Norcia

Sister cities

• Ottobeuren

History

Norcia, ancient Nursia, was a city of the Sabines, although situated very close to the territory of the Umbrians, as attested by classical writers including Livy, Plutarch, Dionysius, Pliny, Silius Italicus, and Ptolemy. The earliest historical mention occurs during the Second Punic War in 205 BC, when Norcia was among the cities that voluntarily supplied soldiers for the army of Scipio. On that occasion only three Sabine cities were named: Norcia, Rieti, and Amiternum. Later the citizens of Norcia were punished by Octavian for providing assistance to Lucius Antonius during the Perusine War. Pope Boniface IX, by a special brief, granted to the municipality of Norcia in 1398 the castle of Mevole with full jurisdiction and the title of marquisate, together with Riofreddo and other neighboring places.

Geography

Norcia lies in the most mountainous part of Umbria, near the central Apennine chain and close to the Sibillini Mountains. The climate is harsh, and vegetation develops late and remains limited. In 2021, 593 people lived in rural dispersed dwellings not assigned to any named locality. At the time, the most populous locality was Norcia proper (2,728). Agriano, whose name derives from Agri Omnae or Omne, an ancient castle, stands on a plain in a temperate climate with a broad horizon. Pescia, named from the nearby Pescia stream, lies in a valley with a very narrow horizon. Pescia once formed a marquisate under the lords Antici of Recanati. Serravalle lies in a valley on the provincial road with a restricted horizon. Serravalle lies on the Sordo River a few hundred meters upstream from its confluence with the Corno.