Torgiano

Sister cities

• Bois-Guillaume

History

Archaeological evidence indicates that the area of Torgiano was inhabited during the Roman period, with remains of a villa and various inscriptions attesting to its settlement. According to local tradition, Torgiano was founded around 300 AD by Lucius Turcius Apronianus. In 596 it was destroyed by the Goths. In the early Middle Ages, the territory was occupied successively by the Goths and the Lombards. In the 13th century Torgiano was rebuilt and enlarged by the people of Perugia. The town walls were constructed in 1276, together with two gates and two towers, and in 1294 an additional tower in the form of a fortress was built by the Perugians. In 1410 a fierce battle took place there between the armies of Braccio da Montone and Sforza. In 1426 Torgiano issued its first statute, which expanded vicariate powers and introduced council oversight of local governance. In 1503 it was invaded by Cesare Borgia, after which it returned to the control of the Baglioni family of Perugia. After the Salt War in 1540, the town was brought under the authority of the Papal States. After the war, the river Tiber was canalized and joined to the Chiascio. During the period of the Roman Republic and Napoleonic rule from 1798 to 1814, Torgiano retained municipal status, forming part of the Department of Trasimeno. Following the Napoleonic era, papal administration was restored, and an apostolic subdelegate oversaw the municipality. In the mid-19th century Torgiano had a population of 2,669 inhabitants. Of these, 559 lived within the town and 2,110 in the surrounding countryside.

Geography

Torgiano lies on a hill almost surrounded by the rivers Tiber and Chiascio, which meet at a short distance from the town walls. In 2021, 917 people lived in rural dispersed dwellings not assigned to any named locality. At the time, the most populous localities were Torgiano proper (2,850), and Brufa (939). The settlement of Miralduolo stands at the foot of a high hill near the left bank of the Tiber, about north of Torgiano, southeast of Perugia, and west of Assisi. Rosciano, formerly a castle, survives as ruins within a dense wood about from Torgiano. The plain below, known as the Piano di Rosciano, is crossed by the Chiascio, which is spanned by a bridge, and near which stood three mills.