Terni (Interamna Nahars in Latin) is an Italian town of 110 025
inhabitants, the capital of the province of the same name in Umbria.
The area of the Terni basin was already affected by stable
settlements in the protohistoric age, as evidenced by the necropolis
of the Acciaierie, used from the last phase of the final Bronze Age
(10th century BC) up to the entire initial phase of first Iron Age
(9th century / early 8th century BC) from a conspicuous community,
attributable to the protohistoric facies known as the Terni Culture.
The inhabited area pertaining to the necropolis was located in
the hills and foothills north of the present city, probably in the
Civitella area, while only in a later age (VII century BC) there
will be the birth of a real proto-urban center in the area located
at the confluence of the Nera river and the Serra torrent.
Archaeological data therefore seem to confirm the traditional date
of foundation of the city, located at 672 BC. based on an
inscription from 32 AD. (Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum XI, 4170).
The pre-Roman peoples who inhabited these settlements in the Latin
sources are called Nahartes (hence the name of the city, Interamna
Nahartium, i.e. of the Naharti), an ethnonym that unites all the
Umbrian populations who lived along the river Nahar (the Nera) at
the bottom to the valley.
City with a high rate of industrial
development since the Middle Ages, when it was a rich and combative
free municipality with dozens and dozens of water mills, in the
nineteenth century its industrial potential grew in the second
industrial revolution, so much so that it was nicknamed "The City of
'Steel' and the 'Italian Manchester'. It houses the famous steel
mills founded in 1884 and 1875 with an important arms factory, still
active, as well as hydroelectric plants and factories specialized in
the textile and chemical sectors. First industrial city in Italy
after those of the famous Triangle, it suffered heavy bombings
during the Second World War by the Allies.
In the 21st
century, Terni retains above all a modern structure, built above all
with post-war reconstructions. Despite this, archaeological finds
from the Iron Age, Roman, Medieval and Baroque monuments are still
traceable in the city. In fact, modern urban areas alternate with
green landscapes (primarily the Marmore waterfall and the Terni
countryside), and despite the Second World War, there are still
numerous testimonies of Roman, medieval, Renaissance and Baroque
remains.
The remains of the Fausto Amphitheater from 32 AD, located inside the
city park "La Camminata". Of this structure, parts of opus reticulatum
can be seen in two-coloured blocks. It was erected in 32 AD. by order of
Fausto Liberale, during the reign of Tiberius, and could accommodate up
to 10,000 people. Currently 2/3 of the perimeter is uncovered, being a
part occupied by the Carmine church; however, its original ellipse can
be seen. It is periodically used as a site for cultural and concert
events.
The remains of the ancient Roman city wall.
The
archaeological remains of Palazzo Carrara, former civic library, mostly
consisting of Roman epigraphs.
The remains of the Roman city of
Carsulae, where a stretch of the ancient Via Flaminia is still visible,
which led from Rome to the Adriatic.
The Archaeological Museum of
Terni (ex-SIRI area), where the pre-Roman and Roman remains recovered
from the numerous excavations in the city are collected. Of notable
interest is the display of grave goods found in the Iron Age
necropolises of the Acciaierie, S. Pietro in Campo and Alterocca.
Porta Sant'Angelo (14th century), was the north-western entrance to
the city.
Porta Spoletina (14th century), on the Via Flaminia; it was
the northern entrance.
The Romanesque tower of the Barbarasas,
located in via Roma, is the best preserved of the medieval tower-houses.
A plaque at the top reminds us that the relic of the Precious Blood,
kept in the Cathedral, was displayed here to ward off a plague epidemic
from the city.
The Castelli tower, located in via dei Castelli.
The crypt of the Cathedral (6th century).
Cathedral of Terni,
dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta, of Romanesque origin, was restructured
in the 17th century. The church preserves interesting works of art,
among which the panel by Livio Agresti "Presentation in the temple and
Circumcision", dated 1560; in the main chapel you can admire an altar,
the work of Minelli, which undoubtedly represents the most important
artistic testimony of the city among those of the 18th century.
Sanctuary of San Francesco (13th century), in Gothic style. The church
has been tampered with several times over the centuries. The central
part of the façade has a Gothic portal surmounted by an oculus, while
the lateral parts date back to the 15th century. The apse and bell
tower, decorated with mullioned windows, are the work of Angelo da
Orvieto. Inside, the Paradisi Chapel is of notable interest, decorated
with frescoes with Dantesque scenes by Bartolomeo di Tommaso (15th
century).
Church of San Salvatore (11th century): it is a very
particular structure, made up of two contiguous buildings, one with a
circular plan from the 5th century and another, the forepart, with a
rectangular plan from the 12th century, with a simple facade decorated
with a single lancet window and from bows.
