Short URL for this page:
bit.ly/GioveWPT
mail: Bill Thayer |
![]() Help |
![]() Up |
![]() Home |
A town of central Umbria: 42°30.4N, 12°20E. Altitude: 292 m. Population in 2003: 1800. |
![]() |
Along the side of the Castello: a view of the parish church of S. Maria Assunta |
Giove is a medieval village 13 km southwest of Amelia; on a ridge above the E bank of the Tiber valley it lies between Attigliano (6 km northwest) and Penna in Teverina (8 km southeast). In Roman times it was in a heavily populated area with an important river port at nearby S. Valentino, and there have been many archaeological finds in the area. With the collapse of the Roman empire, though, the need for safety led to the foundation of the town on defendable high ground.
The present 16c castello, replacing a medieval fortress that once belonged to the Colonna family is, possibly for very good reasons, not open to the public.
You may see various sources claim that the town owes its name to Jupiter (Jove), but this is not true. Not a trace of the putative temple of Jupiter has ever been found, nor is there any record of such a name in the area in Antiquity — but in the Middle Ages the town was called Jugo, which means "ridge" or "hill". . . .
A proper website will eventually appear here, since I've been to Giove, if briefly. In the meanwhile, you might find it useful to read the brief section in the July 20, 2000 entry of my diary, with one more photo; for further (and better) information, see the websites linked in the navigation bar at the bottom of this page.
Giove is one of the 8 or 9 comuni in Umbria that have no dependent towns with enough of an administrative identity to be a frazione.
Images with borders lead to more information.
|
||||||
UP TO: |
![]() Umbria |
![]() Italy |
![]() Home |
|||
OFF
SITE: |
![]() Official site |
![]() Umbria Tourism |
||||
A page or image on this site is in the public domain ONLY if its URL has a total of one *asterisk. If the URL has two **asterisks, the item is copyright someone else, and used by permission or fair use. If the URL has none the item is © Bill Thayer. See my copyright page for details and contact information. |
Page updated: 6 Dec 21