Blera
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Blera | |
|---|---|
| Comune di Blera | |
 Blera and the Fascist built bridge. | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Blera  | |
  Blera Location of Blera in Italy  Blera Blera (Lazio) | |
| Coordinates: 42°16′24″N 12°01′57″E / 42.27333°N 12.03250°E | |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Lazio |
| Province | Viterbo (VT) |
| Frazioni | Civitella Cesi |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Nicola Mazzarella |
| Area | |
• Total | 92.92 km2 (35.88 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 270 m (890 ft) |
| Population (30 April 2017)[2] | |
• Total | 3,316 |
| • Density | 36/km2 (92/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Blerani |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 01010 |
| Dialing code | 0761 |
| Patron saint | St. Viventius |
| Saint day | December 11 |
| Website | Official website |
Blera is a small town and comune in the northern Lazio region of Italy. It was known during the Middle Ages as Bieda, an evolved form of its ancient name, which was restored in the twentieth century. It is the birthplace of Pope Sabinian; Pope Paschal II was also originally thought to be from here.
It is situated on a long, narrow tongue of rock at the junction of two deep glens.[3]
In ancient times, Blera was an Etruscan town on the Via Clodia. It was of little importance, and is known to be mentioned only by geographers and in inscriptions.[3]
In 772, it was destroyed by the Lombards of King Desiderius. In the thirteenth-fifteenth centuries, it belonged to the Di Vico family. In 1247 the army of Frederick II ravaged it. In the fifteenth century, Pope Boniface IX gave Blera to the Anguillara family, who owned it until 1572, apart from a short period from 1465 under direct Papal control. Later it followed the history of the Papal States.
