Rome in the Footsteps of an XVIIIth Century Traveller

Todi seen from the Orte - Perugia motorway

Todi. This ancient Umbrian city is situated on a hill commanding magnificent views of the surrounding country, and so high as to be a conspicuous object for a great distance. "excelso summi qua vertice montis Devexum lateri pendet Tuder." (Sil. Ital. VI,. 645) (Tuder hangs on a high mountain-top and slopes down its side).
John Murray - Handbook for travellers in central Italy - 1843
The diligence plodded on slowly to Todi, over a hilly road, but through a country so beautiful that no one could have wished to be whirled rapidly through it. The air was elastic and bracing, and the sky covered with massive clouds of snowy white, which the light winds hardly stirred. Todi, high in the air, shone like an aerial city, and was visible for some hours before we reached it.
George Stillman Hillard - Six Months in Italy in 1847-1848
Of all the towns of Umbria none has left a more charming impression on my mind than Todi. (..) Remote from the great thoroughfares, Todi seems to lie wrapped in slumber; in a silence which is by no means that of death, but of retrospection - in the memory of her past glories.
Ferdinand Gregorovius - An Excursion through Sabina and Umbria in 1861 - Transl. by Dorothea Roberts

View from Todi towards Monti Martani, the range of low mountains which separates the valley of the River Tiber from the Umbrian Valley

This very ancient town, called in old times Tuder, or Tudertum, is seated on a smiling eminence above the Vale of the Tiber, in the midst of a hilly district, clothed with olive groves and vineyards, through which the beautiful river glides tranquilly. Gregorovius
Todi is located at the top of a hill, in a commanding position over the Tiber valley; Tutere, its ancient Etruscan name, is thought to mean "border" probably because the town marked the eastern limit of the Etruscan territories. Via Flaminia, the road which linked Rome with Ariminum (Rimini) on the Adriatic Sea, crossed Umbria through two different routes; from Narni western Via Flaminia reached Carsulae (near today's San Gemini) and Todi and from there it moved towards Bevagna; eastern Via Flaminia reached Bevagna via Terni and Spoleto. While over time many towns developed along the eastern route, Todi is the only one along the western one.

Museo Gregoriano Etrusco (Musei Vaticani): Mars, a late Vth century BC bronze statue found at Todi

At this end of the room stands a bronze statue of a warrior, commonly called Mars, rather less than life, found at Todi in 1834. On the fringe of his cuirass is an inscription in Etruscan characters, but perhaps in the Umbrian language. This statue was found among the ruins of a temple at Todi, the ancient Tuder. The eyes were supplied with stones, as their sockets are hollow.
George Dennis - The Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria - 1848
This extremely rare example of ancient bronze statuary depicts a warrior dressed in a breastplate and leaning against an iron lance, in the act of performing a propitiatory libation before battle. It is made up of parts cast separately and then soldered together. It displays references to Attican models from the circle of Phidias. The dedicatory inscription, in the language of the ancient Umbrians, but in the Etruscan alphabet says that the statue was given as a gift. It was probably made in a workshop of Veltzna (Bolsena).

Sections of ancient walls in the centre of Todi

It is now a small provincial town of 2925 inhabitants; remarkable chiefly for the remains of its ancient Etruscan walls. These present in many parts some of the most perfect specimens of regular masonry to be met with in the cities of ancient Etruria; the stones are laid in horizontal courses, and some of them are dovetailed. They generally alternate, one course being narrow and the next broad. Murray
It is encircled by ancient walls, a portion of them Etruscan. Gregorovius
Today the walls are attributed to the Romans. They established a sort of standard plan for the development of a town. When the natural features of an area did not fit into this pattern the Romans were ready to modify the ground to obtain the portion of flat land needed for the forum and other key facilities of the town. Because of this at many locations of Todi one can see parts of Roman walls which supported terraces.

(above) "Nicchioni" (large niches); (below) decorative frieze above them showing metopes and triglyphs

Another interesting ruin is the extensive building which has given rise to so much controversy among antiquaries; some calling it a Temple to Mars, for whose worship the ancient city was celebrated, while others regard it as a basilica of the time of the early emperors. Murray
The most impressive Roman walls at Todi are a series of niches which for many centuries were thought to belong to a temple to Mars, although the niches had a practical purpose because they increased the resistance of the structure (see an example of Roman engineering techniques at the Trajan's Markets).

(left): Porta Catena; (centre) Porta Perugina; (right) Porta Romana

It was night when I got there, having travelled by the post carriage to the foot of the hill, whence I was driven up to the gates of the town, in search of a hostelry. It did not promise well, that dark and forlorn Locanda which I reached through gloomy and deserted-looking streets, but in the morning I discovered how groundless my forebodings had been. It was a most charming little spot when viewed by the brilliant sunshine next morning, yet with that unmistakable character of the Middle Ages which so few Italian towns now retain. Gregorovius
Porta Catena is part of the walls built by the Romans when they enlarged the Etruscan town, but it was modified in the XIIIth century. It is named after the chain (It. catena) which could be raised to obstruct the entrance to the town. Porta Perugina and Porta Romana belong to the walls which were built in 1244, but the latter was given a Renaissance appearance by Pope Gregory XIII in the late XVIth century.

