Offida () is a ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' (municipality) in the

province of Ascoli Piceno The province of Ascoli Piceno () is a province in the Marche region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Ascoli Piceno, and the province is bordered by the Adriatic Sea to the east, the province of Fermo to the north, and it faces the regions ...

, in the

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

region of

Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...

, located about south of

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

and about northeast of

Ascoli Piceno Ascoli Piceno (; ; ) is a (municipality) and capital of the province of Ascoli Piceno, in the Italy, Italian region of Marche. Geography The town lies at the confluence of the Tronto, River Tronto and the small Castellano (river), River Castell ...

, on a rocky spur between the valleys of the Tesino (from north) and

Tronto The Tronto () is a long Italian river that arises at Monti della Laga and ends in the Adriatic Sea at Porto d'Ascoli, San Benedetto del Tronto. It traverses the Lazio, Marche, and Abruzzo regions of Italy. The source of the Tronto is in the Mon ...

(south) rivers. It is one of

I Borghi più belli d'Italia () is a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest, that was founded in March 2001 on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities, with the a ...

("The most beautiful villages of Italy").

History

The origins of Offida are debated. In its territory have been found tombs of the Piceni (7th–5th century BC) and

ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

remains; however, the town is known only from 578 AD when the population, fleeing the Lombard invasion, founded several castles in the area, included that of Offida. The true first historical mention dates to 1039, when the

Farfa Abbey Farfa Abbey () is a territorial abbey in northern Lazio, central Italy. In the Middle Ages, it was one of the richest and most famous abbeys in Italy. It belongs to the Benedictines, Benedictine Order and is located about from Rome, in the ''co ...

received the castle of ''Ophida'', being confirmed in 1261 by

Pope Urban IV Pope Urban IV (; c. 1195 – 2 October 1264), born Jacques Pantaléon, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1261 to his death three years later. He was elected pope without being a cardinal; he was the fi ...

. During the war between the

communes 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 ...

of Ascoli and

Fermo Fermo (; ancient: Firmum Picenum) is a town and ''comune'' of the Marche, Italy, in the Province of Fermo. Fermo is on a hill, the Sabulo, elevation , on a branch from Porto San Giorgio on the Adriatic coast railway. History The oldest huma ...

, Offida sided for the latter. In the early 16th century Offida signed a truce with Ascoli while, in the same period, all the lands of the Farfa Abbey went to the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

. From the late 19th century the economy, from a wholly agricultural one, started to rely on handicraft also. Offida12

Main sights

Santa Maria della Rocca

The church of Santa Maria della Rocca is considered one of the main architectural features of the whole Marche region. It is located on the westernmost tip of the town, surrounded on three sides by ravines that enhance its size. It is a large brickwork construction in Romanesque- Gothic style, designed by a master Albertino in 1330 on a pre-existing Benedictine church. The façade, looking towards the countryside, has fake columns; on the town's sides are three tall polygonal apses with fake columns in white stone, mullioned windows and Gothic

Lombard band A Lombard band is a decorative blind arcade, usually located on the exterior of building. It was frequently used during the Romanesque and Gothic periods of Western architecture. It resembles a frieze of arches. Lombard bands are believed to ...

s. In the central apse is a Gothic portal leading to the

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

(with a nave and four aisles—originally only two aisles) which has the same surface of the upper church and is decorated by frescoes attributed to the Master of Offida. The upper church, with a single hall, has

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto, was an List of Italian painters, Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the International Gothic, Gothic and Italian Ren ...

esque frescoes, some attributed to the Master of Offida (one is dated 1367 and others to Giacomo da Campli (16th century). Some of the original decorations are much ruined or lost at all. Among the side altars, the St. Andrew one has a canvas by

Vincenzo Pagani Vincenzo Pagani (–1568) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period. Biography Vincenzo was born at Monterubbiano, near Fermo in the region of March to a father who served as a magistrate, but also had an affinity for painting. He appears ...

Other sights

*The Palazzo Comunale ("Town Hall"), built between the 13th and 14th century. It has a

merlon A merlon is the solid, upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications. Merlons are sometimes pierced by narrow, vertical embrasures, or tooth-like slits designed for observation and fire. The sp ...

ed central tower, while the façade is preceded by a portico with seven arcades and a

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...

added in the 15th century. The interior houses a small art gallery with works by Pietro Alemanno and Simone de Magistris. *Sanctuary of St. Augustine, built in 1338–1441. The façade is in Baroque style (1686), while the interior was modified and expanded in the 18th century with Latin Cross plan and late Baroque decorations. It houses a precious silver !relic cross" executed in Venice in the 13th century. *Church of Madonna dell Suffragio, with an external fresco by Simone de Magistris *Monastery of San Marco, built by the Franciscans in the 14th century. The church with the same name is from 1738 (a rose window and other Gothic-style details from a pre-existing structure can be seen today).

DOCG

The area around Offida produces red, white and

Vin Santo Vin Santo (; ) is a style of Italian dessert wine. Traditional in Tuscany, these wines are often made from white grape varieties such as Trebbiano and Malvasia, although Sangiovese may be used to produce a rosé style known as "Occhio di Pernic ...

Italian DOC wine The following four classification of wine, classifications of wine constitute the Italy, Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine: * ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; 'designation of origin'); * ''Indicazione ...

. The grapes are limited to a

harvest Harvesting is the process of collecting plants, animals, or fish (as well as fungi) as food, especially the process of gathering mature crops, and "the harvest" also refers to the collected crops. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulses fo ...

yield of with the finished wines needing a minimum alcohol level of 12%. The reds are a blend of at least 85%

Montepulciano Montepulciano () is a medieval and Renaissance hill town and ''comune'' in the Italian province of Siena in southern Tuscany. It sits high on a limestone ridge, east of Pienza, southeast of Siena, southeast of Florence, and north of Rome ...

with other local red varieties permitted up to 15%. There are two

varietal A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.winepros.com.au. ...

white wines produced in the DOCG based on

Pecorino Pecorino is an Italian hard cheese produced from sheep's milk. The name derives from , which means ' sheep' in Italian. Overview Of the six main varieties of pecorino, all of which have protected designation of origin (PDO) status under ...

and

Passerina The genus ''Passerina'' is a group of birds in the cardinal family (Cardinalidae). Although not closely related to the buntings in the family Emberizidae, they are sometimes known as the North American buntings. The males show vivid colors i ...

with the primary grape needing to compose of at least 85% of the wine and other local white varieties permitted up to 15%. The Vin Santo is based on Passerina and must be aged for at least three and half years before released.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Cities and towns in the Marche Borghi più belli d'Italia