Piediluco
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42°32′07″N 12°45′39″E/42.53537°N 12.76079°E/ 42.53537; 12.76079
Piediluco is a frazione of the municipality of Terni in the Province of Terni, Umbria, Italy. Located at an elevation of 375 metres (1,230 ft) above sea level, it had a population of 367 inhabitants as of 2021.
Formerly an independent municipality, Piediluco was suppressed in 1927 and incorporated into Terni.
Etymology
The name Piediluco recalls that the settlement was established at the foot (pié) of a sacred grove (lucus), believed by some to have been dedicated to the goddess Velia, a term associated with stagnant waters or marshes. The same root is linked to the Velabrum in Rome, the marshy area between the Tiber, the Palatine, and the Capitoline, and is also connected to the name of the river Velino.
History
Some writers identified Piediluco as having arisen on the ruins of the ancient Tiara mentioned by Dionysius of Halicarnassus, although no traces of ancient constructions remain.
The original settlement stood on the summit of the mountain above the present village. It was destroyed by the Lombards and during baronial wars. In later periods Piediluco was a county and also a duchy.
The rocca dominating the settlement, largely rebuilt in 1314 by the cardinal legate Gil Albornoz, was financed in part by the inhabitants of Rieti, who reached an agreement with Blasco Fernández de Belvis, nephew of the cardinal legate. Blasco and Garcia were killed in Piediluco, and Pope Urban V carried out a harsh and bloody retaliation. The two Spaniards were buried in the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi. The fortress also served as a place of imprisonment for Corrado Trinci, lord of Foligno.
During the prolonged conflicts between Terni and Rieti over the opening of the Velino riverbed, the inhabitants of Piediluco were allied with Rieti and repeatedly came into conflict with Terni, particularly in the 15th century.
Pope Sixtus IV arrived in Piediluco on 8 October 1476, during an outbreak of plague in Rome, and remained there for two days, drawn by the beauty and pleasantness of the location. Pope Clement VIII visited in 1596 with a large retinue during his inspection of reclamation works in the Rieti plain. The settlement was affected by numerous strong earthquakes.
Pope Clement XI removed Piediluco from Sabina and attached it to the province of Spoleto; it later formed part of the district of Terni.
Geography
Piediluco lies on the Rieti plateau, on the shores of Lake Piediluco, at the foot of a bare and steep mountain crowned by the fortress. Its waters flow from east to west toward an outlet that joins the Velino about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) before the Marmore Falls. The village lies 7 miles (11 km) from Terni, 3 miles (4.8 km) from Labro, and 6 miles (9.7 km) from Arrone.
The settlement lies at the foot of Mount Caperne, which forms a peninsula in the lake. The surrounding landscape is noted for its beauty, with the lake and green hills contributing to its character.
Opposite the settlement, where the lake narrows and not far from the shore, rises another cone-shaped mountain, known as Caperno or Monte di Sant'Emidio. This mountain is covered in dense and well-preserved woodland of boxwood and holm oak, which serves as a barrier to southern winds. In antiquity it was believed to be sacred to Diana. On its lower slopes stands the small chapel of Sant'Egidio.
Nearby, at a small flat area at the base of this mountain, an acoustic phenomenon known as the Echo of Piediluco can be heard. When the voice is directed toward the village through a kind of natural sounding point, the echo distinctly repeats as many words as can be spoken clearly within an interval of more than two seconds..
The climate is temperate but rather humid, with prevailing winds from the southeast and north.
Economy
In the 19th century, the territory produced oil, wine, acorns, and pasture. The grains of Piediluco were highly renowned and were exported abroad. Fishing was practiced on the lake using small boats, and the waters were known for trout.
Piediluco is associated with sailing, rowing, and water skiing, and has been chosen by the Italian Rowing Federation as the seat of the National Rowing Center. International rowing competitions are held there, and its facilities are used by athletes from around the world for training camps and stages.
Religion and culture
San Francesco
The church of San Francesco is attributed to an imitator of the school of Giotto. The building has only two external sides, one to the south, which remains incomplete, and one to the west, which features three simple windows and two entrances at ground level. The main portal is decorated with bas-reliefs, including fishing emblems and the symbol of the Baptist, and bears an inscription attributing its construction to Petrus Damianus of Assisi. The church was built around 1338 in memory of the visit of Saint Francis.
The interior was remodeled in the 16th century. The apse is older and has a vault divided into five sections, each painted with a niche containing figures of saints, works of the Perugian school of the 16th century. On the first altar of the left wall is a fresco depicting the Virgin enthroned with two angels scattering flowers, flanked by Saint Anthony of Padua and Saint Joseph, dated 1514 and recalling the manner of Pinturicchio. At the center of the apse, within a cabinet, is a wooden crucifix from the 15th century.
Santa Maria
The church of Santa Maria was built in the 15th century and remodeled in the 16th century. The altarpiece is an oil painting representing the Assumption with the Apostles before the tomb of the Virgin, in the manner of the school of Raphael. Two additional panels at the sides depict prophets of the same school. In the floor of the church is a slab with a figure executed in sgraffito.
Rocca
The rocca stands on the summit above the settlement and is largely the result of the reconstruction carried out in 1314. It included, in addition to military works, the residence of the castellan, of which only a few remains survive. The surviving remains suggest that the same architect designed both the fortress and the church of San Francesco.
The fortress, known as Rocca di Tiora, is of large and imposing Gothic form and stands on the summit of the mountain. From this fortress extend lateral walls that connect with and enclose the inhabited settlement below.
Villalago
A few kilometers from Piediluco is Villalago, a 19th-century historic residence with a park and views over the lake. In summer it serves as a venue for concerts and open-air performances.
External links
- Media related to Piediluco (Terni) at Wikimedia Commons