Orte

Orte
Comune
Comune di Orte
Panorama of Orte
Panorama of Orte
Coat of arms of Orte
Coat of arms
Orte is located in Italy
Orte
Orte
Location within Italy
Orte is located in Lazio
Orte
Orte
Location within Lazio
Coordinates: 42°27′37″N 12°23′11″E / 42.46028°N 12.38639°E / 42.46028; 12.38639
CountryItaly
RegionLazio
ProvinceViterbo (VT)
FrazioniOrte Scalo
Government
 • MayorDino Primieri
Area
 • Total
70.16 km2 (27.09 sq mi)
Elevation
132 m (433 ft)
Population
 (31 December 2014)
 • Total
8,982
 • Density128.0/km2 (331.6/sq mi)
DemonymOrtani
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
01028
Dialing code0761
Patron saintSt. Giles Abbot
Saint daySeptember 1
WebsiteOfficial website

Orte is a town, comune, former Catholic bishopric and Latin titular see in the province of Viterbo, in the central Italian region of Lazio, located about 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of Rome and about 24 kilometres (15 mi) east of Viterbo.

Geography

Orte aerial panorama. June 2024
Orte and the River Tiber. June 2024.
Orte and its significance as a transport hub from above. June 2024.

Orte is situated in the Tiber Valley on a high tuff cliff, encircled to North and East from a handle of the Tevere river. It is an important road and rail hub.

History

The Etruscans inhabited the area from the 6th century BC and called it Hurta, as testified by the findings in a necropolis nearby, now preserved in the Vatican Museums. Two major battles between Etruscans and Romans (310 and 283 BC) were fought nearby on the shores of the Vadimone lake. The Romans were victorious both times.

The Romans domination made it the municipality of Horta (also Hortanum). Under the rule of Augustus, it received numerous public works. Because of its strategic position, Orte was occupied in succession by the Ostrogoths, the Byzantines and the Lombards. During the late 9th to early 10th century, along with much of central Italy, Orte was also held or threatened by the Saracens.

In the Middle Ages, the city was never seat of a fief, becoming a free comune under a podestà (elected magistrature). Later it became part of the Papal States.

George Dennis visited Orte in the 1840s. He describes it as picturesque, but having scarcely any visible Roman or Etruscan remnants.

Ecclesiastical history

Main Sights

Events

Transport

Orte railway station, opened in 1865, forms part of the Florence–Rome railway and the Ancona–Orte railway. It is situated in Piazza Giovanni XXIII, in the locality of Orte Scalo, approximately two kilometres southeast of the town centre.

Notable inhabitants

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  2. ↑ Demographic data from ISTAT
  3. ↑ "Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  4. ↑ Chiesa, Tarquinia: archeologia e prosopografia tra ellenismo e romanizzazione, 2006, p.267.
  5. ↑ John Murray, A dictionary of Greek and Roman geography, Volume 1, 1873, p.1091
  6. ↑ Peter Partner (1 Jan 1972). The Lands of St. Peter: The Papal State in the Middle Ages and the Early Renaissance (illustrated ed.). University of California Press. p. 81. ISBN 9780520021815.
  7. ↑ George Dennis, The Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria, 1848, Chapter IX.

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Bibliography - ecclesiastical history