The territory is only flat in short stretches, corresponding to the basins of numerous intermontane valleys, once occupied by lakes. These open into the varied framework of its relief, alternating hills and plateaus, which prevail on the right bank of the Tiber, and the rugged peaks of the Apennines to the east of the Tiber-Nera furrow, where the Sibillini mountains rise to almost 2,500 meters, giving way to narrow and deep valleys. Nevertheless, about half of Umbrian soil is cultivated: in addition to cereals, vines and olive trees are widespread, and livestock farming is also present, taking advantage of the excellent mountain pastures. Woods and chestnut groves cover more than a quarter of the region. Mineral wealth is lacking, but the good availability of hydroelectric power (the Marmore waterfall) has allowed considerable industrial development.
On the 8,472 sq km of its territory (Umbria is the smallest of the historical regions of peninsular Italy), just over 800,000 inhabitants live, with a density (94 per sq km) lower than the Italian average, yet notable given the mountainous nature of the terrain. Urban centers are relatively numerous in Umbria, almost all of ancient origin and often situated in elevated positions on hills and isolated knolls, such as the regional capital, Perugia (493 m.), in the center of a fertile agricultural zone and home to notable industries, or Spoleto (453 m., 40,000 inhabitants), in the so-called Umbrian Valley—where Assisi (424 m.; 25,000 inhabitants) and Foligno (44,000 inhabitants) are also located—as well as Gubbio (529 m., 37,000 inhabitants) and Todi (441 m.; 21,000 inhabitants). Of the two provinces into which it is divided, the most densely populated is that of Terni; its capital is one of Italy’s major industrial centers (foundries, steelworks, chemical and textile plants), and Orvieto (325 m.; 24,000 inhabitants) is one of the most famous for its artistic treasures.
| Province | Area in sq km | Population, 1951, in thousands | Density per sq km | Capital (and population in thousands) |
|----------|---------------|-------------------------------|-------------------|--------------------------------------|
| Perugia | 6,332 | 580.0 | 91 | Perugia (95) |
| Terni | 2,140 | 222.3 | 104 | Terni (84) |
| Umbria | 8,472 | 802.3 | 94 | |
II. HISTORY
The region took its name from the Umbrians, a people who, having superimposed themselves on other races of more backward civilization, succeeded in dominating central Italy from the Tyrrhenian to the Adriatic, reaching as far as the Po delta. But with the later expansion of Etruscan power, which had its strongholds in the country at Orvieto and Perugia, the Umbrians were forced to retreat from the Tyrrhenian coast, which was incorporated into
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The Etruria (Tuscia) was reduced to the mountainous region of the central Apennines when the pressure of the Senonian Gauls drove them away from the Adriatic.
Little is known about the political and social development of the Umbrians until, after offering energetic resistance, they were subdued during the 4th century BC under Roman dominion along with the other peoples inhabiting the surrounding territories. They soon became loyal subjects of Rome, sharing its fortunes and participating with varying success even in the internal struggles that led, towards the beginning of the Christian era, to the establishment of the Empire. Sharing in its destiny, the region was organized under Augustus as Region VI, traversed by the great Via Flaminia and divided into Umbria proper, on this side of the Apennines, and trans-Apennine Umbria, which included the Flaminia and the Picenum (i.e., the Marches north of Ancona): the latter is not discussed here.
Christianity should have spread fairly early in Umbria, but from the numerous legends that at different times claimed to uncover its origins and progress, almost nothing can be gleaned that is truly historical. In any case, in ancient Christian times the episcopal sees of Otricoli (Oriculum), Narni, Terni (Interamna), Amelia, Todi (Tuder), Bettona (Vettona), Bevagna (Mevania), Trevi, Spoleto, Foligno (Fulginium), Forum Flaminii (S. Giovanni Profiamma), Plestia (Pistia), Tadino, Spello (Hispellum), Assisi, Arna (Civitella d’Arna), Gubbio (Eugubium), Città di Castello (Tifernum Tiberinum) existed, while the sees of Orvieto and Perugia then belonged to Tuscany.
