Città di Castello: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
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EUR 50 - 100 Hotel Park Ge.Al.
 Hotel Park Ge. Al. is located 15 minutes´ walk from the centre of Città di Castello. It has large gardens with an outdoor pool you can use for … MoreEUR 65 - 175 Hotel Tiferno
 The Tiferno is a historic 4-star hotel in the centre of Città di Castello. Set in a former monastery of the 17th century, the hotel offers free parki… MoreEUR 55 - 120 Hotel Villa San Donino
 Situated in the heart of the luxuriant, lush Umbrian countryside and immersed in ancient parkland, the hotel is also just 6 Km from the city centre. I… MoreEUR 52 - 150 Residenza Antica Canonica
 Residenza Antica Canonica is located in a 15th-century building in the historic centre of Città di Castello, right beside the Cathedral. Suites and a… MoreEUR 36 - 90 Hotel Le Mura e Residence
 Le Mura is an elegant hotel by Città di Castello’s walls. Rooms have satellite TV, air conditioning, and enjoy pretty views of the historic centre.… MoreEUR 45 - 95 Hotel Garden
 With a quiet location and panoramic views across the Umbrian hills, Hotel Garden is 10 minutes´ walk from Città di Castello centre. It features… MoreEUR 35 - 85 Albergo Umbria
 Albergo Umbria is a small, family-run hotel in the centre of Città di Castello. It offers an on-site restaurant and free private parking nearby.
Roo… MoreEUR 60 - 120 Borgo Spinara
 This historic farmhouse is outside the centre of Città di Castello. Completely renovated in 2009, Borgo Spinara offers a natural setting, a large out… MoreEUR 100 - 240 Country House Il Biribino
 Careful restoration has tranformed this ancient convent into an elegant rural residence which gives a warm welcome to people longing for a peaceful an… MoreEUR 45 - 70 Hotel Europa
 Previous guests have commented on the very friendly staff at this hotel, set opposite the medieval walls surrounding the old town and easily reached f… MoreEUR 60 - 140 Agriturismo Casale Le Burgne
 Located a 10-minute drive from Città Di Castello, Agriturismo Casale Le Burgne is set in a large park with swimming pool, children´s playground… More | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Città di Castello: Guide
Città di Castello is a town in the province of Perugia, in the northern part of the Umbria region of Italy. It is situated on a slope of the Apennines, on the upper part of the flood plain of the nearby river Tiber. The city lies north from Perugia (46 km) and south from Cesena (104 km) on the S3bis. It is connected to the A1 Rome-Florence highway by the SS 73 from Arezzo.
History
The town may have been Etruscan; the Ancient Rome|Romans knew it as Tifernum Tiberinum ("Tifernum on the Tiber")The name distinguished it from Tifernum Mataurense and Tifernum on the Sannio. (Guida d'Italia) or Civitas Tiberina. Pliny the Younger built nearby a magnificent villa supported by extensive land holdings, his villa in Tuscis, which is identified with walls, mosaic floors and marble fragments at a place now called Colle Plinio.
In 550 it was taken and largely destroyed during the Gothic War|Ostrogothic campaign by Fantalogus, by order of Totila. The town was subsequently rebuilt under the direction of its bishop, Floridus, around a castle, and hence renamed first Castrum Felicitatis and later Civitas Castelli. By the Donation of Pepin|donation of the Frankish king Pepin the Short in 752, it became subject to the Holy See, though in practice it was disputed between the papacy, Perugia and Florence. Local lords disputed its possession, which settled in the family of the Vitelli, even after Cesare Borgia attached the city more directly to the Holy See.
In subsequent centuries it was under various rulers, among them Pier Saccone di Pietramala. In the later Middle Ages it was governed successively by the Guelphs and Ghibellines. In 1375 Città di Castello joined in the insurrection of other cities of the States of the Church. Cardinal Robert of Geneva (later antipope as Clement VII), undertook to recapture it with Breton mercenaries, but was repulsed. Under pope Martin V it was taken by the condottiero Braccio da Montone (1420). Later Nicolò Vitelli, helped by Florence and Milan, became absolute ruler or tiranno. Antonio da Sangallo the Younger built for the Vitelli family an extensive palace.
In 1474 Sixtus IV sent thither his nephew, Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere (later Julius II); after fruitless negotiations he laid siege to the city, but Vitelli did not surrender until he learned that the command of the army had been given to Duke Federico III da Montefeltro. The following year Vitelli tried unsuccesefully to recapture the city; fear of Cesare Borgia alone induced him to desist, before Cesare Borgia had the patrianch of the Vitelli strangled and Città di Castello added to the papal possessions.
Towards the end of the twentieth 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.
Ecclesiastical history
During the persecution of Diocletian —according to legend— St. Crescentianus, a Roman knight, and ten others suffered martyrdom at Tifernum. The first-known bishop of this see was Ennodius, present at a Roman council in 465 under Pope Hilary. At the time of the Ostrogothic sack of the city by Fantalogus (550), the bishop was Florius, later a friend of St. Gregory the Great. In 711 Lombard Arians put to death the Catholic bishop of the city, Albertus, and his deacon Britius. Città di Castello is the birthplace of Pope Celestine II (1143-44).
Though the city did not produce any artists of the first rank, the young Raphael painted his Sp[ozalizio (now in Milan) for the city.
Main sights
The city is mostly built of brick, since it has been found that the local sandstone erodes very rapidly. Its principal monuments include the medieval Palazzo Comunale and a tall thin city tower nearby, the Torre Comunale, also medieval; and the Pinacoteca Comunale, an art museum with mostly Renaissance works, although notable for its external decoration by Giorgio Vasari.
The much reworked cathedral (Canoscio hoard, a set of Late Antiquity|Late Antique silver spoons and plates with Christian motifs.
Famous inhabitants
For persons actually born in the city, see . In addition, the following are believed to have a local connection, usually through long residence there:
Pliny the Younger
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikipedia article "Città di Castello". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
Pope Celestine II
Filippo Titi
Monica BellucciFrazioni
Antirata, Astucci, Badia di Petroia, Badiali, Barzotti, Baucca San Martino d'Upò, Belvedere, Bisacchi, Bonsciano, Caifirenze, Candeggio, Canoscio, Capitana, Celle, Cerbara, Colcello, Coldipozzo, Cornetto, Croce di Castiglione, Fabbrecce, Fiume, Fraccano, Grumale, Lerchi, Lugnano, Madonna di Canoscio, Montemaggiore, Morra, Muccignano, Palazzone, Petrelle, Piosina, Promano, Rio Secco, Roccagnano, Ronti, Rovigliano, San Leo Bastia, San Lorenzo Bibbiana, San Maiano, San Martin Pereto, San Pietro a Monte, San Secondo, Santa Lucia, Scalocchio, Terme di Fontecchio, Trestina, Uppiano, Userna, Userna Bassa, Valdipetrina, Vallurbana, Vingone, Volterrano.Notes
Sources and external links
Touring Club Italiano, 1966. Guida d'Italia: Umbria pp136-42.