Macerata Feltria is a ''

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 ...

'' (municipality) in the

Province of 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 Emilia ...

in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

region Marche, located about west of

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...

and about southwest of Pesaro. Macerata Feltria borders the following municipalities:

Lunano Lunano is a small town and ''comune'' in the province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Marche region of central Italy. It is located in the mountainous area of Montefeltro Montefeltro is a historical and geographical region in Marche, which was histor ...

, Monte Cerignone,

Montecopiolo Montecopiolo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Rimini in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about southeast of Bologna and about west of Rimini. It is formed by several villages, none exactly called Montecopiolo; the comm ...

Monte Grimano Monte Grimano Terme is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region Marche, located about northwest of Ancona and about west of Pesaro. Until 2002, it was known as Monte Grimano. Monte Grimaro Terme border ...

Piandimeleto Piandimeleto is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region Marche, located about west of Ancona and about southwest of Pesaro. Piandimeleto borders the following municipalities: Belforte all'Isauro, ...

Pietrarubbia Pietrarubbia is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region Marche, located about west of Ancona and about southwest of Pesaro. It is home to an 11th-century castle which, according to tradition, is th ...

Sassocorvaro Auditore Sassocorvaro Auditore is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Italian region of Marche. It was established on 1 January 2019 with the merger of the municipalities of Sassocorvaro and Auditore. Sassocorvaro bo ...

History

During 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 Mediter ...

, Macerata Feltria was known as ''Pitinum Pisaurense''; it was a small town built in the place of an old Celtic village (in that area the Senones Celts were settled). Its economy was based on the export of wood. During the 6th century AD, Pitinum Pisaurense was completely destroyed by the

Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the large Gothic populations who ...

during the Gothic War (535-554). After the year 1000 AD the village was rebuilt using the ruins of the old Pitinum Pisaurense; in facts, the name Macerata means "built with the ruins". In the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the village was a fief of the

Malatesta family ) , type= Noble house , country=ItalySan Marino, estates= Castel Sismondo (Rimini) Rocca Malatestiana (Cesena) , titles=, founded=, founder= Malatesta da Verucchio, final ruler= Pandolfo IV Malatesta, deposition=, dissolution= The House of Malates ...

, as part of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

. After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

half the population emigrated, mainly to

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

. In the village there is an archeological museum, exposing the evidences of the village history.

References

External links

Official website
Cities and towns in the Marche {{Marche-geo-stub