Church of Sant'Alò (11th
century), which belonged to the Order of the Knights of Malta; restored
in the fifties, the church has three naves divided by columns and
pillars and a beautiful apse.
Church of San Pietro, which belonged to
the Augustinians since 1267, the church has a Gothic portal on the
facade with fifteenth-century decoration in the tympanum; on the left
side you can see part of the primitive structure and the square bell
tower with mullioned windows in the lower part.
Church of San
Lorenzo, built in the 13th century on a much older building, and then
enlarged in the 17th century; restored after the bombings, it currently
has a façade with triple lancet windows and a blind portal, and a
beautiful apse; the interior has two naves, with the peculiarity that
the right side is at a lower level.
Church of San Cristoforo, dating
back to the XIII century. The church was restructured after the war and
divided into a new and an old part: in the old part there are frescoes
and remains from the 14th and 15th centuries; the new part has been
obtained from the rectory, the place where, according to an ancient
tradition, Saint Francis performed a miracle. The cippus from which the
Saint spoke to the faithful is also kept in the church.
Basilica of
San Valentino, an extremely ancient structure built in a Christian
cemetery area to commemorate the Terni bishop who was martyred in Rome
in 273 and brought to this hill on the outskirts of Terni by his
followers; the current form dates back to 1618 and the convent and the
remains of the Saint were kept by the Carmelites until the 20th century,
when the municipality of Terni inherited them.
Sanctuary of
Sant'Antonio di Padova, inaugurated in 1935 and rebuilt after the
bombings of the Second World War, is occupied by Franciscan friars.
Since 2010 the church has become a sanctuary as the remains of the
Franciscan protomartyrs (Berardo, Ottone, Pietro, Accursio and Adiuto)
are kept here, killed in Morocco on 16 January 1220 and venerated as
saints by Pope Sixtus IV in 1481.
Church of San Giuseppe Lavoratore,
whose first stone was personally blessed by Pope John Paul II during his
historic visit to Terni and to the steelworks, Thursday 19 March 1981
(solemnity of Saint Joseph husband of Mary), on the sidelines of the
Holy Mass for the families officiated by the pontiff at the Stadio
Libero Liberati. The laying of the first stone would have taken place
the following year while it would have had to wait until 1984 for the
start of the works. On 26 September 1987, Bishop Franco Gualdrini
blessed the new church of San Giuseppe Lavoratore. The project of the
new complex (church, convent and adjacent areas) belongs to the
architect Franco Maroni. His idea is to create an area to live beyond
the pastoral or liturgical appointments:
"In the project, the initial
choice aims to propose an exchange of services between the ecclesial
community and the urban community: in the church also profane functions
linked to the daily life of the community, in the civil space also
religious functions" (architect Franco Maroni, excerpt from the Report
presentation of the project).
The structure is modern, in
concrete with metal fixtures. The complex consists of the two main
buildings, church and convent, with a bell tower and an open courtyard
used both as a walkway and as an external amphitheater. The church is
conceived as a multifunctional space with two main parts, the festive
amphitheater and the classic weekday one. In the large part, a wrapped
up maxi screen and a film projector allow cultural events to take place.
The recognized relics of St. Francis of Assisi, St. John Paul II and St.
Valentine are placed in the altar of the church, sealed with the seal of
Bishop Giuseppe Piemontese in the consecration mass of the church held
only in 2015, thirty years after the inauguration of the convent.
Church of Santi Cosma e Damiano, in the archaeological park of the
ancient Roman city of Carsulae.
At the crossroads between via
Castello and via Sant'Andrea you can see the ruins of the Church of
Sant'Andrea, dating back to the 17th century and destroyed during the
Second World War.
The structure is modern, in concrete with metal fixtures. The complex
consists of the two main buildings, church and convent, with a bell
tower and an open courtyard used both as a walkway and as an external
amphitheater. The church is conceived as a multifunctional space with
two main parts, the festive amphitheater and the classic weekday one. In
the large part, a wrapped up maxi screen and a film projector allow
cultural events to take place. The recognized relics of St. Francis of
Assisi, St. John Paul II and St. Valentine are placed in the altar of
the church, sealed with the seal of Bishop Giuseppe Piemontese in the
consecration mass of the church held only in 2015, thirty years after
the inauguration of the convent.
Church of Santi Cosma e Damiano, in
the archaeological park of the ancient Roman city of Carsulae.
At the
crossroads between via Castello and via Sant'Andrea you can see the
ruins of the Church of Sant'Andrea, dating back to the 17th century and
destroyed during the Second World War.
