| Velletri | |||
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| — Comune — | |||
| Comune di Velletri | |||
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  Velletri
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| Coordinates: 41°42′N 12°41′E / 41.7°N 12.683°ECoordinates: 41°42′N 12°41′E / 41.7°N 12.683°E | |||
| Country | Italy | ||
| Region | Lazio | ||
| Province | Rome | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Fausto Servadio (since June 2008) | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 113 km2 (43.6 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 332 m (1,089 ft) | ||
| Population (31 May 2008) | |||
| - Total | 52,024 | ||
| - Density | 460.4/km2 (1,192.4/sq mi) | ||
| - Demonym | Veliterni | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | 00049 | ||
| Dialing code | 06 | ||
| Patron saint | Saint Clement | ||
| Saint day | November 23 | ||
| Website | Official website | ||
Velletri is a comune in the province of Rome, on the Alban Hills, in Lazio (Latium) - Italy. It is bounded by other communes of Rocca di Papa, Lariano, Cisterna di Latina, Artena, Aprilia, Nemi, Genzano di Roma, Lanuvio.
Its motto is: Est mihi libertas papalis et imperialis.
Velletri is renowned as one of the main centres for wine production in the Latium.
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History
The origins of Velletri (ancient Velitrae) are uncertain. A settlement existed on the site from pre-historic times. In 494 BC, while in danger due to Volscian pressure, the city was garrisoned with colonist soldiers by the Romans; Rome was mainly interested in stopping Volscian expansion in Latium. Subsequently, after the First Latin War in the 338 BC, Velitrae was deprived of its city walls as Rome achieved sovereignty over its territory.
During the Roman period, patricians built several villas in it. The city had also several temples and an amphitheatre. The family (gens) Octavia, to which the first Roman Emperor Augustus belonged, came from Velitrae, and the future emperor spent his youth there.
Velletri began to decline after it was sacked by Alaric the Goth in 410 CE. In the 5th century it was the seat of a bishopric and in the following century it became an imperial city after the Byzantine reconquest of Italy.
In the Middle Ages it started a difficult recovery, culminating in the 12th century with its declaration as a free commune. In the 14th and in the first half of the 15th century Velletri fought against the commune of Rome and the barons of Lazio, and later became part of the Papal States.
The first pawnshop in the world was opened in Velletri in the 15th century.[citation needed]
In the War of the Austrian Succession, troops of the Spanish-Nepolitan Bourbons won the Battle of Velletri (1744), fought against Austrian Habsburgs in Velletri and its surroundings.
After the French Revolution, Velletri rebelled and it was proclaimed a Republic. Later it changed sides and 900 of its citizens resisted in Castelgandolfo the siege by Joachim Murat. The Republic lasted till 1814.
It was briefly revamped in cojunction with the revolutionary Roman Republic of 1849. At that time Garibaldi won at Velletri a battle with the Bourbon Neapolitan forces, but the victory was short-lived as the Roman Republic was soon afterwards overwhelmed by the French, Velletri being also engulfed.
In 1862, the Rome-Velletri Railroad (Ferrovia Roma-Velletri [1]) was opened for service.
Between 2 September 1943, and 2 June 1944, Velletri was heavily bombed by the Allied Powers. Many monuments were destroyed and many people died.
Main sights
- The Palazzo Comunale (Town Hall), with a portico entrance, was begun in 1572 by Giacomo della Porta on a design by Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola, and finished in 1741 by Filippo Barigioni. It was destroyed during World War II and rebuilt in 1956.
- The Oreste Nardini Civic Archeological Museum of Velletri, located in the 16th century City Hall. It contains works of noteworthy importance, with material going from the protohistoric to the medieval period.
- The sixteenth century Oratory of Santa Maria del Sangue ("St. Mary of the Blood").
- The church of Sant'Antonio Abate (fourteenth century).
- The lofty campanile of Santa Maria in Trivio, erected in 1353 in Lombard-Gothic style, in gratitude for the liberation of the city from a plague which devastated it in 1348.
- The Cathedral of St. Clement, erected in the fourth century over the ruins of an ancient temple. It has three naves and was rebuilt in the current form in 1659-1662. The Renaissance gate is by Traiano da Palestrina (1512). The interior has several frescoes, while the Capitular Museum houses important relics, vessels and paintings including works by Gentile da Fabriano and Antoniazzo Romano.
- The Tempietto Bramantesco ("Bramantesque temple"), constructed by Alessandro da Parma in 1523.
- F-104 Starfighter is installed as a memorial on one of the town's squares.
Twin cities
Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
Mödling, Austria
Offenbach, Germany
Puteaux, France
Saint-Gilles, Belgium
Tilburg, Netherlands
Tower Hamlets, United Kingdom
Zemun, Serbia
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
