Arcevia 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 Ancona The province of Ancona ( it, provincia di Ancona) is a province in the Marche region of central Italy. Its capital is the city of Ancona, and the province borders the Adriatic Sea. The city of Ancona is also the capital of Marche. To the north, ...

of the region of Marche, central-eastern

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 ...

History

According to tradition, Arcevia originates from a Gallic settlement anterior to the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

conquest of

; following that, it became overshadowed by more important nearby cities, such as Suasa. Under the name of Rocca Contrada, the town was fortified by

Pippin the Younger the Short (french: Pépin le Bref; – 24 September 768), also called the Younger (german: Pippin der Jüngere), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian to become king. The younger was the son of t ...

, King of the Franks, and was then donated by

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...

to 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 ...

. In the following centuries, Arcevia played a key role in the local balance of power, located as it was at the border of the

Marca di Ancona The March of Ancona ( or ''Anconetana'') was a frontier march centred on the city of Ancona and later Fermo then Macerata in the Middle Ages. Its name is preserved as an Italian region today, the Marche, and it corresponds to almost the entire ...

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

, and the

Duchy of Urbino The Duchy of Urbino was an independent duchy in early modern central Italy, corresponding to the northern half of the modern region of Marche. It was directly annexed by the Papal States in 1625. It was bordered by the Adriatic Sea in the east ...

. In 1201, Rocca Contrada proclaimed itself a ''

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

'' independent from

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, and was indeed recognised as ''civitas'' (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "city") by pope

Clement IV Pope Clement IV ( la, Clemens IV; 23 November 1190 – 29 November 1268), born Gui Foucois ( la, Guido Falcodius; french: Guy de Foulques or ') and also known as Guy le Gros ( French for "Guy the Fat"; it, Guido il Grosso), was bishop of Le P ...

in 1266, and remained a

guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

city ever since. Known on a local scale for its military might, Rocca Contrada became entwined in the struggles between the numerous conflicts between local powers, until in the 15th century it found itself under siege by Ladislaus,

King of Naples The following is a list of rulers of the Kingdom of Naples, from its first separation from the Kingdom of Sicily to its merger with the same into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Kingdom of Naples (1282–1501) House of Anjou In 1382, the Kin ...

, and decided to call upon the help of famous condottiero

Braccio da Montone {{Infobox noble, type , name = Braccio da Montone , title = Prince of Capua , image = Braccio da Montone.jpg , caption = , alt = , CoA = , more = no , succession = Prince of Capua , reign = {{nowrap, July 1421 – 5 June 1424 , predecessor = R ...

. The latter vanquished the assailants and reconquered the castles around Arcevia they had occupied; for this he was proclaimed ''

Signore 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; ...

'' of the city. Later on, the troops of

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 ...

overtook Rocca Contrada, which, after several vicissitudes, ended up under the rule of the guelph

Malatesta Malatesta may refer to: People Given name * Malatesta (I) da Verucchio (1212–1312), founder of the powerful Italian Malatesta family and a famous condottiero * Malatesta IV Baglioni (1491–1531), Italian condottiero and lord of Perugia, Bettona, ...

family. After the pacification of the Papal States in the 16th century, Rocca Contrada flourished in the Italian

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

: the city witnessed the institution of professorships in classical subjects, the founding of literary academies, and the birth of such significant artists as painter

Ercole Ramazzani Ercole Ramazzani (1530-1598) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance period. He was born at Rocca Contrada (modern Arcevia, then part of the Papal States), and was a follower of the styles of Pietro Perugino and Raphael. He is asserted ...

and architect Andrea Vici in the 18th century. In 1817, pope

Pius VII Pope Pius VII ( it, Pio VII; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. Chiaramonti was also a m ...

renamed Rocca Contrada with the current official name of Arcevia. The town passed to the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and f ...

after the unification of the country under the Savoy monarchy. Townspeople fought in the two world wars, and paid for their resistance to

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

occupation with the slaughter of seventy people on Monte Sant'Angelo (Marche) in May 1944.

Geography and subdivisions

Arcevia is about above sea level, on a hill overlooking the valley of the Misa river and the

Nevola The Nevola ( la, Sena) is a river in the Marche region of Italy. Its source is near Arcevia in the province of Ancona. The river flows northeast near Ostra Vetere and Corinaldo Corinaldo is a town and '' comune'' in the Province of Ancona, withi ...

river, about south-west from its provincial and regional capital,

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 ...

. Arcevia borders the following municipalities: Barbara,

Castelleone di Suasa Castelleone di Suasa is a town and ''comune'' within the Province of Ancona, in the Marche region of Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located ...

, Genga, Mergo, Montecarotto, Pergola, Rosora,

San Lorenzo in Campo San Lorenzo in Campo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region Marche, located about west of Ancona and about south of Pesaro. The main attraction is the Gothic church of San Lorenzo, once part of a ...

Sassoferrato Sassoferrato is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Ancona in the Marche region of central-eastern Italy. History To the south of the town lie the ruins of the ancient Sentinum, on the Via Flaminia. The castle above the town is mentione ...

Serra de' Conti Serra de' Conti is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ancona in the Italian region Marche, located about west of Ancona. Serra de' Conti borders the following municipalities: Arcevia Arcevia is a '' comune'' in the province of Anco ...

, and

Serra San Quirico Serra San Quirico is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ancona in the Italian region Marche, located about southwest of Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population ...

Notable people

* Marisa Abbondanzieri (1956-) -politician

Twin towns

* Ribnica, Slovenia

References

External links

www.arceviaweb.it - Official website of the comune di Arcevia
Cities and towns in the Marche {{Marche-geo-stub