope Paschal II at the beginning of the 12th century, the city was given as fief to the Savelli by Gregory XIV.

Sixtus IV assigned the city to Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, the future Pope Alexander VI, who started the construction of the Rocca ("Castle"), which was completed under Julius II.

Civita Castellana became an important road hub with the connection to the Via Flaminia (1606) and the construction of Ponte Clementino after the French victory against a Neapolitan army in 1709.

Main sights

The cathedral of Santa Maria di Pozzano (Santa Maria Maggiore) possesses a fine portico, erected in 1210 by Laurentius Romanus, his son Jacobus and his grandson Cosmas, in the Cosmatesque style, with ancient columns and mosaic decorations. The right portal has a rare example of Early Middle Ages Germanic figurative art, portraying a boar hunt. The interior was modernized in the 18th century, but has some fragments of cosmatesque ornamentation. The high altar is made out of a Paleo-Christian sarcophagus of the 3rd or 4th century. The ancient crpyt and the old sacristy are also interesting.

The church of Santa Chiara was a Renaissance portal from 1529, while the Church of the Carmine has a noteworthy, small belltower from the 12th century, including antique Roman elements.

The Rocca (citadel) was erected by Alexander VI from the designs of Antonio da Sangallo the Elder, over pre-existing fortifications, and enlarged by Julius II and Leo X.

Ponte Clementino, the bridge by which the town is approached, dates to the 18th century.

The town also contains the ruins of the Castle of Paterno, where, on 23 January 1002, Emperor Otto III died at the age of 22.

The National Museum of the Faliscan Countryside contains findings from the ancient Falerii and the surrounding areas.

Sources and references

• Boscolo, Silvia, Luca Creti, Consuelo Mastelloni (1993) Il pavimento cosmatesco della Cattedrale di Civita Castellana. Biblioteca e società 23(1-2).[1]
• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913. [2]

From Wikitravel

Civita Castellana is a city in the north of Lazio in Italy.

Understand

Civita Castellana was settled during the Iron Age by the Falisci, who called it Falerii. It was already important 3000 years ago, protected from invaders by its high position and surrounding stream and cliffs. The Romans defeated the Falisci in 396 BC and in again in 241 BC after a revolt by the locals who were then required to build a new, less defensible, city about 5 km away,. This is known as Falerii Novi (see Get Out).

An 1844 painting of Civita Castellana by Edward Lear, of Limerick fame.

The original city was repopulated in the early Middle Ages because it offered greater protection, and the new name of Civita Castellana was first mentioned in 994. In the following centuries the city was a flourishing independent commune.

Get in

Civita Castellana is 60km to the north of Rome. By car from Rome’s ring road, the GRA, take the SS2bis (known as the Cassia bis) until Gabelletta and then the SS311 in the direction of Nepi. Civita Castellana is a few km after Nepi on the same road.

By train, the city can be reached from Rome by the Rome to Viterbo line that leaves from the station at Piazzale Flaminio, near Piazza del Popolo.

• The Cathedral of S. Maria Maggiore, (Il Duomo). This is a very attractive building. There is considerable Cosmatesque work (geometrical floor mosaics) both inside and out. These patterns were created in the Middle Ages from thin slices cut from colored marble and columns left in the ancient ruins. The name derives from a Roman family, the Cosmati, who did this sort of work. Similar Cosmati floors can be found in Rome, Anagni and Spoleto. The high altar is made out of a sarcophagus of the 3rd or 4th century. The ancient crypt and the old sacristy are also worth viewing. Outside, the effect of the beautiful portico, dating back to 1210, is somewhat spoilt by the fence that protects it.

• The fortress (La Rocca). This fortress was built by Pope Alexander VI and completed by Julius II with the erection of the octagonal keep. It's an excellent example of military architecture and is still very well preserved. In the early 19th Century it served as the main prison for northern Lazio and became known as the Papal Bastille as it confined many Italian patriots.

Entrance to Falerii Novi

• Falerii Novi is 6km west of Civita Castellana. It is situated on a slight volcanic plateau. There are extensive walls, considered to be excellent examples of Etruscan/Roman city walls. Built out of tufo rock they are about 2km long. S. Maria of Falerii was built around the 12th Century. Its ruins are clearly visible but the roof collapsed in 1829.

From LoveToKnow 1911