Piazza della Repubblica, which occupies the space of the ancient
forum of the Roman city, has always been the main public space in the
city. The ancient town hall overlooks it, which is now the seat of the
town library. With the renovation, the ancient civic tower destroyed by
the bombings was replaced by a modern glass tower that recalls the
Marmore Falls. Opposite is the old post office building by the architect
Bazzani which occupies the site of the ancient church of San Giovanni
Decollato, demolished at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Piazza Tacito, built in the first decades of the twentieth century as
the center of the new industrial city, is a vast quadrangular space of
which one side is occupied by the imposing Government Palace, designed
by the architect Cesare Bazzani between 1930 and 1936. At the center of
the square is a monumental fountain, the work of the architect Mario
Ridolfi, symbol of the strength of the waters that produce electricity,
decorated with mosaics representing the twelve zodiac signs, by Corrado
Cagli.
Piazza Solferino, (opposite to Piazza della Repubblica behind
the library) was the ancient market square, for this reason it was
called Piazza delle Erbe in the past. For a short time it took the name
of piazza dei bambini e delle bambini, its current layout is the work of
the architect Carlo Aymonino, who designed the flooring and the
travertine sculpture of a whale.
Piazza Europa, it is a large
quadrangular space that opens onto the side of Palazzo Spada, the town
hall. The square came to light during the post-war reconstruction,
removing the rubble of the buildings destroyed by bombing.
Piazza
Mario Ridolfi, it is a large irregular open space that opens in front of
Palazzo Spada, the town hall, largely surrounded by modern buildings,
almost all designed by the architect Mario Ridolfi.
Piazza Clai, it
is one of the oldest squares in the city, its origin dates back to the
Middle Ages also its current layout is largely the work of the post-war
reconstruction carried out in a post-modern key at the end of the 20th
century
Piazza Duomo, it is one of the most beautiful historic
squares in the city, one of the sides is occupied by the
seventeenth-century portico of the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta,
which connects the church with the buildings of the Bishopric and the
former Seminary, now home to the Diocesan Museum and Capitulary.
Piazza San Francesco, in front of the Sanctuary of San Francesco.
Piazza Bruno Buozzi, called Valnerina due to the city gate (porta
Valnerina) which connected the city with the Valnerina.
Piazza Dante
Alighieri, in front of the station, the 12,000-ton press was positioned
here.
Obelisk "Lancia di Luce" by Arnaldo Pomodoro, located at the end of
Corso del Popolo. The work simultaneously represents the technological
goals and the warnings towards them; the myriad of fractures, the
inserts and the chiaroscuro effects represent the drama of their
discovery and their relative powers. Assembled with industrial
techniques, it soars in the terminal section and its charm is found in
the change that takes on its appearance based on the visual angle of the
observer and the different light of the moments of the day.
The
"Press" in Piazza Dante.
The Great Hyperion.
The Galleto
hydroelectric plant.
Complex of the former Siri chemical factory: it
houses the CAOS (Center for the Arts Opificio Siri), an architectural
complex and cultural space home to two museums - the archaeological
museum and the Aurelio De Felice Museum of modern and contemporary art,
a space for exhibitions and the Sergio Secci Theater.
Maratta
incineration plant, 3 incineration plants have alternated over the
years, now in one of the two active ones serious deficiencies have been
found after a large breach of the dioxin and furan limit has only been
temporarily closed.
The Iron Bridge.
Monument to the Partisans of
Italy.
The "Star of Miranda", an artificial star positioned between
the hamlets of Larviano and Miranda, and is one of the largest in Italy,
after the comet of Torrebelvicino
The Umbria Studios, belonging to
Cinecittà, jokingly called "PapignHollywood".
CAOS - Centro Arti Opificio Siri, a space dedicated to culture born
from the conversion of the former Siri chemical factory in Terni.
The
Claudia Giontella archaeological museum contains a pre-Roman section and
one dedicated to the illustration of city life in Roman and late
antiquity.
The Aurelio De Felice Museum of Modern and Contemporary
Art: inside there is the renewed layout of the municipal art gallery
(previously housed in Palazzo Gazzoli) and a new area dedicated entirely
to contemporary art (from the post-war period to the present day) with
particular attention to local artists. There are the paintings of the
"Pala dei Francescani" by Piermatteo d'Amelia and the "Mystical Marriage
of Santa Caterina d'Alessandria" by Benozzo Gozzoli, the "Standard" by
Niccolò Alunno
The park "A. De Felice" in Torreorsina.
Paleolab -
museum of paleontological collections of southern Umbria (ex-church of
San Tommaso).
Umberto Ciotti Visitor and Documentation Center in
Carsulae.
Diocesan and Chapter Museum.
