Amelia is a town and comune located in central Italy which is part of the province of Terni . The city is located in Umbria not far from the border with Lazio .
57-421: Ameria may refer to: Amelia, Umbria Site of a temple near Cabira , Pontus Ameriabank , an Armenian bank Ameria invaria , a moth Mahathala ameria , a butterfly Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Ameria . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
114-617: A colony . The bishopric of Ameria was founded in the middle of the fourth century. During the barbaric invasions, the city was besieged and badly damaged by the Goths , but was rebuilt by the time the Lombards descended from the north and asserted control over most of what is now Umbria . The Lombards, in turn, were forced out by the Byzantines , and thereafter, throughout the Middle Ages, and up to
171-522: A Turkish banner captured at Lepanto . Nearby are the Archaeological Museum and the Pinacoteca Comunale (Municipal Gallery), housed in the old Boccarini college. Among the non-religious buildings there are palaces built during the fourteenth and fifteenth century by the overlords of the city: Palazzo Farrattini and Palazzo Petrignani . The Teatro Operino is an opera house built in
228-620: A gathering through which the Plebeians (commoners) could pass laws, elect magistrates, and try judicial cases. This council had no political power until the offices of Plebeian Tribune and Plebeian Aedile were created in 494 BC, due to the Plebeian Secession that year. According to legend, the Roman King Servius Tullius enacted a series of constitutional reforms in the 6th century BC. One of these reforms resulted in
285-543: A majority of Curiae, Tribes, or Centuries voted in the same way on a given measure, the voting ended, and the matter was decided. If a law was passed in violation of proper procedures (such as failing to wait 17 days before voting on a law), the Senate could declare the law nonbinding. The Curiate Assembly ( comitia curiata ) was the principal assembly during the first two decades of the Roman Republic . The Curiate Assembly
342-400: A measure or candidate received 97 votes, a majority of the centuries, the voting ended, and as such, many lower ranking Centuries rarely if ever had a chance to actually vote. Combined the 18 equites and the 80 centuries of the first property class had one more century than needed, and a unanimous vote from the elite would thus elect a candidate. In 241 BC, the assembly was reorganized, though
399-511: A number of guard towers, and a small Romanesque church, San Simeone . The church of S. Timoteo, also Romanesque, has fourteenth- and fifteenth-century frescoes. Fornole is home to the Romanesque church of San Silvestro, with an interesting fresco cycle showing the saint freeing the town from the grasp of a dragon. Near the town is the Lago Vecchio ("Old Lake") formed by a dam on a small river,
456-634: A panoramic view of the Tiber Valley . The center of the city is the Piazza del Duomo where the cathedral and the thirty-meter-high Torre Civica (Civic Tower) are located. Amelia Cathedral was built originally in 872, and totally rebuilt in Baroque style after a fire in 1629: its façade is of pink cotto and was completed only in the nineteenth century. The interior has works by Federico Zuccari , Lavinia Fontana , Agostino di Duccio , an organ from 1600, and
513-421: A pebble or written ballot into an appropriate jar. The baskets that held the votes were watched by specific officers, who then counted the ballots, and reported the results to the presiding magistrate. The majority of votes in any Curia, Tribe, or Century decided how that Curia, Tribe, or Century voted. Each Curia, Tribe, or Century received one vote, regardless of how many electors each Tribe or Century held. Once
570-416: A political speech. Voters always assembled first into Conventions to hear debates and conduct other business before voting, and then into Assemblies or Councils to actually vote. There were no set dates to hold assemblies, but notice had to be given beforehand if the assembly was to be considered formal. Elections had to be announced 17 days before the election took place. Likewise, 17 days had to pass between
627-523: A self-governing municipium , possibly as early as 338 BC, but certainly by the middle of the 1st century BC. Citizens of the town were members of the tribus Clustumina . Cicero 's speech in defence of Sextus Roscius Amerinus (the pro Roscio Amerino ) describes Ameria as a flourishing place in 80 BC, with a fertile territory extending to the Tiber. Its fruit is often extolled by Roman writers. Augustus divided its lands among his veterans, but did not plant
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#1732844436730684-551: A vote. Each assembly was presided over by a single Roman Magistrate , and as such, it was the presiding magistrate who made all decisions on matters of procedure and legality. Ultimately, the presiding magistrate's power over the assembly was nearly absolute. The only check on that power came in the form of vetoes handed down by other magistrates. In the Roman system of direct democracy, two primary types of gatherings were used to vote on legislative, electoral, and judicial matters. The first
