Monte Ruperto

Monte Ruperto is an exclave frazione of the comune of Città di Castello, in the province of Perugia.

It is an enclave within the Marche region, in the province of Pesaro and Urbino.

It lies between the municipal territories of Apecchio and Sant'Angelo in Vado.

A historical curiosity: the mayor of Città di Castello is entitled to the noble title of Baron of Monte Ruperto, by the will of the castle's owners, who until a few centuries ago held the medieval fief. The head of the main comune inherited the small village in the Middle Ages, at the time of the struggles between Guelphs and Ghibellines.

During a famine caused by heavy snowfall, one of the barons who ruled the village asked for help, and only Città di Castello answered, sending some mules loaded with food.

Remembering this gesture, the baron decided to give his land to Città di Castello, together with the right for the gonfalonieri, the equivalent of today's mayors, to bear the title of baron while they governed the town.

So the mayor of Città di Castello may call himself baron and wear a fine period costume, both as head of the municipal administration and as Baron of Monte Ruperto.

The records of Città di Castello say that the people of Monte Ruperto enjoyed tax breaks. A document of 1274, confirmed in 1574, established that they owed the comune only five soldi in common coin per hearth (per house), payable on 27 August.

Text: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · translated from Italian