Norcia - History

History

Traces of human settlement in Norcia's area dates back to the Neolithic Age.

The town's history begins with settlement by the Sabines in the 5th century BC. It became an ally of ancient Rome in 205 BC, during the Second Punic War, when it was known in Latin as Nursia, but the earliest extant Roman ruins date from around the 1st century.

St. Benedict, the founder of the Benedictine monastic system, and his twin sister St. Scholastica, were born here in 480. In the 8th century an oratory was built so pilgrims could pray at the place of St. Benedict’s birth. Monks came to Norcia in the 10th century, and now care for the Monastery of St. Benedict, built over the Roman ruins of the house of Sts. Benedict and Scholastica.

In the 6th century Norcia was conquered by the Lombards, becoming part of the Duchy of Spoleto. In the 9th century it suffered from Saracen attacks, which started a period of deep decadence. In the 11th century, it was part of the domain of St. Henry, Holy Roman Emperor.In the 12th century Norcia became an independent commune within the Papal territories, with an increasing political and economical prestige. The collaboration with the Benedictine abbey in Preci led to the creation of the Schola Chirurgica: the latter's studies allowed Norcia's to improve their swine breeding capacities. However, the vicinity of the powerful Spoleto and the 1324 earthquake thwarted the city's ambitions, and in 1354 it returned definitively under the Papal authority.