741-501: Is about 100 kilometres (62 mi) north of Rome . According to some Italian scholars, Amelia is the oldest town in Umbria. In the third book of his "Naturalis Historia" , Pliny the Elder reports a statement made by Cato according to which the origins of the city were said to date back to the period of a mythical Umbrian king called Ameroë, the son of Atlas (hence the name of Ameria, by which
798-512: Is almost entirely surrounded by ancient Cyclopean walls believed to date from the 7th and the 4th centuries BC). Situated in the southwest portion of Umbria, the city overlooks the Tiber River to the east and the Nera River to the west. The city is 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) north of Narni , 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Orte and approximately 93 kilometres (58 mi) from Perugia . It
855-786: The Pelasgians , by the Umbrians , and finally by the Etruscans , and later still by the Romans, although it is not mentioned by name in the history of the Roman conquest of Umbria. Ameria occupied a strategic location in the Second Latin War (340–338 BC), lying on a loop of the Via Cassia called the Via Amerina , which started at Falerii and crossed the Tiber at Castellum Amerinum (probably Orte ). By
912-399: The comitia curiata but instead the comitia calata . The Centuriate Assembly ( comitia centuriata or "Army Assembly") of the Roman Republic was originally the democratic assembly of the Roman soldiers. The Centuriate Assembly organized the Roman citizens into economic classes, defined by a means test. The Roman army was divided into units called "Centuries", and these gathered into
969-546: The Centuriate Assembly for legislative, electoral, and judicial purposes. However, since the number of centuries in each class was fixed, centuries could contain far more than 100 men. Only this assembly could declare war or elect the highest-ranking Roman Magistrates : Consuls , Praetors and Censors . The Centuriate Assembly could also pass a statute that granted constitutional command authority to Consuls and Praetors, and Censorial powers to Censors. In addition,
1026-514: The Centuriate Assembly served as the highest court of appeal in certain judicial cases, and ratified the results of the Census. Although the voters in this assembly wore white undecorated togas and were unarmed, while participating in the Assembly they were classified as soldiers, and as such were not allowed to meet within the physical boundary of the city of Rome . The president of the Centuriate Assembly
1083-599: The Consuls Pompey Magnus and Marcus Licinius Crassus repealed Sulla's constitutional reforms, including his restoration of the Servian Organization to this assembly. Thus, they restored the newer organization that had originated in 241 BC. The organization of the Centuriate Assembly was not changed again until its powers were all transferred to the Roman Senate by the first Roman Emperor , Augustus , after
1140-509: The Convention, the bill to be voted upon was read to the assembly by an officer known as a "Herald". Then, if the assembly was composed of Tribes, the order of the vote had to be determined. A Plebeian Tribune could use his veto against pending legislation until the point when the order of the vote was determined. The electors were then told to break up the Convention and assemble into the formal Assembly or Council. The electors voted by placing
1197-468: The Conventions, the electors were not sorted into their respective units ( curia , centuries or tribes ). Speeches from private citizens were only heard if the issue to be voted upon was a legislative or judicial matter. If the purpose of the ultimate vote was for an election, no speeches from private citizens were heard, and instead, the candidates for office used the Convention to campaign. During
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#17328444367301254-529: The Curiate Assembly voted on were mostly symbolic and usually in the affirmative. At one point, possibly as early as 218 BC, the Curiate Assembly's thirty Curia were abolished, and replaced with thirty lictors , one from each of the original Patrician clans. Since the Curia had always been organized on the basis of the Roman family, the Curiate Assembly actually retained jurisdiction over clan matters even after
1311-613: The Curiate Assembly, for legislative, electoral, and judicial purposes. The Curiate Assembly passed laws, elected Consuls (the only elected magistrates at the time), and tried judicial cases. Consuls always presided over the assembly. Shortly after the founding of the republic, most of the powers of the Curiate Assembly were transferred to the Centuriate Assembly and the Tribal Assembly . While it then fell into disuse, it did retain some theoretical powers, most importantly,
