Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 15.djvu/550

 VITERBO

488

VITERBO

stroycd (1172) because it represented Christ crucified with the eyes opened instead of closed. These con- quests resulted in renewed friction with the Romans, who overcame the Viterbans (1201). War broke out again when Viterbo purchased Centocelle (1220). As a result of the victory of Viterbo (1234), the cities of Tuscany were freed from allegiance to the Senate of Rome. In 1207 Innocent III there held a parUa- ment to estabUsh a form of government for this province, which was called the Patrimony (more properly, the Palrimonium Tuscice), and of which Viterbo was then the capital. In the discord between the popes and Frederick II the city was GhibeUine; it refused to receive Gregory IX in 1232; in 1237, while the same pope was at Viterbo, a GhibeUine revolt broke out; and in 1240 the city received Frederick II. In 1243 Raniero Capocci drove the Imperialists out of Viterbo. Frederick regained the city in 1247, after a siege lasting a year. On the death of Frederick II it submitted to the temporal authority of the pope, after Innocent IV had guaranteed its communal liberties.

At this period occurred the death of St. Rose of Viterbo, who, because she had preached against Fred- erick II, had been exiled, with all her family, a few days before the emperor's death was known, but had been permitted to return some months before her own death. Under Alexander IV her body was buried in the monastery of the Clarisses. In the subsequent period of tranquilUty the city extended its dominion over all the territory of the Papal States north of Lake Bracciano and on the right bank of the Tiber. After the death of Alexander IV at Viterbo (the exact whereabouts of his grave in the cathedral is unknown), the papal Court remained there for twenty years. Urban IV, Gregory X, John XXI, Nicholas III, and Martin IV were elected there. In the last election the Viterbans attacked the two Orsini cardinals and threw them into prison, on account of a dispute as to the possession of certain villages. The controversy between the Orsini and Viterbo was eventually settled by Boniface VIII. About 1300 the communal gov- errmient was reorganized; the power was placed in the hands of eight "reformers" and of a "defender of the people" without whose assent the assembly could not be convoked, nor any pubUc matter discussed or expense incurred. This soon developed into despo- tism; after 1312 the office became hereditary in the GhibeUine family of Prefetti di Vico. From 1319 to 1329, however, Silvestro Gatti forcibly caused himself to be elected defender, and serious disorders ensued. In 1328 the city accorded a festive reception to Louis the Bavarian and received a schismatic bishop from him; very soon, however, it repented and received the legate of John XXII with honour. In 1329 Faziolo di Vico slew Gatti and made himself defender. Faziolo was in turn slain by his brother Giovanni, who lorded it over the whole Patrimony during the absence of the popes, but was driven out by Lando Gatti, a former Cistercian monk. Wars followed with the governor of the Patrimony, when the Viter- bans refused to pay certain imposts (1346-50), and with Cola di Rienzi (1347), to whom the city sur- rendered.

When Cardinal Albornoz came to effect the recon- quest of th(> l^ai):Ll States, Viterbo submitted and built a fortress (Riirra) for tlu; governor of the Patrimony. In 131)7, during the sojourn of Urban V at Viterbo, a quarrel between the populace and the retinue of one of the cardinals developed into a general uprising, whi(^h the Vitcrban Cardinal Marco quickly put down. In 137.5 Francesco di Vico took pos.srssion of the city, which joined in the general revolt against papal rule, but quickly submitted. When the Schism arose, Vice's tyranny recommenced; he took the side of Clement VII and sustained a siege by Cardinal Orsini. The peoi)Ie rose against the tyrant and killed him

(8 May, 1387), and Viterbo returned to the obedience of Urban VI. But in 1391 Gian Sciarra di Vico re- entered the city and took possession of its govern- ment. In 1391' Cardinal Pileo, the legate of Clement VII, wotild have given the city over to Boniface IX, but his plan failed, and he with difficulty saved him- self by flight: Vico came to an understanding with Boniface.

In the beginning of the fifteenth century Viterbo and the Patrimony were incessantly objects of attack, now of Ladislaus of Naples, now of Braccio da Mon- tone, now of the Sforza. Two of these having died, Giovanni Gatti made himself lord of Viterbo, endeav- ouring at the same time to maintain good relations with the pope, who stiU kept a governor of the Patri- mony there. His son PrincivaUe was killed at the instigation of the Monalde-schi (14.54), and a like fate befeU Guglielmo Gatti (1456). There followed a series of fights between the Gatteschi and Magan- zesi factions, especially in 1496, leading to the extinc- tion of the Gatti domination. Peace was not re- established until 1503, when certain devout youths, robed in white, went about the city repealing: "Pace, pace sia con noi! Pace, pace vuole e commanda Maria Vergine" (Peace be with us! The Virgin Mary wills and commands peace). The Bishop of Adria, governor of the city, joined in this movement, and he was followed by all the magistrates and nobles, who bound themselves by oath to observe perpetual peace. The government of Viterbo was subsequently con- fided to, instead of the governor of the Patrimony, a. cardinal legate; after 1628 it was the residence of a simple governor. One of its cardinal legates was Reginald Pole, around whom there grew up at Viterbo a coterie of friends, Vittoria Colonna among them, who aroused suspicions of heterodoxj-. In 1860 the Piedmontese had ahead}' advanced as far as Viterbo, when an order from France recaUed them.

Toscanella, which has recently resumed its ancient name of Tuscania, is a small town in the Province of Rome, about twelve and a half miles from Viterbo, on the River Marta and the ancient Via Clodia. It stiU preserves its medieval encircling waUs. The two most interesting and most ancient churches are out- side the city, those of S. Maria Maggiore, the old cathedral, and of S. Pietro, situated on a hill, also at one time a cathedral. Both are notable for their Lombard architecture of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, their sculptures, and their frescoes. The churches themselves date back as early as the fifth century; that of S. Leonardo, now a hay loft, preserves its fifteenth-century facade. The httle Church of S. Francesco, also turned to profane uses, is decorated with frescoes by Giovanni Desparapane and his son (1466). The present cathedral was enlarged by Cardi- nal Gamb.ara (sixteenth century) and restored in 1706; the"St. Janies"onthehigh altar isa notable work of Salvagni, and in one of the chapels are six fifteenth- century statuettes taken from the old Abbey of S. Giusto". S. Maria delle Rose (1484) is remarkable for its facade. S. M;iria del Riposo (1495), formerly a Franciscan church, contains some good pictures. In the vicinity of Toscanella have been found Etruscan tombs, which, however, have mostly gone to enrich the various museums of Europe. The archivium of the commune contains most interesting jiapers.

Tuscania w;is anciently included in the territory of Tarquinia (Corneto). V\ith the decay of the latter, the former grew, and became i)articularly important in the Lombard period, when it was a royal fief. Tus- cania supported the Romans, to whom it was tribu- tarv, but after frequent conflicts with Viterbo finally yielded to it. From 1419 to 1421 it was under the lordship of Angelo Tartaglia, a soldier of fortune, the remains of whose palace are still extant, and to the tower of which access is gained by a subterranean passage. In 1495 Cliarles VIII, returning from the