Urbisaglia 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 ...
'' 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 ...
,
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 ...
, Italy. Its name comes from the ancient Roman town
Urbs Salvia.
History
Situated in the
Regio V Picenum, along the
via Salaria Gallica, the town was founded during the 2nd century BC as a ''
colonia''. Its importance reached the top with
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
and
Tiberius
Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...
, when it was completely rebuilt. It gave birth to some leading figures of the Roman Empire, such as the consul
Gaius Fufius Geminus, and
Lucius Flavius Silva Nonius Bassus
Lucius Flavius Silva Nonius Bassus was a late-1st-century Roman general, governor of the province of Iudaea and consul. Silva was the commander of the army, composed mainly of the ''Legio X Fretensis'', in 72 AD which laid siege to the near-impre ...
the conqueror of
Masada
Masada ( he, מְצָדָה ', "fortress") is an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel situated on top of an isolated rock plateau, akin to a mesa. It is located on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the Dea ...
. It was utterly destroyed by
Alaric in 408–10 AD, and both
Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman gener ...
(E.G. II. 16, 17) and
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: '' ...
(Paradise, XVI. 73 - 78) describe its desolation.
During the following centuries, the inhabitants of
Urbs Salvia gradually moved to the top of the hill, giving rise to the ''Castro de Orbesallia''. In the 12th century, a very important religious, economic and cultural centre was founded nearby, the
Abbey of Fiastra, which had to influence the
Fiastra
Fiastra is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Macerata in the Italian region Marche, located about southwest of Ancona and about southwest of Macerata.
Fiastra borders the following municipalities: Camerino, Cessapalombo, Fiordimont ...
Valley and the surrounding area.
Between 12th and 14th century, the town was ruled by the ''Abbracciamonte'' family; they slowly sold the town to the
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
Tolentino
Tolentino is a town and ''comune'' of about 19,000 inhabitants, in the province of Macerata in the Marche region of central Italy.
It is located in the middle of the valley of the Chienti.
History
Signs of the first inhabitants of this favora ...
, which became its only owner. After
Francesco Sforza
Francesco I Sforza (; 23 July 1401 – 8 March 1466) was an Italian condottiero who founded the Sforza dynasty in the duchy of Milan, ruling as its (fourth) duke from 1450 until his death. In the 1420s, he participated in the War of L'A ...
's
signoria
A signoria () was the governing authority in many of the Italian city states during the Medieval and Renaissance periods.
The word signoria comes from ''signore'' , or "lord"; an abstract noun meaning (roughly) "government; governing authority; ...
(1433–43), Urbisaglia came back under Tolentino's domination. Tolentino was given the papal permission to build a
rocca, to prevent any rebellion attempt; in 1507 Tolentino sent a 12 soldiers garrison to defend the fortress. In 1569, after petitioning the
Pope Pius V
Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...
, the inhabitants of Urbisaglia were given the autonomy from Tolentino; the town was directly placed under
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
's dependency.
The first diggings in the Roman town took place during the papal government; after
Italy's unification the standard of living improved thanks to industrial development, permitting the rise of a spinning mill and both a
hosiery
Hosiery, also referred to as legwear, describes garments worn directly on the feet and legs. The term originated as the collective term for products of which a maker or seller is termed a hosier; and those products are also known generically as h ...
and a soap factory.
Thanks to the benefactors Angelo Buccolini, Innocenzo Petrini and the marquis Alessandro Giannelli, the town was provided with a nursery school, an old people's home and a Mount of piety.
World War II
During
Fascist era the town was given the name of "Urbisaglia Bonservizi" in honour of
Nicola Bonservizi, a journalist born in Urbisaglia and a
Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
's collaborator, killed in Paris by an anarchist. Urbisaglia was the site of an
internment camp
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
throughout the
Second World War
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 opposin ...
; it was placed at Giustiniani Bandini Palace, next to the
Abbey of Fiastra. It remained active from June 1940 until October 1943, the internees were about a hundred, mostly Jews, from Italy but also refugees from Germany, Austria, and the Balkans. In October 1943, a German unit took over the camp and prisoners who failed to flee were sent to the
Fossoli di Carpi
The Fossoli camp ( it, Campo di Fossoli) was a concentration camp in Italy, established during World War II and located in the village Fossoli, Carpi, Emilia-Romagna. It began as a prisoner of war camp in 1942, later being a Jewish concentration ...
camp, last step for Jews deported to
Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...
extermination camp.
PG 53 Sforzacosta
In July 1942, a large
prisoner-of-war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
camp was established at a disused linen factory at Casette Verdini, to the south west of the settlement of
Sforzacosta, about from the Urbisaglia Sforzacosta railway. It was known as P.G. (''prigionieri di guerra'') 53.
Up to 10,000 prisoners were housed there.
