Fossombrone 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 ...

'' in the

province of Pesaro and Urbino The 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. The province is surrounded by San Marino and Emilia Romagna in the north, Umbria and ...

, 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

central Italy Central Italy ( or ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first-level NUTS region with code ITI, and a European Parliament constituency. It has 11,704,312 inhabita ...

History

The ancient Roman colony of ''Forum Sempronii'' took its name from Gaius Sempronius Gracchus. Near the Furlo Pass, during the Gothic War, was fought in 552 the

Battle of Taginae At the Battle of Taginae (also known as the Battle of Busta Gallorum) in June/July 552, the forces of the Byzantine Empire under Narses broke the power of the Ostrogoths in Italy, and paved the way for the temporary Byzantine reconquest of the It ...

, in which

Totila Totila, original name Baduila (died 1 July 552), was the penultimate King of the Ostrogoths, reigning from 541 to 552 AD. A skilled military and political leader, Totila reversed the tide of the Gothic War (535–554), Gothic War, recovering b ...

was overcome by the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

general,

Narses Narses (also spelled Nerses; ; ; ; c. 478–573) was a distinguished Byzantine general and statesman of Armenian heritage, renowned for his critical role in Emperor Justinian I’s military campaigns. Alongside the famed Belisarius, Narses was ...

. Fossombrone was included in the

Donation of Pepin The Donation of Pepin, or Donation of Pippin, was the transfer of Frankish territory in central Italy to Pope Stephen II made by Pepin the Short, King of the Franks, in 756. The Donation took place amid the Byzantine Empire's decline in Italy ...

, but remained subject to the

Duchy of Spoleto The Duchy of Spoleto () was a Lombards, Lombard territory founded about 570 in central Italy by the Lombard ''dux'' Faroald I of Spoleto, Faroald. Its capital was the city of Spoleto. Lombards The Lombards invaded northern Italy in 568 and b ...

until 1198, when it passed under Papal rule. The Malatesta sold it to the famous

Federico III da Montefeltro Federico da Montefeltro, also known as Federico III da Montefeltro KG (7 June 1422 – 10 September 1482), was one of the most successful mercenary captains (''condottieri'') of the Italian Renaissance, and lord of Urbino from 1444 (as Duke f ...

, under whom the city flourished. Also positive for the city was the reign of the

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 ...

dukes, who enlarged it (in particular, Francesco Maria II expanded the settlement in the lower area up to the

Metauro The Metauro is a river in the Marche region of central Italy. It rises in the Apennine Mountains and runs east for or if the Meta is included as its uppermost reach. The name of the river in Latin is ''Metaurus'' or ''Mataurus.'' In Ancient Gr ...

river). In 1631 it returned to the Papal States, and was annexed to Italy in 1860.

Main sights

The city and its environs abound in antiquities, especially inscriptions. Noteworthy remains are the statue of the god

Vertumnus In Roman mythology, Vertumnus (; also Vortumnus or Vertimnus) is the god of seasons, change and plant growth, as well as gardens and fruit trees. He could change his form at will; using this power, according to Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'' (xiv), ...

; the Furlo Pass, constructed by the Emperor Vespasian to shorten the passage of that mountain; the bridge of

Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...

(115) near Calmazzo, and the bridge now called Ponte della Concordia, originally built in 292 by

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

, both over the Metaurus.

Religious buildings

* Fossombrone Cathedral: built in neoclassical style in 1772–1784. * Sant'Agostino: (14th century, enlarged in the 18th century). The façade with the coat of arms of the

House of Malatesta The House of Malatesta was an Italian family that ruled over Rimini from 1295 until 1500, as well as (in different periods) other lands and towns in Romagna and holding high positions in the government of cities in present-day Tuscany, Lombardy ...

. The interior houses a canvas by

Federico Zuccari Federico Zuccaro, also known as Federico Zuccari and Federigo Zucchero ( July/August 1609), was an Italian painter, draughtsman, architect and writer. He worked in various cities in Italy, as well as in other countries such as Spain, France, t ...

. * San Filippo: deconsecrated church with frescoes and paintings, now used for cultural events. * San Francesco: located in piazza Dante built in the 18th century at the site of a church of Santa Francesca Romana. The façade has an incomplete sandstone relief by Domenico Rosselli, depicting the Madonna and child with Sts Francis and Bernardino. It was damaged in World War II. The interior is Neoclassical and houses a main altarpiece by Guerrieri depicting a ''Crucifixion with Saints Francis and Jerome'', and a 17th-century crucifix.*Ducal Palace, attributed to

Francesco di Giorgio Martini Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1439–1501) was an Italian architect, engineer, painter, sculptor, and writer. As a painter, he belonged to the Sienese School. He was considered a visionary architectural theorist—in Nikolaus Pevsner's terms ...

and

Girolamo Genga Girolamo Genga (c. 1476 – 11 July 1551) was an Italian painter and architect of the late Renaissance, Mannerist style. Life and career Genga was born in a region near Urbino. According mainly to Giorgio Vasari's biography, by age thirteen ...

, and built for Cardinal

Giuliano della Rovere Pope Julius II (; ; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...

, brother of the Duke Guidobaldo II. Notable are the Renaissance court and the Cardinal's chapel. * Santi Giovanni Battista e Floriano

Secular buildings

*''Corte Bassa'', a 16th-century residence of the

Dukes of Urbino The Duchy of Urbino () was an independent duchy in early modern central Italy, corresponding to the northern half of the modern region of Marche. It was directly annexed by the Papal States in 1631. It was bordered by the Adriatic Sea in the ea ...

. *''Corte Alta'' is instead from the 13th century, and was later renewed under Federico da Montefeltro with a notable Renaissance façade and pavement. The duke Guidobaldo I stayed here frequently, and also died here. *''Palazzo Comunale'' (Town Hall, 16th century). *''Palazzo Vescovile'' ("Bishop's Palace", built from 1479). It has a Renaissance façade with a portico and a fresco of the Crucifixion attributed to Bartolomeo di Gentile (1493). *''Rocca Malatestiana'' (13th to 15th century) now in ruin. *'' Quadreria Cesarini'' - a house museum: the collection features mainly 20th century local artists

Sports

FC Fossombrone F.C. Fossombrone (formerly F.C. Bikkembergs Fossombrone) is an Italian association football located in Fossombrone, Marche. The small club was made popular after it was acquired by Belgian fashion designer Dirk Bikkembergs. History The club w ...

, a football club whose strip is produced by Dirk Bikkembergs, a Belgian fashion designer.

Twin towns

Entraigues-sur-la-Sorgue Entraigues-sur-la-Sorgue (; , before 1993: ''Entraigues'')Déc ...

, France

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Cities and towns in the Marche Castles in Italy