Population: 10,813 (2001)
Official website: Amelia
Wikipedia: Amelia
Maps: MapQuest

Sitting on a hill in the south western corner of Umbria, and overlooking the Tiber River to the east and the Nera River to the west, some say Amelia is the oldest city in Umbria.   According to writings of Cato the Elder, a Roman Historian of the 2nd Century BC, the first settlements appeared on the site as long ago as 1134 BC.

Amelia was purportedly founded by a legendary Umbri king, King Ameroe, who gave the city the name Ameria.   The city was  later occupied by the Etruscans, and later still by the Romans, who gave it the status of a "Municipium", maybe as early as 338 BC, but certainly by the middle of the 1st Century BC.  During the so called "Latin War", during which Rome conquered much of central Italy, Amelia was strategically located on via Amerinia, connecting it to Todi, Perugia, Chiusi and Nepi.

During the barbarian invasions, the city was besieged and badly damaged by the Goths, but was rebuilt by the time the Longobards descended from the north and asserted control over most of what is now Umbria.

The Longobards, in turn, were forced out by the Byzantines, and thereafter, throughout the Middle Ages, and up to the time of Italian unification in 1860, Amelia stayed more or less under the domination of the Roman Catholic Church within the Papal States. 

During the period the Longobards remained in control of the Via Flaminia, Amelia was an important stop on a vital alternative route, the so-called Byzantine Way, which connected Rome to the exarchate in Ravenna.

In the Middle Ages, Amelia went through the political convulsions common to other Umbrian cities: struggles that saw it emerge as an independent-minded comune (the Age of the Comunes), then as a city under the control of a succession of powerful families, sometimes ecclisiastical (the Age of the Signori).  Doubtless there were Guelph factions and Ghibelline factions who kept things interesting, and sometimes bloody interesting.

One of the singular "monuments" of Amelia are its walls, parts of which may date to Amelia's earliest days.  Large segments of the wall are known for the polygonal-shaped stones of which they are constructed - most likely an Etruscan work.  But, the walls were further fortified and enlarged during Roman times and at various times during the Middle Ages.  The walls run about 720 meters and are about 3.5 meters thick, and has four main gates: the very imposing Porta Romana to the south, main access to the town, Posterola to the north, Porta Leone to the east and Porta della Valle to the west.

The Romans left other traces of their occupation, including a complex of ten underground "cisterns", built in the 1st Century AD, which collected thermal waters to feed a luxurious Roman Bath.  There are also snatches of Roman roads within the city, some of them only recently uncovered.  One part sits in the midst of a local restaurant, so you can dine hearing the echoing footsteps of Ameliese from the Roman period.

Roman emperors, nobles and other notables used "cool" and quiet Amelia as a getaway spa.  This may account for the presence of the large bronze statue of the warrior, Germanico, (now housed in the Archaeological Museum in Perugia) which was unearthed near the town in 1963.

Today, old Amelia inside the walls, which is most accessible through the Porta Romana, is a well preserved medieval city with much to see and admire.  The upper part also offers a stunning view of the Tiber Valley.

The "center" of the city is the Piazza del Duomo where you will find the Cathedral and the 30 meter high Torre Civica - or Civic Tower.  Nearby, the Archaeological Museum and the Pinoteca Comunale - picture gallery- housed in the old Boccarini college.

There are a number of medieval churches, including the dominating  Chiesa San Francesco, started in 1287, in Piazza Vera, adjacent to which is a cloister and a convent, which was added in the 14th century, and renovated with some Renaissance influences in the 16th. The church is capped with an impressive dome that dates to the 11th century, and was modified in the 17th century. There is also a campanile - or bell tower - in this complex.  Inside you will find sculptures by Agostino di Duccio, and some Baroque stylings from the 17th and 18th century.

Chiesa San Agostino, in via Cavour, built in the 13th Century, has a facade that is a good example of Romanesque architecture with a Gothic overlay.  The Marotti pipe organ was only installed in 1841.  Chiesa San Pancrazio features a main door that is a decorative tour-de-force.  Of note also is Chiesa della Madonna delle Cinque Fonti.  The now de-sanctified church, San Giovanni Decollato, also called the Ospedaletto, can be viewed outside.

Along via Posterola, you will find San Magno, the Benedictine Monastery for Cloistered nuns.  Inside its little church is a perfectly restored and utterly unique (none other exists) double keyboard organ from 1680.

Among the non-religious buildings there are palaces built during the 14th and 15th century by the overlords of the city: Palazzo Farrattini and Palazzo Petrignani.  Also, keep an eye open for the Teatra Operina, an interesting opera house built in the 17th century.

The main festival of Amelia is the Palio dei columbi, which stretches over 2 weeks in late July and early August.  The central event is of this boisterous and vivid festival is a contest during which riders on horseback representing the city's five medieval neighborhoods (contrade)  compete against one another in a game of quintain.  The winner fires a bolt from a crossbow, hits the target and releases a caged pigeon.  Easier than it sounds?!

The surrounding area, hillsides and ilex covered hillsides, is one that deserves further exploration.  The Convent of Santissima Annunziata, founded by St. Francis' Friars Minor, has a planetarium.  The Cistercians established a convent at Foce, the Sanctuary of the Virgin.  At Porchiano, the medieval walls feature a number of guard towers, and a beautiful little Romanesque church, San Simeone.  The Church of St. Timothy, also Romanesque, has 14th and 15th Century frescoes.  At Fornole, step inside another Romanesque church, St. Sylvester, with an interesting fresco cycle showing the saint freeing the town from the bewitching grasp of a drake.

Near the town is Lago Vecchio - the old lake - formed by a dam on a small river, the Rio Grande.  You can rent a row boat and toodle around in the shade of alder, poplar and willow trees, looking for sometimes surprised ducks and herons.  There is a small park called La Cavallerizza, hosting a horse racing track, with a walking - or jogging -  path round about.

Amelia and the surrounding area can be a wonderful place to escape the madding crowds you will find in places like Perugia and Asissi.  Pack a picnic, and take a day to relax here.  You'll enjoy it!

by Vian Andrews November 29th, 2005
This article is the original "Amelia" article that Vian added to Wikipedia.