Hispellum

Hispellum (modern Spello) was an ancient town of Umbria, Italy, 6 km (3.7 mi) north of Fulginiae on the road to Perusia.

The site of Hispellum was significant as the valley had two major rivers, the Clitumnus and Tinia mentioned by Silius Italicus, giving fertility to the land.

[4] It began to be urbanised from the late 3rd century when a long artificial terrace with a retaining wall of opera quadrata using local limestone laid without mortar was built near Sant’ Andrea in the area of the later forum.

[13] Hispellum received the name of Flavia Constans by a rescript of the emperor Constantine recorded on a marble tablet[14] found in 1733 at the centre of the sanctuary and now at the Communal Palace of Spello.

Of a total area of 500m2, there are 20 rooms remaining, 10 of which contain magnificent mosaic floors with geometric motifs and figures in various colours: white, red, black.

The villa was located along a secondary branch of the ancient Via Flaminia road, which came from Rome and extended through Umbria and continued to Rimini.

A sanctuary of the Augustan period which included a grandiose theatre-temple-amphitheatre complex is located partially in the grounds of the Renaissance-style villa Fidelia to the northwest of the city.

During construction of the villa Fidelia, around 1600, an inscription was found on a mosaic floor (CIL, XΙ, 5264), with a dedication of a statue and a base to Venus by the quinquennial duumvirs M. Granius and S. Lollius.

The precious epigraphic text, found downstream from the sanctuary, testifies that the sacred theatre-temple structure existed prior to the rescript and must have already served for the annual meetings of the league of the Umbrians.

Also known as the Porta San Ventura from the nearby church of the same name, this gate has a monumental character with a sober façade, and is a decorative arch inserted in the western walls.