Acqualagna is a
comuneIn Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
(municipality) in the
Province of Pesaro e UrbinoThe Province of Pesaro and Urbino is a province in the Marche region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Pesaro. It also borders the state of San Marino.-History:...
in the
ItalianItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
region
MarcheThe population density in the region is below the national average. In 2008, it was 161.5 inhabitants per km2, compared to the national figure of 198.8. It is highest in the province of Ancona , and lowest in the province of Macerata...
, located about 70 km west of
AnconaAncona is a city and a seaport in the Marche region, in central Italy, with a population of 101,909 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region....
and about 40 km southwest of
PesaroPesaro is a town and comune in the Italian region of the Marche, capital of the Pesaro e Urbino province, on the Adriatic. According to the 2007 census, its population was 92,206....
. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 4,304 and an area of 50.8 km².. It is one of the main centers in Italy for truffle.
Acqualagna borders the following municipalities:
CagliCagli is a town and comune in the province of Pesaro e Urbino, Marche, central Italy. It c. 30 km south of Urbino.-History:Cagli occupies the site of an ancient village on the Via Flaminia, which seems to have borne the name Cale, 24 miles north of Helvillum and 18 miles southwest of Forum...
,
FermignanoFermignano is a comune in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region Marche, located about 70 km west of Ancona and about 35 km southwest of Pesaro.Renaissance architect Donato Bramante was born here.-History:...
, Urbania,
UrbinoUrbino is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of Federico da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482...
.
History
The current name derives from the Latin name
Aqua Lanea, meaning "Water Slaughter", and which remembered the battle of Gualdo Tadino fought nearby between
TotilaTotila, original name Baduila was King of the Ostrogoths from 541 to 552 AD. A skilled military and political leader, Totila reversed the tide of Gothic War, recovering by 543 almost all the territories in Italy that the Eastern Roman Empire had captured from his Kingdom in 540.A relative of...
's Ostrogoth and
NarsesNarses was, with Belisarius, one of the great generals in the service of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I during the "Reconquest" that took place during Justinian's reign....
's
ByzantineThe Byzantine army was the primary military body of the Byzantine armed forces, serving alongside the Byzantine navy. A direct descendant of the Roman army, the Byzantine army maintained a similar level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization...
armies during the Gothic Wars.
In the neighbourhood existed the Roman town of
Pitinum Mergens, destroyed by Alarich I. The survivors founded the castle of Montefalcone, from which the current Acqualagna evolved.
Main sights
- Parish church, with traces of 15th-16th centuries frescoes.
- Pelingo Sanctuary
- San Vincenzo al Furlo, what remains of a 7th century abbey in which resided St. Romuald (1011) and Pier Damiani (1042). The current church, in Romanesque
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
style, was founded by abbot Bonaventura in 1271. The crypt has ancient columns and a 9th-10th century altar.
- Villa di Colombara, where a Roman farm has been excavated.
- Furlo Gorge: one of the most spectacular gorges in Italy with a 2000 year old roman tunnel
- Pietralata Sanctuary: nested in the hills adjoining to the gorge lays this wunderful restored small monastery
External links
Homepage of the city