The Borgo Fantasma of Celleno: a medieval fortification

• Barbara Aterini ^[1] ; Raffaele Vergaro ^[1]
  1. [1] University of Florence

     University of Florence

     Firenze, Italia

     
• Localización: FORTMED 2026. Defensive Architecture of the Mediterranean Vol XXII / coord. por Michele Russo, Marta Acierno, 2026, ISBN 978-84-1396-411-9, págs. 309-316
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
  • Texto Completo Libro
• Resumen

  • The village of Celleno rises on a tuff spur bordered by two watercourses, about 16 km from Viterbo, positioned between the Tiber Valley and the plateau of Lake Bolsena. This strategic location has favored, since ancient times, the development of both residential and military settlements, thanks to the possibility of controlling communication routes crossing the surrounding valleys and hills. Today, it presents an urban layout typical of medieval settlements in the Tuscia region, with a concentric arrangement around the castle and the main church. Urban development, shaped by the morphology of the tuff cliff, followed a defensive logic. The Etruscan origins of the site are also attested by nearby necropolises. With the arrival of the Romans in 264 BC, its strategic location allowed it to maintain an important role in agricultural economy and territorial control. The decline of the Roman Empire in the 5th century AD pushed the village towards early medieval settlement models based on encastellation. Between the 10th and 14th centuries, with the affirmation of the feudal system, the castle was built, which later became Palazzo Orsini, the political and administrative center. The presence of towers, fortified gates, and other architectural features typical of medieval castles reflected Celleno’s strategic role in controlling routes to the Tiber and neighboring centers. The Renaissance marked a phase of cultural and architectural renewal. Surveying campaigns conducted using laser scanning and photogrammetry enabled the documentation of the village’s current condition and a better understanding of its historical evolution. The modeling of the northern slope and the Church of San Donato, developed through the Historic Building Information Modeling (HBIM) process, allowed the creation of parametric three-dimensional models, reproducing not only the geometry of the settlement but also integrating information about materials, construction techniques, and conservation conditions.