Sutri

Sutri
Country	Italy
region	Lazio
province	Viterbo  (VT)
Coordinates	42 ° 15 '  N , 12 ° 13'  E Coordinates: 42 ° 14 '52 "  N , 12 ° 12' 57"  E
height	291  m slm
surface	61 km²
Residents	6,591 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density	108 inhabitants / km²
Post Code	01015
prefix	0761
ISTAT number	056049
Popular name	Sutrini
Patron saint	Santa Dolcissima
Website	Sutri
Panorama of Sutri

Sutri (the ancient Sutrium ) is an Italian commune in the province of Viterbo in the Lazio region with 6591 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019).

Location and geography

Location of Sutri in the province of Viterbo

Sutri is located 51 km northwest of Rome and 27 km southeast of Viterbo between the foothills of the north-east extending Monti Cimini and the south adjacent Monti Sabatini , both of which are of volcanic origin. The old town is picturesquely situated on a tuff hill surrounded by deep valleys , with only a narrow projection in the west connecting the city with its surroundings. The city includes the modern residential areas of Colle Diana , Fonte Vivola and Muracce . The municipality extends from 236 to 612  m slm

The community is located in earthquake zone 3 (little risk).

The neighboring municipalities, clockwise, are Trevignano Romano ( RM ), Bracciano (RM), Bassano Romano , Capranica , Ronciglione , Nepi and Monterosi .

traffic

Sutri has been in a strategically important position since ancient times. It dominated the road from Latium to Etruria , the Via Cassia . Livy called it, next to Nepet , the "key to Etruria". In the Middle Ages it was a station on the Via Francigena .

• Today the city is on Strada Stadale 2 Via Cassia , which leads from Rome via Viterbo to Florence .
• The Capranica-Sutri station is on the FR3 regional line , 7 km from the town center.
• The nearest international airport, Rome Fiumicino, is 94 km away.

At Sutri there is a small airfield ( Aviosuperficie Vallicella ) for general aviation .

history

Amphitheater of Sutri

Amphitheater: View from Villa Savorelli on the tuff hill

Etruscan tombs around the tuff hill

According to the shape and ornamentation, some ceramic finds suggest that the tuff stone hill dates back to the 10th century BC. Could have been populated. However, nothing more has been researched about this protohistoric culture of the late Bronze Age.

Iron Age grave goods (around 700 BC) were found near the Via Cassia, but only for the 5th century BC. In connection with Roman historiography, a definitive affiliation to the Etruscan Twelve Cities Federation city Veji under the name Suthri can be proven.

After the conquest of Vejis in 396 BC, the Romans arrived. In the possession of the city, which should primarily serve as a military base for the Latin colony they founded. After the capture of Rome by the Celts in 390 BC. BC , the Etruscans managed to briefly recapture the city. According to Titus Livius, however , Marcus Furius Camillus is said to have finally recaptured Sutri for Rome on the same day. He is said to have entered the city through the Porta Furia, which is named after him . In the period that followed, there were repeated uprisings of the population against the colonial rulers. During the Second Samnite War allied with the Samnites Etruscans Sutri besieged in the years 311 - v 310th BC , without being able to take the city. Towards the end of the 3rd century BC After the fighting had subsided, Sutri gradually changed from a military base to a country town.

Towards the end of the Roman Republic, a veterans' settlement ( Colonia coniuncta Iuliae Sutrinae ) was established in Sutri . There was an economic recovery, and the Roman buildings in Sutri (amphitheater) still preserved today presumably date from this period.

To the southeast of the city on Via Cassia, the remains of catacombs were excavated in the 19th century . Sutri belonged to the core zone of the Patrimony of St Peter , was 568 as quite Lazio by the Lombards conquered and was since the 8th century part of the Papal States . In 1046 the important Synod of Sutri took place here.

Like all communities in the area, Sutri got caught up in the tug-of-war between aristocratic families as papal fiefdoms ( Guelphs ) for control on the one hand and efforts to achieve communal autonomy on the other (supported by the Ghibellines loyal to the emperor ). In the 11th and 12th centuries, the papal faction prevailed, and Sutri served several popes as a refuge in the investiture controversy . In the 13th century the Ghibellines repulsed Manfred and Sutri was granted city rights in 1358. In 1433 troops loyal to the Pope recaptured it; a city fire broke out in which the entire Borgo was destroyed. Sutri fell under the direct control of the papal central power and lost strategic importance in the 16th and 17th centuries, ruled by cardinals as papal administrators.

