CITTA' DELLA PIEVE

 

Città della Pieve sits in a dominant position in the Vadichiana, with its characteristic skyline of towers and red coloured brick buildings.

There are spectacular views along the valley to Lake Trasimeno in the north and MountCetona in the west.

The ancient town of Castel della Pieve originated in the 12th century, on the return of Saints Gervasio and Protasio, as a defensive outpost of the Tuscan Lombards against Byzantine Perugia.

It developed throughout the 12th and 13th centuries as a result of the increasing marshiness of the Valdichiana and was known at that time as Castrum Plebis Sancti Gervasii.

There were successive leaders including Ascania della Corgna, who governed in 1550.

The town was in constant revolt against Guelph Perugia, which ruled it until 1888.

It was designated a free ghibeline city, under the protection of Frederick II of Swabia and was on friendly terms with Sienna, the greatest pro-imperial power in Central Italy.

In 1450 the painter Pietro Vannucci was born in the town, named ‘Il Pergino’ by his Florentine colleagues.

He was considered the ‘maestro dei maestri’ as he oversawthe decoration of the Sistine chapel in the Vatican.

For the Jubilee of 1600 the town was elevated to city status by Clement VIII, and became the seat of the diocese, being renamed Città della Pieve.

In 1780, it hosted the “Water Concordato” between Pious VI and Pietro Leopoldo of Tuscany which established the definitive drainage of the Valdichiana.

The town’s monuments and artistic qualities have led it to be considered one of the most beautiful in Umbria, and is now listed by the Touring Club Italia in their Red Guide along sideAssissi, Todi and Perugia.