Documentation center of the
protected natural area of the Nera River Park, with the Ornithological
and Mycological Museum in the Magalotti palace in Collestatte.
Documentation Center on Local Industrial Heritage "Antenna Pressa".
Arms Museum of the City of Terni.
Motoring Museum of Terni.
The Marmore waterfall, a Roman hydraulic work from the 3rd century,
commissioned by the consul Curio Dentato. It is located on the S.S.
Valnerina 7 km from Terni.
The lake of Piediluco, lying on the
Umbrian hills 13 km from Terni.
The Valserra, bathed by the Serra
torrent and with suggestive fortified villages that overlook it.
The
area of the Martani mountains, dominated by the Torre Maggiore mountain.
By plane
Sant'Egidio Airport (Perugia Airport), ☎ +39075592141.
By car
Terni is located 80 km from Perugia, about 100 km from
Rome, about 240 km from Florence and about 530 km from Milan.
On
the train
Terni has a railway station:
Terni station. On the
Rome – Ancona, Terni – Sulmona, Terni – Sansepolcro lines
The city, located in an alluvial plain between the Nera River and the
Serra torrent, saw its territory already inhabited in the Neolithic in
the Copper Age, in the Bronze and Iron Ages, as numerous discoveries
testify. The Middle Bronze Age (16th-13th century BC) was marked by
pastoral activity, of the transhumant type, characterized by settlements
in huts and caves. This dairy-type activity is testified by the various
ceramic artifacts connected to it, found in Titignano, Avigliano Umbro
and Narni.
With the beginning of the Iron Age (10th century BC),
the territory increased its importance, as attested by the large
necropolis of the Steelworks. In this period a stable and organized
settlement model established itself, a fundamental support for the
development of the Terni culture, one of the most important in
protohistoric Italy. The Naharki Necropolis of Terni which was
discovered in 1884 is the largest in southern Europe: 2500 tombs.
Classical sources do not mention when Terni (Interamna Nahars or
simply Interamna in Latin) became part of the Roman administrative
structures. In 290 BC, or shortly after, Manio Curio Dentato promoted
the construction of the Via Curia (of which no trace remains),
connecting Terni to Rieti and cut the Marmore ridge, to facilitate the
outflow of the waters of the Velino into the Nera; it is, therefore,
probable that Interamna was already romanized at the time. After the
Social War, Interamna became a municipium. With the administrative
settlement of Italy, Interamna was enrolled in the Clustumina tribe and
was included in the Regio VI Umbria. It is placed in the period between
the end of the 1st century BC. and the first half of the 1st century AD.
the definitive structuring of Roman Terni. In this period temples, the
theatre, two baths and the amphitheater were built.
During the
Empire it was the scene of some significant events: the surrender of the
last troops of Vitellius to the legions of Vespasian in 69, the
attribution, by the Senate, of the imperial auctoritas to L. Septimius
Severus in 193 and the killing, in 253 , in the nearby countryside, of
the emperor Treboniano Gallo and his son G. Vibio Volusiano, while they
were preparing to fight against the legions of the usurper M. Emilio
Emiliano.
In 273, at the age of 97, at the hands of the Roman
soldier Furius Placidus, under the orders of the emperor Aurelian, the
first inter-member bishop, Saint Valentine, was martyred. He was
consecrated bishop of Terni in 197, at the age of only 21. He is the
patron saint of the city of Terni and of epileptics. We do not know with
certainty his origin, whether he was from Terni or Roman, a certain and
sure fact that he was the bishop of Terni throughout his life, starting
from his ordination. The ancient Terni oral and historiographical
tradition wants it to originate from Terni.
In 275 AD, following
the assassination of Aurelian, a man from Terni became emperor of Rome:
first the Senate and then the army decided that the successor should be
Marcus Claudius Tacitus, who was recalled from his house entirely and
crowned:
«In goodness, clemency, justice, equity, prudence,
liberality and other virtues appropriate to princes, he surpassed many
of his best predecessors ... »
He punished those responsible for
Aurelian's death, rearranged the road network, turned against the Heruli
and the Goths who were plundering the territories of Asia Minor; after
defeating them, he entrusted the continuation of the enterprise to his
half-brother Marco Annio Floriano, his praetorian prefect. Despite his
age he engaged in the war against the Persians that Aurelian had
started. He closed it victorious, but it was the ultimate satisfaction
for him. He was already the considerable age of 75, Marco Claudio, after
having held important public offices (he was also Consul) retired to
private life returning to his native home in Interamna. A house which,
like the others of the Tacitos, was located according to the studies and
research of the Terni historian Francesco Angeloni, in what is now via
Manassei: the Manassei (one of the most important noble families of
Terni in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance) would have built their
palace, on the pre-existing house of Tacitus. He died in 276, about a
year after his appointment as emperor, perhaps due to fevers contracted
while facing the return journey. However, the testimonies of the Latin
historians are insufficient with respect to this last detail. We only
know that his half-brother Annio Floriano succeeded him. According to
the Historia Augusta, a tomb called the Three Monuments was dedicated to
Marco Claudio Tacito, Marco Annio Floriano and Gaius Cornelius Tacitus
(their ancestor), which stood in the area of Porta Spoletina, before the
barbarian invasions.
