Cingoli is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' of

the Marches Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, in the

province of Macerata The province of Macerata ( it, provincia di Macerata) is a province in the Marche region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Macerata. The province includes 55 comunes (Italian: ''comuni'') in the province, see Comunes of the Province of Macera ...

, about by road from the town of

Macerata Macerata () is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy, the county seat of the province of Macerata in the Marche region. It has a population of about 41,564. History The historical city centre is on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza ri ...

. It is the birthplace of Pope

Pius VIII Pope Pius VIII ( it, Pio VIII; born Francesco Saverio Maria Felice Castiglioni; 20 November 1761 – 30 November 1830), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 31 March 1829 to his death in November 1830. Pius VIII's ...

History

The town occupies the site of the ancient ''Cingulum'', a town of

Picenum Picenum was a region of ancient Italy. The name is an exonym assigned by the Romans, who conquered and incorporated it into the Roman Republic. Picenum was ''Regio V'' in the Augustan territorial organization of Roman Italy. Picenum was also ...

, founded and strongly fortified by

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

's lieutenant

Titus Labienus Titus Labienus (c. 10017 March 45 BC) was a high-ranking military officer in the late Roman Republic. He served as tribune of the Plebs in 63 BC. Although mostly remembered as one of Julius Caesar's best lieutenants in Gaul, mentioned freq ...

(probably on the site of an earlier village) in 63 BCE at his own expense. Its lofty position at an elevation of about made it of some importance in the civil wars, but otherwise little is heard of it. Under the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

it was a ''

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (pl. ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ("duty holders"), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privi ...

''.

Main sights

Cingoli is also known as the "Balcony of Marche" ("Il Balcone delle Marche") because of its ''belvedere'' (viewpoint) from which, on a clear day, the sight may encompass all of the Marche and further across the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

to the

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n mountain tops.

Religious buildings

Cingoli Cathedral Cingoli Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale di Cingoli; Duomo di Cingoli; Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta) is a Baroque Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in the town of Cingoli, province of Macerata, region of Marc ...

(''Concattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta'') *

Collegiate church of Sant'Esuperanzio, Cingoli The Collegiata di San Esuperanzio is a late-Romanesque architecture, Romanesque and early-Gothic architecture, Gothic-style, Roman Catholic collegiate church located on Via Sant'Esuperanzio, just northwest of the historic center of the town of Cingo ...

(''Collegiata di Sant'Esuperanzio''):

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

church * Santuario di Santa Sperandia * San Benedetto * San Francesco * San Filippo Neri * San Giacomo * San Girolamo * San Nicolò * Santo Spirito *

Santa Caterina d'Alessandria Santa Caterina d'Alessandria may refer to the following churches in Italy: * Santa Caterina d'Alessandria, Padua, Veneto *Santa Caterina d'Alessandria, Parma Santa Caterina d'Alessandria ( Saint Catherine of Alexandria) is a Roman Catholic church l ...

* San Domenico

Secular buildings

* Palazzo municipale * Biblioteca comunale Ascariana http://www.bibliotecacingoli.it/

Museums

* Pinacoteca comunale "D. Stefanucci" named after

Donatello Stefanucci Donatello Stefanucci (1896–1987) was an Italian painter, active in his native Marche region, painting landscapes. A number of his works are on display in the Pinacoteca Civica of his native Cingoli. He frescoed the apse of the Cingoli Cathedral. ...

* Museo archeologico statale di Cingoli * Museo del Lago * Museo del Sidecar

Sport

Cingoli has been host to the Italian Sidecarcross Grand Prix a number times and will be hosting it again in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, on 16 May.FIM Sidecarcross World Championship - 2010 Calendar
FIM website, accessed: 30 October 2009

Twin towns — sister cities

Cingoli is twinned with: *

Aprilia, Lazio Aprilia is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Latina, now incorporated in the conurbation of Rome, in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is the fifth most populous town in the region and the tenth largest by area. Terri ...

, Italy (2004)

References

External links

Cingoli news

Cingoli sport
* History of Cingoli: http://www.antiqui.it/cingoli.htm Cingoli Cities and towns in the Marche Roman sites of the Marche {{Marche-geo-stub