Ascoli Piceno
Città di Ascoli Piceno | |
---|---|
UTC+2 (CEST) | |
Patron saint | St. Emygdius |
Saint day | 5 August |
Website | Official website |
Ascoli Piceno (Italian:
Geography
The town lies at the confluence of the
Ascoli has good rail connections to the
History
Ausculum of ancient
Following its defeat by the Romans in 268 BC,[6] Asculum became a civitas foederata, a "federated" city with nominal independence from Rome. It was later connected by the important Via Salaria, the salt road that connected Latium with the salt production areas on the Adriatic coast.
It was the first Italian city to rise up against Rome in 90 BC during the
During the
In 1189 a free
Main sights
Many of the buildings in the historical part of the city are built using local
According to traditional accounts, Ascoli Piceno housed some two hundred towers in the Middle Ages: today some fifty can still be seen.
Churches and convents
- Saint Emygdius, houses an altarpiece by Carlo Crivelli.
- Tempietto di Sant'Emidio alle Grotte
- Tempietto di Sant'Emidio Rosso
- Bramantesque style of the Roman High Renaissance.
- Convent of San Francesco: adjacent to the above-named church, of which two noteworthy cloisters remain today. It was once a prestigious center of culture, whose students included Pope Sixtus V.
- Sant'Agostino: 14th century church built originally with a single nave, was enlarged with two aisles in the late 15th century. The rectangular façade has a 1547 portal similar to that of Sant'Emidio. The convent houses the town library, the Contemporary Art Gallery and an auditorium.
- San Cristoforo is a Catholic baroque church located in the historic center of the city.
- San Domenico: former convent, now school, has a Renaissance cloister with 17th-century frescoes.
- Santa Maria Inter Vineas: 13th century church
- Holy Thorn, a gift of Philip IV of France.
- San Tommaso: 1069 Romanesque-style church built with spolia from the neighboring Roman amphitheater.
- San Vittore: Romanesque church documented from 996 with a low bell tower.
- Edicola di Morelli: Monumental baroque niche attached to the exterior of the church of San Francesco at the Piazza del Popolo. The niche housed a venerated Madonna image, putatively designed by Lazzaro Morelli, a disciple of Gianlorenzo Bernini.
Secular buildings
- The Roman Ponte del Gran Caso
- Roman Solestà Bridge
- Ponte di Cecco; Roman bridge over the Castellano
- The Roman walls of the "Fortezza Pia" in the upper part of the town
- "Vesta's" temple: devoted to the cult of Isis
- Roman temple rebuilt as an auditorium
- The Palazzo dei Capitani del Popolo ("Palace of the People's Captains"). Built in the 13th century connecting three pre-existing edifices, it was the seat of the podestà, the people's captains and, later, of the Papal governors. In the 15th century the southern side was enlarged, and, in 1520, a Mannerist façade was added in the rear side. In 1535 it underwent a general renovation, and in 1549 a new portal, with a monument of Pope Paul III, was added.
- Palazzo dell'Arengo, located near the Cathedral
- Palazzo Malaspina: Palace in Corso Mezzini, previous 14th-century structure reconstructed in the 16th century using designs attributed to architect Cola dell'Amatrice.
- Porta Gemina ("Twin Gate"): an ancient Roman gate from the 1st century BC, through which the Via Salaria entered the city. The ruins of the ancient theater are located nearby. It had two passageways, each 5.70 metres (18.7 ft) tall and 2.95 metres (9.7 ft) wide
- Porta Tufilla, a tower-like gate built in 1552–55. It is annexed to the Ponte Tufillo, a medieval bridge built in 1097 over the River Tronto.
- Ponte Maggiore ("Great Bridge"), of medieval origin
- Lombard Palace and the Ercolani Tower (11th-12th centuries)
- Loggia dei Mercanti: a 16th-century portico annexed to the church of San Francesco. It was commissioned by the city's wool traders guild and finished in 1513.
- Fortezza Pia, a fortress commanding the city rebuilt in 1560 by Pope Pius IV (whence the name).
- Malatesta Fortress, in a site probably occupied by Roman baths. It was rebuilt by Galeotto I Malatesta, lord of Rimini, during the war against Fermo. The construction, used as a jail until 1978, was enlarged by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger in 1543.