The spread of Christianity is attested by
the cemetery area, datable to the 4th century, built on a pagan
necropolis. The main place of worship initially dedicated to S. Maria
Assunta, was probably built inside the city walls, in the place where
the cathedral now stands.
After the Gothic War, during which it
is probable that Interamna too was first occupied by the Ostrogoths,
then taken over by the Byzantines, the most significant conquest was the
Longobard one, which took place by the Dukes of Spoleto at the end of
the 6th century and was already accomplished time of Autari.
In 1174 the soldiers of the Christian bishop of Mainz took and
destroyed the city with the accusation of not paying the alleged taxes
due to the emperor.
At the end of the 1100s and the beginning of
the 1200s Terni had a judiciary composed of two consuls and a
Parliament, and when it regained the diocese (1218), it also had a
Podestà and a Captain of the People. In 1240 Terni was rewarded by
Frederick II with the black eagle on a gold field in his city banner:
"for the fidelity and vigor of his men" and commanded by an ancient,
solid and proud aristocracy of Germanic origin, the Castelli family
first of all, descended from the lineage of a Frankish prince of Terni,
but also that of the Camporeali, of the Citizens. In 1260 he
victoriously participated in the battle of Montaperti alongside the
Sienese Ghibellines against the Guelph Florence. In 1294, the
Municipality acquired a new office, the "four of credence" or defenders
of the People and, in 1307, of the Priors. Terni became part of the
temporal power of the popes (and consequently to the Papal State),
definitively, only in 1564, after the tragic event of the Massacre of
the Banderari.
At the beginning of the fifteenth century, Terni
had between six and seven thousand inhabitants, 300 city towers and a
complete wall which was being improved for the artillery. It was a
medium-sized city, larger than Narni, urbanistically speaking, and
slightly larger than Spoleto. It was a highly developed and wealthy
city-state thanks to thriving trade and growing manufacturing activity.
Apart from a small census to the church and to a papal governor like
Andrea Tomacelli in the first decade of the century, whose control
fortress was systematically demolished several times by the Terni
themselves, in the second half of the century the governors of Rome will
often be forced to reside elsewhere , the city was politically and
militarily free from the papacy. Its wealth in the fifteenth century was
favored by its presence next to the Nera and Serra rivers, with a series
of minor watercourses, the so-called forms, which activated a large
number of: mills, copper mills and paper mills. A large part of the
activity of the city government was reserved for matters of a
hydrological nature (Marmore, rivers and city canals). Hand in hand, the
city was increasingly teeming with a very industrious merchant
bourgeoisie (Banderari) who equaled its counterpart in splendor and
wealth: the nobles. At the head of the Terni municipal machinery were
six Priors (in monthly office), with broad political and administrative
powers. The legislative and consultative bodies were: the Consiglio di
Credenza (or Cerna), made up not only of the Priors, but also of the
Twenty-four of the people (many per village, or district, which were
six: Fabri, Castello, Rigoni, Aultrini, Disotto, Amingoni), who each
carrying a flag were called Banderari; and twenty-four Boni viri (on a
census basis and registered). A great character from Terni in this
century was Father Barnaba Manassei, a blessed Franciscan of noble
lineage, inventor of the Monti di Pietà in the world against Jewish
usury.
The sixteenth-century history of the municipality will be
characterized even more by the fecundity of excellent and illustrious
men: leaders (the brothers Alessandro and Lucantonio Tomassoni and
numerous other captains, Ludovico Aminale, one of the thirteen Italian
soldiers of fortune who took part in the Challenge of Barletta), great
patrons such as Count Michelangelo Spada (cupbearer, secret waiter of
Pope Julius III, apostolic secretary, knight of Saint Peter, Loreto and
Saint Paul and Capitoline curator), adventurer poets (Orazio Nucula,
knight of Saint Peter, diplomat, literary man and also a close friend of
Pope Julius III) and well-known writers such as Ercole Barbarasa
(excellent Latin scholar and translator of Plato's Convivio and the
Antiquities of Rome - by Bartolomeo Marliani - into the vernacular).