Umbria shared the fate of the Empire when Italy was overrun by the invasions of the Visigoths and Ostrogoths. The devastation of the country became more severe during the first decades of Lombard occupation, when cities were taken and retaken until some disappeared altogether or almost entirely. The need to keep open communications between the Roman Duchy and the Ravenna Exarchate along the Flaminia gave special importance to the defense of Narni, Terni, Amelia, when Perugia, having fallen under the Lombards, returned to the Byzantines at the beginning of the 7th century and began to be included in Umbria, while the surrounding Tuscany remained subject to the Lombards. With Faroald I around 569, the Lombard Duchy of Spoleto arose, causing serious political concerns for the Popes until the Carolingian occupation, and remaining thereafter, until the end of the 12th century, the most stable political institution in the region, extending its dominion into surrounding areas. In the 9th and 10th centuries, the new Frankish dynasty, which ruled in Spoleto and also held the Empire, managed to interfere directly in Roman affairs, creating a difficult situation for the papacy. Feudalism as a political institution did not develop widely in Umbria, where the vital forces of the population, gathered in numerous small cities, were able from the 11th century onward to establish themselves as free communes. Unfortunately, as elsewhere, fierce rivalries arose between communes (notably those between Perugia and Assisi) and partisan factions within individual communes, encouraged by the lack of a strong central power capable of maintaining stable order, as well as by the Guelph and Ghibelline factions that raged during the reigns of Frederick I and Frederick II.
Religious life did not languish because of this, and the numerous monasteries established throughout the region bear witness to it, up to the Franciscan movement, which had its cradle and flourished in Umbria with saints and blessed in every small place. From Perugia, the flagellant movement spread throughout Italy ([v.] 1260), while Dominicans and Augustinians sometimes replaced the ancient monastic and canonical institutions.
A strong group of castles in the southern part of the region succeeded in forming a feudal unit from the end of the 10th century, which gradually disintegrated from the 16th century onward ([V. ARNOLFINE TERRE]); yet no strong lordship managed to impose itself in the region, although some families prevailed in certain cities, such as the Gabrielli in Gubbio (which later passed to the Montefeltro of Urbino), the Trinci in Foligno, the Baglioni and Oddi in Perugia, the Atti in Todi, the Vitelli in Città di Castello, the Monaldeschi in Orvieto, while an effective authority of the Church, which attempted to prevail during the 15th century, asserted itself with the intervention of the Borgias and then under the rule of Paul III. None of the Umbrian condottieri—neither Braccio di Montone, nor Niccolò Piccinino with his sons Jacopo and Francesco who aimed at Perugia, nor Erasmo Gattamelata from Narni, nor even Ascanio della Cornia—achieved lasting fortunes in Umbria.
The centuries from the 16th to the 18th were a period of tranquility for Umbria under the peaceful rule of the Church. The French invasion brought new upheavals. In 1809–14, the Trasimeno department was established with Spoleto as its capital. The restored papal government lasted until 1860, when Umbria was united with the Kingdom of Italy, forming a single province with the Sabina, to which Orvieto—having been part of the Papal States for centuries—was also added; the capital was then established in Perugia. In 1923, the Sabina became the province of Rieti, and Terni was also elevated to provincial status.
II. CONCILIAR REGION
This is constituted by the following ecclesiastical jurisdictions, all immediately subject to the Apostolic See: archdioceses of Spoleto and Perugia; dioceses of Foligno, Terni and Narni, Todi, Assisi, Amelia, Gubbio, Nocera and Gualdo Tadino, Norcia, Rieti, Orvieto, Città di Castello, Città della Pieve.Originally, the Umbrian conciliar region also included the diocese of Poggio Mirteto, but with the apostolic constitution *In altis Sabinae montibus* of Pius XI (*AAS*, 18 [1926], pp. 34–35), seven parishes were detached from it and united with the diocese of Rieti; and with the constitution *Suburbicaria Sabinae dioecesis fines* of the same Pontiff (*ibid.*, pp. 36–37), the remaining parishes of the diocese of Poggio Mirteto were annexed to the suburbicarian diocese of Sabina, though retaining the name of the diocese of Mandela.
