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In ancient times the Tiber
was a navigable river which divided the territory of the Faliscs
from that of the Sabins. The connection took place in the
important Port of Seripola. In order to connect furthermore
the two territories, a great bridge had been built, but it
gave way in more than one occasion because of the fury of
the river. The port of remarkable extension had its most intense
period between the 6th and the 5th century BC. On the left
bank of the river, in the unguarded and freely accessible
area of the Lucignano Plain, you may find its many remains.
Orte, of Etruscan origin, was
a flourishing Municipium during the Augustan Age: after the
conquest of the Faliscan territory by the Romans, the construction
of the Via Amerina made Orte become an important commercial
platform. The town conserves its typical medieval look with
its pictoresque palaces and the narrow lanes which cross the
many quarters, the stage of the Ottava Medievale, a
spectacular feast with flag-wavers, passings in costumes and
archer tournaments, which evoke the times of its greatest
splendour. The majestic front of the Cathedral of the Assunta
(17th cent.) dominates the main place, while its suggestive
flight of stairs is used as an amphitheatre during the celebrations.
The Chiesa
di S. Silvestro has been built on top of a pre-existent
Roman temple in the 12th century and houses the Museo di
Arte Sacra, which conserves many important works, among
which a portrait of St. Francis on wood of 1282, the "Madonna
col Bambino" by Antonio del Massaro of the early 16th century
and a valuable Byzantine school mosaic of the 8th century,
whith an image of the Holy Virgin, which comes from the mortuary
chapel of Pope John XIV in the former basilica of St. Peter's
in Rome.
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