Celleno

CELLENO, the ghost town. perched on a tuff spur in the province of Viterbo. The abandoned village is still an intricate maze of alleys that lead up to what remains of the ancient castle. then a possession of the Gatti family "" then it was a fiefdom of the Orsini, a family of which it still bears the name .. the absence of maintenance has spared only the architectural part while the more valuable part of the inhabited area is the one around Piazza del Comune .. the castle of the Orsini the church of San Carlo, the church of San Donato from 1200 I. the village of Celleno is kept alive by the trainees of the Buratti high school who organize fairs, parties and guided tours. Visiting this ghost town will rest your mind and soul.

History

The Celleno area has a typically rural aspect and presents mixed cultures typical of the Tuscia area. a datum on the origins of this ancient town is given to us by Dionisio d'Alicarnasso. In his writings Dionisio claims that the city was founded by Italo in memory of his daughter many years before the founding of Rome. in the Etruscan period the village served as an important communication route between the Volsini and Ferento. Like all Etruscan cities, Celleno suffered the fate of being subjected to the Romans. at the end of bloody battles to counter the advance of the powerful dominion of Rome, the city fell into enemy hands in 264 BC despite the looting the structure of the city was spared. Lombards who sacked it several times. an important date for the city was 774 AD when Charlemagne defeated the Lombards and returned it to the jurisdiction of the Church. but for the people the period of peace was still far away, the city was targeted in the struggles of the Guelphs and Ghibellines. Celleno finally experienced a period of peace after the acquisition of the fief by Cardinal Orsini.

Transfer

Celleno in 1696 suffered a devastating earthquake which seriously damaged both public and civil structures. this terrible earthquake left the country isolated. between 1832 and 1833 a fever epidemic caused deaths and, twenty years later, another strong earthquake, gave the coup de grace to the population forced to leave the country to move and build the new Celleno

To be seen

Celleno today has become one of the most beautiful ghost towns in Italy and also known as the "city of cherries". arriving at the village the first thing you will notice is its wonderful Orsini Castle , surrounded by a moat and embellished with a fortress and a tower. The castle is accessed from Via del Ponte, crossing a brick bridge. Visit the small cells that still house the tools of the past. Among these you will find the ancient oven, the stables and the ancient cellars. To the right of the Castle stands the Church of San Carlo, inside it houses an exhibition of gramophones. Also worth seeing are the ruins of the Church of San Donato, patron saint of Celleno, of which only the Gothic-Romanesque portal remains. Cellenese area of the Valle dei Calanchi