Vasciano is part of the municipality of Stroncone (TR), located in the valley of the Aja stream. The city has retained its medieval appearance. Its landscapes change are composed of rocks and hills planted with olive trees and vineyards, alternating with beech, hornbeam and oak forests, which stretch for thousands of kilometers.
Throughout its history, Vasciano was owned by the Savelli princes, and then was later subordinated to the city of Narni, and later annexed to the lands of Stroncone. The earliest written mention of Vasciano is found in a document of Pope Honorius III, dated 1225. At this that time, the city was taken under the patronage of St. Peter in Rome to ease the taxes that burdened the city during the reign of Narni. In 1227, according to a document of Pope Gregory IX, the city of Narni received the right to collect one kilogram of wax for the feast of St. Juvenal.
Vasciano is also known for its significant artistic traditions. Famous artists such as Giovanni di Pietro and his follower Rinaldo da Calvi worked here. Besides, Asprilio Pacelli, who later became a famous musician at the court of Polish King Sigmund III, was born in Vasciano in 1570. Today a memorial plaque erected in his memory in the main square of the city reminds of commemorates him.
« Qui a ridosso de l’irto Vantatoglio
Ove allignano i carpini e gli ornelli
E, tra i massi, fiorisce il caprifoglio
Ben ferrati un dì ascesero i Savelli.
Surse Vasciano su ‘l cinereo scoglio
Munito di besteche e manganelli
Come una guardia a dominar l’orgoglio
Ostil de’ prepotenti e de’ ribelli.
Ne la parrocchia tutta istoriata
La Madonnina congiungea le mani
Ne ‘l sorriso de l’arte innamorata;
mentre dai rami argentei de gli olivi
vibravan melodie di suoni arcani
e tu, Pacelli, novi cieli aprivi. »
