| Acquapendente | |
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| — Comune — | |
| Comune di Acquapendente | |
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Acquapendente
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Lazio |
| Province | Viterbo (VT) |
| Frazioni | Torre Alfina, Trevinano |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Alberto Bambini |
| Area | |
| • Total | 120.28 km2 (46.4 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 420 m (1,378 ft) |
| Population (2008) | |
| • Total | 5,739 |
| • Density | 47.7/km2 (123.6/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Aquesiani |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
| Postal code | 01021 |
| Dialing code | 0763 |
| Patron saint | Saint Hermes |
| Saint day | August 28 |
| Website | Official website |
Acquapendente is a city and comune in the province of Viterbo, in Lazio (Italy). Acquapendente is an important centre for the agricultural production of vegetables and wine, and has a tradition of pottery craftmanship.
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The area of modern Acquapendente was settled by Etruscans in Roman times, as archaeological finds have shown. However, the first historical document of the modern city dates from the 9th century AD, with a town named Farisa or Arisa along the Via Francigena. A document from Emperor Otto I, dated 964, contains the first recorded use of the name Acquapendentem. The name of the city, meaning "Hanging Water", stems from the presence of several small waterfalls forming the Paglia, a stream setting the boundary between Lazio and Tuscany.
Acquapendente was the first stop in Italy in the travels of Saint Roch in the early 14th century; the saint supposedly spent several days in the hospital there curing plague victims.[1]
The city was later part of the March of Tuscany and, from the end of the 14th century and beginning of the 15th, it was part of the commune of Siena. In 1449 it became an independent centre within the Papal States.
Acquapendente was also the birthplace of the anatomist Hieronymus Fabricius.