CITTÀ DI CASTELLO, DIOCESE OF. — In Umbria (province of Perugia), immediately subject to the Holy See. It has an area of 875 sq. km., comprises 156 parishes with 112 diocesan priests and 10 regular clergy, and a population of 64,130, of whom 64,050 are Catholic (1948).
The antiquity and distinction of the Church of Città di Castello were enhanced by the rapid spread of Christianity in Umbria and the favorable position of the Roman city (Tifernum Tiberinum). Although a local tradition of martyrs lacks credibility, there is reliable evidence of an episcopal see already by the mid-5th century. In the time of St Gregory the Great, the bishop of Tifernum was Floridus, a saint whose reputation is deeply embedded in the history of that Church, especially in hagiographical records (BHL, 3062). The diocese once extended its jurisdiction over a vast territory; it underwent divisions in 1325 in favor of the Church of Cortona, and again in 1636 when Urban VIII established the diocese of Sant’Angelo in Vado. The city and surrounding area, which had been under ancient Lombard rule (Castrum Felicitatis), passed temporarily under papal control and finally reverted to it after the 16th century, following the decline of the Vitelli family’s lordship.
Within the diocese lies the abbey of San Giacomo di Castello in the city, founded in 1142; after the religious community disappeared, the church passed to the corporation of the *naziologi* (now Santa Chiara delle Muratte). Many abbeys once existed, among which the Benedictine abbey of San Giovanni di Marzano was entrusted to the commendatory bishops of Città di Castello. After the devastations of the 15th century, the historic abbey survives in the parish church of San Giovanni in Marzano (near Monte Santa Maria Tiberina).
The cathedral, originally dedicated to St Lawrence, was rededicated in the 11th century to SS Floridus and Amanzius, and was almost entirely rebuilt between 1466 and 1529 by the Gagini. It now displays features from various periods: the 12th-century bell tower, a 14th-century side portal, and a 17th-century façade. Two Romanesque-Gothic buildings are the churches of San Francesco—despite many alterations—and San Domenico, which has an artistic portal on the left side. In the chapter hall and especially in the cathedral treasury, notable works are preserved: a 12th-century embossed and gilded silver frontal and the treasure of liturgical furnishings discovered near the pieve of Canoscio. The municipal picture gallery in the Palazzo Vitelli is rich in sacred subjects.