Potenza Picena 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 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 Mace ...
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 of
Marche, about southeast 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 northeast 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 ...
.
''Potentia'' was the Roman town situated in the lower Potenza valley, in the contemporary Italian region of Marche.
Geography
The bordering municipalities are
Civitanova Marche
Civitanova Marche is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Macerata in the Italian region Marche, located about southeast of Ancona and about east of Macerata.
Geography
Civitanova Marche borders the municipalities: Montecosaro, Port ...
,
Montecosaro
Montecosaro is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Macerata in the Italian region Marche, located about southeast of Ancona and about east of Macerata.
Montecosaro borders the following municipalities: Civitanova Marche, Montegranaro, ...
,
Montelupone,
Porto Recanati
Porto Recanati () is a town with some 12,500 inhabitants in the province of Macerata, in the Marche region. of central Italy. It is the northeast coastal town of the province. It was made an independent town on 15 January 1893, when, due to a De ...
and
Recanati
Recanati () is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Macerata, in the Marche region of Italy. Recanati was founded around 1150 AD from three pre-existing castles. In 1290 it proclaimed itself an independent republic and, in the 15th century, ...
.
The now abandoned Roman town
Potentia was located along the central Adriatic Italian coast, near the modern town of Porto Recanati, in the province of Macerata. Its original position was just north of the main Roman bed of the
River Potenza (the ancient Flosis), which at present flows more than 1 km to the north.
Late Roman Potentia
The general agreement that in Italy the late and post-Roman period saw a widespread and marked decline in town dwelling, with various Roman centres progressively abandoned and those that survived were less populous and certainly less monumental than before, also applies for Potentia. Surviving literary sources indicate that Potentia had become an episcopal seat by the beginning of the 5th century and that a bishop was present in Potentia up to the beginning of the 6th century. Although archaeological studies still have to prove the existence of a new Christian sanctuary it should be assumed that a church was built around 400. From the 4th century onwards city occupation gradually contracted. The finding of later 5th- and/or 6th-century graves in the northern part of the town implies that the city wall no longer defined a deliberate and real limit to the town. From the 6th century onwards the former urban center was gradually abandoned and dismantled, to the benefit of the nearby new towns of Recanati, Potenza Picena and later Porto Recanati.
Geography
Modern Potenza counts three ''
frazioni
A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...
'': Montecanepino,
Porto Potenza Picena and San Girio.
Buildings
*
San Francesco
*
Sant'Agostino
*
Santuario di San Girio The Sanctuary of San Girio is a Roman Catholic church located in the town limits of Potenza Picena, province of Macerata, in the region of Marche, Italy.
History
The church, originally built over the tomb of the saint in 1298, was rebuilt in 1560. ...
*
Chiesa degli Zoccolanti
*
Chiesa dei Cappuccini
People related to Potenza Picena
*
Renzo Tortelli, photographer.
*
Giordano Macellari, painter.
*
Ludovico Scarfiotti
Ludovico Scarfiotti (18 October 1933 – 8 June 1968) was a Formula One and sports car driver from Italy. Just prior to entering Formula One, he won the 1963 24 Hours of Le Mans for Ferrari. He later participated in 12 World Championship F ...
, Formula One and sports car driver.
*
Ferdinando Scarfiotti
Ferdinando Scarfiotti (6 March 1941 – 30 April 1994) was an Italian art director and production designer.
After graduating in architecture at the University of Rome, he was approached by Luchino Visconti, who asked him to design his sta ...
, art director.
Contemporary twin towns
*
Templemore
Templemore () is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Eliogarty. It is part of the parish of Templemore, Clonmore and Killea in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly.
The 2011 Cens ...
(Ireland)
*
Burford
Burford () is a town on the River Windrush, in the Cotswold hills, in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England. It is often referred to as the 'gateway' to the Cotswolds. Burford is located west of Oxford and southeast of Che ...
(United Kingdom)
References
External links
Official website of Comune Potenza-PicenaGeneral Department for the Marches
{{authority control
Cities and towns in the Marche