(left) XIIIth century walls near S. Maria della Consolazione; (centre) a tower; (right) Torre Caetani

In the thirteenth century, her flourishing period, Todi could send 1000 horsemen, fully armed and accoutred, into the field. In her six quarters she could boast of having 30,000 inhabitants, while now she can number but 4000. Gregorovius
The history of Todi is similar to that of Perugia: Etruscan origin, with a long period of prosperity during the Roman Empire followed by centuries of decadence and misery. After the year 1000 Todi had a period of recovery which led to the repopulation of the town within the ancient Etruscan/Roman walls and later on to its expansion beyond them. In 1244 new walls were built to protect the three neighbourhoods which had grown outside the old walls (similar to what occurred at Perugia).
Torre Caetani is part of the 1244 walls and it is named after Loffredo Caetani, podestà of Todi in 1282-1283, who opened a gate through the tower. He was the brother of Cardinal Benedetto Caetani who became Pope Boniface VIII in 1294. In 1440 the gate was closed and the tower was strengthened by Francesco Sforza, one of the most celebrated condottieri who became Duke of Milan in 1450 and who had been appointed governor of Todi in 1435 by Pope Eugenius IV.

Palazzo del Capitano (left) and the western side of Palazzo del Popolo (right)

Its squares are spacious and level, though set on the edges of so steep a hill. Old palaces, brown mediaeval towers, most picturesque buildings - Romano-Gothic in style - venerable churches and monasteries, sprang up all around, while the stately cathedral soared up above them all. The public buildings are in the square, monuments, all of them, of the days when Todi was a free Umbrian Republic, waging war with some of her neighbouring towns - such as Terni and Spoleto - concluding treaties with others.
The venerable records of this republican town are now kept in the Communal Palace and the palace of the Governor (or del Capitano), both in the principal square. The first is a large Romano-Gothic structure, of very noble proportions, with a wide flight of stone steps leading up to it. The second has a higher tower, and its façade is battlemented. It reminds me a little of the Palazzo Veneziano in Rome. Gregorovius
Some details of the two palaces, such as the Ghibelline merlons at the top of Palazzo del Popolo, are the result of a not too scrupulous restoration carried out at the beginning of the XXth century.

(left) Palazzo del Popolo (southern side with the tower mentioned by Gregorovius); (right) vaulted passage between the southern and western sides of Palazzo del Popolo (right)

A Podesta, and a Captain chosen by the people, were at the head of this free State, and administered justice. These were always strangers, and were elected annually. Amongst them were many Romans of the most important families in the thirteenth century. The names of Colonna, Orsini, Frangipani, Annibaldi, Cenci, Caetani, Savelli, Malabranca, and others, appear in the list. Gregorovius
Italian Comuni (city-states) varied widely as political institutions. Todi retains three palaces built during its period as a city-state which help in the understanding of the various forms of government it had.
Palazzo del Popolo is the oldest one (it was completed in 1228): it has a large hall for the meetings of Consiglio Generale, a body where all the wealthiest families and the guilds were represented (in the XVth century it had 478 members). Palazzo del Popolo served also as residence for the podestà, a magistrate who exercised supreme power in the city, usually for a short period of time. In order to avoid the intense strife so common in Italian civic life, the podestà was a foreigner.

Windows of the main hall of Palazzo del Capitano

Palazzo del Capitano (del Popolo) was built in 1293 as residence and office of a magistrate whose role was to represent the lower classes of the city and/or those citizens who did not belong to the original group of families who set up the political institutions of the Comune. The palace shows similarities in the design of the windows and in the external staircase with Palazzo dei Priori in Perugia.

(left) Palazzo dei Priori; (right) 1339 bronze eagle holding a flag, the symbol of Todi, by Giovanni di Gigliuccio, similar bronze symbols can be seen at Perugia

Her constitution was Guelphic, and thoroughly popular; the guilds of the artisans were her sole rulers, through their committee in Parliament. Gregorovius
Priori (the first citizens) were the leaders of the most important guilds; in the Comuni complex system of check and balances the Priori gave voice to the needs of the economy. Their palace in Todi was built in 1334-1347 around an existing tower. The façade was modified in 1513 by Cardinal Antonio Del Monte, governor of Todi and uncle of Pope Julius III. The merlons are of the Guelph type.
The guilds played a major role in the economy of the Papal State until its end in 1860-1870.