1368-425: The Middle Ages. The walls run about 720 meters and are about 3.5 meters thick, and have four main gates: the imposing Porta Romana to the south, the main access to the city; Posterola to the north; Porta Leone to the east; and Porta della Valle to the west. The Romans left other traces of their occupation, including a complex of ten underground cisterns, built in the first century AD, which collected rainwater to feed
1425-533: The Plebeian Aedile sometimes did as well. Originally, statutes passed by the Plebeian Council (" Plebiscites ") only applied to Plebeians. However, in 449 BC, a statute of an Assembly was passed which gave Plebiscites the full force of law over all Romans (Plebeians and Patricians). It was not until 287 BC, however, that the last mechanism which allowed the Roman Senate to veto acts of the Plebeian Council
1482-574: The Rio Grande. Rowing boats can be rented to come around in the shade of alder, poplar and willow trees, looking for sometimes surprised ducks and herons. There is a small park called La Cavallerizza , a former horse racing track, with a walking — or jogging — path around the track, now used for weekend dances and social gatherings. In 2009, the city of Amelia formed a partnership with the Association for Research into Crimes against Art (ARCA) inviting
1539-502: The Tribal Assembly for legislative, electoral, and judicial purposes. The president of the Tribal Assembly was usually either a Consul (the highest ranking Roman Magistrate ) or a Praetor (the second-highest ranking Roman Magistrate). The Tribal Assembly elected three different magistrates: Quaestors , Curule Aediles , and Military Tribunes . The Tribal Assembly also had the power to try judicial cases. In addition to
1596-596: The above-mentioned magistrates, the Tribal Assembly elected the Pontifex Maximus . His was a lifetime appointment, however, and so the Tribal Assembly only elected a new Pontifex Maximus after the previous one died. The thirty-five Tribes were not ethnic or kinship groups, but rather a generic division into which Roman citizens were distributed. When the Tribes were created the divisions were geographical, similar to modern Parliamentary constituencies . However, since one joined
1653-413: The basis of the amount of property that they owned, and as such, soldiers with more property had more influence than soldiers with less property. The 193 Centuries in the assembly under the Servian Organization were each divided into one of three different grades: the officer class, the enlisted class, and a class of unarmed adjuncts. The officer class was grouped into eighteen Centuries. The enlisted class
1710-546: The carrying out of capital punishment, the declaration of war and peace, and the creation (or dissolution) of alliances. Under the Constitution of the Roman Republic , the people (and thus the assemblies) held the ultimate source of sovereignty. Since the Romans used a form of direct democracy , citizens, and not elected representatives, voted before each assembly. As such, the citizen-electors had no power, other than to cast
1767-742: The centuries between the 6th and 4th BC. The oldest of these are located inside the historic center between the Teatro Sociale and the Porta della Valle. Large segments of these were constructed using polygonal masonry of a type defined as "cyclopean", meaning they are characterized by limestone blocks of considerable size (sometimes exceeding 2 metres), cut with great precision in the shape of irregular polygons and then stacked without using mortar. A thirty-meter segment of this wall collapsed in 2006 and remains under repair. The walls were further fortified and enlarged during Roman times and at various times during
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1824-697: The city of Amelia has also been hosting the Amelia International Conservation Studies (AICS) summer field school, organized by the Art Restoration and Conservation International Field School (ARCIFS). The AICS program offers comprehensive education and training in the disciplines of historic preservation, restoration, and conservation. Through a combination of lectures, activities, fieldwork, workshops, and field trips, students gain practical and theoretical knowledge in art restoration and conservation, working on real conservation projects under
1881-413: The city was known in the ancient time). In this recording, it is said that that Ameria was founded 963 years before the war with Perseus (171–168 BC), so 1134 BC, a date which is likely unreliable, though the city shows evidence that the hill that forms the nucleus of modern Amelia had already been settled in the eleventh or tenth century. In its ancient past, the city was subsequently dominated by
1938-501: The city's water supply. There are also snatches of Roman roads within the city, some of them only recently uncovered. A larger-than-life gilt bronze statue of Germanicus was unearthed just outside the Porta Romana in 1963 and is now a featured object of the city's Museo Civico Archeologico. Today, old Amelia inside the walls, which is most accessible through the Porta Romana, is a well-preserved medieval city. The upper part also offers
