SPO'LETO, a province of the States of the Church, consists of the valley of the Nera, one of the principal effluents of the Tiber, of the valley of the Maroggia, another affluent of the Tiber, and of several ridges of highlands between them. This country is part of the ancient Umbria. It is bounded N. by the provinces of Perugia and ('.merino; E. by the province of Aecoli and the kingdom of Naples- S. ly the province of Itiet1 ; and W. by that of Viterbo, from which it is divided for the most part by the Tiber. The area ls 1130 square mike, and the population by the census of 1850 was 123,765. The Central Apennines cover the eastern Fart of the pro vince, In which are Monte della Sibilla (7300 feet) and Monte Vittore (8130 feet), the two highest summits in the Staten of the Church. Ramifications from the main chain stretch over other parts of the surface, rendering the province a very billy country. A part of the province extends to the eastern slope of the Apennines, and is drained by the Trout°. The rest of the nu-face belongs to the basin of the Tiber. The Maroggia flows northward past Spoleto, and joins the Topino below Foliguo, on its way to meet the Tiber. The Nere flows south past Teml, and being joined by the Corno and the Velino, also eaters the Tiber. The Nem and the Maroggia are separated by the mountains of Somme, a ridge which Is crossed between Spoleto and Terni. The most fertile part of the country is the valley of Spoleto, traversed by the Maroggia and yielding good crops of maize ; wheat, pulse, melons, vines, almonds, chestnuts, and olives also flourish in the valleys. Homed cattle arc numerous, and much cheese is made. Bees and silkworms are reared. The chief minerals are limestone, marble, gypsum, and potters'-clay.
The province of Spoleto proper is divided into the three districts of Spoleto, Norris, and Terni. Spoleto (ancient Spoletum), the head town of the province, is situated ou a hill above the Maroggia, on the high road from Rome to Ancona, and has about 8000 inhabitants. An aqueduct, which served also as a bridge, crosses the Maroggia; it is a work of the Longobard times, but is now in a ruinous state. Spoleto has a handsome cathedral, adorned with frescoes by Filippo Lippi. Several other churches, the town-house, and the palace of the family Ancajani, are also worthy of notice. The castle of Spoleto contains some of Cyclopean walla There are also remains of a Roman theatre, of several temples, and other antiquities. Spoleto is a bishop's see, and hail a college and manufactories of hats and woollens. It carries on a considerable trade in corn, oil, wine, and truffles, which are found in the neighbourhood. Spoletum, then a Latin colony of Rome, was attacked by ilanuibal after the battle of Trasimenus, but the inhabitants repnlsed his attack, and thus checked his advance towards Rome. (Livy, xxii. 9.) An inscription above the gate called the Gate of Hannibal records the event. Half-way between Spoleto
and Foligno are the sources of the Clitumnus, a small limpid feeder of the Maroggia. The fine large-horned cattle which fed on the banks of the Clitumnus were preferred by the ancient Romans for sacrifice, and also for the ceremony of their triumphs. (Virgil, 'Georg,' ii. 146.) The other towns of the province are :—Terni, the ancient Interainno, built near the confluence of the Velino with the Nera, a bishop's see, with an old cathedral, the remains of an amphitheatre, two ancient temples aud thermte, and about 6000 inhabitants. About three miles above Terni is the celebrated cascade of the Velino (sometimes called the ' Falls of Terni'), which is described in the article Burr (VOL iii., cola. 303, 301). Nana, situated on a lofty precipitous bill on the left bank of the Nor, about eight miles above its junction with the Tiber, is the ancient Nornia. Before the conquest of the town by M. Fulvius, ac. 299, it was called Nequinum, and it was an important city of Umbria. The Romans colonised it, and changed the name to Narnia, from its position on the Nar. Under the republic and the empire Narnia was a flourishing municipal town, and its strong position com manding the Flaminian Way, made it an important military post. The bridge constructed by Augustus, by which the Flaminian Way was carried across the ravine in which the Nar flows, was one of the most magnificent structures of the kind. It consisted of three arches, and the whole was built of massive blocks of white marble. The piers and one arch still remain. Narni at an early period (an. 360) became, and still is, the seat of a bishop. The principal buildings are—the castle, a convent crowned with towers, and the cathedral, which dates from the 13th century, and is dedicated to St. Giovenale, the first bishop of the see. The emperor Nerve and Pope John XVIII. were natives of Narni. Population, 3300. Amdia, a small town of 2000 inhabit ants and a bishop's see, situated on a hill not far from the left bank of the Tiber, and above the confluence of the Nera, is noted for its raisins and its prnnea. It occupies the site of the ancient Anicria, which is said to have been built by the Umbri several centuries before the foundation of Rome, and was afterwards in possession of the Etruscans. (Pliny, ' Hist. Nat, iii. 19.) A considerable portion of the ancient polygonal walls still remain. Beragna, the ancient Jferasia, likewise a town of the Umbri, near the confluence of the Maroggia with the Topino, has about 2000 inhabitants. Norcia, the ancient Nigeria, at the northern extremity of the province, and at the foot of Monte della Sibilla, is a bishop's see, and has 3000 inhabitants. A great number of swine are reared in the neighbourhood. The Corno, an affluent of the Nera, flows through a deep glen near Norcia.