Castelleone di Suasa is a town and ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' within the

Province of Ancona The province of Ancona () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Marche region of 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, the province ...

, in the

Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...

region of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is well known for the archaeological park of

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 Suasa was founded by the Romans in the early 3rd cen ...

, an ancient Roman town. Rising on a hill near the river Cesano, Castelleone di Suasa is also called "green town" because of its flourishing nursery activity. Below the medieval

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

there are the remains of the Roman municipality of Suasa, that rose along the branch of the

via Flaminia The Via Flaminia () was an ancient Roman roads, Roman road leading from Rome over the Apennine Mountains to ''Ariminum'' (Rimini) on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, and due to the ruggedness of the mountains was the major option the Romans had f ...

that led to ''Sena Gallica'' (

Senigallia Senigallia (or Sinigaglia in Old Italian; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and port town on Italy's Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coast. It is situated in the province of Ancona, in the Italian region of Marche, and lies approximately 30 kilometres nor ...

). Since 1987 the Archaeological Superintendence of the Regione of

, has started a programme of excavations that has allowed the discovery of the ancient basalt

street A street is a public thoroughfare in a city, town or village, typically lined with Building, buildings on one or both sides. Streets often include pavements (sidewalks), pedestrian crossings, and sometimes amenities like Street light, streetligh ...

, the commercial forum, two sepulchre areas, the

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meani ...

and, above all, the rich patrician dwelling that has become Archaeological Park.

Main sights

*The Compiano-

Della Rovere The House of Della Rovere (; literally "of the oak tree") was a powerful Italian noble family. It had humble origins in Savona, in Liguria, and acquired power and influence through nepotism and ambitious marriages arranged by two Della Rovere p ...

palace, seat of the

archaeological museum An archaeology museum is a museum that specializes in the display of archaeological artifacts. Many archaeology museum are in the open-air museum, open air, such as the Ancient Agora of Athens and the Roman Forum.David Watkin. ''The Roman Forum ...

, is situated in the historical centre. It possesses a beautiful sixteenth century portal and a lovely courtyard. *Church of SS. Pietro e Paolo, from the second half of 16th century. It houses a work attributed to Viviani (16th century) and one signed by Ascanio Casola (1674). Outside the town there is the rural Chapel of San Martino, where an early canvas by the painter Ercole Ramazzani (16th century) is displayed. From the medieval village it is possible to descend to the valley below (Pian Volpello zone), where the archaeological area of Suasa is located.

Traditions and events

The "Forgiveness Feast", the most important religious event of the year, takes place during the spring season, followed by the Fair on the successive Monday. The

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...

was one of the most important foods in the local economy (the "Castelleonesi" were famous as "onion growers"), and therefore for some years now the appointment of major attraction has become the ''Festa della Cipolla'' ("Onion Festival"), on the first weekend in September: the feast foresees itinerant shows and gastronomic stands with curious and succulent recipes based on onion.

References

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