1995-432: The claim of unfavorable omens as an excuse to suspend a session that was not going the way they wanted. Any decision made by a presiding magistrate could be vetoed by a magistrate known as a Plebeian Tribune . In addition, decisions made by presiding magistrates could also be vetoed by higher-ranking magistrates. On the day of the vote, the electors first assembled into their conventions for debate and campaigning. In
2052-574: The creation of a new organizational unit with which to divide citizens. This unit, the Tribe , was based on geography rather than family, and was created to assist in future reorganizations of the army . In 471 BC, a law was passed which allowed the Plebeians to begin organizing by Tribe. Before this point, they had organized on the basis of the Curia . The only difference between the Plebeian Council after 471 BC and
2109-587: The eighteenth century and features frescos by nineteenth-century artist Domenico Bruschi . The hilly countryside around Amelia presents several points of interest. The Convent of the Santissima Annunziata , founded by St. Francis' Friars Minor , has a planetarium . The Cistercians established a convent at Foce, the Sanctuary of the Virgin. The small fraction of Porchiano del Monte has Medieval walls featuring
2166-422: The exact details are uncertain. Some sources have a new total of 373 Centuries, but Cicero still writes of 193 centuries in his era, and most scholars still use that number. It is known that the first property class was reduced from 80 to 70 centuries, and the order of voting was changed so that the first class would go first, and be followed by the equites. The lowest ranking Century in the Centuriate Assembly
2223-465: The fall of the Roman Republic in 27 BC. Under the presidency of the Pontifex Maximus , it witnessed wills and ratified adoptions, inaugurated certain priests, and transferred citizens from Patrician class to Plebeian class (or vice versa). In 44 BC, for example, it ratified the will of Julius Caesar , and with it Caesar's adoption of his nephew Gaius Octavian (the future Roman emperor Augustus ) as his son and heir. However, this might not have been
2280-400: The fall of the Roman Republic in 27 BC. The Tribal Assembly ( comitia populi tributa ) of the Roman Republic was the democratic assembly of Roman citizens. The Tribal Assembly was organized as an Assembly, and not as a Council. During the years of the Roman Republic, citizens were organized on the basis of thirty-five Tribes which included patricians and plebeians. The Tribes gathered into
2337-471: The guidance of industry professionals. Legislative Assemblies of the Roman Republic#Tribes The legislative assemblies of the Roman Republic were political institutions in the ancient Roman Republic . According to the contemporary historian Polybius , it was the people (and thus the assemblies) who had the final say regarding the election of magistrates, the enactment of Roman laws ,
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2394-626: The late fourth or early third century BCE Ameria had likely been granted the status of a municipium as maps of the territory document the Via Amerina extending from Ameria (Amelia) to Perusia ( Perugia ) at some time in the 3rd century BC. This road is also referred to in the Tabula Peutingeriana , a unique map of the road system for the cursus publicus, the public transport system in use in the Roman Empire. The town gained political status as
2451-417: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ameria&oldid=1196284723 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Amelia, Umbria The city of Amelia sits on a defensive rocky spur, and
2508-466: The order of the lot was chosen by the Gods, and thus, that the position held by the early voting Tribes was the position of the Gods. Once a majority of Tribes had voted the same way, voting ended. The Plebeian Council ( concilium plebis ) was the principal popular gathering of the Roman Republic . As the name suggests, the Plebeian Council was organized as a Council, and not as an Assembly. It functioned as
2565-637: The ordinary Tribal Assembly (which also organized on the basis of the Tribes) was that the Tribes of the Plebeian Council only included Plebeians, whereas the Tribes of the Tribal Assembly included both Plebeians and Patricians. The Plebeian Council elected two 'Plebeian Magistrates', the Plebeian Tribunes and the Plebeian Aediles . Usually the Plebeian Tribune presided over the assembly, although
2622-518: The political convulsions common to other Umbrian cities: struggles that saw it emerge as an independent-minded comune, then as a city under the control of a succession of powerful families, sometimes ecclesiastical, and subject to internecine warfare between Guelphs and Ghibellines . The campanile of the cathedral was erected in 1050 using fragments of Roman buildings. Amelia is especially known for its almost intact, defensive Pre-Roman walls, built by Italic civilizations (Umbrians and Pelasgians) in