Since 1870, Sutri, like the entire former Papal State, has belonged to the Italian nation-state.

Diocese of Sutri

Legend has it that Peter himself sent Romulus to Sutri as a bishop. The first written mention of a bishop, Eusebius, dates from the year 405. In 1435 the dioceses of Sutri and Nepi were united. From 1556 to 1560 Antonio Ghislieri, later Pope Pius V , was bishop of Sutri and Nepi. In 1986 the dioceses of Sutri and Nepi, as well as Orte and Gallese, were merged with the diocese of Civita Castellana . Sutri has been a titular bishopric since 1991 . The title holder has been Antonio Guido Filipazzi since 2011 . Before that it was Paolo Sardi and from 1991 to 1996 Christoph Schönborn .

Cityscape and landmarks

Some remains of the ancient structure (4th century BC) have been preserved in the medieval city wall. In the north the Porta Furia (2nd century BC), coming from Nepi, formed the entrance to the city, in the south the one in the 17th and 18th centuries. Porta Vecchia changed significantly in the 19th century . Today's Porta San Pietro with a simple archway to the west may have coincided with the ancient entrance, while no ancient predecessor is documented for the demolished Porta Romana (16th century) in the east. The baroque Porta Moroni is located west of the ancient city center.

Incidentally, today's urban complex is divided into

• the archaeological park and
• the medieval borgo as well
• expanded contemporary building fabric outside the medieval city wall.

The archaeological park

Madonna Del Parto, exterior view

Madonna Del Parto, interior

Madonna Del Parto, fresco with Mary and bishop

The centerpiece of the archaeological park ( Parco urbano Antichissima Città di Sutri ) south of the city is a Roman amphitheater, vaguely dated between the end of the 2nd century BC. BC to 1st century AD, which measures 49.6 by 40.8 meters and was completely carved out of the existing tufa. You can still clearly see its two entrances, three spectator tiers with steps that could hold 9,000 people according to a sophisticated access system, and the arena, surrounded by the corridor with 10 openings through which the fighting animals were brought in.

The complex was neglected until the 19th century; It was restored with funds from the local aristocratic family Savorelli, whose palazzo with a park in the Renaissance style on the hill above the theater is still preserved. The Savorelli took over this villa from their predecessors, the Marchesi Muti-Papazzurri, who built it in the 18th century. Today the villa is owned by the city of Sutri.

Next to the villa are the remains of the so-called castle of Charlemagne , where, according to tradition, the emperor is said to have stayed; Judging by the structure of the building (13th century), however, it cannot have been this building.

The second attraction of the park is the Madonna del Parto church, built into the same rock , which, according to its structure, was first an Etruscan tomb in antiquity and later probably a Mithras sanctuary. The trench for collecting the bull's blood during the sacrificial cult can still be seen. Transformed into a church in Christian times, the single-nave room now houses remains of medieval frescoes: Above the altar of the Nativity of Christ , on the side walls Mary with the Child and Saints Christopher and Michael , above the entrance area a pilgrimage of pilgrims to the holy mountain Monte Sant'Angelo in Gargano , also a scene related to Saint Michael.

In the tuff wall around the complex there are 64 Etruscan tombs, all dating from the 6th and 4th centuries BC. All graves are empty and have meanwhile been used as stables and coach houses. There are graves with only one burial chamber as well as double chamber graves. Only grave no. 64 shows remnants of the antique decoration.

The medieval city

Due to the city fire in 1433, there are no more intact buildings from the early and high Middle Ages. The center of the borgo is the small square by the cathedral; the other streets partly still correspond to the ancient structure.

• The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta ( Assumption ) stands on an ancient precursor and was given by Pope Innocent III. their Romanesque appearance. The crypt, structured by 20 columns with differently designed capitals by Lombard masters, the campanile, the marble floor and a panel of the Savior in Byzantine style (13th century) have been preserved from this period. The rest of the building dates back to the 17th century and is baroque.
• To the left of the cathedral is the Bishop's Palace, which was heavily modified around 1900.
• On the Piazza del Comune are the Palazzo Comunale (town hall) with Roman fragments and a marble sarcophagus from the 3rd century AD in the inner courtyard.
• In the municipal museum, fragments of Roman architecture and sculpture, remains of frescoes from the surrounding catacombs, and panel paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries from the smaller churches of Santa Fortunata and San Francesco are kept.