Populous colonies flourished here, especially along the Via Flaminia. Of Roman constructions, remarkably fine remains survive in the amphitheatre of Terni; in the bridges of Foligno and Narni; in the temple, remains of the forum, theatre and amphitheatre of Assisi; in another temple and in the baths of Bevagna; in the theatre of Gubbio; in the walls and amphitheatre of Spello; to mention only the most important. Particularly rich in archaeological remains is the territory of Spoleto with its theatre, amphitheatre, the Arch of Drusus, the temple and the Ponte Sanguinario; and in this same area there are also the most important early Christian monuments. Although Christian hypogea are known to exist at S. Vittore near Otricoli and at Villa S. Faustino, and a Christian cemetery on the outskirts of Terni, the basilica of S. Salvatore at the gates of Spoleto, dating from the late 4th or early 5th century, and the small temple erected near the sources of the Clitumnus, also from the early 5th century, are of exceptional importance for the confluence here of forms of Roman art and elements derived from the East.
A Christian cemetery of the 5th century is also assigned to the church of the SS. Apostoli in Spoleto, while in Perugia the church of S. Angelo provides a fine example of a Christian building of the 5th or 6th century, despite the extensive alterations it has undergone. Other early Christian remains are found at Orvieto beneath the church of S. Andrea. In the following centuries, noteworthy examples are the abbey of S. Pietro in Valle at Ferentillo, erected in the 8th century and repeatedly restored (though some original architectural and ornamental parts remain); and in Spoleto the small basilica of S. Eufemia within the episcopal precinct (10th century), interesting for the presence of matronea.
It is however in the 12th century that architecture in Umbria asserts itself with a significance due not so much to originality of constructional methods—its dependence on Rome is well known, with its tendency to classical reminiscences and its insertion within the common language of central Italy, and its affinity with the churches of Abruzzo and the Marches; typical are the rectangular façades—as to the unmistakable character it impresses upon some Umbrian cities which in this and the following two centuries saw their power consolidated and gained distinction from their fine sacred and secular buildings. If the atmosphere of Assisi is pre-eminently medieval—by reason of the most famous example—one may recall also certain quarters of Perugia, Todi, Gubbio, Bevagna, etc. Among the finest monuments may be mentioned in Spoleto, besides the cathedral, remodelled both inside and out, S. Pietro with its façade closed by a classical pediment and richly decorated, and S. Gregorio Maggiore with a Lombard-style crypt; at Grugnano in Teverina, S. Maria Assunta; at Assisi, the cathedral dedicated to S. Rufino, renewed at the beginning of the 12th century by Giovanni da Gubbio (the interior was later modified by Alessi), and S. Pietro, a sturdy and powerful interior whose dome shows Provençal influences. In this building, as already in the S. Pietro of Spoleto, there is an elegant decoration of classical flavour derived from Roman models. Entirely the work of Roman craftsmen is the cloister of the abbey of Sassovivo (1229), by Pietro di Maria. The Piazza della Libertà in Bevagna owes its medieval appearance to the churches of S. Silvestro (by Binello, 1195) and S. Michele Arcangelo (by Binello and Rodolfo, late 12th–early 13th century), as well as to the Gothic Palazzo dei Consoli (1270); similarly at Todi the cathedral begun in the 12th century and completed during the 13th delimits with the Palazzo del Popolo and the Palazzo dei Priori, which stand beside it, the fine Piazza del Popolo. But with these last buildings we are already in the Gothic period. The example, especially for sacred buildings, had started from Assisi (q.v.) with the construction of the double Franciscan basilica begun in 1228: lofty, serene and luminous, the upper basilica was to become the prototype of Umbrian Gothic churches. One may now speak of a distinctive originality in the buildings of Umbria, where Gothic acquires accents that differentiate it not only from the French prototype but also from the Italian type. In the second half of the 13th century there is a flowering of religious and civil buildings in which, alongside Gothic forms, Romanesque reminiscences often persist.
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UMBRIA – Detail of the façade of the church of S. Pietro with sculptural and Cosmatesque decoration of the 12th–13th centuries – Spoleto.
[Poggio Mirteto] with its cathedral chapter preserved, so that thereafter the suburbicarian bishop is called both Bishop of Sabina and Bishop of Mandel.
