Todi
Todi | |
|---|---|
| Comune di Todi | |
 Panorama of the town | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Todi  | |
UTC+2 (CEST) | |
| Postal code | 06059 |
| Dialing code | 075 |
| Patron saint | St. Fortunatus |
| Saint day | October 14 |
| Website | Official website |
Todi (Italian pronunciation:
In the 1990s, Richard S. Levine, a professor of Architecture at the University of Kentucky, included Todi in academic design exercises aimed at conceiving hypothetical improvements to the city and presented its results in a conference titled "The Sustainable City of the Past and the Sustainable City of the Future". As a result, the Italian press incorrectly reported on Todi as the world's most livable city.[3]
History
According to the legend, said to have been recorded around 1330 BC by a mythological Quirinus Colonus, Todi was built by Hercules, who here killed Cacus, and gave the city the name of Eclis.
Historical Todi was founded by the ancient Italic people of the
A notable archeologic find from the Etruscan period is an ancient bronze, the Mars of Todi, discovered in 1835 in the nearby Montesanto; and now at the Gregorian Etruscan section of the Vatican Museums, but a copy is kept in the crypt of the Cathedral.
It was the home of
After the 12th century, the city started to expand again: the government was held first by consuls, and then by podestà and a people's captain, some of whom achieved wide fame. In 1244 the new quarters, housing mainly the new artisan classes, were enclosed in a new circle of walls.
Benedetto Caetani, the latter
In 1290 the city had 40,000 inhabitants. Communal autonomy was lost in 1367 when the city was annexed to the
In July 1849 Todi received
Todi is the birthplace of the Franciscan poet Jacopone da Todi, who is buried in a special crypt in the church of S. Fortunato.
Monuments and sites of interest
Almost all Todi's main medieval monuments – the co-cathedral church (Duomo), the Palazzo del Capitano, the Palazzo del Priore and the Palazzo del Popolo – front on the main square (Piazza del Popolo) on the lower breast of the hill: the piazza is often used as a movie set. The whole landscape is sited over some huge ancient Roman cisterns, with more than 500 pits, which remained in use until 1925.
Todi has been over the ages been surrounded by three more or less complete concentric walls: the outermost is medieval, the middle wall is Roman, and the innermost is recognizable as partly Etruscan. Sights include also a colossal Roman niched substructure of uncertain purpose (the Nicchioni), the small remnants of a Roman amphitheatre, about a dozen smaller churches, and a few Renaissance or classical palazzi, among which the most important is one by Vignola. In the country outside of the city has many historical castles, fortresses and ancient churches including the famous Todi Castle.
Religious architecture or sites
- Ferraù Faenzone, called "Il Faenzone", influenced by the mannerism of Michelangelo. The choir includes the Gothic altar and a magnificent wooden choir-enclosure (1521) with two floors. One important work of art is the 13th-century Crucifixion of the Umbrian school.
- San Carlo: small Romanesque and Gothic-style church on Viale San Carlo.
- Franciscans, with a "hall" structure. The plague of 1348 halted work. The lower part of the façade was finished in the second half of the 15th century. The nave and the two aisles have a portal each: these are enriched by fine decorations portraying saints and prophets, with briars representing Good (the vine) and Evil (the fig). The whole apse is occupied by a wooden choir finished in 1590 by Antonio Maffei, from Gubbio. The crypt houses a sepulchre containing the remains of St Fortunatus of Todi and other saints, as well as the tomb of Jacopone da Todi. A chapel has frescoes of a Madonna and Child by Masolino da Panicale.
- Baldassarre Peruzzi, Galeazzo Alessi, Michele Sanmicheli, Vignola and Ippolito Scalza. The church was inaugurated only in 1607. The apse is surmounted by a square terrace with 4 eagles at the corners, from which the dome rises. In the interior, the altar houses a miraculous image of the Madonna, which according to the tradition, was discovered by a worker during the founding works. 12 niches in the first three apses house giant statues of the apostles. Also noteworthy is the wooden statue of Pope Martin I, native to the Todi area.
- Santa Maria in Camuccia: Romanesque and Gothic-style, Roman Catholic church on Via Santa Maria in Camuccia.
Secular and civic architecture or sites
- Palazzo del Popolo ("People's Palace") is a Lombard-Gothic construction that already existed in 1213, and is one of the most ancient communal palaces in Italy. It comprises two great halls: the "Sala Grande Inferiore", or "Sala delle Pietre", and the "Sala Grande Superiore", housing the city's Art Gallery.
- Palazzo del Capitano, Todi: ("Captain's Palace"), built circa 1293 in Italian Gothic style, and named "New Communal Palace" to differentiate it from the former one. It is on two distinct levels: the first floor housed the Justice Hall (currently, seat of the Communal Council), with the Judges's offices on the lower. The latter is now occupied by the City Museum, with findings and remains of Todi's history. It includes a saddle used by Anita Garibaldi, the wife of Giuseppe Garibaldi. Some rooms are frescoed with histories of the city and portraits of its most illustrious men.
- Palazzo dei Priori: located on the southern side of the Piazza, facing the Cathedral. It was begun in 1293 and later enlarged as the seat of the podestà, priors and the Papal governors. The trapezoidal tower was originally lower and had Guelph merlons. The façade includes a big bronze eagle by Giovanni di Giliaccio (1347).
- Palazzo Vescovile: Located at the left of the Cathedral, the Bishop's Palace was built in 1593 by Cardinal Angelo Cesi at his own expense. His crest is visible over the great portal, attributed to Vignola. The upper floors include a room frescoed by Ferraù Fenzoni and a gallery frescoed by Andrea Polinori in 1629.
Sports
A.S.D. Todi Calcio
Todi currently plays in Serie D group E.
References
- ^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ Error: Unable to display the reference properly. See the documentation for details.
- ^ “Todi Come una Citta` Sostenibile,” keynote, Inauguration Convocation Academic Year Università della Terza Età, October 1992, Todi, Italy; "Todi Citta del Futuro," and "Come Todi Puo Divenire Citta Ideale e Modello per il Futuro", in Il Sole 24 Ore, Milan, Italy, November 28, 1991
- Naturalis Historia
- ^ J. Poultney, The Bronze Tables of Iguvium, 1959
- ^ "ASD TODI CALCIO | Todi Calcio". Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
External links
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