Offida () 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 ...

'' (municipality) in the

Province of Ascoli Piceno The province of Ascoli Piceno ( it, Provincia di 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 nor ...

in the

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

region Marche, located about south of

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 ...

and about northeast of Ascoli Piceno, on a rocky spur between the valleys of the Tesino (from north) and

Tronto The Tronto ( la, Truentus) 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 Tront ...

(south) rivers.

History

The origins of Offida are debated. In its territory have been found tombs of the

Piceni The name Picentes or Picentini refers to the population of Picenum, on the northern Adriatic coastal plain of ancient Italy. Their endonym, if any, is not known for certain. There is linguistic evidence that the Picentini comprised two different ...

(7th–5th century BC) and

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 ...

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

Pope Urban IV Pope Urban IV ( la, Urbanus IV; c. 1195 – 2 October 1264), born Jacques Pantaléon, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1261 to his death. He was not a cardinal; only a few popes since his time hav ...

. During the war between the

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

Ascoli Ascoli may refer to: Places in Italy *Ascoli Satriano, a town and ''comune'' in the province of Foggia in the Apulia region *Province of Ascoli Piceno, a province of the Marche region ** Ascoli Piceno, a city which is the seat of the province above ...

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 hu ...

, 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 ( ; 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 ...

. 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 Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

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 window A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

s 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 h ...

s. In the central apse is a Gothic portal leading to the crypt (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 ( , ) and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/ Proto-Renaissance period. G ...

esque frescoes, some attributed to the

Master of Offida The Master of Offida (active mid to late 14th century) was an anonymous painter active in the towns of Offida and Ascoli Piceno in the Marche. He painted circa 1360-1370 frescoes in the church and crypt of Santa Maria della Rocca in Offida, de ...

(one is dated 1367 and others to

Giacomo da Campli Giacomo da Campli (circa 1420 - died 1490s) was an Italian painter, active in the province of Teramo The Province of Teramo ( it, provincia di Teramo; Abruzzese: ') is a province in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Teram ...

(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 (c. 1490–1568) 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 ...

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.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 202. Merlons are sometimes ...

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 gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...

added in the 15th century. The interior houses a small art gallery with works by

Pietro Alemanno Pietro Alemanno ( 1430 – 1497 or 1498) was an Italian-Austrian painter of the Renaissance period. He was born in Göttweig (Austria) and died in Ascoli Piceno. He trained with Carlo Crivelli. In 1484, Alemanno painted a fresco of the ''Annun ...

and

Simone de Magistris Simone de Magistris (known from 1555–1613) was an Italian painter and sculptor. Born at Caldarola, Marche, he was the son of Giovanni Andrea de Magistris and Camilla di Ambrogio, and brother to Palmino and to Giovanni Francesco, both painters. ...

. *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 ("holy wine") is a style of Italian dessert wine. Traditional in Tuscany, these wines are often made from white grape varieties such as Trebbiano and Malvasia, though Sangiovese may be used to produce a ''rosé'' style known as "Oc ...

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

. The grapes are limited to a harvest 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 b ...

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 cheeses are hard Italian cheeses made from sheep's milk. The name "" derives from ''pecora'' which means sheep in Italian. Overview Of the six main varieties of pecorino, all of which have Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) stat ...

and

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

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 Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. In ...

for at least three and half years before released.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Cities and towns in the Marche