MONTEPRANDONE (AP)
The first documents about Monteprandone comes from 1039 when two men, Longino and Guido Massaro gave the hamlet and the church of St. Nicholas of Bari to the monastery of Santa Maria di Farfa della Sabina. In 1292, the population decided to submit itself to Ascoli, to feel more protected. The bond between Monteprandone and Ascoli got stronger when Pope John XXII, in the papal bull of 13th May 1323, gave the territory from the Tronto to the Ragnola river and Montecrepaccio was annexed to Monteprandone. The castle of Monteprandone was unsuitable to the status of “city” and could not generate a “civic-aristocracy”; in spite of it, the community of Monteprandone nominated the Podestà amongst three nobles from Ascoli. Montetinello, Monterone and Monticelli were annexed during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The five hills are depicted on the coat of arms of the city. In 1935, the hamlet of Porto D’Ascoli was removed from the municipality of Monteprandone and annexed to San Benedetto del Tronto, because of its expansion process.
PAGLIARE DEL TRONTO (AP)
Before the sixteenth century, Pagliare belonged to Spinetoli. The urban settlement rose up in the fifteenth century, thanks to the migratory flow coming from Apennines, especially from Pantorano di Mozzano. The left bank of the Tronto river got crowded with houses made of straw (“pagghiare”) and the colonization continued for a long time. In the sixteenth century, Pagliare became indepent fom Spinetoli and instituted its own land registry and determined its boundary lines. During the seventeenth century, the first solid houses were built and, due to the persistency of the controversy, the Holy See reaffirmed the autonomy of Pagliare from Spinetoli (1658): Pagliare had a public council in its own council house, in the presence of an ecclesiastic representative and the Podestà of Spinetoli. In 1813, the name of the municipality changed from Pagliare di Pantorano into the current Pagliare del Tronto. In 1866, after Italian unification, Pagliare was re-annexed to Spinetoli. Today, Pagliare has a bigger population and is definitely more important than its chief town (5.600 inhabitants, 700 more than Spinetoli).
MONSAMPOLO DEL TRONTO (AP)
The history of Monsampolo goes hand in hand with its hamlet, Stella, of pre-Roman origin and inhabited by the Piceni, a nomadic community who settled in the valley of Tronto river. The Piceni were defeated by the Romans (as a result of the breach of a nonaggression pact, due to the pressing taxation of Rome) after a battle that took place in the area from the Tronto to Ascoli, in 75 bC. After that, the territory was Romanized and the ancient culture in the ceremonial of deads and spirits went lost. Throughout feudalism, the population moved to the upland of Monsampolo del Tronto and Stella was reduced to a transit place for caravan travelling for trade from Rome to the Adriatic, going through the Via Salaria (whose name is associated to “salt”, which was used as a payment method). During Renaissance, the village developed around the mansion of the Lords of the hamlet, that dominated the underlying valley. Afterwards, the history of Stella, Monsampolo and the valley of Tronto river coincide.
SPINETOLI (AP)
Not far from the Adriatic coast, we find Spinetoli (177 meters above sea level) just before Salaria, on the left bank of the Tronto river, at the confluence of the Fiobbo torrent. First human settlements date back to Piceni era: archeological excavations made in 1878 brought to light a Piceni necropolis (VII-V century bC). After the fall of Roman Empire, the valleys and coasts were exposed to the danger of Barbarian invasions, so the upland were the best places for defense. Spinetoli belonged to the Church, then (after Napoleon’s arrival) became part of the Roman Republic (28th February 1798) and finally was annexed to the Reign of Italy (1805), as part of the new Tronto department. During Bonaparte’s domination Spinetoli belonged to Monsampolo. when the two villages were separated, Spinetoli was united to Pagliare. the municipality of Pagliare lasted 50 years only and was suppressed after Italian unification.
CARASSAI (AP)
Presumably, the territory of Carassai was densely populated during the period of the Piceni civilization: on the hills and valleys, different tribes founded several small villages next to water flows. Documents attest that the romanization (III century bC) brought to the substitution of these village with Roman vicus. Around the year 1000, in the area of current Carassai, there were many places of worship, castles of difference relevance (according to the number of inhabitants, the extent of properties and the effectiveness of defence). The most important fortresses were Monte Varmine, Camporo and Carassai. The old hamlet of Carassai is formed by two medieval nucleuses; the first one, Castello Vecchio has feudal origins, while the latter, Castello Nuovo, was initially built at the end of fourteenth century and developed during 1.400.