Population development

year	1881	1901	1921	1936	1951	1971	1991	2001	2011
Residents	2,266	2,701	2,985	2,918	3.133	3,041	4,334	5,055	6,552

Source: ISTAT

politics

Guido Cianti (right-wing list of citizens Uniti per Sutri ) was elected mayor in April 2008 and confirmed in office in 2013. He replaced Vincenzo Petroni (2003-2008), who was no longer running, but served as Vice Mayor from 2008 to 2013. The Uniti per Sutri list represents 7 out of 10 parish councils.

coat of arms

The coat of arms depicts Saturn , the legendary founder of the city, as king on horseback. He is holding a tuft of ears of corn in his hand as a sign of the fertility of the municipality.

Economy and tourism

The infrastructure is geared towards the needs of the local population. The archaeological park and the well-restored old town also attract modest tourists; most of the time, however, it is transit tourism that is on the way to Rome via the Via Cassia .

Retail stores for groceries, clothing, furniture and antiques, tobacco shops, household supplies, hairdressers dominate; The usual communal services are also available (local government, bank, insurance, doctor and pharmacy, library).

A number of restaurants and taverns offer regional cuisine at different price levels; there are also family-friendly pizzerias and bars.

Sutri has several hotels, the tourist information also arranges private accommodation and bed and breakfasts.

The local organization Pro Loco arranges events for religious holidays, which are also promoted to develop tourism.

Sutri carries the Bandiera Arancione a quality seal in the field of tourism and the environment of the TCI .

The municipality belongs partly to the Parco Naturale di Bracciano - Martignano , which the mayor of Sutri Guido Cianti presides as president.

Festivals

• January 17th: Feast of St. Anthony : parades with horses, on the following Sunday horse races based on the Palio principle;
• Carnival: masked parades in the piazza and in the streets;
• Wednesdays before Good Friday: Pro-Loco Festival Passion of Christ in various locations in the city, ending with the crucifixion in front of the cathedral;
• Corpus Christi: procession along the streets decorated with flower carpets;
• Bean festival on the first two Sundays in September . Legend has it that white beans brought relief to Charlemagne when he had an attack of gout. In addition to white beans ( fagioli ) cooked in public , which are served in terracotta bowls accompanied by musical performances, wine and porcini mushrooms are offered.
• September 16th: Patron feast of Santa Dolcissima with procession, fireworks and torchlight parade in the amphitheater;
• Christmas time: Pro-Loco festival "Living Nativity" ( Presepe Vivante ): The birth of Christ is staged at the Etruscan tombs in the archaeological park.

In summer there is a classical music festival with various concerts at the church and in the amphitheater.

literature

• Anna Modigliani: Vita quotidiana a Sutri. Secoli 14th - 15th (= Storie di una citta: Sutri. 1). Vecchiarelli, Manziana 1996, ISBN 88-85316-64-6 .
• Chiara Morselli: Sutri (= Itinerari dei musei, gallery, scavi e monumenti d'Italia 9). Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, Rome 1991, ISBN 88-240-0225-0
• Mario Torelli : Etruria (= Guide Archeologiche Laterza 3). 4th edition. Laterza, Roma et al. 1993, ISBN 88-420-1751-5 .

Web links

Commons : Sutri  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Description of Sutri with photos (German)
• Homepage of the city of Sutri (Italian)
• Sutri on www.comuni-italiani.it (Italian)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Statistiche demografiche ISTAT. Monthly population statistics of the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica , as of December 31 of 2019.
2. ^ Italian civil defense
3. ^ Edward Herbert Bunbury:  Sutrium . In: William Smith : Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London 1854.
4. ↑ Livy 6.3
5. ↑ Homepage of the city of Sutri ( Memento of the original from August 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
6. ^ Election page of the Ministry of the Interior
7. ^ Homepage of the community
8. ^ Italian civil defense
9. ^ Viterbo Oggi on December 21, 2010, accessed on January 8, 2011

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