1968: Catholic diocese
In 1968 it became a
titular diocese
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...
of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.
Description
Today Urbisaglia has more than 2,700 inhabitants, working in agriculture, arts and crafts, textiles, power plants and iron and steel industry.
Main sights
Religious buildings
* ''
San Biagio'': baroque church housing ''Monumento a Caduti'' and Weaponry and Military Uniforms Museum
* ''
Chiesa della Maestà, Urbisaglia''
* ''
Abbey of Chiaravalle di Fiastra''
* San Lorenzo Collegiate church
* Chiesa dell'Addolorata
Secular buildings
*
Archaeological Park of Urbs Salvia
The Archaeological Park of Urbs Salvia is situated in the ''comune'' of Urbisaglia (Province of Macerata), in the Marches, Italy. It is the largest archaeological park in the region.
History
The city, located in the V Regio Picenum, was fou ...
*
Rocca di Urbisaglia
The Rocca (architecture), Rocca di Urbisaglia is a 16th-century military fortification, including ruins of medieval fortifications and Roman walls.Its imposing position, dominating the urban area and the Fiastra (river), Fiastra Valley below, sugg ...
Archaeological Park of Urbs Salvia
Officially recognized as archaeological park in 1994, it spread over an area of about , and it is the most important one 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 ...
.
Just outside the medieval city walls, a walk descends through the park for about . It affords views of the scale and topography of the ancient town, starting at the top of the hill and reaching the flat valley bottom, bounded on the east side by the Fiastra river.
You can visit the ''Reservoir'', the ''Theatre'', the ''Niched Building'', the ''Sanctuarial complex Temple-Criptoporticus'' dedicated to the goddess
Salus Augusta and the ''Amphiteatre'' built by
Lucius Flavius Silva Nonius Bassus
Lucius Flavius Silva Nonius Bassus was a late-1st-century Roman general, governor of the province of Iudaea and consul. Silva was the commander of the army, composed mainly of the ''Legio X Fretensis'', in 72 AD which laid siege to the near-impre ...
. The city walls are well visible too, preserved along several hundred metres.
Every year in July and August, a season of classical drama takes place at the amphitheatre.
Rocca di Urbisaglia
The medieval fortress of Urbisaglia was a military fortification erected by the town of
Tolentino
Tolentino is a town and ''comune'' of about 19,000 inhabitants, in the province of Macerata in the Marche region of central Italy.
It is located in the middle of the valley of the Chienti.
History
Signs of the first inhabitants of this favora ...
at the beginning of the 16th century.
It was built upon the ruins of previous fortifications on the west corner of the Roman wall of
Urbs Salvia. Its imposing position at the centre of the urban area suggests that the
Arx
Arx, ARX, or ArX may refer to:
*ARX (Algorithmic Research Ltd.), a digital security company
*ARX (gene), Aristaless related homeobox
*ARX (operating system), an operating system
*ArX (revision control), revision control software
*Arx (Roman), a Ro ...
(the citadel, the most protected area of the town) or the
Capitol
A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity.
Specific capitols include:
* United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
* Numerous ...
of the Roman town was once located here, as demonstrated by substantial remains of Roman walls and of composite concrete.
It has a trapezoidal shape with the longest side facing away from the town in order to better face potential attacks. There are four corner towers, a gate tower and a
keep
A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...
where the garrison Tolentino had imposed on Urbisaglia resided. Indeed, the fortress's main function, other than to control the surrounding areas, was to guard the town and to prevent any rebellious acts from the citizens of Urbisaglia who resented Tolentino's power over them.
Sources and references
* Bacchielli L., Ch. Delplace, W. Eck, L. Gasperini, G. Paci. ''Studi su Urbisaglia romana. Supplementi a PICUS''. Tivoli, 1995.
* Giuseppe Ferranti. ''Guida al territorio di Urbisaglia''. Pro Manoscritto a cura di Urbsalviambiente. Urbisaglia, 1994
* Miria Salvucci, Giovanna Salvucci (et al. ). ''Urbisaglia. Urbs Salvia, Capolavori in corso''. Urbisaglia, 2003.
See also
*
Archaeological Park of Urbs Salvia
The Archaeological Park of Urbs Salvia is situated in the ''comune'' of Urbisaglia (Province of Macerata), in the Marches, Italy. It is the largest archaeological park in the region.
History
The city, located in the V Regio Picenum, was fou ...
*
Rocca di Urbisaglia
The Rocca (architecture), Rocca di Urbisaglia is a 16th-century military fortification, including ruins of medieval fortifications and Roman walls.Its imposing position, dominating the urban area and the Fiastra (river), Fiastra Valley below, sugg ...
*
Abbey of Chiaravalle di Fiastra
External links
Comune di Urbisaglia - istitutional site
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in the Marche