A Guild of Todi It soon got abroad in Todi that a stranger who could read old documents was in the town. The news brought the president of the Worshipful Guild of Tailors to my hostelry. He arrived with a sheaf of papers under his arm - namely, the statutes of his ancient and honourable confraternity, yellow with age. He was a young man with an intelligent expression, and very sprucely attired. "I have come to you," he said, "our guild being in a difficulty, to ask for your advice." Repressing a smile with an effort, and wondering what great things I had done in the world, that I, a visitor come from East Prussia, should be thus called upon to be an arbiter in sartorial affairs in this little Umbrian town, I assumed all the solemnity of the Seven Sages of Greece. He then proceeded to say, or rather to complain, that the Italian Government had laid violent hands on the property of their honourable guild, or rather on certain rents accruing to it. Said Government would seem to regard the guild of the Ars Sartorum as instituted to further good works only. From time immemorial the Hospital of San Giacomo had been one of its endowments; the proceeds, to the amount of 360 scudi annually, had now been claimed by the Government, which had thrown a trifling sum in compensation to the guild. The president, who expressed himself very fluently, proceeded to remark that the Revolution of 1860 had been brought about chiefly by the artisans and tradesmen of the country. He had himself borne arms, leaving his affairs to march to Orvieto, and this was all the thanks he had got from the new administration. It had assumed in the most aggressive manner the long-established rights of his guild, and bestowed their endowments to swell the Cassa Ecclesiastica. The deeds which he showed to me no one in Todi could decipher. He had taken them to Perugia and placed them before the authorities there; but they had never been even looked at, only flung contemptuously on the floor. So he besought me to examine them and to inform him whether they might contain anything likely to prove useful in convincing the Government that their rights existed. I told him that I would examine them and let him know the following day what they might contain. When he came back he had to be satisfied to know that his deeds were only of value from their antiquity, that they were purely formal documents drawn up by a notary, and proving nothing. He then confessed that he had suspected as much. Nevertheless the guild is a very venerable and respectable institution, dating from the Middle Ages. It has a Board of Directors called "Consuls." These choose twelve ministers as councillors, who are called Fratelli, or Brethren. Their statutes fill a parchment volume sixty pages long, and go back to the year 1308. They were translated from the original Latin into Italian in 1492. Ferdinand Gregorovius

Fonte Scarnabecco near Chiesa di S. Carlo

In the XIIIth century Todi was renowned for its cotton cloth. The size of the fountain which was built in 1241 in a working neighbourhood of the town suggests that it might have been used for some phases of cotton manufacturing. It is named after Scarnabecco dei Fagnani, a podestà from Bologna, who is mentioned in an inscription making reference also to Pope Gregory IX.

Ruins of la Rocca, a fortress at the top of the hill

All the men whom I met there seemed perfectly contented to live out their narrow little lives at Todi, even to enjoy its unbroken monotony, hardly ever varied by any unusual event. On moonlight nights the ladies used to stroll out on the promenades made by the town on the slope of the mountain below its ancient Rocca - or fortress - now in ruins. Gregorovius
The weakness of the papal power allowed Todi to develop various forms of self-government. This period came to an end when Cardinal Gil de Albornoz restored papal rule over the whole of Umbria. In 1373 a fortress was built at the top of the hill to allow a small garrison to impose the will of the papal government (similar to what was done in other Umbrian towns, e.g. Narni). In 1474 a rebellion of the citizens of Todi was put down by Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, nephew of Pope Sixtus IV, who in 1503, after becoming Pope Julius II, ordered the dismantling of the fortress.

Coats of arms: (upper left corner) Palazzo del Popolo: Pope Honorius III; (lower left corner) Palazzo del Popolo: Pope Martin V; (second column) Palazzo del Capitano: inscription making reference to Pope Leo X: (third column) Cathedral: Pope Paul III; (last column) Cathedral: Cardinal Cesi

In 1540 it was the turn of Pope Paul III to put down a rebellion at Perugia. After this event the popes fully restored their authority over Umbria and Todi became a quiet provincial town.

(left) Palazzo Cesi; (centre) Palazzo Vescovile (Bishop's Palace); (right) Fonte Cesia, the eagle is shown in the image used as background for this page

Todi knew a period of growth when Angelo Cesi became the bishop of the town (1566-1606); the Cesi were Dukes of Acquasparta and a very rich family with palaces in Rome. Angelo Cesi embellished Todi with an elegant fountain, a renovated Bishop's palace and a family palace. In Rome he promoted the construction of S. Maria in Vallicella.

(left) Palazzo Atti; (right) "Arco di Diomede", a portal built by Diomede Atti at the entrance to an Atti property

There are no great feudal families now left in the town. The mightiest of these, in the Middle Ages, were the Acti or Atti, the Oddi, the Fredi, the Bentivenghi, the Carocci, the Pontani, the Landi, the Corradi and the Astancolli. Many stately old palaces remain to remind one of these proud nobles. They are now inhabited by either more recent families or by, in one or two cases, their impoverished descendants. "In these days when everything is designed for the gratification of the passing moment, those great enduring edifices, which are found even in the smallest provincial towns in Italy, may well put us to shame. They were built in the Middle Ages by our forefathers, a sturdy race with iron wills and very practical natures." So said Signor Pieroggi when I saw him at Todi. He is a doctor of laws and a writer of comic songs. Many a dramatic poet might envy this isolated individual the sole contentment which he enjoys in the palace which has been handed down to him by a long chain of ancestors. Gregorovius
The palace was built in 1552 by Viviano degli Atti and the arch by his brother Diomede, Dean of the Cathedral.

Move to page two and see the churches of Todi.