Camerano 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 Ancona The province of Ancona ( it, provincia di Ancona) is a province in the Marche region of central Italy. Its capital is the city of Ancona, and the province borders the Adriatic Sea. The city of Ancona is also the capital of Marche. To the north, ...

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 southeast 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 ...

. Camerano borders the following municipalities:

Castelfidardo Castelfidardo (Marchigiano: ''Castello'') is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Ancona, in the Marche region of central-eastern Italy. It is remembered for a Piedmontese victory over an army composed of foreign volunteers defending th ...

Osimo Osimo is a town and ''comune'' of the Marche region of Italy, in the province of Ancona. The municipality covers a hilly area located approximately south of the port city of Ancona and the Adriatic Sea. , Osimo had a total population of 35,037. ...

Sirolo Sirolo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ancona in the Italian region of Marche. As of 28 February 2009 it had a population of 3,747 inhabitants and an area of . The town is situated near Monte Conero Monte Conero () or Mount ...

. Camerano is most notable for the extensive tunnel system that lies underneath most of the old city. These tunnels were constructed in the sandstone bedrock of Camera, with constructions happening piecemeal from the Roman era, up until the 1800s. Although the cause for this tunnel building was originally thought to have been as wine storage cellars, later exploration has revealed that these tunnels began with the Romans, and then were greatly enlarged to function as a refuge from the Moorish incursions into Italy during the early medieval period. Later, the tunnels functioned as a city in their own right, complete with churches (identifiable from the bas-relief Greek crosses engraved on the ceilings), wells, and storage areas. Most recently, the caves functioned as a bomb shelter, holding 3,000 people for 8 days in 1944.

References

External links

Official website

Cities and towns in the Marche {{Marche-geo-stub