- Grotte dell'Annunziata ("Grottoes of the Annunciation"), a large portico with niches from the 2nd-1st centuries BC, whose original function is unknown (it has been suggested that they could be barracks or slaves dwellings, or a fortified palace[10])
In Castel Trosino, not far from the city, in 1893 a rare 6th-century Lombard necropolis was found.
Parks and gardens
Economy
Recent industrialization has brought to Ascoli several Italian and multinational companies (
Transport
Ascoli Piceno railway station, opened in 1886, is the southwestern terminus of the San Benedetto del Tronto–Ascoli Piceno railway, a branch of the Adriatic railway.
Education
The city is the administrative headquarters and teaching the School of Architecture and Design at the University of Camerino and the International School on Safety and Environmental Protection private university's Alma Mater Europaea.
Culture and sport
The main festivity is on the first Sunday in August. The historical parade with more than 1500 people dressed in Renaissance costume is held in celebration of Saint Emidio, protector of the city. The parade is followed by a tournament, called Quintana, in which six knights, each competing for one of the six neighborhoods in the city, ride the course one after the other trying to hit an effigy of an Arab warrior. Strength and ability are necessary for the knight to win the palio or grand prize.
The Castellano river is a site for swimming and bathing in summer.
Founded in 1898,
Gastronomy
Olive all'ascolana is a dish which originated from this locality. It is prepared from olives.[11]
Territorial subdivision
Bivio Giustimana, Campolungo-villa sant'Antonio, Caprignano, Carpineto, Casa circondariale, Casalena, Casamurana, Case di Cioccio, Casette, Castel di Lama stazione, Castel Trosino, Cervara, Colle, Colle san Marco, Colloto, Colonna, Colonnata, Faiano, Funti, Giustimana, Il Palazzo, Lago, Lisciano, Lisciano di Colloto, Montadamo, Morignano, Mozzano, Oleificio Panichi, Palombare, Pedana, Piagge, Pianaccerro, Poggio di Bretta, Polesio, Ponte Pedana, Porchiano, Rosara, San Pietro, Santa Maria a Corte, Talvacchia, Taverna di mezzo, Trivigliano-villa Pagani, Tronzano, Valle Fiorana, Valle Senzana, Valli, Vena piccola, Venagrande, Villa S. Antonio.
Government
Notable people
- Cecco d'Ascoli, 12th-century poet
- Domenico Balestrieri, 15th-century painter
- Francesco Bellini, entrepreneur
- Girolamo Buratti, 16th-century painter
- Carlo Crivelli, Renaissance painter
- Mattia Destro, footballer
- Nicholas Russo (1845–1902), Italian priest, philosopher, Boston College president, and church founder
- Romano Fenati, motorcycle road racer
- Dino Ferrari, 20th-century painter
- Detto Mariano, composer, arranger, pianist, record producer and music publisher.
- Stefano Travaglia, tennis player
- Dardust, musician
- Alice Pagani, actress, model, author
International relations
Ascoli Piceno is
- Trier, Germany, since 1958
- Massy, France, since 1997
- Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, since 1998
See also
References
- ^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- Istat
- ISBN 0691049459.
- ^ Harris, W.; DARMC; R. Talbert; S. Gillies; G. Rees; J. Becker; T. Elliott. "Places: 413036 (Asculum)". Pleiades. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
- ^ Festus 235.16-17
- ^ Eutr. 2,16
- ISBN 9781848847897.
- ^ Velleius Paterculus 2.21.1.
- ISBN 9781317015482.
- ^ Carducci, Giambattista (1853). Su le memorie e i monumenti di Ascoli nel Piceno. Fermo: Arnaldo Forni Editore. pp. 206–209.
- ^ St. Onge, Danette (17 August 2019). "Stuffed and Fried Ascolana Olives (Olive all'ascolana)". The Spruce Eats. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ^ "Città gemellate". comune.ap.it (in Italian). Ascoli Piceno. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
- ^ "Partnerské mestá". banskabystrica.sk (in Slovak). Banská Bystrica. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
External links
- Official website Archived 2010-12-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ASCOLIDAVIVERE.it - Events, concerts, folklore, culture, entertainment
- Ascoli Piceno Antique Market