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Città di Castello is a town in the northern part of the Umbria region of Italy. The town and its environs have a population of around 38,300 (official census, 2003). It is located on the upper part of the flood plain of the River Tiber.
The town may have been Etruscan; the Romans knew it as Tifernum Tiberinum (i.e., Tifernum on the Tiber). It was largely destroyed during the Ostrogothic campaign under their king Totila. The town was subsequently rebuilt and renamed first Castrum Felicitatis and later Civitas Castelli. Later it became the domain of the Vitelli family (for whom Antonio Sangallo built an extensive palace), before Cesare Borgia had the patrianch of the Vitelli strangled and Città di Castello added to the papal possessions.
Città di Castello has a very lively, urban feel for so relatively small a town. The city is mostly brick, since it has been found that the local sandstone erodes very rapidly. Its principal monuments are not outstanding, but include the medieval Palazzo Comunale and a tall thin city tower nearby, the Torre Comunale, also medieval; the much reworked cathedral (Duomo), essentially 18th century, and the Pinacoteca Comunale, an art museum with mostly Renaissance works, although notable for its external decoration by Vasari. The Museo del Duomo, or cathedral museum is famous for the Canoscio hoard, a set of Late Antique silver tableware with Christian motifs.
Towards the end of the 20th century, the city has seen a considerable expansion northwards toward S. Giustino, with industrial parks tracking the river, railroad and main highway: the area produces farm machinery, textiles, ceramics and furnishings.
Famous inhabitants
- Pliny the Younger
- Pope Celestine II
- Actress Monica Bellucci was born there in 1968.
External links
- Official homepage (in Italian) (http://www.cittadicastello.com/)
- Bill Thayer's site (http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Umbria/Perugia/Citta_di_Castello/Citta_di_Castello/home.html)
- Basic information at Umbria Online (in English) (http://en.umbriaonline.com/cittadicastello.phtml)it:Città di Castello