CITTÀ DELLA PIEVE: A TOWN OF ART, HISTORY AND RED BRICKS

“People in small towns, much more than big cities, share a destiny.”

Richard Russo

You’ve heard of Rome. Florence, Venice, Siena or perhaps even Cortona, and you’ve seen the Colosseum, the Grand Canal, the Duomo di Firenze and possibly that house from the movie Under the Tuscan Sun. And now let me introduce you to Città della Pieve, an Umbrian hilltop town. It’s a red brick oasis in the green heart of Italy, located near the border of Tuscany.

I’d like to begin by saying, you can’t swing a cat in this part of the world without hitting a hill top town. However, it’s important to note that they are all not created equal. In fact, these towns run the gamut from sleepy (well practically unconscious) to over-crowded tourist traps. But occasionally you will come across a true Italian town, with a life force, an energy, a pulse that transcends just being pretty to look at or a magnet for tourists. Citta della Pieve is such a town.

Location, location, location

Citta della Pieve is literally the center point between Rome and Florence. It sits 508 meters above sea level like one of the jewels in the crown of Umbria. Its lofty position gives a way to a vast and airy panorama with sweeping views of Lake Trasimeno, Val di Chiana, and Monte Cetona. Besides, being surrounded by undeniable natural beauty, it’s a town steeped in tradition and history, with its roots dating back to the Etruscans and Romans. In fact, there are many wonderful archeological sites and artifacts that attest to this heritage.

The town you see today was established in the 13th Century and has remained unchanged for 800 years. It’s a walled hamlet with maze-like streets and alley-ways including one of the narrowest streets in Italy (vicolo baciadonne). It is divided into three sections (neighborhoods) known as a terziere.

Pieve’s notables

Many Italians will know Pieve as the murder capital of Umbria thanks to the fictional “Carabiniere” a popular television soap-opera from the 2000’s. While others may have experienced the myriad of amazing festivals including the Palio dei Terziere, Infiorata di S. Luigi and Zafferiamo (a saffron festival) to name a few. And then some may know it for its famous residents ranging from Italian politicians and diplomats to stars of stage and screen. And not forgetting Pieve’s favourite son Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci, A.K.A Perugino circa 1448-1523. The renaissance artist who has left his indelible mark on the town with his beautiful frescos and canvases.

What’s in a name?

Citta della Pieve translates to city of the parish church. And not surprising as there’s no shortage of churches in this little town. In fact there are nine ranging from small chapels to a grand cathedral which houses two marvelous paintings by the above mentioned Perugino.

Alas it wasn’t any of theses wonderful things that brought us to Citta della Pieve.

“Citta della Pieve, the most marvelous town in Umbria” – Jacques Camille Broussolle, declared in his essay “Umbrian Pilgrimage, notes on art and travel” 1896.

So what did bring us, I hear you ask.

Bricks

Yes bricks. I know what you’re thinking, we must be crazy having upped sticks and moved to the other side of the world because of bricks. But as I had mentioned before, not all towns are created equal. A lot of the others we explored were built from dark grey blocks of stone, truly medieval in tone and temperament. Citta della Pieve was different. Its buildings were awash with pale pinks and salmon and soft beiges giving it a unique warmth and character.

Brick by Brick

The production of these bricks began in the 13th century around the same time as Citta della Pieve was being built. And what better way to show off your new discovery than to build an entire town with them. The clay was quarried in Ponticelli, a nearby village. It’s milled to powder like texture to ensure a uniformed result, once formed by hand. They are then fired to 1000 degrees centigrade to render them freeze proof. Surprisingly they are still produced in the same manner today.

The revolution

As you can imagine this innovation redefined the building industry. No longer was there a need for massive slabs of marble or rock to be dug up, cut, shaped and moved as these new bricks were lighter and smaller. They became a hot commodity and were considered so valuable they were even used as currency. Of course, everyone wanted in on the action from Emperors to Popes resulting in hostile take-overs and even full- blown wars. Poor little Citta della Pieve was invaded many times, making the people of the town quite resilient and rebellious. So much so rumor has it that the rulers had to build the fortress (la Rocca) to protect the soldiers from the towns folk. Today the Pievese people are still considered strong willed and hardy which I can attest to, and I mean that in the best possible way.

The resolution

It’s amazing to think that this simple 13th-century creation, built a town, aided in the rise and fall of an Empire and yet somehow still managed to influence us 800 years later. That’s a little thing I like to call Citta Charm.

Note- some of the information obtained in this article was sourced from Citta della pieve and friends and Cittadellapieve.org.