Preci

History

Preci originated as an ancient Sabine settlement. In the early Middle Ages it was subject first to the Duchy of Spoleto and later to the Church under Pope Innocent III.

In 1232–33, the settlement is recorded as a castrum, and during that period it paid the fodrum, a feudal levy, to Duke Conrad as well as to the papal rector. By the mid-13th century Preci had submitted to the Commune of Norcia, a subjection that was formally recognized in 1276 by the papal legate Capocci.

Preci was almost entirely destroyed by an earthquake in 1328.

In 1385, it appears in the registers of Norcia under the name castrum Precis.

In 1527, Preci was almost entirely destroyed during military actions led by Cardinal Armellini, papal legate of the Marches; it was subsequently rebuilt, an undertaking traditionally attributed to Cristoforo Carocci.

In 1569, Norcia became the seat of the Prefecture of the Mountain, and the surrounding territory, including Preci, was reorganized into districts known as guaite and sindicati. An apostolic report of 1587 lists Preci among the castles and villages subject to Norcia. During the early modern period, the community oversaw the administration of the sanctuary of Madonna della Peschiera.

In 1703, the castle of Abeto was destroyed by an earthquake.

Between 1798 and 1799, during the Roman Republic, Preci was included in the Department of Spoleto within the Canton of Visso and was temporarily separated from Norcia. After 1799 it returned to papal control within the Apostolic Delegation of Spoleto.

In 1803, Preci was a feudal domain of Baron Crispolti. By 1818, it had passed to Baron Fabrizio degli Arcipreti della Penna.

Under Napoleonic rule from 1809 to 1814, Preci was governed as a mairie in the Department of Trasimeno, Canton of Norcia. With the Restoration in 1814 it returned to the Papal States. In 1817 it was established as an autonomous municipality.

In 1859, the municipality had a population of 2,847 inhabitants. Of these, 2,435 resided in the main settlement and 412 in the countryside.

In recent decades, Preci suffered extensive damage from earthquakes. In 1997 it was hit by the Umbria and Marche earthquakes. The old center of Preci was later ravaged by the October 2016 Central Italy Earthquakes.

Since 2019, part of the historic center has been reopened to visitors.

Religion and culture

The abbey of Sant'Eutizio stands on a high cliff overlooking the Castoriana valley. Its foundation is traced to the 5th century, when the Syrian hermit Saint Spes established an oratory. He was succeeded by Saint Eutychius, who built the first church. In the 8th century Benedictine monks replaced the Syrian hermits and constructed a monastery, enlarging the original oratory.

The church façade has a gabled form with a Romanesque portal whose lunette bears the date 1190, marking the beginning of construction. It also features a large rose window framed by two orders of small columns and a panel with the symbols of the four Evangelists. The bell tower was built in the 17th century by the architect Crescenzi. The interior consists of a single nave with a raised presbytery; restoration works carried out in the 1950s aimed to recover the original forms. Fragments of the early fresco decoration remain on the windows.

Behind the high altar, which bears a painted Crucifix by Nicola da Siena, stands a funerary monument to Saint Eutychius attributed to Rocco di Tommaso and dated 1514. The wooden choir of the 16th century comes from the workshop of the Seneca family of Piedivalle. Beneath the presbytery is a crypt with two columns dating to the 14th century.

Around the year 1000, the abbey became a cultural center with a large library and a school of illumination. From the library comes a confession formula dated 1095, among the earliest texts in the Italian vernacular. In 1605 the abbot Giacomo Crescenzi donated part of the library to Saint Philip Neri, who transferred the books to the Biblioteca Vallicelliana in Rome. From the 10th to the 13th century the abbey expanded its possessions and promoted a surgical school.

After the 2016 earthquake, reconstruction of the Abbey began in December 2022 using the original stones. Workers recovered and reassembled the façade and its rose window, putting together about 400 fragments.

Preci contains the notable Collegiate Church of Santa Maria Santissima della Pietà, which has an organ and a significant painting. The churches of San Martino, the town's patron saint, and Santa Maria also possess organs, including one attributed to Callido of Venice. A solemn feast of the Blessed Sacrament was celebrated on the third Sunday of June, and a fair was held on the first Monday of October. …