For appeals from first-instance cases, in accordance with can. 1594 of the Code of Canon Law and the decree of the Sacred Consistorial Congregation of 15 February 1919, the archbishops of Spoleto and Perugia designated the ordinary of Assisi; the bishops of Terni and Narni, Amelia, Norcia and Rieti chose the ordinary of Spoleto, and the bishops of Foligno, Orvieto, Assisi, Gubbio, Nocera and Gualdo, Todi, Città di Castello and Città della Pieve designated the ordinary of Perugia. The Sacred Consistorial Congregation ratified these designations.
For marriage nullity cases the ecclesiastical tribunal of the region has its seat in Perugia; and appeals against the sentences issued by it are to be brought either before the Tuscan regional tribunal (Florence) or before the Sacred Roman Rota (cf. the motu proprio Qua cura, AAS, 30 [1938], pp. 410–13).
The episcopal conferences, which are usually held in Assisi at the Pontifical Regional Seminary, are convened each year at an opportune time. They are presided over, in accordance with the decree of Leo XIII of 24 August 1889, by the senior or eldest archbishop, or in his absence by the senior or eldest bishop.
From 30 September to 7 October 1923, under the presidency of Cardinal Basilio Pompili, legate a latere of His Holiness Pius XI, the first Plenary Council of Umbria was celebrated in Assisi; its acts were approved by the Sacred Congregation of the Council on 27 June 1925.
IV. ART
Rich in testimonies of the civilisations that succeeded one another here, this region presents a notable interest on account of the number and essential importance of its monuments.Inhabited since prehistoric times, it preserves precious relics of the Palaeolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age. Etruscan civilisation penetrated here relatively late, establishing itself on the right bank of the Tiber and leaving important works in the hypogea of Bettona, the Volumni tombs near Perugia, in Perugia itself the circuit of walls with its massive gates, and in the territory of Orvieto, which has yielded remains of temples and painted tombs. This was followed, at the end of the 3rd century BC, by Roman domination with the creation of garrisons
Umbria – Detail of the façade of the church of S. Pietro with sculptural and Cosmatesque decoration of the 12th–13th centuries – Spoleto.
In Assisi itself there arose in 1257 the church of S. Chiara; in Perugia, besides the cathedral and S. Domenico, with a single nave, the massive Palazzo dei Priori; in Gubbio, the elegant Palazzo dei Consoli by Matteo Gattaponi, who also worked on the fortress of Spoleto, the S. Convento of Assisi, the cloister of S. Giuliana, in Perugia and elsewhere; in Spoleto, S. Domenico, with a single nave; in Foligno, S. Salvatore and the Palazzo Trinci.
The Holy Francis of Terni is modeled on the example of the Assisi basilica; while in Città di Castello the Government Palace, attributed to Angelo da Orvieto, and the municipal palace, by the same architect, are not immune from the influences of nearby Tuscany. Tuscan, moreover, is the greatest Umbrian Gothic building, the Orvieto Cathedral (v.), by Lorenzo Maitani; linked to local styles instead are the Palazzo del Popolo and the Papal Palace. Thus rich in Romanesque and Gothic buildings, Umbria loses, in the Renaissance, architectural importance. The forms that dominate there are predominantly Florentine, thanks especially to Agostino di Duccio who brings to Perugia (Oratory of S. Bernardino, Porta S. Pietro) the art of L. B. Alberti; even the palaces of Città di Castello are linked to perfectly Florentine schemes and an eclecticism, also imbued with Tuscan styles, prevails in other locations such as Foligno, Spoleto, etc. The Ducal Palace of Gubbio stands apart from the common trend due to the clear influences of another great Renaissance architect, Luciano Laurana, attributed by some to the master himself, removing it from Francesco di Giorgio Martini.
The 16th century opens with the construction of the church of the Consolation in Todi, for which the name of Bramante was suggested as designer, but certainly executed by Cola di Matteuccio da Caprarola; however, the Bramantesque taste is evident in other Umbrian buildings. Contemporaneously, other artists bring the features of their own art: from Sannichelli, who works in S. Domenico and in the Orvieto cathedral, to Antonio da Sangallo, who is present in Perugia, Città di Castello, and Terni; from Vignola, active in Norcia, to Vasari, also in Città di Castello.
