Sant'Elpidio a Mare 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 of Fermo The province of Fermo ( it, provincia di Fermo) is a province in the Marche region of central Italy. It was established in 2004 and became operational in 2009. Its administrative centre and provincial capital is the city of Fermo (population of 3 ...

, in the

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 ...

region of

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 ...

Geography

Sant'Elpidio a Mare is located on a ridge of Marche Apennine, elevation above sea level, between the lower river valleys of the river

Tenna was a after ''Enpō'' and before '' Jōkyō.'' This period spanned the years from September 1681 through February 1684. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * '': The new era name of ''Tenna'' (meaning "Heavenly Imperial Peace") was creat ...

and Ete Morto, from the Adriatic Sea.

Toponym

The historical name of locality is documented by an 11th century parchment as "Sancto Elpidio Majore" to distinguish it from other places in Sant'Elpidio Morico Brand Fermana. The abbreviation of "majore" was later changed to "mare" ("sea" in Italian).

History

The town occupies the site of the

ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

city of ''Cluana'', destroyed by the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...

in the early 5th century. In 887 here a large Benedictine Abbey was founded in 887; the medieval borough rose around it as ''Castello di Sant'Elpidio'', starting from the 11th century.

Main sights

*Imperial Abbey of Santa Croce al Chienti. This is a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

convent founded, according to tradition, in 887 on a pre-existing religious building. The heyday of the abbey was between the 10th and the 12th century in which it was enlarged and renovated in

Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this later ...

. *Church of Madonna dei Lumi *Church of Sant'Elpidio Abate *Sanctuary of Madonna degli Angeli *Church of Sant'Agostino (14th century) *Remains of of the 13th and 14th century walls; only three of the seven original gates are visible today *''Torre Gerosolimitana'' ("Tower of the Knights of Jerusalem"), built by the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

in the 16th century *Town Hall (14th century)

References

External links