Scheggino

Scheggino is a village perched on the side of the mountain that runs along the Nera river and crossed by a canal.

The name was originally Schiaginum then transformed into Schezzino and then Scheggino at the beginning of the 18th century. The structure is typical of a medieval fortified castle with a triangular structure and a watchtower at the top. The position was strategic, guarding a narrow passage that constitutes one of the Valenrina obligatory passages and was apparently built to defend against the Saracen invasions. Starting from the 13th century it was part of the Duchy of Spoleto and suffered sieges and looting by the municipalities that rebelled against Spoleto in 1391 and in 1552 while Scheggino remained faithful, obtaining a certain autonomy and acquiring its own statute in 1561. In the 17th century, given the more peaceful times and passed under the dominion of the Papal State, the towers were changed into dovecotes and part of the castle itself was dismantled, to reuse the stones for the construction of noble houses further down, along the river course. In 1635 Pope Urban VIII had a foundry built, to work the ferrous materials from the nearby mine of Monteleone di Spoleto, which also led to the widening of the road. The upper and oldest part of the castle dates back to the 13th century, close to the fortress, then expanding in the 14th and 15th centuries beyond the original surrounding walls towards the valley, to eventually develop along the canal that fed a mill. Several notable buildings are in the tight urban agglomeration, such as Palazzo Graziani from the 18th century and the municipal building of the 17th, with a covered loggia to which a clock tower was added in the 20th century, as well as the 18th century Palazzo Profili, next to the Porta Valcasana, from which a section of the "iron way" departed, the road along which the transport of the materials from the mines and the ironworks took place. At one end of the village is the Porta del Pozzo, which owes its name to a nearby spring. On one side of the castle there is a park crossed by a canal and an artificial lake, fed by the numerous water sources that are located a little higher up.