While these architects operate in the main cities of Umbria, local artists gain fame beyond the borders of their region: Ascanio Vitozzi works in Piedmont, Galeazzo Alessi in Genoa and Milan, of whose Umbrian works little remains; the Orvietan Ippolito Scalza is instead occupied in adorning his native city with fine buildings. Also worthy of mention is the work of the Perugian V. MARCELLIANI. Even scarcer are the contributions of artists from the region in the following centuries, while examples of works by non-local architects continue. For the 17th century, only G. Giorgetti can be recalled, who also honorably practiced painting, born and active in Assisi; for the 18th century, Giuseppe Piermarini from Foligno made himself known for his Milanese works, as in the 19th century G. Calderini leaves his most important works in Rome. In Umbria, Vespignani and Valadier are then active.
Painting appears less independent from its earliest manifestations: the remains of mosaic pavements with geometric designs (6th century) in the underground of S. Andrea in Orvieto; the 7th-century frescoes in the apsidiola of the Clitumnus temple or the jeweled cross in the apsidiola of S. Salvatore in Spoleto (9th century), the other frescoes in the crypt of SS. Isacco and Marzia also in Spoleto (late 10th–early 11th century) or those in the crypt of S. Rufino in Assisi (mid-11th century) do not present specific or distinctive features that would make them particularly Umbrian. Nor can one speak of markedly Umbrian characteristics in the works that flourished in large numbers at the end of the 12th century. In the common Byzantine language of Italian art of this period, Umbria shows local inflections that do not differ substantially from those of Lazio, with Rome as the center of irradiation. This is the case with the frescoes of the aforementioned abbey of S. Pietro in Valle
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UMBRIA – Pietà. German sculpture in terracotta (c. mid-15th century) – Assisi, Cathedral.
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(Alinari photo)
At Ferentillo (late 12th century), or the contemporaries of S. Paolo in Spoleto or, finally, those of the abbey of SS. Severo and Martirio in Orvieto, of the 13th century. A greater adherence to Byzantine styles is found in the painted cross by Alberto Sozio at the end of the 12th century, preserved in the Spoleto Cathedral, a prototype for several others in the course of the 13th century; and a prevailing Byzantinism also distinguishes the mosaic on the façade of the same church, executed by Solsternus in 1207. But already in other centers a pictorial form of evident Sienese derivation is increasingly asserting itself; this dependence on Siena of Umbrian painting will persist throughout the 14th century and part of the 15th, despite the presence in Umbria of the greatest Roman and Florentine artists of the time called to decorate the basilica of S. Francesco in Assisi, among whom, preeminently, Giotto. But before speaking of these painters, a separate mention is owed to that Bonamico who in 1225, in a rough but personally independent manner from the trends then in vogue, decorates a chapel in the church of S. Prospero in Perugia. A personal interpreter of important forms from Giunta Pisano (v.), the first, as far as is known, of the decorators of S. Francesco, and active in Assisi in 1236, is that “Master of S. Francesco,” author of frescoes in the lower church of Assisi and various other works; he is considered by some scholars to be Umbrian, as is the other follower of Giunta, the “Master of S. Chiara,” to whom is owed, among other works, the panel with the effigy of the saint in the church dedicated to her in Assisi. Following in their footsteps, other local artists will emerge, recognizable by a more provincial language. Meanwhile, Cimabue was working in Assisi, perhaps in the lower basilica and in the transept of the upper one, on frescoes that have unfortunately come down to us in poor condition; at the same time, the presence of J. TABORITI (v.) and Filippo Rusuti (v.) is attested in the paintings of the area between the windows of the upper church. But the question of attribution remains open for these frescoes; in some of which GIOTTINO (v.) has been recognized in the last decade of the 13th century, at a time preceding the Franciscan cycle.
He, in the last decade of the 13th century, had finished narrating, on the walls of the upper church, the episodes of the life of St. Francis; the masters who then executed the frescoes in some chapels of the lower church and the vaults of the crossing above the altar (once thought to be by Giotto himself) approaching more or less his manner, will be the only, or nearly the only, epigones of his art in Umbria. MARTINO V, PAPA (v.), called to fresco the chapel of S. Martino in the S. Francesco of Assisi (1320) LORENZETTI, AMBROGIO (v.). The refined elegance and pleasing color, however, Sienese in origin, imported by the two and their assistants, even if in Assisi they take on Giottesque accents, respond, more than the strong