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  Orte and Vasanello(Papal Loggia in Viterbo)
Orte
The history of Orte starts with the Etruscans and its importance grew during the Roman rule when it was crossed by Via Amerina. However the town retains only a few columns and some reliefs on the walls of its houses from that period . A relief showing the foot of a hunter next to a dog is called Piè di Marmo and it gives the name to a street, similar to what happened in Rome for a a gigantic foot of Isis.
Similar to Sutri, Orte was donated by the Longobard kings to the popes in the VIIIth century. At that time Rome was ruled by a Byzantine governor who reported to the Exarch of Ravenna, a sort of proconsul, who in theory had jurisdiction over the whole of Italy. Because the Longobards controlled Via Flaminia, Orte and Via Amerina acquired great importance because they allowed direct communication between Rome and Ravenna, the so called "Byzantine corridor". Eventually the bridge of Orte became the only stone bridge across the Tiber north of Rome and this helped the economy of the medieval town.
Most of the medieval churches of Orte, including the cathedral, were redesigned in the XVIIIth and XIXth centuries. At S. Silvestro the additions/modifications were removed as much as possible to bring the church back to its original shape which included a (lost) small porch. According to an inscription S. Silvestro was built in 1141 and in addition to being a church it was the site where duties were collected.
Similar to many other towns of the region, medieval Orte acquired a degree of self-government which came to an end when the popes returned from Avignon. Cardinal Gil de Albornoz built a fortress at the northern entrance to the town for the papal governor and his garrison. In 1417 Pope Martin V assigned Orte to his nephew Antonio Colonna who treated the inhabitants without respect for their rights. After the pope's death in 1431 a revolt forced Antonio Colonna to flee and the fortress was razed to the ground and never rebuilt. Apart from this episode Orte was peacefully ruled by papal envoys.
Five Renaissance palaces of Orte show the same coat of arms. It belongs to the Alberti, a Florentine family of wool merchants: in the XIVth century they opened a branch of their business at Orte and in the XVIth century they built five palaces, all showing a simple and neat design, typical of Florentine architecture.
In 1685 an aqueduct was built to carry water to Orte. Because of the height of the rock platform upon which the town is situated the conduit reached the main square several feet below street level so that the public fountain had to be built underground.
After the collapse of the bridge on the Tiber and the construction of Ponte Felice, Orte lost most of its importance and it slid into obscurity until the railway revived it in the XIXth century. When Ferdinando Nuzzo (or Nuzzi), a native of Orte, was created cardinal in 1715 by Pope Clement XI, the town experienced a short period during which some embellishments were made. The cardinal's funerary monument was most likely commissioned to an important Roman sculptor. You may wish to see other monuments where the dead is portrayed in the act of praying. Vasanello
Vasanello is a small town, five miles south of Orte, on the ancient Via Amerina. Its name derives from workshops making vases. S. Maria Assunta was built upon a Roman temple in the XIth century. Its bell tower was part of the walls which protected the small settlement which did not have natural defences. The church retains some interesting memories of its past.
In the XIIIth century the inhabitants of Vasanello built a very high Romanesque bell tower by using the white stones of Via Amerina. According to tradition it was built above an ancient Etruscan mausoleum. A Roman funerary relief was walled on the bell tower, similar to what was done at nearby Bomarzo. The church is older than its bell tower and in the interior it retains a 1038 inscription where Vasanello is mentioned for the first time.
The Orsini were one of the most powerful Roman families. In the XIIIth century they acquired control over Soriano, the most important town of the area and eventually over Bomarzo and Vasanello where they strengthened an existing castle. In 1489 Orsino Orsini, Duke of Vasanello (or Bassanello as it was called at the time) married Giulia Farnese, a beautiful young woman who shortly after her marriage (or perhaps even before) became the mistress of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia (from 1492 Pope Alexander VI). Giulia Farnese ensured her husband had some compensation for his silent tolerance of her affaire and she favoured the ecclesiastical career of her brother Alessandro, the future Pope Paul III. She lost her husband in 1500 and her lover in 1503. At that point she thought it wise to establish good relations with the new pope (Pope Julius II Della Rovere) and in 1505 she arranged the marriage of Laura, her only daughter, to Nicoḷ Della Rovere, nephew of the pope, who became the new duke of Vasanello.
Eventually the fiefdom of Vasanello was acquired by the Colonna di Palestrina and after them by the Barberini and by the Sciarra Colonna. After the financial default of Prince Maffeo Sciarra Colonna the castle of Vasanello ended up in the hands of a bank. In 1907 it was bought by Mons. Luigi Misciattelli, a very rich prelate, whose family still owns it. Saint Lanno (or Lando) is the patron saint of Vasanello. According to tradition he was a German soldier serving Co-emperor Maximian. In 294 he became a Christian and eventually he was put to death at Vasanello. A fresco in a small chapel portrays him as a Renaissance knight. 
In and about Viterbo - other pages: Viterbo Bagnaia Bagnoregio Bomarzo S. Maria della Querce S. Martino al Cimino Tuscania Vitorchiano 
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