Ostra 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

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, ...

, central

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 ...

, near the modern

Ostra Vetere Ostra Vetere is a town and ''comune'' in the region of Marche, Italy, near the modern Ostra, south-east of Senigallia Senigallia (or Sinigaglia in Old Italian; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and port town on Italy's Adriatic Sea, Adriatic co ...

, south-east of

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 ...

. The modern town is founded near the site of

ancient Ostra Ostra was an ancient Roman town near the modern town of Ostra Vetere. The Roman town was inhabited from the 3rd century BC until the 6th century AD. History Pliny the Elder mentions Ostra with another ancient town, Suasa, west. Neither town su ...

, a Roman settlement. Its name was later changed to Montalboddo, and reverted to Ostra in 1881.

Geography

Modern Ostra lies on a hill over the Misa river valley. It is the most important town in the valley upstream from

, lying from the Adriatic coast. Close by is the city of

Jesi Jesi () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Ancona, in the Italian region of Marche. It is an important industrial and artistic center in the floodplain on the left (north) bank of the Esino river, before its mouth on the Adria ...

(), while

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

, the capital of the

Region, is away.

History

Ancient Ostra Ostra was an ancient Roman town near the modern town of Ostra Vetere. The Roman town was inhabited from the 3rd century BC until the 6th century AD. History Pliny the Elder mentions Ostra with another ancient town, Suasa, west. Neither town su ...

was situated between the modern town of Ostra and

. It was inhabited from the 3rd century BC until the 6th century AD.

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

mentions Ostra with another ancient town,

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 ...

, west. Neither town survived beyond the classical period. Though Ostra is little mentioned by ancient authors, excavations there have brought to light remains of various buildings and several inscriptions. By 1520, an abbey in

housing some relics of

Gaudentius of Rimini Gaudentius of Rimini (, sometimes spelled ) ( – 14 October 360) was a Roman Catholic Diocese of Rimini, bishop of Rimini, who is venerated as a Martyr, martyred saint in the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church. The accounts of Gaudent ...

had fallen into ruin. The remains were transported to the Montalboddo, where they are still found today. Gaudentius remains the town's patron saint.

Main sights

Piazza dei Martiri

The town's central square is Piazza dei Martiri (''Martyrs' Square''). Here is the 16th century city tower, high, rebuilt in the 20th century after being bombed in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Here also are the town hall with its arches and its marble staircase and St Francis' Church, built in the 13th century.

Defensive wall

Built in the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, the wall surrounding the town is perfectly preserved for a total length of . It has nine extant towers and two main entrances.

Madonna della Rosa Sanctuary

Located a few hundreds metres out of town, the

Marian sanctuary A shrine to the Virgin Mary, or Marian shrine, is a shrine marking an Marian apparitions, apparition or other miracle ascribed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, or a site on which is centered a historically strong Blessed Virgin Mary, Marian devotion ...

of Madonna della Rosa is one of the most important in Italy, visited every year by many pilgrims from Italy and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. It was built in 1754 after Holy Mary appeared to a young girl and fosters a miraculous image of the

Virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

Transport

The nearest railway station is that of . Ancona-Falconara Airport is away.

Twin towns

Markt Schwaben Markt Schwaben is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It lies roughly 23 km east of Munich on the northern edge of the Upper Bavarian district of Ebersberg (district), Ebersberg. Neighbouring communities are Anzing, Forstinning, Pliening and Poing, G ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ostra (An) Cities and towns in the Marche