Porto San Giorgio
Since ancient times and throughout the Middle Ages, Porto San Giorgio was known as Navale Firmanum or Castrum Firmanorum (according to the testimonies of Pliny, Strabo, and Velleius Paterculus). It is believed that the port of Fermo was located at the mouth of the Ete, where the remains of oil and grain amphorae have been found.
Formerly known as Castel San Giorgio, Portus Sancti Georgi owes its shape to the fortification of the Fosso Rivo valley, commissioned by the Episcopate of Fermo starting from the XI century to protect the coast from incursions by pirates and Saracens.
Today, Porto San Giorgio is a town located in the coastal strip of the Marche region, an important seaside resort with a sandy beach, numerous accommodation facilities and a well-equipped tourist port. It is characterized by an upstream part with the Castello district and the Rocca and, beyond the state road, by the marina.
The Rocca Tiepolo stands out mighty and solitary with the Mastio, the Guelph crenelated walls, protected by tall maritime pines. It is worth visiting: the historic “Vittorio Emanuele” theatre from the early XX century, the XIX century church of San Giorgio, Villa Bonaparte, built at the request of Napoleon’s brother, Girolamo Bonaparte, who stayed in Porto San Giorgio between 1829 and 1832, and the baroque Church of the Suffragio.
16066
INHABITANTS
ITALY
COUNTRY
8,58
km²
Porto San Giorgio is a town located on the coastal strip of the Marche region, whose economy is based on seaside tourism, related tourist activities, maritime activities, and a lively commercial and service activity. The fishing activity, practiced in the past with the lancetta and with the baragozzo (of Venetian origin with two masts), was increased using the paranza, an agile boat with a lateen sail, widespread along the Adriatic coast.
The name of the city is dedicated to Saint George: legend has it that the Saint appeared to some local sailors who, during a storm, managed to save themselves thanks to his intervention.
Porto San Giorgio borders Fermo on three sides and the Adriatic Sea to the east. In 1985 the “Marina di Porto San Giorgio” and the tourist-fishing port with 774 moorings were inaugurated.
From an economic point of view, from the post-war period onwards, the city witnessed a boom in the food and construction sectors as well as in the development of small industry, with consequent urban expansion.
Thanks to a collaboration agreement between the Central Institute for Intangible Heritage (ICPI) and the Municipality of Porto San Giorgio, a pole dedicated to the intangible cultural heritage of the central Adriatic area has been created: a new tourist-cultural attraction for the city and for the entire region. The “Cantieri della Civiltà Marinara”, inside the Trevisani Palace, in the historic centre of Porto San Giorgio, is divided into three sections: the Fortunale, the Porto dei Suoni and the Onda volubile.
The first environment, the Fortunale, consists of a “microcinema”, an immersive audio and video structure where the visitors have the impression of being sucked into the roar of the frightening Fortunale, an Adriatic storm of March 30th, 1935, defined by the fishers of the Marche as the “end of the world”. The second environment, the Porto dei suoni, made up of several aligned screens, wants to represent the “field of sounds” of marine environments. The third environment, the Onda volubile, is an installation of an original and traditional lugsail with the “tailwind” and tells how boats and related sails have changed over the years.
The video-art works are part of the Unwritten structures – (In)Visible tales international itinerary, they are dedicated to the sea, fishing, and navigation, and will also be used for educational activities and thematic meetings dedicated to the practices and knowledge of central Adriatic seafaring.
The “EChOWAYS – Eco-musei lungo le rotte dei Fenici“ project, born from the collaboration among the Municipality of Porto San Giorgio, the Phoenicians’ Route and the Marche Polytechnic University is in line with this important action to enhance the intangible cultural heritage.
Website: www.comune.portosangiorgio.fm.it
