The territory of Todi

According to an age-old legend Todi was founded by the Veii Umbrians the site where an eagle had deposed the rough cloth of their table, hence the arms of the city which is an eagle with outstretched wings that holds in its claws a drape. His name was Tuderte, which means border, perhaps indicating a hypothetical frontier with the Etruscan settlements along the Tiber. According to another legend Todi was actually founded by Hercules here would kill Caco and was called precisely Eclis by Hercules- Heracles.

In imperial times became a "colony Iulia trusts", but already a century before its vast territory had been ascribed to the tribe Clustumina that made this land "resplendent", while the name of "Marzia" she was given during the wars against Hannibal. The period Umbrian-Etruscan remain some parts of the walls at Porta Libera, in via Paolo Rolli, in the ancient City Walls, in the Montarone, Porta Marzia which is still the most striking architectural feature of that period, topped by an elegant loggia, to be the only one left intact in the first circle of walls, being now only a memory in the documents the names of the other doors: Oxiria, Liminaria, Bovinaria, etc. Numerous archaeological finds are scattered in many museums instead of Italy.

In Roman times, ingranditasi the city, were built the theater, in the area where, after a millennium, arose the town halls, the amphitheater, the terapli of Jupiter, Minerva, Juno, Mars, baths and finally a powerful second circle walls of which today you can see the doors Free, Santa Praxedes, the Militia or chain or Sam'Antonio, Aurea. In 757 Desiderio, King of the Lombards and Pope Paul I, through their representatives, agreed on the boundaries of the territory of Todi, especially toward the side of the Duchy of Spoleto. With Frederick Barbarossa, in 1169, began the Guelph and Ghibelline factions and with them the struggles but did not prevent the free medieval town of Terni in 1217 and subdue Amelia in 1208 and achieve maximum territorial expansion.

In 1213 it was built, probably on the ruins of an ancient residence of the consuls, the People's Palace; in 1292 the Palazzo del Podesta and Captain, in the fourteenth century Palazzo dei Priori, then the lieutenant pontifical, and the governor. while, on the opposite side, the square was closed from the cathedral, dedicated to the Annunciation, which began at the beginning of the twelfth century. The city, which saw a captain of the people support the mayor in 1255 and the birth of the arts and corporations, from 1209 to 1244 it was surrounded by a third circle of walls, what currently can be seen for much of its route to 'origin was four miles, within which the new structure was closed urbanisrica medieval, remained almost unchanged in its extension until the beginning of the seventies and the building expansion derived from the introduction of the new plan.

Inside overlapped then all subsequent urban interventions, the most important of which occurred during the Renaissance by mainly the bishop Angelo Cesi, which has taken the Fountain of Rua or Cesia and the way of the Plain, obtained on a path fourteenth . Lost the autonomy of a free town in 1368, settled there as lords Malatesta of Rimini. Biordo Michelotti, Ladislaus of Anjou, King of Napoii, Braccio da Montone Fortinbras, Francesco Sforza and finally entered the city finally became part of the Papal States, the papal governor.

Since the beginning of the '400 Todi entered a period of slow decay enlivened only by the last great effort of building the first half of that century: the completion of the illustrious temple of San Fortunato, entrusted from 1414 to John of Santuccio from Fiorenzuola, but also Bartholomew Mattioli from Torgiano and numerous master stonecutters Lombard. Only with the rise of Todi episcopate of Bishop Angelo Cesi reminded the city seemed to flourish and recover from severe depression population after the plague of 1523 that decimated more than half of its population.

Is then embellished of important civic buildings such as Viviano of Acts, perhaps Galeazzo Alessi, then the square of San Giovanni, today Garibaldi, or Cesi palace at the foot of the steps of the cathedral. Meanwhile, outside the port of Santa Margherita stood the temple of Our Lady of Consolation, started far back in 1508 and designed by Donato Bramante perhaps, but more probably by Antonio da Sangallo and completed and opened to worship with solemn ceremony by Bishop Cesi in 1606, which simultaneously promoted the construction of the temple of the cross on the opposite side of the city, to the east.

With the construction of the episcopal palace Todi exhausts its urban transformation preserving, as still retains the dense network of picturesque steep, narrow alleys in the three medieval villages, Ulpian, New and Porta Fratta and in the area of the lower valley of the said Pontigli for scaffolding containment of landslides that then as now constantly threatened that side for that part not supported by the mighty semicircular wall, daring work of Roman civil architecture, cited as an example of the beautiful building by Vitruvius. A pleasant experience is along these streets on which there are still frequent the doors to all sixth of the artisan workshops of twenty three medieval guilds of arts and crafts, or overlook the remains of churches and oratories or those erected by the monastic orders. The numerous castles that formed the articulated defense system of the vast territory, they say they were 365, a few remain intact and few arouse emotions such as Montenero now immersed in a dense pine forest, which dominates the whole southern side of the township.

From the walls of the park of the Rock, the ancient capitol of Todi, 411 meters above sea level, you can still see the remains of many of them to which we suggest tourist paths. It should be remembered in Collevalenza last one of the most daring examples of modern architecture, the church and sanctuary of the merciful, designed by Giulio Lafuente Madrid and built in 1965, a church with his speech today almost contrasts with the serene structure convent of Montesanto, westward, in the silence of the walls of which gathered in prayer at the beginning of '400 San Bernardino. Then planted a linden tree grows green again at the entrance of the church on the altar, until the arrival of Napoleon's troops, flamed the beautiful Coronation of the Virgin by Giovanni di Pietro said the Spaniard, now in the city museum.