The military policy of the city, especially from the beginning of
the 16th century, was oriented in a qualified and expert manner in the
art of war, and continued in the wake of the traditional military
campaigns against its rivals: Narni, Spoleto and Rieti. Terni, with the
help of the Spaniards, Germans and citizens of Colonna, will be able to
put an irreversible end to the centuries-old aggressive policy of Narni,
devastating it and placing it under looting, this event will go down in
history as the famous sack of Narni (of 1527) , from which, moreover,
the people of Narni never recovered in the following centuries. However,
as early as the second half of the fifteenth century, Terni had
developed an army capable of launching offensive or resistant defences,
it was already numbered among the first cities of Umbria in terms of
importance, prestige and above all wealth, while maintaining one of the
most small towns in Umbria, it had a highly developed and rich economy,
but above all an important urban extension. It was a mercantile and very
industrious city as reported by Angeloni, Passavanti, Silvestri and the
Ancient Riformanze del Comune. Its manufacturing activity and its
position, located along the Via Flaminia, made it a constant destination
for people coming and going for those heading to Rome, or going north
from Rome. The city, although limited in its possessions, had surrounded
itself with numerous defensive fortresses, avant-garde, as regards
building and the defense of the countryside. Among these heavily
garrisoned fortresses are: Rocca Sant'Angelo, Colleluna, Rocca di San
Giovanni a Piedimonte, Rocca di Casale Rinaccio, Papigno, Rocca di Fava,
the Rocca di Monte di Valle near Miranda, Rocchetta, Miranda itself
(since 1453) and Acquapalombo.
«Terni (since the beginning of the
16th century ed.) equipped itself with a substantial artillery to
garrison it. The Terni rebirth did not only make use of the defense of
cannons, but of a permanent army of soldiers and saw the birth of
professional captains and adventurers, perhaps late on the era of
Braccio da Montone and Gattamelata, but who participated in the wars
between the Empire and France and expeditions against Suleiman's
corsairs»
(Pompeo de Angelis, The enterprise of Horace Nucula
Ternano in the Mediterranean of the corsairs at the time of Charles V)
Francesco Sansovino, a distinguished Roman historian, tells us that
the city possessed just under a hundred mills (some of which, from the
1500s, can still be admired ruined and abandoned in the countryside,
near the roads or in the suburbs of Terni), a glorious Umbrian city,
whose characteristic was the belligerence and prowess of its
inhabitants, first in Italy as fighters and armigers. Not only popes but
also princes such as Cosimo I de' Medici, Philip II of Spain, Francesco
d'Este, Pierluigi Farnese and many others will address the city of Terni
and its city council with respect and admiration. In 1564, after the
Banderari massacre, Terni fell under the absolute dominion of the Papal
States.
The seventeenth century will be an era of peace and papal dominion,
in which many city buildings including churches and noble palaces will
renew their external and internal structure. Famous personalities of
this century were above all playwrights of national standing, famous
above all in the central north and in Venice, such as: Paolo Rossi,
Rubino Orlandi and Francesco Angeloni. The latter was not only a
playwright, but also a distinguished humanist, historian and
antiquarian. In the field of science there was Anastasio De Filiis
(astronomer and one of the founding members of the Accademia dei
Lincei). There was also no shortage of personalities in the field of
holiness: Mother Maria Elect of Jesus, born Caterina Tramazzoli, Servant
of God. Numerous were the testimonies that spread about her holiness in
Northern Europe. At the age of 24, still young, he was entrusted with
the task of directing the foundation of a Carmel in Vienna. After
fourteen years, the Emperor Ferdinand III of Habsburg, who held her in
great esteem and admiration, asked him to found another one in Prague,
she was also held in great esteem by Pope Alexander VII, who said so of
the Mother :
«This lamp, one day, will be placed above the
candlestick of the Church of God»
There are numerous manuscripts
dedicated to her life and works, both in Italian and German. Three years
after her death and burial, the sisters obtained permission to exhume
her body which was found incorrupt. He is now venerated in the Carmel
Church atop Prague Castle. Another character worthy of memory of this
century was the Franciscan father Lattanzio Mazzancolli, blessed priest
of the minor order, belonging to one of the oldest and most important
historic noble families of Terni, to whom numerous miracles are
credited.
The "quiet valley living" of this medium-large Umbrian community was
abruptly interrupted on February 16, 1797, when General Louis Alexandre
Berthier from Spoleto dictated the terms of surrender to the French
Army. In March of the same year, Terni was declared an urban cantonal
municipality belonging to the Department of Clitunno, with capital
Spoleto. The return of Terni to the Pope was followed by a period of
relative prosperity: in 1842 the ironworks was modernized, in 1846 a
modern cotton mill was inaugurated, the Pio Centrale railway arrived
which connected it to Rome and Ancona.
