Civitella in Val di Chiana

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Comune di Civitella in Val di Chiana
Municipal coat of arms
Country	Italy
Region	Tuscany
Province	Province of Arezzo (AR)
Mayor	Massimiliano Dindalini

Elevation	280 m
Area	100.37 km²
Population
- Total (as of 2005)	8,967
- Density	89.34/km²
Time zone	CET, UTC+1
Coordinates	43°24′19″N, 11°46′14″E
Gentilic	Civitellini
Dialing code	0575
Postal code	53040
Frazioni	Albergo, Badia al Pino (communal seat), Ciggiano, Cornia, Oliveto, Pieve a Maiano, Pieve al Toppo, San Pancrazio, Spoiano, Tegoleto, Tuori, Viciomaggio.

- Day	August 24
Website: www.comune.civitella-in-val-di-chiana.ar.it

Civitella in Val di Chiana (official name), often also Civitella di Val di Chiana, is a comune in the province of Arezzo, south of Arezzo in Tuscany, Italy. It is one of the best-preserved of the network of Lombard fortresses of the 6th and the 7th century in central Italy, strategically placed to control the whole territory. The characteristic elliptical shape of the military settlements can still be seen in the layout of the town walls.

1 History
2 Main sights
3 Sister cities
4 External links

[edit] History

Already inhabited in Roman times, it was occupied and fortified by the Lombards in the 6th century. In the 11th century it became a possessment of the Bishops of Arezzo, and renamed "Civitella del Vescovo" ("Little Bishop's City"). In the 13th century the city was destroyed after the battle of Pieve al Toppo, cited by Dante Alighieri and fought nearby between Arezzo and Siena. After the Aretine defeat at Campaldino (1289) the city was annexed by Florence. In 1311 Arezzo regained it until 1348, whenceforth it remained the seat of a Florentine podestà.

On 1944-06-29, 244 citizens of Civitella were killed by Hermann Göring Division, in retaliation for the murder of two German soldiers by the hands of partisans. In 1963 the city receveid the Gold Medal for Civilian Valour.

[edit] Main sights

The Castle, erected in 1048 and surrounded by a massive line of walls. It was used as headquarters by the German army during World War II, and was destroyed by an Allied bombing in 1944. It has never been rebuilt.
Palazzo Pretorio (14th century)
The church of Santa Maria (11th century), finished in Romanesque style in 1252.