A fortress town on a tufa plateau between ravines on the Via Flaminia north of Rome, a refuge of popes and the forward base of the Roman host in the Viterbo war of 1199.
Who holds it
- Name
- Giovanni dei Papareschi, a Roman senator, at the end of the twelfth century [whether still on 1 January 1200 not pinned]
- Title
- Lord of Civita Castellana
- Since
- End of the twelfth century
- Confidence
- low
it.wikipedia: 'at the end of the twelfth century it was the lordship of Giovanni dei Papareschi', a Roman senator; popes (Adrian IV, Clement III) took refuge there in danger; the cathedral portico with Cosmati mosaics is dated 1210. Luchaire: in the first campaign against Viterbo (1199) the senator advanced only as far as Civita Castellana. The Papareschi are a Trastevere family (Cardinal Guido de Papa; Scotto Paparone, senator in January 1198).
Lord in 1200
Possibly the Papareschi (Giovanni dei Papareschi) under papal lordship [thin]; the bishop of Civita Castellana (Church map).
Overlord
The pope.
Allies and rivals
Rome (the senator's base in 1199).
How things stand that morning
Papal; Roman-friendly.
Wealth
Road traffic.
Military
Natural fortress.
Threats
- Viterbo's war
Walls and castle
Plateau town defended by ravines.
Trade and crafts
The Flaminia; Roman marble-workers at work on the cathedral (portico 1210).
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: One undated statement of a Papareschi lordship.
Primary sources for Papal State
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Annals of Montecassino; Annals of Ceccano (Fossanova) (12th and early 13th centuries; Ceccano to 1217). Two sets of annals from either side of the papal and Sicilian frontier. Read online
- Chronicle of Richard of San Germano, Richard of San Germano (first version about 1216, enlarged to 1243). The fullest southern narrative of the Hohenstaufen kingdom, written by a notary on the border of the Terra di Lavoro. Read online
- Chronicle of Alberic of Trois-Fontaines, Alberic of Trois-Fontaines (about 1227 to 1241, at the Cistercian abbey of Trois-Fontaines in Champagne). The widest net of any Latin chronicle for 1200, compiled from dozens of sources, many now lost. Read online
- Chronicle of Andres, William of Andres (about 1220 to 1234). The chronicle and cartulary of a small abbey between Guines and Ardres, near the border of Flanders and Boulogne. Read online
- Chronicle of Burchard of Ursberg, Burchard of Ursberg (about 1229 to 1230, reworked by Conrad of Lichtenau). Written a generation later by a fierce partisan of the Staufen and a critic of Innocent III. Read online
- Chronicle of Robert of Auxerre, Robert of Auxerre (Robert of Saint-Marien) (about 1190 to 1211; continued at Saint-Marien to 1227). A universal chronicle whose last twenty years are contemporary and well informed from Burgundy and the Auxerrois. Read online
- Chronicle of Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year. Read online
- Chronicle of Sicard, bishop of Cremona, Sicard of Cremona (about 1210 to 1213). A universal chronicle whose last part is a well-placed eyewitness account by a Lombard bishop who served emperors and popes. Read online
12 more in the sources library for Southern Italy and the Islands.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.