Description

The little 16th century agricultural village of Macchia stands in a pleasant plateau on the slopes of Monte Maggiore overlooking the Vigi and Nera valleys.

The landscape of Cerreto di Spoleto and of the entire Valnerina is dotted with typical forms of settlement; towns and castles, two words that are of particular significance in the Valnerina.

The towns were small, rural centres built on the plain and used to supply the inhabitants of the main town with food. They were built according to a wide, open layout along the main roads. Some of the villages were referred to as relay villages when the built-up area was built on the fundamental link roads and acted, therefore, amongst other things as a “post station”.

The past history of the villages that belonged to a Municipality can be found in the system of “vici e pagi” into which the countryside was organised and run by means of small villages, “vici”, united in rural districts, “pagi”, that were larger and dependent on the main towns. The purpose of the castles overlooking the main roads was always military and one of defence: in fact, their job was to guard the valleys and the roads of strategic importance for commerce. These settlements not only acted as garrisons for the territory, but they also managed the resources of the mountains that had been exploited collectively (agricultural communities).

The urban fabric of the castles was always narrow and compact and was almost always triangular with a lookout tower often at the highest point (used to signal any danger). In the 16th century the renewed, powerful control of the Church gave greater stability and often meant that there was less need for fortified towns at the expense of the Municipalities and the feudatory authorities. Thus, many castles were turned into villages with a new urban identity due to their position. This phenomenon generally affected all the towns in the Valnerina, at different times and in different ways.