Bettona (Latin: Vettona) is an ancient town and comune of Italy, in the province of Perugia in central Umbria, at the northern edge of the Colli Martani range.
The town lies east of Torgiano and south-west of Assisi. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy").
Etymology
The name Bettona is traditionally derived from the ancient Vettona. According to a legendary account, the city was founded by Tirio Vetonio, an Umbrian, though this origin is considered without historical foundation.
History
Antiquity
Bettona originated as a settlement in the 8th–7th century BC. It was conquered by the Romans in the 4th century BC and became a municipium.
Vettona was mentioned by Pliny among the Umbrian cities and recorded in the Itinerarium Peutingerianum along the route from Amelia to Perugia via Todi. It is also referenced by the Ravennate geographer. In antiquity its territory included that of present-day Collazzone (ancient Urvinum Hortense). Vettona belonged to the Clustumina tribe, while Urvinum was assigned to the Stellatina.
Middle Ages
The town declined in the early Middle Ages during the barbarian invasions and suffered damage in 548 at the hands of Totila. It subsequently came under Byzantine control, before later becoming part of the Duchy of Spoleto under Lombard rule.
Subdivisions
The municipality includes the localities of Bettona, Cerreto, Colle, I Barbini, La Palazzetta, Malandruge, Passaggio, Prigionieri, Taglioni, Torte.
In 2021, 1,909 people lived in rural dispersed dwellings not assigned to any named locality.
Other religious buildings
thumb|Passion cycle fresco, Oratorio di Sant'Andrea
In the oratory of Sant'Andrea is a series of paintings from the school of Giotto, dated 1394, which show the Passion of Christ. The paintings were rediscovered during a 1980s restoration. A beautiful carved wooden ceiling and baroque altar also are features of the church.
Located about one-third of a mile from the town, the convent of San Onofrio was inhabited by Capuchins. The church preserves fragments of 15th-century frescoes. The currently visible walls largely result from a reconstruction carried out by Cardinal Albornoz after the destruction of Bettona in 1352. The rebuilt walls partially follow the line of the earlier Etruscan fortifications, fragments of which survive, often incorporated into the medieval structure.
The tomb is reached by a small dromos with side walls made of regular courses matching the inner facing, along with two steps that are largely original. Just before the entrance threshold there is a drainage hole; a second opening appears in the first slab of the floor. Both channeled water into an underground collection chamber near the entrance.