CASTE DI LAMA (AP)
Castel di Lama, Castrum Lamae, Castellum Lamae, Lamae, Ville della Lama. The name of this village comes from the creek Lama and the castle on the hill that dominated the river and the major roads. The ancient stones of the VII and VIII mile are still visible at the beginning and at the end of the town, on the Via Salaria. The natural area is now divided between the municipality of Castel di Lama and Ascoli An ideal place of residence: it received villas and Roman settlements. In the High Middle Ages, religious and defensive settlements arose in the area of Castel di Lama; in ancient sources of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries is cited a Castrum Sexti (situated in the northern area) and a Castrum Serraliae (in the zone called Sambuco), while in the southern zone of the town, near the ancient spring of Elmo river, from 1206 to 1258 was built a Cistercian female monastery. On the same site, during the Middle Ages, was built the Castle Lama, feud according to tradition, of Odoardi family. On the first Saturday of September, a historical commemoration ‘”Insediamento del Podestà e del Palio della Balestra” is celebrated, with the exhibition and the feast of the Holy Crucifix. Among dames, heads of the households, soldiers and archers you can relive the settlement of the Podestà and the gift of the crossbow with the succeeding knights tournament of the Quarta. Coat of arms and seals have changed throughout history: from the effigy of Santa Maria in Mignano, to the current turreted coat of arms, inspired by the name and the castle origins.
ACQUAVIVA PICENA (AP)
Acquaviva Picena is situated on a hill overlooking the Tronto Valley, just a few kilometres far from the Adriatic sea and San Benedetto del Tronto. The territory of Acquaviva Picena was inhabited right from prehistoric times. Many finds of Piceni and Roman era have been recovered. The Piceni were the earliest settlers of the area in the sixth century b.C. and the territory of Acquaviva maintained its dynamism even after the submission to the Romans, thanks to the closeness to the city of Castrum Truentinum. However, the urban settlement of the town started during the barbarian invasions. The Lombards and the Saracens who arrived in this region persuaded the inhabitants of the coastal area to take refuge on the upland. Along the 13th century, the Acquaviva fort was built which was under the control of Fermo city and formed a vital base for the enemy territories. Throughout the fifteenth century, the castle had a great expansion that led to the building of the eastern sector named “New Earth” along with the existing Old Earth, which represented the original urban centre of the town. Acquaviva was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy through a plebiscite in 1860. In 1799, during the Napoleonic campaign of Italy, the anti-French forces led by the brigand Sciabolone destroyed the local archives and consequently the source of direct observation of the local history, whose reconstruction is based mainly on external evidences.
MONTALTO MARCHE (AP)
Fourteen settlements of Roman era and a Neolithic village have been located on the territory of Montalto delle Marche. Recently, the archeological museum and its over 3000 finds have been opened to the public. The museum offers an educational path, especially useful for young student. From 1586, until the suppression following the end of the Papal States in 1861, the town was the chief-town of the State of Montalto, which included thirteen villages. Pope Sixtus V instituted the mint in Montalto at the end of sixteenth century. The city gave birth to Giuseppe Sacconi, architect of Vittoriano in Rome. Since 1991, the “night of witches and goblins” is the main event in Montalto: it takes place yearly on 12th, 13th and 14th of August, organized by the association “Witches and goblins”. The old town centre, the streets and squares get crowded of elfs and witches as in a fairy-tale, until the witch is burned at the stake.
MASSIGNANO (AP)
The small village of Massignano is situated at a height of 254 meters above sea level, 5 kilometers far from the Adriatic shore. Massignano has a two kilometers coast. Through a pleasant tree-lined road , we reach the hill settlement, that keeps its medieval traits with two doors and the main square resembling a parlor, where we find the bell tower, alongside the town-hall palace, the recently restored loggia and the eighteenth-century Church of St. James Major, with a table of Vittore Crivelli dated back to the fifteenth century. The Child depicted on the ground, instead of in the arms of Mary, supported by angels. The aristocratic palaces, erected between 1400 and 1600, keep, as usual, the name of their original owners: Faviani, Santini, Laurantoni. From mid-nineties, the Sacred Art Museum exhibits an appreciable collection of historical religious objects. Along the Menocchia valley, in the hamlet Villa Santi we find the abbey of Saints Felix and Adacto, featuring an apsis in primitive Romanesque. Other attractions to see are the neoclassical Church of Santa Maria della Misericordia, parts of the ancient walls and the Viale della Rimembranza (Avenue of remembrance), a relaxing green oasis overlooking the sea.
CENTOBUCHI (AP)
Driving along the Via Salaria, on the Tronto valley, we reach Centobuchi, a hamlet of the municipality of Monteprandone with 6.724 inhabitants. Its strategic position and the flat country allowed this locality to have a great demographic growth, more than the main town. During the last decades, several industrial activities started operating here: helicopter manufacturing and inspection, bath-furniture, agricultural and food industries, as well as wholesale and retail trade activities.