On 20 September 1860,
Colonel Brignone's Piedmontese Bersaglieri entered Terni through the
Porta Spoletina. The Plebiscite that followed and formalized the
annexation to the Kingdom of Italy saw only 1 vote against against 3,461
votes in favour. The first post-unification mayor was elected on 1
December 1860. Distinguished figures from Terni of this century were:
Paolano Manassei, noble from Terni, historian, politician and
entrepreneur, Pietro Antonio Magalotti, doctor of law and fine scholar,
Sante Possenti, noble from Terni and papal governor, from whom San
Gabriele dell'Addolorata was born, the musician Giulio Briccialdi, great
composer and best Italian virtuoso flautist of his century, close friend
and workmate of Giuseppe Verdi and the entrepreneur Virgilio Alterocca
(who was also a teacher, publisher, politician and benefactor) who
introduced the illustrated postcard to the Italian scene.
After the annexation to the Kingdom of Italy, the will of the
Ministry of War, of the Commissioner for Umbria Gioacchino Napoleone
Pepoli and of the local administrators to make Terni an industrial and
military center led to the building of the Weapons Factory in 1875 and
to the "Società degli Alti Forni e Fonderie di Terni", in 1881, on the
initiative of a Belgian entrepreneur, Cassian Bon, who had taken over a
local foundry specialized in the casting of pipes and Vincenzo Stefano
Breda, owner of the Venetian Society for Enterprises and Public
Constructions; the company's goal was to produce armor plates for
warships.
In 1884 the Roman Angelo Sinigaglia bought and
modernized the ironworks; in 1885 the Genoese Alessandro Centurini began
the construction of a wool and jut mill; in 1890 Antonio Bosco from
Turin built a factory for the production of agricultural tools; in 1896
the Italian Society of Calcium Carbide, Acetylene and other Gases was
established, which managed not only factories for the production of
calcium carbide but also hydroelectric plants. Terni was the fourth
Italian city, in chronological order, to have electric public lighting.
In 1901, after the Pelloux laws, the Chamber of Labor was reconstituted,
while in 1903 the Republican Youth Federation of Italy was founded in
Terni.
During the First World War, the Società degli Alti Forni e
Fonderie di Terni notably increased the production not only of armor
plates for battleships, but also of components for cannons and
projectiles, at least until the opening of the Ansaldo factories in
Genoa. The Fabbrica d'Armi produced weapons of various types, including
the Carcano Mod. 91 rifle which equipped the Italian army for many
years: during the First World War it reached the production of two
thousand rifles a day. At the beginning of 1917, the Defense Section of
Terni was born with 3 Farman 14s and 3 pilots and from 6 September 1918
it became the 306th Squadron.
In 1927 the province of Terni was established and the municipal
territory was expanded with the aggregation of the neighboring
municipalities of Cesi, Collescipoli, Collestatte, Stroncone, Papigno,
Marmore, Piediluco and Torre Orsina. In this sense, the good relations
that the mayor of the city, Elia Rossi Passavanti, had with the fascist
government were decisive.
An industrial hub of primary
importance, Terni was subjected to more than one hundred bombings by the
Allies during their war campaign in Italy: on 11 August 1943, an air
raid, without the UNPA having time to sound the alarm, it caused a very
high number of victims, almost all civilians, and the destruction of
numerous buildings in the old city. The British led by General Alexander
entered the city on 13 June 1944. In recognition of the civilian victims
and destruction suffered as a result of the bombings, Terni was awarded
the Silver Medal for Civil Valor and, for its partisan activity, the
Cross of War on Military Valor. From 1944 to 1946 the city hosted three
internment camps for fascist prisoners, managed by the Anglo-Americans:
the Civil Internee Camp in Piazzale Donegani, the R707 "Recalcitrant
Camp" in Strada dei Laghetti and the detention center obtained from the
sheds of the Società Autarchic Exploding Products (SPEA) in Narni Scalo.
Resistance and Liberation from Nazi-Fascism
Immediately after
Mussolini's arrest on 25 July 1943, the factory workers organized the
first nuclei of resistance in Terni. In February 1944, the "Antonio
Gramsci" Garibaldi Brigade was born from the Spartaco Lavagnini band,
which brought together several partisan rebel groups, was the first
Garibaldian formation active in central Italy. Alfredo Filipponi,
communist leader of Terni, partisan with the battle name Pasquale, was
political commissioner and then military commander, Gildo Bartolucci
deputy commander. The Garibaldi Brigade "Antonio Gramsci" was made up of
the Spartaco Lavagnini, Giovanni Manni, Softoni, Calcagnetti, Tito 1 and
Tito 2 battalions between autumn 1943 and spring 1944 together with
rebel formations and autonomous gangs, They liberated vast territories
from the Nazi-fascist occupier , declaring the Republic, managed to
control several municipalities in central Italy, from the Apennines to
the Tiber valley. The same territories were the target of brutal
Nazi-fascist restrictions which caused the death of civilians and the
destruction of material goods. The working-class and popular heart of
the city of Terni was the fulcrum of these resistance activities.