2679-418: The power to ratify elections of the top-ranking Roman Magistrates (Consuls and Praetors ) by passing the statute that gave them their legal command authority, the lex curiata de imperio . In practice, however, they actually received this authority from the Centuriate Assembly (which formally elected them), and as such, this functioned as nothing more than a reminder of Rome's regal heritage. Other acts that
2736-400: The proposal of legislation and its enactment by an assembly. In addition to the presiding magistrate, several additional magistrates were often present to act as assistants. There were also religious officials known as augurs either in attendance or on-call, who would be available to help interpret any signs from the gods ( omens ). On several known occasions, presiding magistrates used
2793-530: The researchers to host their professional development Postgraduate Certificate Program in Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection , inside the city's 14th century Collegio Boccarini cloister adjacent to the Museo Civico Archeologico. This program is held from late May through mid August annually in the historic center of Amelia in collaboration with the city of Amelia. In addition, since April 2024,
2850-412: The same Tribe that one's father belonged to, the geographical distinctions were eventually lost. The order that the 35 Tribes voted in was selected randomly by lot. The order was not chosen at once, and after each Tribe had voted, a lot was used to determine which Tribe should vote next. The first Tribe selected was usually the most important Tribe, because it often decided the matter. It was believed that
2907-689: The time of Italian unification in 1860, Amelia stayed more or less under the domination of the Roman Catholic Church within the Papal States . During the period when the Lombards remained in control of the Via Flaminia , Amelia was an important stop on a vital alternative route, the so-called Byzantine Way, which connected Rome to the exarchate in Ravenna . During the Middle Ages, Amelia went through
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#17328444367302964-460: Was grouped into five separate property classes, for a total of 170 Centuries. The unarmed soldiers were divided into the final five Centuries. Of five enlisted classes, the wealthiest controlled 80 of the votes. During a vote, all of the Centuries of one class had to vote before the Centuries of the next lower class could vote. The first candidate to reach a majority of 97 votes was victorious. When
3021-464: Was organized as an Assembly, and not as a Council even though only patricians were members. During these first decades, the People of Rome were organized into thirty units called Curiae . The Curiae were ethnic in nature, and thus were organized on the basis of the early Roman family, or, more specifically, on the basis of the thirty original Patrician (aristocratic) clans. The Curiae assembled into
3078-471: Was supposedly founded by the legendary Roman King Servius Tullius , less than a century before the founding of the Roman Republic in 509 BC. As such, the original design of the Centuriate Assembly was known as the " Servian organization ". Under this organization, the assembly was supposedly designed to mirror the Roman army during the time of the Roman Kingdom . Soldiers in the Roman army were classified on
3135-579: Was the Assembly ( comitia ), which was a gathering that was deemed to represent the entire Roman people, even if it did not contain all of the Roman citizens or, like the comitia curiata , excluded a particular class of Roman citizens (the plebs). The second was the Council ( concilium ), which was a gathering of citizens of a specific class. In contrast, the Convention was an unofficial forum for communication. Conventions were simply forums where Romans met for specific unofficial purposes, such as, for example, to hear
3192-417: Was the fifth Century (called the proletarii ) of the unarmed adjunct class. This Century was the only Century composed of soldiers who had no property, and since it was always the last Century to vote, it never had any real influence on elections. During his dictatorship from 82 BC until 80 BC, Lucius Cornelius Sulla restored the old Servian Organization to this assembly. Sulla died in 78 BC, and in 70 BC,
3249-440: Was usually a Consul (although sometimes a Praetor). Only Consuls (the highest-ranking of all Roman Magistrates) could preside over the Centuriate Assembly during elections because the higher-ranking Consuls were always elected together with the lower-ranking Praetors. Once every five years, after the new Consuls for the year took office, they presided over the Centuriate Assembly as it elected the two Censors. The Centuriate Assembly
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