Amelia

Amelia is a hill town in the province of Terni, Umbria, near the border with Lazio. It is best known for its polygonal ("cyclopean") walls, built from massive irregular limestone blocks fitted together without mortar; the earliest sections date to the 6th–4th centuries BC, with a later Roman-era circuit extending on both sides of Porta Romana. Ancient tradition, recorded by Cato, claimed a founding date far predating Rome, though this is not historically verifiable. Under Rome, Amelia (Latin Ameria) became a municipium on the Via Amerina, the road linking Rome to Umbria; Cicero mentioned the town in his defence of Sextus Roscius, describing its fertile countryside. Roman-era cisterns beneath the town also survive from this period. The historic centre retains its walled hilltop layout and medieval and Renaissance buildings within the ancient perimeter.