A town on the Via Francigena where the pilgrim road enters the Patrimony from Tuscany, grown round the pieve of Santa Vittoria and the abbey of the Holy Sepulchre.
It rose against Barbarossa's rule in 1166 (the legend of the Madonna del Fiore) and destroyed its feudal castle. It never wanted to submit to Orvieto: their wars run through the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The pope's claim to it is, by the usual account of Pietro Parenzo's life, the cause of the interdict Innocent laid on Orvieto in 1198.
Who holds it
- Name
- The townsmen, claimed by the pope as part of the Patrimony and by Orvieto (who holds it that morning is not pinned)
- Title
- Lord or governing body
- Confidence
- low
Lord in 1200
Disputed between the pope, who counts it in the Patrimony (it was named as the Church's northern limit at the Peace of Venice in 1177), and Orvieto, whose diocese it lies in and which wants it.
How things stand that morning
Contested between the pope and Orvieto in a quarrel that, by Maleczek, comes to arms and lasts until 1201. Across the borders: the pope's Radicofani and the Manenti of Sarteano north (the Northern Italy map), the Aldobrandeschi west, Orvieto east, the Val di Lago south (contested).
Charter
Not found.
Walls and castle
The old castle was destroyed after 1166; the town moved down into the valley.
Trade and crafts
The pilgrim and merchant traffic of the Francigena; the toll at the border of the Patrimony.
Where the sources disagree
- See Orvieto: the campaign notes give heresy as the interdict's cause; the life of Parenzo ties it to Acquapendente.
Evidence: it.wikipedia for the 1166 rising and the wars with Orvieto (undated); the tie to the interdict is the usual account of Parenzo's life, not read here.
Sources and studies
- Acquapendente (it.wikipedia)
- Patrimonio di San Pietro (Enciclopedia Italiana, Treccani)
- Innocenzo III (W. Maleczek, Enciclopedia dei Papi)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.