Gradara 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 ...

'' in the

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Pesaro e Urbino The Province of Pesaro and Urbino ( it, Provincia di Pesaro e Urbino, ) is a province in the Marche region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Pesaro. It also borders the state of San Marino. The province is surrounded by San Marino and Emili ...

( PU), in the region of

Marche 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 ...

in central

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 ...

. It is 6 km from

Gabicce Mare Gabicce Mare, also named Gabicce (Romagnol dialect, Romagnol: ''Gabéc''), is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, in Italy, region Marche. It is located about northwest of Ancona, north of Pesaro, and is close ...

and

Cattolica Cattolica (; rgn, Catòlga) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Rimini, Italy, with 16,233 inhabitants as of 2007. History Archaeological excavations show that the area was already settled in Roman times. Cattolica rose as a resting pl ...

, 25 km from

Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...

, 15 km from

Pesaro Pesaro () is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche, ...

and 33 km from

Urbino Urbino ( ; ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of ...

. The ancient town is characterized by a double line of medieval walls and by the massive castle, one of the best preserved in Italy. It is famous as being the location of the episode of Paolo and Francesca described by

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

in the V Canto of his ''

Inferno Inferno may refer to: * Hell, an afterlife place of suffering * Conflagration, a large uncontrolled fire Film * ''L'Inferno'', a 1911 Italian film * Inferno (1953 film), ''Inferno'' (1953 film), a film noir by Roy Ward Baker * Inferno (1973 fi ...

''.

History

The construction of the castle was begun in the 12th century by Pietro and Ridolfo del Grifo. Later,

Malatesta da Verucchio Malatesta da Verucchio (1212–1312) was the founder of the powerful Italian Malatesta family and a notable '' condottiero.'' He was born in Verucchio. He was the son of Malatesta della Penna (1183-1248). He was the leader of the Guelphs in Romag ...

captured the Grifo tower, which became the mastio of the current castle, which was to be finished in the 15th century. After the Malatesta seignory, the town was conquered by the

Sforza The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. They acquired the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti family in the mid-15th century, Sforza rule ending in Milan with the death of the last mem ...

in the September 1289. Here, in 1494, arrived

Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (; ca-valencia, Lucrècia Borja, links=no ; 18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was a Spanish-Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She reigned as the Govern ...

, wife of

Giovanni Sforza Giovanni Sforza d'Aragona (5 July 1466 – 27 July 1510) was an Italian condottiero, lord of Pesaro and Gradara from 1483 until his death. He is best known as the first husband of Lucrezia Borgia. Their marriage was annulled on claims of his impo ...

. After a short domination of Lucrezia's brother,

Cesare Cesare, the Italian language, Italian version of the given name Caesar (title), Caesar, may refer to: Given name * Cesare, Marquis of Beccaria (1738–1794), an Italian philosopher and politician * Cesare Airaghi (1840–1896), Italian colonel ...

, Gradara was handed over to the

della Rovere The House of Della Rovere (; literally "of the oak tree") was a noble family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estat ...

. After the end of the latter's dynasty, the city was administrated directly by the Popes. In November 2019, the South Ossetian foreign minister

Dmitry Medoyev Dmitry Nikolayevich Medoyev (russian: Дмитрий Николаевич Медоев), born 15 May 1960, is the former foreign minister of South Ossetia. Previously, he was the Ambassador of South Ossetia to the Russian Federation. Previous to ...

paid a courtesy visit to Gradara, where he met with Mayor Filippo Gasperi and President of the Administration Frederico Marmarella. Both sides discussed issues of humanitarian and cultural cooperation. In the course of the visit an agreement was reached to hold an exhibition of paintings by Ossetian artists in Gradara as part of the Days of Ossetian Culture in Europe in July 2022.''О рабочем визите Министра иностранных дел Республики Южная Осетия Д.Н. Медоева в Итальянскую Республику'', mfa-rso.su 23. November 2021.
/ref>

Notable people

Bruno Bruni (artist) Bruno Bruni senior (born 22 November 1935, in Gradara, Italy) is an Italian lithographer, graphic artist, painter and sculptor. He became commercially successful in the 1970s. In 1977, he won the International Senefeld award for Lithography. He has ...

, lithographer (1935–)

History

Notable people

References

See also