Vetralla | |
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| Comune di Vetralla | |
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 Coat of arms | |
Location of Vetralla  | |
  Vetralla Location of Vetralla in Italy Show map of Italy Vetralla Vetralla (Lazio) Show map of Lazio | |
| Coordinates:42°19′14.8″N12°03′12.8″E / 42.320778°N 12.053556°E /42.320778; 12.053556 | |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Lazio |
| Province | Viterbo (VT) |
| Frazioni | Cinelli, Cura di Vetralla, Giardino, La Botte, Le Valli, Madonna del Ponte, Mazzacotto, Mazzocchio, Pietrara, Tre Croci |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Franco Coppari |
| Area | |
• Total | 113.01 km2 (43.63 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 300 m (1,000 ft) |
| Population (31 December 2010)[2] | |
• Total | 13,508 |
| • Density | 120/km2 (310/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Vetrallesi |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 01019 |
| Dialing code | 0761 |
| Patron saint | St. Hyppolite |
| Saint day | August 14 |
| Website | Official website |
Vetralla is a town andcomune in theprovince of Viterbo, in centralItaly, 11 kilometres (7 mi) south of that city, located on a shoulder of Monte Fogliano.
Vetralla's dominating fortified position in the heart ofEtruscan territories has been continuously occupied since theEarly Middle Ages. The Roman site, two kilometers distant, was a posting station on theVia Cassia; some ruins of walls and paving at S. Maria di Forcassi still mark the RomanForum Cassii. The site was depopulated in the later Empire, when a smaller population retreated to the present strategic position commanding the valley, where it remained exposed to attack, in spite of the imposing walls that encircled it.
The little fortress had been incorporated into thePapal States from their historic beginnings with theLombard kingLiutprand'sDonation of Sutri (728) toPope Gregory II, but the lords ofViterbo held it from 1110 to 1134. By 1145,Pope Eugene III was installed at Vetralla, safely removed from the violence and party strife of Rome; from here he issued his bullQuantum praedecessores, calling for theSecond Crusade.
The territory was given extensive woodlands byPope Innocent III in 1206, which brought it into fierce contention with the lords of Viterbo who coveted the land. To this day, in the annual ceremonialSposalizio dell'albero ("marriage of the tree"), the mayor of Vetralla reaffirms the town's rights of possession on Monte Fogliano. Thefief was entrusted through the centuries to various noble families associated with the Papacy, as lords of Vetralla: first theOrsini, then the Di Vico until 1435, when the last lordGiacomo di Vico was forcibly ousted by the cardinal-condottiereGiovanni Vitelleschi, confined in the fortress of Soriano, then beheaded. Vetralla then passed in rapid succession among a series of Papal nobles: to CardinalGiovanni Borgia, toLorenzo Cybo (1529), and to CardinalAlessandro Farnese in 1534.
Uniquely among non-English cities, in 1512 Vetralla received the protection of the English Crown, bestowed upon the town byHenry VIII, and a monument commemorating this event can still be found in the local town hall.[3][4]
Vetralle is reached by theSS Cassia national road. The Aurelia bis road connects it toTarquinia.
It has a station on the FR3 Rome-Capranica-Viterbo regional railroad.
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