The reconstruction
Wartime divestments were detrimental to Terni
steel: between 1947 and 1952, 4,700 workers were made redundant.
However, the production capacity and skills of the workers who survived
the war made it possible to recover the entire hydroelectric system and
to install a direct line with Genoa to supply the new iron and steel
plant of Ilva in Cornigliano. In 1962, with the establishment of Enel,
all the energy sources of the Terni company were nationalised. The
spin-off of the other activities followed shortly: the electrochemical
plant of Nera Montoro was sold to Anic, in 1967 the Papigno plant passed
to ENI; the steel activities were incorporated into Finsider.
Numerous closures of industrial establishments and reconversions
followed, which lasted from the 50s to the 80s. From the early nineties,
the renovation works of the urban layout of the city center did not
stop, centered on the "three historic centers" of the Clai district as a
center of the Roman city, of the Duomo district as the center of the
medieval city and of the Piazza Europa-Piazza della Repubblica-Corso
Tacito axis as the center of the modern city.
After the Second
World War, the city had a strong expansion well beyond the workers'
villages of the beginning of the century, developing on four radial axes
around the central nucleus and posing the problem of livability to the
new Ridolfi master plan (and its subsequent variations). suburbs and
their connection with the rest of the city. The road system had to go
beyond the ancient scheme of the single preferential axis of the
Flaminia, contextualizing the projects in an inter-regional context,
such as the Rieti-Terni-Civitavecchia route, the SS 3 bis and the
logistics platform, still not built, all essential for the industries of
Terni.
The legend linked to the city of Terni and its coat of arms narrates that many years ago, the presence in the territory of a terrible dragon called Tiro or Thyrus caused fear and apprehension among the citizens, and that not even the bravest, called by the Council of Elders, they dared to venture into those territories and no one could resolve the issue. When the Council was about to give up the battle, a young man from Terni from the noble Cittadini family came forward: it is said that he wore shiny armor and showed all his pride and his desire to challenge the horrible dragon: "I'm going I to pay a visit to that monster. What do you say?", it seems he said introducing himself to the Elders, who accepted and blessed him wishing him every luck.
Terni rises on the banks of the Nera and Serra rivers, in a vast and fertile basin surrounded by the Umbria-Marche Apennines and the Lazio Sub-Apennines. It is located in the center of the Italian peninsula and is 80 kilometers from Perugia, 90 from L'Aquila and 100 from Rome.
The municipal territory is large (212.43 km²), and extends around the city of Terni, (Tranana basin) up to the Valnerina Ternana to the east and the Terre Arnolfe to the north/north-west. The population density is quite high, due to the considerable presence of green areas scattered throughout the municipal area. The territory was formed due to the erosion caused by the sea during prehistory. Also for this element the subsoil is sandy and therefore reduces the possible devastation of the earthquakes that often break out in the Apennine areas.
The municipal area has a vertical drop of 1,017 m a.s.l.: in fact, it ranges from 104 in Vocabolo Pantano to 1,121 in Monte Torre Maggiore and is made up of 52.6% mountains, 31.6% hills, 13 .4% from plains and 2.4% from lakes.
The rivers present in the area are the Nera, the Serra, the Tescino, the Aia and the Recentino canal. The Marmore Falls are formed by the Velino river which runs its entire course through the province of Rieti and its capital, then flowing into the Nera river.
According to the Köppen climate classification, Terni belongs to the
Csa belt, i.e. the temperate climate of the middle latitudes, with hot
summers. The city enjoys a mild and comfortable climate in spring and
autumn.
The rainiest seasons are spring and autumn, mainly in
November and April. Autumn also tends to be warmer than spring due to
the slow release of heat absorbed from the ground during the summer
months.
Due to their position in an intermountain alluvial plain,
both the city and the neighboring centers are subject to strong annual
temperature variations: so that the summer is extremely hot, humid,
poorly ventilated and therefore muggy, a condition which exposes the
territory to a high risk of Drought. Conversely, winters are cold and
rainy, with significant cold peaks and snowfalls of a certain
consistency.
In general, the climate is moderately windy, as the
winds tend to decrease in intensity as they meet the surrounding hills.
Therefore, in the absence of wind, it is common for fog, sometimes very
thick, to cover the basin for most of the day, especially during the
cold season, with high air humidity values.