MONTEMIGIANO TIMELINE

1226: 

The first mention of Montemigiano was from August 1226, when a monk named Ardemanno acted as a judge in a dispute between Marquis Guido and sons of the Marquis Uguccione against the Marquis of Città di Castello. The dispute was resolved in favor of the Marquis of Città di Castello and his son, Bonamino. 

Uberto of Armanno, the Podestà of Città di Castello, ruled that Brugiamonte, a chamberlain of that city, oversee Montemigiano for Città di Castello. It was established Montemigiano pay eight pounds of money for the entire town, plus two pounds of money for each household. In addition, Montemigiano was considered a territory of Città di Castello, and consuls had to “show obedience” to Città di Castello each year.

1259-1260:

In Città di Castello there was a great battle between the Guelpfs (pro-Pope) and Ghibellines (pro-Holy Roman Emperor). The Guelphs won the battle and Ghilbelline supporters were expelled from Città di Castello and forced to flee to nearby towns for support. The Marquis of Montemigiano were Guelphs so they were discouraged from helping the exiles. 

1266: 

A Città di Castello bishop received the “oath of allegiance” by the household of the castle of La Verna, just North of Montemigiano in the next valley. Included in the obligations of the castle were obedience to the bishop in return for his projection of the men of Città di Castello, Montemigiano, and La Verna.

1270:
Collevecchio is destroyed (a few kilometers west of La Verna).

1276: 
After the Collevecchio defeat in 1270, the inhabitants of Montemigiano were called upon to help pay for 30,000 gold florins to the Bishop of Siena.

1306: 
Meanwhile, Oddo Fortebracci of Montone, now the Podesta of Montemigiano, made an “act of submission” to Perugia in 1306. Perugia was consistently loyal to the Guelphs, but also a competitor with Citta di Castello, and Montemigiano would alternatively pledge allegiance to one or the other over the next hundred years.

1332:
A group of exiles attacked Montemigiano and with the help of the traitor Piero di Bartolomeo, they seized the castle. In the same year, the Marquis Carlo del Monte, was re-elected Podesta of Montemigiano by Città di Castello. 

1333: 
The “Tifernati” (the people of Città di Castello) regain control of Montemigiano, which had been sold by the “Perugini” (the people of Perugia) to a man named “Gualdo of Gubbio.” At the end of the war, Gualdo settled, among other things, “that the castle of Montemigiano was to be left to Perugia or, if that could not be, then ruled and governed for ten years by the Perugini. If this was not possible, the two parties had to agree to make sure that the castle, for ten years, would be supported by itself.” After the ten years expired, Montemigiano was supposed to be transferred back to the jurisdiction of Città di Castello. 

1351: 
In an agreement between the Perugini and Tifernati, Montemigiano remained under the custody of Perugia for twenty more years. A temporary peace treaty was negotiated between the two parties.

1358: 
On November 14, 1358 the bishop of Città di Castello, Buccio, agreed to let the abbess and nuns of San Sperandio found a new monastery at Montemigiano called “Santa Maria della Misericordia,” or St. Maria of Mercy. To pay for the establishment of this new community, assets were used from Bertolino, a “secular” from Montemigiano, who left behind money to build a hospital for the poor. The residents of the convent were an an abbess and four nuns. 

1368:
Pope Urban V appointed the bishop Buccio, who was also mayor of Città di Castello, to finalize the “chapters of agreements” with the Perugini. 

The Crisis of 1368:
Many violent events occurred during this time including raids, campaigns of fortune, and struggles between the Pope and Perugini.  Perugia regained Montemigiano in July 1368, and it was entrusted to the Marquis del Monte who in this period were enemies of the Tifernati.

1370:
Another very temporary peace treaty between the Tifernati and Perugini was signed on November 23, 1370. 

1371:
On February 9, 1371, the Marquis del Monte gave Montemigiano to Città di Castello, stating they occupied Montemigiano during The Crisis of 1368 because they didn't want their possessions and those of Città di Castello damaged. Hence, town of Città di Castello, now also submitted to papal dominance, “appreciating the positive intention and the act of the Marquis,” agreed to forgive the inhabitants of Montemigiano’s taxes. On that same day, the Marquis del Monte gave up possession of Montemigiano to the Church, and Montemigiano returned to the jurisdiction of Perugia.

