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 VITERBO

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VITERBO

collected in northern Italy. Otho's army was com- pletely defeated and the greater part of his troops killedat the battle of Bedriaeum (Cremona). Mean- while Vitellius was advancing with the last of the army of the Rhine by way of Lugdunum (Lyons) in Gaul towards Italy. " With an undisciplined force of 60,000 men he marched towards Rome. Here his gen- erals ruled with unUmited sway. The news from the East constantly grew more ominous, for Vespasian was proclaimed emperor and received the homage of his soldiers at Berytus, while the legions in Egypt and the Danubian provinces swore loyalty to him. Vitel- lius saw himself forced to prepare for war against Vespasian and sent Ca'cina to northern Italy. Here the latter divided his forces and entered into negotia- tions with Vespasian's generals, opening the way for the defeat of the adherents of Vitelhus in the battle of Cremona. Vitellius made a few attempts to check the victorious advance of his opponent, and even tried to collect a new army at Rome, but both officers and soldiers soon laid down their arms. When the em- peror saw that all was lost he abdicated. A desperate struggle aro.se in Rome between the contending parties and the CapitoUne temple and many palaces were destroyed by fire. Vespasian's adherents captured Rome and Vitelhus was killed by his enemies. As the Emperor Vespasian and his army were still a long way from Rome, the government was carried on for a time by Vespa-sian's son, Titus Flavins Domitianus. KoRTH, Kiiln im MittdaUer. Annalen des hist. Vereins fiir d. Nitderrhnn. no. L (1890); see Otho.

Karl Hoeber.

■^iterbo and Toscanella, Diocese of (Viter- BiExsis ET Tu.scvNENsis). — The city of Viterbo in the Province of Rome stands at the foot of Monte Cimino, in Central Italy, in an agricultural region. It has to a great degree preserved its medieval char- acter, more particularly in its encircling walls, which are still in good preservation. The most ancient building in the city, the cathedral, dedicated to St. LawTcnce, was altered in the twelfth and the sixteenth centuries. The capitals of the columns, the two monuments of John XXI, and some frescoes and framed pictures are worthy of note. On the cathedral square stands the episcopal palace, decorated with fine sculpture of thethirteenthcentury; here were held the conclaves of Gregory X (1271-73), John XXI (1276), and Martin IV (1282). The former Scrvitc church of the Verity is now a museum in which is preserved a fresco of Lorenzo da Viterbo representing the "Espousals of the Blessed Virgin". The adjoin- ing convent is occupied by the Technical Institute. In the Church of S. Francesco are a Madonna by Sebastiano del Piombo, and the tombs of Adrian V, by Vassalletto, and of Clement IV, by Pietro d'Oderi- sio. The Church of S. Sisto is remarkable for the great height of the sanctuary above the bulk of the nave; in this church Henry, son of Richard of Corn- wall, was slain by Simon and Guy de Montfort in 1271. S. Maria della Salute is remarkable for its graceful doorway. The Madonna della Querela, with its annexed Dominican convent, is of elegant Renais- sance architecture; in the lunette of the doorways of the facade are examples of majolica by Luca and Agostino della Robbia. The richly gilded ceiling is by Antonio da Sangallo; the tabernacle by Andrea Bregno. In the Church of S. Rosa is preserved the mummified body of the saint; on her feast day (4 September) her statue, enshrined in a large lempielin decorated with lanterns, is borne aloft by sixteen men. S. Maria dei Gra<ii, of which the church still remains, was one of the earliest convents of the Dominicans and is even now a house of retreat, S. Juhana de Marescotti is buried in the Church of S. Maria della Pace,

Among illustrious Viterbans may be mentioned the Augustinian Blessed Giacomo of 'Viterbo (thirteenth

century), Not able profane edifices are the Municipal Building, with its splendidly frescoed halls and impor- tant Etruscan, Roman, and medieval mu.seum, the Rocca, and, among a number of private buildings, the arches of S. Pellegrino, The neighbourhood is rich in Etruscan and Roman remains. The public foun- tains are especially beautiful. Noteworthy are the burial-places of Cartel d'Asso, Norcia, and Musarna, which have yielded a large number of Etruscan sar- cophagi and inscriptions. Ferento, on the other hand, is rich in Roman remains, among them the theatre and temple of Fortuna, Viterbo is famous for its numerous and copious mineral springs, the chief of which is the little sulphur lake of Bulicame; other sulphur springs are those of Bagnaccio, Torretta, and Cruciata, The water of the Grotta spring is sub- acid.

There is much dispute as to the origin of the city of Viterbo, It is certain that many relics of the Roman

The Cathedral and Campanile. \'iTi-:Rito Built XH and XIII Centuries: Facade, 1500

period arc found in the district, and the baths of Buhcame (Aquse Caise) and of Bacucco (Aqua> Passe- ris) were unquestionably frequented both in the Roman and the Etruscan periods. It is not improb- able that the city of Sorrina Nova stood here; others think that this may have been the site of Forum Su- bertanum. The name of Viterbo occurs for the first time in the eighth century, under the pontificate of Zachary, when it was a village tributary to Tosca- nella, in Lombardic Tu.scany (Tuscia Langobardorum) on the Via Cassia, Charlemagne gave the pope all this Tuscan territory in feudal tenure, the imperial authority over it being still represented by a scid- dascio and later by a count. In the eleventh century the city had already grown very considerably, num- bering thirteen churches, three of them with collegiate chapters. For its loyalty to him Henry IV granted it communal privileges. Paschal II was brought thither a prisoner in 1111, During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the city several times afforded the popes an asylum. In 11.5.5 Adrian IV here met Barbarossa, who, it is said, had to hold the pope's stirrup. When Rome became a republic it endeav- oured to subdue Viterbo, which, supported by Bar- barossa, attached itself to his party, and sheltered the antipopes Paschal III and Callistus III. But the populace were faithful to Alexander III, and only the nobility were (ihibelline, though after (he peace between the pope and tlie emperor they rebelled against the latter also.

The dominions of the city increased after this, many towns and villages placing themselves under its protection, while others were subdued by force. The neighbouring town of Ferento was completely de-