The Antique And Modern

It looks quite modern due to rebuilding after heavy bombing in the Second World War, but there are also many ancient monuments which are proof of a long and full history. There is a necropolis near the steelworks which date back to the Age of Bronze and various tombs have been unearthed near the waterfall Cascata delle Marmore. It was settled first about 672 B.C. The Latin name was "Interamna", meaning between rivers. In fact the first settlement, corresponding to the existing one, was situated on a terrace at the confluence of the rivers Serra and Nera, in a large valley rich in water, the same richness that brought about the birth of the iron and steel industry last century. The town was on the Flaminian Way which increased its importance and it had an internal network of canals which helped the economy. It was in Terni that soldiers murdered the emperor Vibio Treboniano Gallo and his aide Volusiano in 253 A.D. The martyr and patron saint, Valentine, was buried in a Roman necropolis where the basilica in his honour is now situated . Totila sacked the city in 546, ten years after it suffered the same fate at the hands of General Narsefe and the Lombards sacked it two centuries later. During the struggle between the papacy and the Empire, Terni showed its hostility toward Spoleto by celebrating Barbarossa on his way from Rome where he had been just crowned emperor, in return he declared the city a fiefdom of Cardinal Ottaviano Monticelli in 1159. However when the cardinal became the anti-pope ( Vittore IV ), the Ternani refused to recognise him. Undergoing all the internal struggles between Emperor and Pope, which saw the city almost completely destroyed in 1174 by the archbishop of Magonza. In the 1300's it was in the hands of the Orsini family, still fighting with Narni, Todi and Spoleto to gain more territory. It was then in the hands of the church as even the nobles kept fighting with the bourgeoisie. In 1420 it became once again a dominion of the Church, interrupted only for brief periods by the Sforza family in 1433 until 1445. The struggles between the nobles and the town burghers had a bloody end the night of August 25, 1564 when a large group of Banderesi, already banished from the city climbed the walls and killed a many of the nobles. Pope Pio IV used this as a pretext to punish the citizens by sending monsignor Monte Valenti. From then on, Terni was subject to the Church. In 1798, near the town of Papigno, Napoleon's army met with those of the king of Naples. Owing to its vast steel deposits, the fate of Terni was decided a century ago, and became an industrial town, especially in making arms and ammunitions. In 1885 a society for the foundries and steelworks was founded, headed by Admiral Benedetto Brin and it proceeded to produce special steels. In 1899 the society for carbide was founded and it was the first of its type in the world to produce calcium carbide. In 1922 the factories merged into "the Terni Society for Industry and Electricity" availing of the Nera and Velino rivers. This is why it was such a strategic target to be eliminated by the enemy in 1943 and 1944, when it suffered more than 100 air attacks, destroying most of the city and its bridges. Terni has been in economic decline since then, although the industry is re-emerging, but never on a scale as it once was. Saint Valentine is buried here in a Roman necropolis, where today you can see the basilica dedicated in his name.
Duomo From the 1600's, it is Romanesque and has three naves and a beautiful portico which upholds the façade and crypt. It is spacious and full of light with a Renaissance style choir in carved wood.
Palazzo Spada Costruito alla metà del 1500 su progetto di Antonio da Sangallo il Giovane, appare come un volume con pochi dettagli decorativi: la cornice del sottotetto, la piccola loggia, i torrioni appena sollevati sul corpo quadrangolare di pietra, aperto al piano da tre arcate profilate in laterizio.
Chiesa di S. Salvatore E' la chiesa più antica, eretta nel sec.XII su un edificio romano, semplicissima e spoglia, dal tetto a capanna appena profilato da archetti ciechi. Particolare suggestivo é la linea circolare dell'abside interna ed esterna. Nella cappella Manassei sono affreschi trecenteschi di scuola umbra.
Chiesa di S. Francesco From the 1500's, a project of Sangallo the Younger. There is very little external decoration, apart from the lacy cornice just below the roof and the small loggia. The towers just rise above the square block and on the ground floor three brick arches lead to the entrance.
Anfiteatro Fausto Is an amphitheatre from the 1st century and could seat 10,000 spectators.
Chiesa di S. Alò From the year 1000; Romanesque with some frescoes from the Umbrian school of 1200/1300.
Palazzo dei Mazzancolli From the 1300's . It has austere lines and an internal courtyard with a double loggia.
Chiesa di S. Pietro From the 1300's, it has a lovely gothic portal, the nave inside has frescoed walls.
Chiesa di S. Lorenzo From 1200's with three-mullioned windows on the façade redone in the 1600's; it has a double nave.
Chiesa di S. Cristoforo From the 1200's, semi destroyed in the bombing, it was rebuilt in such a way that you can distinguish the old part from the new one.
Torre dei Barbarasa e Torre Castelli Are Romanesque and medieval towers built by the families in the little. They are all that remains of the ancient towers of the city.