City Walls

The walls of Bettona (1367)
incorporating stones from the original circuit (4th century BC)

The first walls of Bettona seem to have been built the 4th century BC under Etruscan influence.  They might have been needed to protect the small settlement from the nearby Etruscan city of Perusia (Perugia), or they may alternatively have formed part of an outer defensive ring for that city.  Huge blocks from the original circuit were incorporated into the medieval wall that essentially followed the ancient line.

The Perugians destroyed this wall in 1352, and Cardinal Albornoz rebuilt it in 1367, largely on the ancient foundations and re-using some of the ancient stones.   This “new” wall deviates from the ancient line in the area of the monastery of San Crispolto, and traces of the original wall have been found under the church.