Pale

The first references to Pale date back to 970 and refer to the church of Santa Lucia, built by Roderico I of Uppello. Subsequently, documents from 1082 and 1086 mention donations of land in Pale by Count Ugolino in favor of the church of Santa Maria del Vecchio. 

The donation of lands that Count Offredo of Dualtieri III made to his brother Alberto, abbot of Sassovivo abbey, is from 1111, these included the church of San Biagio located within the walls of the castle. The Holy Trinity hospital was established in the mid-13th century and remained in operation until the 17th century. In the 13th century the Elisei family began the systematic use of hydraulic power, which gave rise to activities such as factories and fulling mills, one of which belonged to the Sassovino monks as early as 1256. In the 17th century, within the castle walls and near the Menotre waterfalls, the Elisei had an important palace built, surrounded by gardens and swimming pools. Pale was a possession of the Trinci family until 1439, before becoming municipal property. In the "Chronicles of the city of Foligno" of the first half of the 17th century, Jacobilli talks about the Priors of Scopoli and their 1442 request for the reconstruction of the castle of Serrone, in the same quotation the castles of Scopoli and Pale are mentioned, which were therefore pre-existing. The importance of Pale is due to the presence of abundant streams and waterfalls of the Menotre, exploited since Roman times as a source of energy, as evidenced by various Roman buildings to be seen in the valley and near the falls. From this developed the first paper mills, which became an important activity for Pale continuing into the 20th century, when as many as 16 paper production plants were active. The quality of the paper produced in Pale was renowned and it is almost certain that it was used for the first edition of the Divine Comedy in 1482. The castle's walls are clearly visible on the north side of the town, with a quadrangular tower and two semicircular ones; the oldest part of the village is accessed by a double gate in the walls, whence the path that climbs up to the hermitage of Santa Maria Giacobbe starts. The long history of artisanal and industrial activities linked to the exploitation of water has influenced the architecture of the place too, and many of the buildings present large environments that evidently were originally workshops, often with canalised water passages crossing them. Around the town, there are still large buildings that housed the more recent paper mills. The history of the paper mills of Pale is richly presented in the volume "The paper mills of the Menotre valley" by Renato Covino, Electa / Editori Umbri Associati, 2008. More information on http://www.paledifoligno.it