Umbertide

Sister cities

• Tyrnavos

History

Umbertide and its surrounding area were inhabited in pre-Roman and Roman times. Evidence of earlier settlement includes an Umbrian fortification (a castelliere) discovered on the summit of Monte Acuto. 19th century writers averred that Fratta originated in the 2nd century BC, founded by survivors of the Roman army defeated at the Battle of Lake Trasimene. Archaeological finds of weapons, marbles and bronzes were taken to indicate the presence of an ancient town. According to this tradition, the settlement was destroyed during the barbarian invasions and was rebuilt in the 10th century by Uberto Ranieri, lord of Civitella (later Civitella Ranieri). During the 14th century it functioned as an administrative center within the territory of Perugia. In 1396 an institutional reform established a shared castellan and podestà with Sigillo and Montone. Fratta later passed under the control of the Church, but after the death of Pope Martin V it was again subjected to Perugia. The town was again devastated in 1478, amid plague, by troops of Federico, duke of Urbino. In 1479 it was attacked by Florentine forces, and in 1500 it was occupied by Cesare Borgia. Throughout the factional conflicts that affected Perugia between the late 14th and early 16th centuries, Fratta often served as a refuge for exiles. It was repeatedly occupied and retaken, notably in 1385, when it was seized by exiles led by Tommaso di Ciardolino, and recovered the following year by forces under Albertino di Nino di Guidalotto and Mattiolo di Angeluccio di Colle. After its recovery, the defensive structures were strengthened and a substantial fortress was constructed. Further occupations occurred in 1394, 1431, and 1495. A municipal statute issued in 1521 regulated local government and institutions. The…

Geography

Umbertide lies on a plain on the left bank of the Tiber. The built area is largely composed of relatively recent buildings, while the oldest structure is the fortress constructed in the 14th century. In 2021, 2,138 people lived in rural dispersed dwellings not assigned to any named locality. The settlement does not appear as a separate locality in later census records. In 1701, Civitella Ranieri was a feudal domain of Count Ranieri, a status which it retained in 1803. The Ranieri family remained prominent in the 19th century, when the leading family was that of Count Ruggero Ranieri of Perugia; an ancestor of the same name, Ruggero Cane Ranieri, was a supreme commander of the Venetians.