Welcome to           COLLICELLO

Collicello, which name derives from the position that the village occupies on a hill rich in woods, 15 km away from Amelia and on the border with Todi, was in the past guarding the ancient Via Amerina, a Roman road built around the 3rd century B.C., for centuries one of the main communication ways in Central Italy and a connection between Rome and Ravenna. Mostly used for trade, the road also became a pilgrimage route to Rome, with places of pagan worship still remaining today with other functions. The first documents mentioning Collicello as 'castrum collicelli' dates back between the end of 13th and the beginning of the 14th century. In one of these documents it is stated that some inhabitants of the castles nearby asked the municipality of Amelia to build a new fortified settlement that took the name of Collicello, in such a way as to control the expansionist aims of Todi. The strategic position of the village caused continuous attacks by Tudertine troops and consequent looting, especially by the Chiaravalle that in 1461 razed the small village to the ground.

The future pope Julius II intervened with a diplomatic delegation to reduce the family’s power, but at the end of the 15th century Todi resumed threatening the possessions of Amelia, who gathered an army, however defeated near Acquasparta in 1500.

After a short period of stability, following the Sack of Rome (1527), the troops of the Holy League found themselves in Collicello which was unable to provide for their food due to poverty that reigned supreme. Due to the absence of certain documents, it is not possible to reconstruct the historical profile of the town from the 16th to the 20th century. In 1943 the florentine jurist Piero Calamandrei, one of the fathers of the Italian Constitution, was forced to take refuge in Collicello, following the German invasion of Italy and the proclamation of the Social Republic, where he remained until Liberation. Since the post-war period, a re-developement of the territory has taken place and has led to a repopulation of the town, also arousing the interest of prominent personalities, such as the senator Alfredo Reichlin and the historian Giuliano Procacci, who chose it as a place of rest.

 

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For the texts revision credits to Pio Pistilli

Credits to Giulia Rendini, Selene Secondo, Flavia Scotini