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Valentano

{{Infobox Italian comune

| name = Valentano

| official_name = Comune di Valentano

| native_name =

| image_skyline = Valentano rocca farnese.jpg

| imagesize =

| image_alt =

| image_caption = Rocca Farnese.

| image_shield = Valentano-Stemma.png

| shield_alt =

| image_map =

| map_alt =

| map_caption =

| pushpin_label_position =

| pushpin_map_alt =

| coordinates = {{coord|42|33|55|N|11|49|37|E|display=inline}}

| coordinates_footnotes =

| region = Lazio

| province = Viterbo (VT)

| frazioni = Villa Fontane, Felceti

| mayor_party =

| mayor = Stefano Bigiotti

| area_footnotes =

| area_total_km2 = 43.5

| population_footnotes =

| population_total = 2868

| population_as_of = 31 December 2015

| pop_density_footnotes =

| population_demonym = Valentanesi

| elevation_footnotes =

| elevation_m = 538

| saint = St. John the Apostle

| day = December 27

| postal_code = 01018

| area_code = 0761

| website = {{official website|http://www.comune.valentano.vt.it/}}

| footnotes =

}}

image:ValentanoRocca.JPG

Valentano is a town and comune of the province of Viterbo, in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is {{convert|33|km|mi}} from the provincial capital, Viterbo.

image:ValentanoRoccaFarnese.jpg

The placename is of uncertain origin. Some identify the town with an Etruscan Verentum, others trace the name to ontano, Italian for alder, since alders cover the slopes of a nearby valley: Valle Ontano becoming Valentano.

History

=Antiquity and High Middle Ages=

The town is named for the first time in a manuscript of 813 in the Farfa Register; starting in 844 a "Balentanu" appears in other documents of the abbey of San Salvatore on Mt. Amiata. The land was definitely inhabited in prehistoric times, and important finds in the Lake Mezzano and near Mt. Becco, Mt. Saliette, the Poggi del Mulino and Mt. Starnina seem to confirm the theories of historians, who identify the lake with the Lake of Statonia (Lacus Statoniensis) described by Seneca in his Naturales Quaestiones and by Pliny the Elder ([https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/2*.html#209 ii.209], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/14*.html#67 xiv.67] and [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/36*.html#168 xxxvi.168]).

=The Farnese=

In the Renaissance period, the town fell under the dominion of the Farnese family: it is to them that Valentano owes its fortress (Rocca) and many of its churches.

In 1649, when the town of Castro, capital of the Duchy of Castro, was destroyed, Valentano became the natural center of the Castrense region and the custodian of its archives.

=Modern times=

In June 1944, an artillery shell exploded in the "Portonaccio" gate, killing seven civilians who had taken shelter in it. The gate itself is a witness to the tragedy, since one of its stones is missing, but in 2004 a plaque was placed in the Via Trento e Trieste to commemorate all local victims of World War II.

Main sights

People

Events

  • Good Friday: Procession of the Body of Christ ("Cristo Morto")
  • Third Sunday in May: Cedar Fair, instituted by the Farnese in 1461
  • August 14–15 Agosto: Feast of the Assumption, with a Plowing Competition.
  • Throughout the summer: various events, including the Palio of the Duchy of Castro, a historical pageant.

Twin towns

References

{{reflist}}

External links

{{commons category}}

  • {{Official website|http://www.comune.valentano.vt.it/}}
  • [http://www.valentano.org/ Valentano.Org]
  • [http://www.ceniamoinsieme.org/ ProLoco Valentano]{{dead link|date=March 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} (Tourist Office)
  • [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/_Periods/Roman/Archaic/Etruscan/_Texts/DENETR*/24.html#sec10 George Dennis on Valentano]

{{Province of Viterbo}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Cities and towns in Lazio

Category:Castles in Italy