Castro was an ancient city on the west side ofLake Bolsena in the present-daycomune ofIschia di Castro, northernLazio,Italy. It was destroyed at the conclusion of theWars of Castro in the 17th century.
The settlement of Castro was founded inprehistoric times, and was later the seat of an unspecifiedEtruscan city, probablyStatonia. In theMiddle Ages it had a castle (Latin:castrum), hence the name. Although an autonomous commune, it remained nonetheless underpapal suzerainty. In 1527 a pro-independence faction assumed power, but they were later ousted byPier Luigi Farnese, whose family was to rule Castro until the 17th century. In the same year another Farnese, Gian Galeazzo, sacked it in the wake of theSack of Rome.
Ten years later, in 1537, three years after the election ofAlessandro Farnese as Pope Paul III, it became the seat of anindependent duchy under his sonPier Luigi Farnese. The town, which in the meantime had been reduced to "gypsies' huts" (in the words of a contemporary), was reconstructed according to the design ofAntonio da Sangallo the Younger.
TheFarnese treated Castro well and consecutive family patriarchs made improvements to the city including churches and their ownPalazzo Farnese.
Between 1639 and 1641, the Farnese, then led byDuke of ParmaOdoardo Farnese, came into conflict with the powerfulBarberini family ofPope Urban VIII who responded by sending an army to occupy Castro. The Farnese and the papacy fought a stalemate war and the Pope agreed to treaty terms only months before his death in 1644.
WhenPope Innocent X replaced Urban, he demanded that Duke Odoardo's sonRanuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma adhere to the conditions of the peace treaty. Ranuccio refused to pay the agreed reparations. He also refused to admit the newly appointed bishop of Castro. When the latter was on his way to take possession of his see, he was murdered, a crime for which Innocent X placed the blame on Ranuccio. He sent troops to Castro and had the city razed on 2 September 1649. He erected a column reading "Quì fu Castro" ("Here stood Castro"). It was never rebuilt. The seat of the diocese of Castro, which is believed to have dated back to the 8th century, was transferred toAcquapendente.[1][2] No longer a residential bishopric, Castro (Castrum inLatin) is today listed by theCatholic Church as atitular see.[3]
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42°31′58″N11°38′55″E / 42.53278°N 11.64861°E /42.53278; 11.64861