1385: 

After 14 years, Montemigiano transferred back to Città di Castello. There is an agreement that “none of Guelfs, the Marquis del Monte, and Ubaldinis could enter.” The Mayor of Montemigiano waived the claim previously made under the “Treaty of Peace Don Perugia,” stating Montemigiano would be independent for six years, thus allowing the Tifernati to rule them from that day onwards on the condition that exiles would be allowed to return to their land in Montemigiano, Montecastelli, and San Cassiano without punishment or retribution.

1476:
Tifernate Massimo Gualterotti appointed “Captain of the Castle of Montemigiano.”

The Battle of 1482:
Città di Castello was fighting with the Pope because he denied the vicarage. The soldiers of the Pope intervened, quickly ravaging the suburbs of the city. Despite being defended by one hundred soldiers under the command of Giovanni della Vecchia, Montemigiano was occupied and suffered the same fate of many other hillside towns in the area. The castle was “taken and burned” on July 11, 1482.

1487:
After this succession of unfortunate events, Montemigiano was in very poor condition. It needed restoring, so its inhabitants were exempted from paying taxes for ten years to “return it to efficiency.”

1571:
Along with the nearby churches of Santa Maria del Niccone (demolished in the early 1980s), “San'Ilario of Montemigiano” belonged to the Olivetan Monks. In 1571, their goods and churches were transferred to the Camaldolese monks of the Abbey of San Salvatore di Monte Acuto (now Monte Corona). 

1600s:

Angelo has documentation of his house belonging to his family since the 1600s. Before that, it gets complicated because apparently people were named after the pope of the region. The crest of Tuscan pope in this era was of three horseflies, so the names of the people of this region were often "Giuseppe Horsefly" or "Angelo Horsefly". 

1624:
The plaque in Roman numerals on the back of the Maria SS Del Carmine, indicates Montemigiano’s church was completed in 1624.

1633:
Father Silvio, a monk residing in Montemigiano’s Casa Campanile, inscribes his initials on the fireplace.

Early 1800s:
Napoleon mandates all cemeteries in rural Italy be moved outside of town -- the crypts under the church are moved to the cemetery below. Umbertide experiences its "hey day" -- local Italians often harken back to the 1800s with greater sentimentality than any other time period, which seems strange when they're responsible for the Renaissance.

1944: 
Apr. 25, 1944, Umbertide is bombed by the Allies. They were trying to slow the retreating German army but they missed their target (the train station), instead destroying a large portion of a densely inhabited city block and killing 70 innocent civilians. The parking lot in the medieval quarter of S. Giovanni, near the Umbertide town square, remains as an empty reminder of this terrible event. 

1945: 
After a night of drinking, Nazi soldiers stationed nearby violently murdered the “Innocenti,” a family living in the farmhouse directly across the valley. A large stone monument at the bottom of the road to Montemigiano honors the Innocenti.  

1947:
Survivors of WWII mostly fled to cities, and Montemigiano, like many other rural communities, was largely abandoned. In 1947, the parish of Montemigiano was officially transferred to Niccone, and a modern church was built by the parish priest, Father Pericle Tirimagni.

1960:
Montemigiano was one of the first areas in Umbertide to depopulate. By the beginning of the 1960s, very few people lived inside the castle. 

1983:
“Today, Montemigiano is abandoned, partially covered with an arrangement of roofs and attics. The town is remarkably compact, built along the sides of the hilly road that led to Civitella-Sant'Anna and Comunaglia. And yet, you can still recognize part of the walls with the tower and the gateway to the North.”  

Source:  

Bruno Porrozzi: Umbertide e il suo territorio: storia e immagini - Ed. Pro Loco, Umbertide, 1983

1984-1985:
Most of what remained of Montemigiano, along with the little streets and piazza, were purchased and renovated into six houses following strict historical guidelines.

Casa di Olivio: The kitchen room was the house of an old woman. After that it was a hospice.  They called it a hospital, but really it was for people without much hope, and had straw on the floor.  After that the building essentially fell apart.  The couch/tv building was a garage for the horse carriage for the priest!  The second floors of both buildings and the connecting tunnel were constructed for the first time during Titi's restoration project. (From Angelo, July 2017)

Casa Piazzetta: This space was never inhabited until the 1980s renovation. The kitchen and entry were stables for horses and other livestock, and the back rooms were used to store food. There's a hole in the ceiling of the bedroom that once led to the kitchen of Casa Campanile, and another storage hole in the kitchen floor dating from Medieval times and uncovered during renovation. The stone fireplace mantel has an inscription that reads "JC 1500" for Jesus Christ, 1500. It is not original to Casa Piazzetta or the Borgo di Montemigiano, but it probably came from nearby ruins in the Niconne River Valley.   (From Angelo, July 2016)