Fermo

Due to its history as city of studies and its tradition of centre of cultural exchanges in the Adriatic, Fermo’s vocation has always been aimed at welcoming and hospitality.

The city of Fermo retains an intact Renaissance urban layout that, starting from the main Piazza del Popolo – one of the most beautiful squares of Marche – can be discovered through a series of itineraries dotted with churches, including the Cathedral with its splendid Gothic façade, noble palaces, courtyards, and artistic portals.

The Pinacoteca Civica, full of late Gothic panels, is famous for its “Adoration of the Shepherds” by P.P. Rubens, and the “Romolo Spezioli” Civic Library, known in Italy for its ancient book heritage, whose heart – the seventeenth-century Sala del Mappamondo – is the pride of the city.

The city holds a complex underground water system that includes the Roman Cisterns of the Augustan era, the largest ones by extension in square meters built by the Romans, an essential stop for anyone arriving in the city, even for a few hours.

Included in the cultural offer of Fermo, the eighteenth-century Teatro dell’Aquila deserves a place of excellence. It is one of the most beautiful and largest theatre in the Marche region: a prestigious place, enriched by the historical backdrops of Alessandro Sanquirico and the central fresco by Luigi Cochetti.

The structure, in addition to representing one of the most appreciated cultural assets of the city, is home to important opera, symphonic and prose performances according to a centuries-old tradition that has hosted the biggest protagonists of the international scene.

Another famous point of interest of Fermo is the nineteenth-century Villa Vitali, a prestigious building designed by the architect Gaetano Manfredi, now home to the renovated open-air theatre, which hosts a significant part of the summer theatre season.

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Fermo

The city of Fermo boasts ancient origins and a history full of remarkable events; the first documented settlement is that of the Villanovans, who occupied the current hill of Girfalco around the ninth century BC. A clear sign of their presence are the necropolises discovered on the outskirts of Fermo and their clay pots. Then the Picentes followed from the seventh century BC: a population from Lazio region who came to occupy all the territories between the south of Marche and the north of Abruzzo, up to Pescara.

However, the Picentes were forced to abandon the city after the defeat by the Romans in 267 BC. In fact, Fermo officially became a Roman colony from 264 BC. There are numerous architectural testimonies of this period: from the remains of the theatre on the former Sabulo hill (today’s Girfalco), to the Roman cisterns, the Castellum Firmanorum in the Salvano area.

The best-known typical products of the Fermo area are the Caciotta del Fermo, the ciauscolo and the vincotto.

Frustingo is the typical Christmas dessert of Fermo: the dough is made of dried figs, raisins, almonds, walnuts, vincotto, flavoured with cocoa, coffee, rum, grated orange and lemon peel, candied fruit and spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.

The most important event is the Festivity of Maria Assunta, celebrated on August 15^th, the date on which the Palio della Cavalcata dell’Assunta has been held since 1982.

During the year, the Tipicità Festival celebrates the flavours and other excellences made in the Marche region.

Website: www.comune.fermo.it

The Phoenicians Route

Fermo

37396

ITALY

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Fermo