Mezzanelli

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Category: Paesi

The castle of Mezzanelli has followed the fortunes of the various rulers who handled its political life. Once part of Terre Arnolfe, the castle was cited in documents from 1115 and 1118 (Earls Ridolfo, Saraceno, Guillelmus, Hugolino, Tebaldo e Bulgarello ceded part of Mezzanelli to abbot Beraldo of Farfa). It later belonged to the Earls of Baschi, then a part passed under the dominion of the Cesi Dukes.

The strategically situated castle was repeatedly attacked by Spoleto and Todi during the conflicts between Guelphs and Ghibellines. It was subsequently destroyed in 1447 and in 1451. In 1467 it was restored with the help of all the inhabitants, who taxed themselves. In 1500 the troops of Pope Alexander VI attacked Mezzanelli and destroyed the fortress.

The remains of the fortress are a stone tower and the perimeter walls. They can be reached by a pleasant walk that goes from the village to the top of the hill.  The church of San Filippo e San Giacomo is in the highest part of the village and preserves a valuable fresco depicting Our Lady of the Rosary.

Holm oak: (Quercus ilex L.1753) is a plant of the family Fagaceae, widespread in the countries of the Mediterranean basin.

The holm oak is generally an evergreen tree with a rarely straight trunk, single or divided at the base, up to a height of 20-25 meters. It can have a bushy appearance when growing in rocky environments.

The bark is smooth and grey when young, but in time it becomes hard and dark, almost blackish, finely cracked in persistent chips almost square in shape.

The young branches are pubescent and grey, but after a short time become leafless and greenish-gray.The buds are small, rounded with a few bud scales.

Bosso

Genus Buxaceae, bushy evergreen shrub, compact branching trees with yellowish branches and wood. The plant is moderately poisonous, usually opposite petiolate or sessile leaves, elliptic, leathery green color more or less dark and shiny, small sessile monoecious flowers, the fruits are leathery capsules with few oblong seeds. It is found naturally on rocky, arid limestone also in Europe, Asia and Africa.

Corbezzolo: The strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L., 1753) is a shrub or a small tree in the family Ericaceae. The fruits ripen during the year following the flowering, in the fall. The plant is then to bear simultaneously flowers and ripe fruit, which makes it a good ornamental tree for the presence of three vivid colors: red fruits, white flowers and green leaves.

Orniello: Fraxinus ornus is a plant of the family Oleaceae (known as Orniello or Ornos, also commonly called manna tree in the production areas of the manna) is a tree or shrub of 4-8 meters high, often reduced to a bush. The trunk is erect, slightly tortuous, with opposite branches ascending with smooth grayish bark, opaque, reddish tomentose buds, and the foliage is made up of large deciduous opposite leaves, imparipinnate, with 5-9 segments (most often 7), whose side measure 5-10 cm, of elliptical or lanceolate appearance, briefly picciolati and one-third of their length wide

The hornbeam: (Ostrya carpinifolia) is a tree of the family Betulaceae. The hornbeam has straight trunk and dense foliage, a bit elongated. Its leaves are oval-shaped, elongated and with the serrated edge, the prime rib is very evident. The fruits are achenes, a bunch of white / green colour. In Italy the hornbeam is located in the middle ranges of hills in sunny positions on average.

The Quercus cerris L. is a deciduous tree belonging to the family Fagaceae. It is a species that tends to develop a crown up to a height of 30-35 m. The oak has dark green leaves with deep lobes from the edge. The trunk has brownish-gray bark with deep reddish grooves. The fruits are acorns of about 2.5 cm in length, characterized by the "cap", partially covered with a “curly hair” of pale yellow.

The Downy Oak: (Quercus pubescens Willd. 1805) is the most widespread species of oak in Italy, so much so that in many places is simply called oak. Belongs to the family Fagaceae. It's resistant to drought and easily recognizable in the winter as it keeps the dry leaves attached to the branches unlike the other species of oak. The main diagnostic character to identify the species is to touch the leaves or buds: they are covered with fine hair that you can easily appreciate. Generally some oak trees were left along the property boundaries so that it's possible in some cases to reconstruct those boundaries by examining the presence of large specimens of the species.

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