Arcevia
Encyclopedia
Arcevia is a comune
Comune
In 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:...

in the Province of Ancona
Province of Ancona
The Province of Ancona is a province in the Marche region of central Italy. Its capital is the city of Ancona. The province has an area of 1940 km² and a 2006 population of 465,906 in 49 comuni , see Comunes of the Province of Ancona....

 of the region of Marche
Marche
The 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...

, Italy
Italy
Italy , 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...

.

History

According to tradition, Arcevia originates from a Gallic
Gauls
The Gauls were a Celtic people living in Gaul, the region roughly corresponding to what is now France, Belgium, Switzerland and Northern Italy, from the Iron Age through the Roman period. They mostly spoke the Continental Celtic language called Gaulish....

 settlement anterior to the Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 conquest of Italy
Italy
Italy , 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...

; following that, it became overshadowed by more important nearby cities, such as Suasa
Suasa
Suasa was an ancient Roman town in what is now the comune of Castelleone di Suasa, Marche, Italy. It is located in the Pian Volpello locality, in the valley of the Cesano River.-History:...

.

Under the name of Rocca Contrada, the town was fortified by Pippin the Younger
Pippin the Younger
Pepin , called the Short or the Younger , rarely the Great , was the first King of the Franks of the Carolingian dynasty...

, King of the Franks, and was then donated by Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...

 to the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...

. 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, Umbria
Umbria
Umbria is a region of modern central Italy. It is one of the smallest Italian regions and the only peninsular region that is landlocked.Its capital is Perugia.Assisi and Norcia are historical towns associated with St. Francis of Assisi, and St...

, and the Duchy of Urbino. In 1201, Rocca Contrada proclaimed itself a commune
Medieval commune
Medieval communes in the European Middle Ages had sworn allegiances of mutual defense among the citizens of a town or city. They took many forms, and varied widely in organization and makeup. Communes are first recorded in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, thereafter becoming a widespread...

independent from Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, and was indeed recognised as civitas (Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 for "city") by pope Clement IV in 1266, and remained a guelph
Guelphs and Ghibellines
The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in central and northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, the split between these two parties was a particularly important aspect of the internal policy of the Italian city-states...

 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, and decided to call upon the help of famous condottiero Braccio da Montone
Braccio da Montone
frame|Braccio da Montone.Braccio da Montone , born Andrea Fortebracci, and also known as Braccio Fortebraccio, was an Italian condottiero.-Biography:...

. The latter vanquished the assailants and reconquered the castles around Arcevia they had occupied; for this he was proclaimed Signore
Signoria
A Signoria was an abstract noun meaning 'government; governing authority; de facto sovereignty; lordship in many of the Italian city states during the medieval and renaissance periods....

of the city. Later on, the troops of Francesco Sforza overtook Rocca Contrada, which, after several vicissitudes, ended up under the rule of the guelph Malatesta
Malatesta
Malatesta may refer to:*The House of Malatesta, an Italian family which ruled over Rimini from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century*Errico Malatesta , an Italian anarchist*Malatesta , a 1970 German film...

 family.

After the pacification of the Papal States in the 16th century, Rocca Contrada flourished in the Italian Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

: 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
Ercole Ramazzani was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance period.He was born at Rocca Contrada , and was a follower of the styles of Pietro Perugino and Raphael. He is asserted to have been still alive in 1588.-References:...

 and architect Andrea Vici in the 18th century.

In 1817, pope Pius VII renamed Rocca Contrada with the current official name of Arcevia. The town passed to the Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...

 after the unification of the country under the Savoy monarchy
House of Savoy
The House of Savoy was formed in the early 11th century in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to eventually rule the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 until the end of World War II, king of Croatia and King of Armenia...

. Townspeople fought in the two world wars, and paid for their resistance to Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...

 occupation with the slaughter of seventy people on Mount Sant'Angelo in May 1944.

Geography and subdivisions

Arcevia is located about 535 metres above sea level, on a hill overlooking the valley of the Misa
Misa (river in Italy)
The Misa is an Italian river in the Marche, which runs over 48 kilometers within the region. The source of the river is south of Arcevia in the province of Ancona. The river flows northeast near Arcevia and Serra de' Conti. The river enters the Adriatic Sea near Senigallia....

 river, about 50 km south-west from its provincial and regional capital, Ancona
Ancona
Ancona 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....

.

Arcevia borders the following municipalities: Barbara
Barbara (AN)
Barbara is a comune in the Province of Ancona in the Italian region Marche, located about 40 km west of Ancona. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,484 and an area of 10.8 km²....

, Castelleone di Suasa
Castelleone di Suasa
Castelleone di Suasa is a town and comune within the Province of Ancona, in the Marche region of Italy.It is well known for the archaeological park of Suasa, an ancient Roman town....

, Genga
Genga, Italy
Genga is a town and comune of province of Ancona in the Italian region of the Marche, on the Sentino river about 7 km downstream and east of Sassoferrato and 12 km north of Fabriano....

, Mergo
Mergo
Mergo is a comune in the Province of Ancona in the Italian region Marche, located about 40 km southwest of Ancona. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,063 and an area of 7.3 km²....

, Montecarotto
Montecarotto
Montecarotto is a comune in the Province of Ancona in the Italian region Marche, located about 40 km west of Ancona. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,163 and an area of 24.1 km²....

, Pergola
Pergola
A pergola, arbor or arbour is a garden feature forming a shaded walkway, passageway or sitting area of vertical posts or pillars that usually support cross-beams and a sturdy open lattice, often upon which woody vines are trained...

, Rosora
Rosora
Rosora is a comune in the Province of Ancona in the Italian region Marche, located about 40 km southwest of Ancona.Rosora borders the following municipalities: Arcevia, Castelplanio, Cupramontana, Maiolati Spontini, Mergo, Montecarotto, Poggio San Marcello.-History:The origins of Rosora are...

, San Lorenzo in Campo
San Lorenzo in Campo
San Lorenzo in Campo is a comune in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region Marche, located about 45 km west of Ancona and about 35 km south of Pesaro....

, Sassoferrato
Sassoferrato
Sassoferrato is a town and comune of the province of Ancona in the Marche region of Italy.-History:To the south of the town lie the ruins of the ancient Sentinum, on the Via Flaminia...

, Serra de' Conti
Serra de' Conti
Serra de' Conti is a comune in the Province of Ancona in the Italian region Marche, located about 40 km west of Ancona.Serra de' Conti borders the following municipalities: Arcevia, Barbara, Montecarotto, Ostra Vetere....

, and Serra San Quirico
Serra San Quirico
Serra San Quirico is a comune in the Province of Ancona in the Italian region Marche, located about 45 km southwest of Ancona.-External links:*...

.

External links



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