Tuscania

This article covers the Italian city of Tuscania . For the passenger ships of the same name see Tuscania (Schiff, 1915) and Tuscania (Schiff, 1922) and for the titular bishopric see titular bishopric Tuscania .

Tuscania
Country	Italy
region	Lazio
province	Viterbo  (VT)
Coordinates	42 ° 25 '  N , 11 ° 53'  E Coordinates: 42 ° 25 '1 "  N , 11 ° 52' 31"  E
height	165  m slm
surface	208 km²
Residents	8,457 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density	41 inhabitants / km²
Post Code	01017
prefix	0761
ISTAT number	056052
Popular name	Tuscaniesi, Tuscanesi or Toscanellesi
Patron saint	Santi Secondiano, Veriano and Marcelliano
Website	Tuscania

Tuscania is a city in Italy with 8,457 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019). It is located around 90 kilometers northwest of Rome in the province of Viterbo, part of the historical Tuscan landscape . Tuscania is known for its Etruscan tombs and Romanesque churches.

Tuscania, view of the hill of San Pietro

geography

Tuscania from the south

View of San Pietro from the city wall

The city lies on a tuff plateau, surrounded by deeply cut valleys, including that of the Marta River . Especially from the south and east, Tuscania offers a unique panorama with its completely preserved medieval city wall and the Romanesque towers of the church of San Pietro, which is located on a hill outside the city. Tuscania is the center of the Tuscania nature reserve, founded in 1997, which covers 1901 hectares and which also includes a cork oak forest in the northeast .

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

history

The region of Tuscania was already settled in the Bronze Age . In the 8th century BC BC Etruscan villages formed on seven hills in the area of ​​today's city, which belonged to the territory of Tarquinia . Over time, the settlement on today's hill of San Pietro developed into an urban center with an acropolis in the place of today's church. The Etruscans called the city Tuscana .

285 BC The city was conquered by the Romans and incorporated into their domain. Pliny mentions this city for the first time and speaks of the Tuscans as their inhabitants. Both the Etruscan and Roman cities were much larger than today's Tuscania. It flourished not least because of the construction of the Via Clodia , around 225 BC. BC, which led from Rome to Saturnia in Tuscany and here crossed the old paths through the Marta valley from Lake Bolsena to the sea.

During the Migration Period , Tuscania was badly affected and lost a large part of its population. The place only consisted of the immediate vicinity of the Acropolis outside of today's city.

In 569 or 574 the city came under the rule of the Longobards . During this time it also became a bishopric with Santa Maria Maggiore as the episcopal church.

778 she came by gifting the Great Charlemagne to the Papal States . The place now bore the name Toscanella . In 852, on the ruins of the temple, the Acropolis San Pietro was built as a new episcopal church.

1207 reached Toscanella from Pope Innocent III. recognition as a Free Commune. This began a heyday in which the city expanded again to the neighboring hills. In contrast to the bishop, the citizens preferred the Rivellino hill as their center. The town hall still stands here today.

As early as the 14th century, the city's independence was threatened again by neighboring noble families. Two strokes of fate then sealed the decline. In 1494 the population was decimated by the plague . In 1495, a mercenary army under King Charles VIII of France invaded the city and looted it for five days. Toscanella was largely destroyed. As a result, the district around San Pietro was abandoned and the bishopric moved to Santa Maria della Rosa. The city withdrew behind the city walls that have been preserved to this day. This means that the area of ​​the city was more than halved again. Toscanella finally lost its supremacy in northern Lazio to Viterbo and sank to a country town.

In 1911 Toscanella got its ancient name Tuscania again.

On the evening of February 6, 1971, Tuscania was hit by a major earthquake that killed 31 people. 70% of all buildings were damaged or destroyed, including all churches. During the reconstruction, which took more than ten years, emphasis was placed on preserving the historic cityscape. Careful and precise reconstruction was preferred to the construction of new houses. In the churches, 700 m² of frescoes were restored over many years. Today there are hardly any traces of the catastrophe to be found. Despite its eventful history, Tuscania has one of the most atmospheric historical cityscapes in the province of Viterbo.

Population development

year	1871	1881	1901	1921	1936	1951	1971	1991	2001
Residents	3,372	3,640	4,839	5,522	5,755	6,841	6,866	7,721	7,717

Source: ISTAT

Attractions

Towers of San Pietro

The Basilica of San Pietro

In the 9th century, the first episcopal basilica of San Pietro was built on the remains of a Roman temple on the site of the Etruscan acropolis. Whether and how many remains of this building are preserved in today's church is a matter of dispute.

The current building is essentially on the 11th / 12th. Century back. The complex is located on a hill, today outside the city, and dominates the landscape with its three massive towers that belonged to the former fortification of the hill. The Romanesque bishop's palace rises next to the church.

The facade was rebuilt between the end of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th century, perhaps as a result of an earthquake. The great central portal with Cosmaten work was probably created later. Above this, the gable is defined by a magnificent marble rosette. The figure reliefs around them are partly Etruscan spolia (e.g. running man). The rose window that fell in the 1971 earthquake has now been painstakingly put back together.

