Castro (Viterbo)

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The city of Castro in the province of Viterbo was the capital of the Duchy of Castro for over 100 years before it was destroyed and abandoned in 1649.

history

Castro, the capital and residence of the Duke, is an ancient city near the Fiora River , in the center of southern Etruria in the Maremma Lazio. Today the place belongs to Ischia di Castro . Castro was destroyed in 1649 after a siege, conquest and deportation of the inhabitants.

The origins of the place go back to Etruscan times, traces of which have been found in the districts of Chiusa del Vescovo and Infernaccio. There are numerous tombs in the necropolis, including the Tomba della Biga , which was discovered in 1967.

In the Middle Ages the castle belonged to a woman, an unusual situation that gave the place the name Castrum Felicitatis . The place grew and became a city with a certain communal independence under the suzerainty of the Pope, who defended it against the attacks of the noble lords from Tuscany and Latium.

Portrait of Pier Luigi Farneses by Tizian
Capodimonte Museum, Naples

In 1527 a group under Antonio Scaramiccia and Giacomo (Jacopo) Caronio tried to usurp power in the city. The citizens called on Pier Luigi Farnese for help, who achieved a peaceful entry into Castro. Pope Clement VII , who had been forced to flee to Orvieto by mercenaries who plundered Rome ( Sacco di Roma ) that same year , ordered Pier Luigi Farnese to leave the city, which he did in November. Immediately afterwards the Pope instructed Gian Galeazzo Farnese, a cousin of Pier Luigis and Lord von Latera, to punish the residents of Castro in an exemplary manner.

On December 28, 1527, Gian Galeazzo Farnese invaded the city and began the looting described in 1575 by the notary Domenico Angeli, a resident of the city, in De Depraedatione Castrensium et suae Patriae Historia . According to his description, Farnese succeeded in entering the city via the Porta de Santa Maria, which the inhabitants of the city used to get to the only source with which the city could supply itself with water.

Ten years later, on October 31, 1537, the city, which had not yet recovered from the sacking, became the property of the Farnese. The new owners had the city completely restored with the help of the architect Antonio da Sangallo and with their own money, transforming Castro into a Renaissance- style city .

The new city

Many visitors to Castro, including the historian and writer Annibale Caro , left detailed descriptions of the city. It was on a hill, half of which was surrounded by the Olpeta, which to get into the city had to be crossed by a bridge with two arches. In the center of the place was the Piazza Maggiore with a fountain, at which the "Zecca" (coin) and the "Hostaria", the guest house of the duke, which was called by the residents as Palazzo del Duca in Piazza , were. The city's most important citizens live in the piazza and in the surrounding streets. Drawings of Sangallo's ducal palace, which are kept in Florence , show a mixture of a 15th century fortress and a 17th century castle. Castro also had cobbled streets, which was a rarity in the 16th century.

According to the Curia, there were 13 churches in Castro, including above all the Romanesque Cathedral of San Savino as the seat of a bishop, which was consecrated on April 29, 1286 by the Bishop of Castro, San Bernardo da Bagnoregio. Near the city walls stood the Church of San Pancrazio, built by Vulci residents who fled to Castro after the Saracens destroyed their city. The other churches are the Chiesa della Madonna della Viola (residence of the bishop before the construction of the cathedral), San Bernado Abate, Santa Lucia, San Sabastiano, La Madonna del Camine (built due to an oath of a military) and Santa Maria dei Servi outside the Town and near a cemetery. A hospital was attached to San Giovanni, which was run by the brotherhood of the same name. Luciani Silvestri, one of the lay brothers, had a hospice built for orphans and widows at his own expense. In Prato Cotone near the confluence of the Olpeta and the Fiora, a Franciscan monastery was built according to Sangallo's plans .

Sangallo designed the city walls and the main entrance, Porta Lamberta, in the form of a triumphal arch depicting the exploits of the Farnese family.

Castro has (now within the city) a fountain that corresponds to that of San Patrizio in Orvieto , the "Fontata di Santa Lucia", which takes its name from the nearby church.

The end of Castro

After a first war between the Farnese and the Pope for the Duchy of Castro (1641-1644) broke out in 1649 after the murder of the newly appointed bishop Cristoforo Giarda, a second war. In the summer the ducal troops were defeated, the besieged Castro surrendered on September 2, 1649 after the duke had fled to Parma. Eight months later, the Pope ordered the destruction of the city, including the main church. The seat of the bishop was moved to Acquapendente. The works of art were distributed to the Roman nobility. The bells of the cathedral are now in the church of Sant'Agnese in Rome.

Castro today

Today (2016) the ruins of the city are hidden under dense forest, but still clearly visible. They can be accessed via hiking trails. Parts of the ruins have been excavated in recent years; B. the Piazza Maggiore and the ruins of a church. Access to the ruins is free. It can be reached via the SP 47 from Farnese heading west.

literature

  • Giovanni Conctrucci, Le monete del Ducato di Castro , Comune di Ischio di Castro
  • George Dennis, The Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria , Londres 1848
  • Edoardo del Vecchio, I Farnese, Istituto di Studi Romani Editore, 1972
  • Rivista Biblioteca e Società, Allegato al N.2, Consorzio per la gestione delle Biblioteche di Viterbo, June 1994
  • Romualdo Luzi, L'inedito ... , cit., Roma 1985
  • George Dennis, Vulci: Canino, Ischia, Farnese. Città e necropoli d'Etruria , a cura di Franco Cambi, Nuova Immagine Editrice, Siena 1993, ISBN 88-7145-053-1
  • Alfio Cavoli, La Cartagine della Maremma , Roma 1990.
  • Studio della città di Castro - Tesi di laurea in Architettura 2005 [1]
  • Romualdo Luzi, Qui fu Castro.
  • Romualdo Luzi, Storia di Castro e della sua distruzione.
  • Romualdo Luzi, L'inedito "Giornale" dell'assedio, presa e demolizione di Castro (1649) dopo l'assassinio del Vescovo barnabita Mons. Cristoforo Giarda. Roma 1985
  • Romualdo Luzi, La produione della ceramica d'ingobbio nella distrutta città di Castro: un fenomeno d'arte popolare d'intensa diffusione.
  • G. Gavelli, La città di Castro e l'opera di Antonio da Sangallo, Ed. Ceccarelli Grotte di Castro 1981
  • A. Cavoli, La Cartagine della Maremma, Roma 1990
  • Mons. E. Stendardi, Memorie Storiche della Distrutta città di Castro, Ed. Fratelli Quattrini, Viterbe 1955
  • D. Angeli, De depraedatione castrensium, et suae patriae historia, Lugdum Batavorum 1720 approx., Édition traduite par G. Baffioni et P. Mattiangeli, avec la collaboration de T. Lotti, Roma 1981

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ^ G. Moroni, Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica, Venezia 1860-1861, Vol. 101-102. P. 121
  2. ↑ C. Lanzi, Memorie storiche sulla regione castrense, Roma 1938, p. 281.

Coordinates: 42 ° 31 '58 "  N , 11 ° 38' 55"  E