Near the banks of Menotre River and near the street leading to the municipality of Sellano, it is hidden the small village of Rasiglia, a fraction of the municipality of Foligno.
The history of the village of Rasiglia
Rasiglia is mentioned for the first time as curtis de Rasilia into documents dating back to the 13th century, preserved in the archive of Sassovivo Abbey. This very small village near the Menotre River borns with the aim of controlling the surrounding valley and the traffic that used to develop on the surrounding streets, in particular on the Via della Spina used for commercial exchanges between Tyrrhenian Sea and Adriatic Sea.
On the hill overlooking the village, at about 700 mt height, there are still today the ruins of the walls and one tower of the Trinci Castle, a fortress made by the Trinci family to defend the borders from the wars against the near municipality of Sellano and with the diocese of Spoleto.
A village among water springs
Below the ruins of Trinci Castle, develops a village with an amphitheatre shape crossed by many springs flown among its streets. The main sping, Capovena, is located in the upper part of the village and the water flowing from it and from other smaller springs, flow into the Peschiera, a large basin for water recollection that finally pours the water into the river.
From the first mid of 1600, the abundant presence of water among the narrow streets has been used by the inhabitants to build in the city centre small waterfalls and sluices to give origin and to nurture various commercial activities, but also watermills, woollen mills, tanneries, wash houses and dyeing plants, remained active until the first half of 1900. Today these activities are no longer working/in operation, and the earthquake in 1997 brought/forced most of the inhabitants to leave the small village and move to nearby cities; however, the buildings have been renovated and designated for catering services or for residential use for those few who decided staying in Rasiglia.
The characteristic of the small village of Rasiglia ensires that it has given the nickname of “little Venice of Umbria”.