Inside you enter a columned basilica with an open roof, which shows the image of the 12th century almost unchanged. In the right aisle there is a ciborium with columns from 1093 (inscription). The mosaic floor in the style of the Cosmats is remarkable. The marble choir cabinets with woven band ornaments from the 8th century have been taken over from the previous church. The stone bishop's throne stands in the apse. All over the church there are frescoes from the 12th century. In the apse, an important Byzantine-style fresco, `` Ascension of Christ '' , was unfortunately lost in the earthquake of 1971. In the side aisles there are some Etruscan sarcophagi.

There are also frescoes from the 12th century in the hall crypt with 28 antique, reused columns, including depictions of the patron saint of Tuscania. Roman walls in the Opus Reticulatum are also preserved here.

Santa Maria Maggiore

Detail from the Last Judgment

The basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore

The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore is located at the foot of the hill of San Pietro. According to tradition, it is said to have been built in the 6th century as the first episcopal church in Tuscania on the remains of a Janus temple . In fact, the foundations of a large Roman building were found during the restoration after the 1971 earthquake. However, it was first mentioned in a bull of Pope Leo IV in 852 .

The date of construction of today's church is controversial, but the construction will have been largely completed when the new church was consecrated on October 6, 1206.

The facade is richly designed, similar to that of San Pietro, with three portals, a dwarf gallery and a large rose window. The rich figure decorations show very different style influences. The symbols of the four evangelists are placed around the rosette . The Madonna and Child is shown in the lunette of the central portal . In addition, the sacrifice of Isaac and the Agnus Dei are shown. The portal is framed by the apostles Peter and Paul . The heads of the statues are modern replicas as the originals were stolen. The figurative decorations were probably not made for the current building, but transferred here from other buildings.

Detail side portal

Inside you enter a three-aisled basilica with an open roof and Romanesque columns. The splendid pulpit in the central nave is composed of marble slabs from the 8th and 9th centuries (from the previous church). There is also a ciborium and the old bishop's seat here. There are numerous, partly damaged frescoes on the walls. The fresco of the Last Judgment on the triumphal arch of the apse is particularly eye-catching. Of particular interest here is the devil at the bottom right, who eats the damned and excretes it at the end of the digestive tract.

Santa Maria della Rosa

After the devastation of San Pietro in 1495, the church became the city's cathedral. It shows a simple Gothic-Romanesque facade with a strong horizontal structure. The interior was redesigned after 1495. During the earthquake in 1971, however, some 13th century frescoes came to light when the plaster fell off. The fresco of the Liberation Madonna by Giulio Pierino d'Amelia recalls the sacking in 1495 and a thunderstorm that the Mother of God is said to have sent to end the evil.

Santa Maria del Riposa

The church, built from 1495 over a previous building, is entirely in the style of the Renaissance . Inside it contains numerous important frescoes and paintings, including by Giulio Pierino d'Amelia, Scalabrino da Pistoia, Antonio del Massaro and others.

The archaeological museum is now housed in the attached former monastery buildings.

Cathedral of San Giacomo

The Gothic church was redesigned in the Renaissance style when the bishopric was moved here in 1572. Inside are numerous works of art, including by Andrea di Bartolo .

Torre di Lavello

This is the last gender Tower of Tuscania. It belonged to the Palazzo Tartaglia. Angelo Tartaglia tried again in the 15th century to establish Tuscan independence from the Papal State. After his execution, Pope Martin V released the palace for looting and destruction.

Palazzo Comunale

The town hall is the last remnant of the former Rivellino castle. Its last tower collapsed in 1954, destroying the city theater. In the 13th century, emissaries of Pope Boniface VIII , demanding the submission of the city, were thrown out of the window here.

Bagno della Regina

The so-called Queen's Bath on the road to Santa Maria Maggiore are the ruins of the Roman baths . A female statue found here (now gone) was called Queen of Tuscania in the Middle Ages.

Etruscan necropolis

In the immediate vicinity of Tuscania there are numerous tombs, some of which are open to the public.

The most important necropolis is at the Madonna dell 'Olivo church. Among them are the labyrinthine tomb of the queen and the tomb of the Amazons . The numerous sarcophagi and burial objects found since 1967 are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum in Tuscania and in the Villa Giulia in Rome.

The Peschiera necropolis is particularly exceptional for the monumental architecture of the tombs. The graves are apparently designed on the model of the Etruscan houses.

The necropolis of Pian di Mola, on the opposite bank of the Marta, is designed quite similarly.

The necropolises of le Scalette, San Lazzero, San Giusto and San Pinzuto also have interesting grave shapes.

San Giusto Monastery in Tuscania

The monastery of San Giusto in Tuscania is three kilometers south of the city .

politics

Alessandro Cappelli ( center-left alliance ) was elected mayor on May 28, 2006. The center-left alliance also has the majority in the municipal council with 11 out of 20 seats.

swell

• Christoph Henning: Lazio. The land around Rome. With walks in the Eternal City (= DuMont art travel guide ). 3rd updated edition. DuMont-Reiseverlag, Ostfildern 2006, ISBN 3-7701-6031-2 .
• Anton Henze, Kunibert Bering, Gerhard Wiedmann: Art guide Rome. 5th revised edition. Philipp Reclam GmbH, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-15-010402-5 .
• Italo Faldi: Tusculum. Moments and testimonies of the Italian cultural landscape. Bonechi Editori, Florence 2000, ISBN 88-7204-428-6 .

Web links

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

• Tuscania 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.