Guardea Vecchia is the ancient fortified nucleus of the municipality of Guardea, located in Umbria, on a hill at 572 meters above sea level. The village, one of the oldest in the region, extends for about 8,000 square meters and still retains, albeit in part, its perimeter walls and the original defensive structures, including the central keep and eight towers (six quadrangular and two semicircular). The origins of Guardea Vecchia probably date back to the 9th century, when, following the barbarian incursions, the local population moved from the plain to the hill for safety reasons. The toponym "Guardea" derives from the Germanic *warda*, which means "guard" or "lookout", testifying to the strategic function of the site, which dominated the Tiber valley and the communication routes between Etruria and the province of Terni. In the Middle Ages, Guardea Vecchia was an important military and fiscal control point: here the local lords, such as the Alviano, collected taxes and tolls. Over the centuries, the village passed under the control of various families and powers, including the Uffreduzzi counts, the Alviano, the Monaldeschi della Cervara and, later, the Marsciano. In the sixteenth century, with Bartolomeo d’Alviano, Guardea reached its maximum splendor. Starting from the seventeenth century, the inhabitants began to move further down the valley, where the current center of Guardea arose. The castle and the fortified village were progressively abandoned, also due to political and judicial events that led to the transfer of ownership between various noble families. In the twentieth century, after a long legal dispute, the Municipality managed to free the lands from feudal constraints, definitively freeing the community from ancient servitudes.
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