San Gemini
San Gemini is a small hill town in Umbria along the ancient Via Flaminia. It is located a few kilometers north of Terni and has a population of about four thousand.
It was first settled as an agricultural suburb of Carsulae in the 1st Century along the Via Flaminia. This settlement was called Casventum. During the Middle Ages, as Carsulae was abandoned, Casventum developed into a small city. In the early Middle Ages its name was changed to San Gemini. There are various theories as to why this happened; the most popular being that a Syrian monk named Gemine stopped to preach and live there, inspiring the change, another is that it derives from a very ancient tradition of twin deities or saints associated to curative waters.
During this time, San Gemini found itself along a key route connecting Rome to the Byzantine seat of power then located in Ravenna. It was sandwiched between the Lombard kingdom in northern Italy and the Lombard Duchy of Spoleto. The town was part of the Papal States for most of its history, participating with them in the historic events affecting central Italy during that time. Though a small town, San Gemini was affected to various extents by major events, and thus encapsulates a chronicle of the broadly-shared history of hill towns in central Italy. It flourished and expanded during the 12th and 13th Centuries, when several new churches, convents and monasteries were built. Probably by the 15th Century, San Gemini was a religious center of some importance; most residents living inside city walls were connected with religious institutions. San Gemini has flourished during the 20th Century, due in part to the local mineral water industry and agriculture, and also to the proximity of Terni (the largest industrial city in central Italy).
San Gemini has a strong tradition of historic preservation, both in the public and private sectors. Locals, in cooperation with technical experts, have restored many historic buildings: examples include the Abbey of San Nicoló, Palazzo Vecchio, and Santa Maria de Incertis.
Links
www.sangeminiarte.it/homepage.htm
www.prosangemini.com/index.html
www.bellaumbria.net/San_Gemini/home_eng.htm
http://www.sistemamuseo.it/schede/geolab.htm
www.agus.it/umbria/comuni/sangemini/sangemini2.htm
www.argoweb.it/sangemini/sangemini.uk.html
www.viaggiatori.com/panorami/flaminia1.htm
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