Spello

Sister cities

• Alfonsine
• Accadia
• Kalamata

History

Although no mention of Spello (Hispellum) is found before the Roman Empire, Pliny, in his list of Umbrian towns, calls it a colony established under Augustus, a status also supported by numerous Roman inscriptions in which the town is named Colonia Iulia Hispellum. Augustus is said by Pliny to have granted Hispellum the spring and river Clitunno, although they lay 12 miles away, with the territories of Bevagna and Foligno in between; the people of Hispellum are also said to have maintained a bath and a hospice there. In the Roman period the town belonged to the Lemonia gens. A well-known rescript of Emperor Constantine the Great, together with the Caesars Constantine and Constans, ordered that the city be called Flavia Constante, that a temple of the Flavia gens be erected there, and that gladiatorial and circus games be instituted. The temple was most likely that found recently in the sanctuary of Venus. From that period, inscriptions refer to the town as Colonia Urbana Flavia, a wording which, according to the source, led some writers to incorrectly suppose that Spello had received a second colonial foundation under Vespasian. In the early 13th century Emperor Otto IV, while taking many places from the Church, is said to have shown clemency towards Spello, which in that century was a loyal ally of Perugia. In 1289 the city again asked to be received under Perugian protection and to be sent a new podestà chosen by Perugia’s council; Perugia complied by sending Porticcio di Porta Borgne. In 1298 the people of Spello appealed to Perugia for help against the vicar of the Duke of Spoleto, then Bertoldo Orsini, who had proclaimed war against Spello, claiming it was subject to the duchy, whereas Spello had placed itself under Perugian protection. Perugia sent ambassadors…

Geography

Spello lies on the southernmost slope of Monte Subasio, about from Foligno and about from Assisi, at an average elevation of above sea level. A road from Foligno toward Florence passes by the open square in front of Porta Maggiore. Among Spello's features are thirteen caves of uncertain but ancient date, opening on the slope of the hill on which the town stands, on the north and west sides. One of these caves communicates with the highest point of the hill, where the seat of the ancient acropolis is suggested to have been located. In 2021, 2,429 people lived in rural dispersed dwellings not assigned to any named locality. At the time, the most populous localities were Spello proper (4,116), and Capitan Loreto (1,027).

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  422
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  338
• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  293
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  288
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  283
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  272
• Eurasian Blackcap

  Sylvia atricapilla (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  264
• European Goldfinch

  Carduelis carduelis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  245

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2026-07-24
  1 km NNW of Petritoli, Italy
• M 4.2 — 2026-05-23
  4 km WSW of Bolognola, Italy
• M 4.2 — 2025-09-20
  4 km SSE of San Terenziano, Italy
• M 3.2 — 2025-03-04
  3 km S of Bevagna, Italy
• M 4 — 2023-11-14
  2 km ESE of Monteleone di Fermo, Italy
• M 4.2 — 2023-03-09
  4 km S of Umbertide, Italy