Ancient Sutrium occupied an important position, commanding as it did the road into
Etruria, the later
Via Cassia:
Livy describes it as one of the keys of Etruria, nearby
Nepi being the other. It came into the hands of Rome after the fall of
Veii, and a Latin colony was founded there; it was lost again in 386 BC, but was recovered and recolonized around 383 BC. It was besieged by the
Etruscans in 311–310 BC, but not taken. With
Nepi and ten other Latin colonies it refused further help in the
Second Punic War in 209 BC. Its importance as a fortress explains, according to
Festus, the proverb
Sutrium ire, of one who goes on important business, as it occurs in
Plautus. It is mentioned in. the war of 41 BC, and received a colony of veterans under the
triumviri (
Colonia coniuncta lulia Sutrina). Inscriptions show that it was a place of some importance under the empire, and it is mentioned as occupied by the
Lombards. Sutri retained its strategic importance as a fortified place near the borders of the
Duchy of Rome. The
Donation of Sutri was an agreement reached at Sutri between the Lombard king
Liutprand the Lombard and
Pope Gregory II in 728. At Sutri the two reached an agreement, by which Sutri and some hill towns in
Latium (see
Vetralla) were given to the
Papacy, "as a gift to the blessed
Apostles Peter and
Paul" according to the
Liber Pontificalis. The pact formed the first extension of
Papal territory beyond the confines of the
Duchy of Rome. An important hoard of jewellery dating from this time, known as the
Sutri Treasure, was found near the town in the 19th century. It is now in the
British Museum. Sutri, the seat of a bishopric (see below), was retrieved for the Papacy after the defeat of the Lombards.
Pope Gregory VI abdicated at Sutri on December 20, 1046, following the
Synod of Sutri convened at the request of
Emperor Henry III. In 1111 it was the seat of the treaty between
Paschal II and
Emperor Henry V; in 1146 and 1244
Eugene III and
Innocent IV took refuge here, respectively. In 1244 it was conquered by Pietro di Vico, but was later taken by Pandolfo, count of
Anguillara, who gave it back to the Papal States. The city witnessed the struggles between
Guelphs and Ghibellines. In 1433 the condottiero
Niccolò Fortebraccio set fire to Sutri, and from that point onward the city declined in favour of
Ronciglione. == Ecclesiastical history ==