Fabriano

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Fabriano
Comune
Comune di Fabriano

Coat of arms
Fabriano
Location of Fabriano in Italy
Coordinates: 43°20′N 12°55′E / 43.333°N 12.917°E / 43.333; 12.917
Country Italy
Region Marche
Province Ancona (AN)
Frazioni see list
Government
 • Mayor Giancarlo Sagramola (PD)
Area
 • Total 269.91 km2 (104.21 sq mi)
Elevation 325 m (1,066 ft)
Population (31 August 2010)
 • Total 31,924
 • Density 120/km2 (310/sq mi)
Demonym Fabrianesi
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 60044
Dialing code 0732
Patron saint St. John the Baptist
Saint day June 24
Website Official website

Fabriano is a town and comune of Ancona province in the Italian region of the Marche, at 325 metres (1,066 feet) above sea level. It lies in the Esino valley 44 kilometres (27 miles) upstream and SW of Jesi; and 15 km (9 mi) ENE of Fossato di Vico and 36 km (22 mi) east of Gubbio (both in Umbria). Its location on the main highway and rail line from Umbria to the Adriatic make it a mid-sized regional center in the Apennines. Fabriano is the headquarters of the giant appliance maker Indesit.

History

Fabriano appears to have been founded in the early Middle Ages by the inhabitants of a small Roman town 5 km (3 miles) south at Attiggio (Latin Attidium), of which some slight remains and inscriptions are extant. Fabriano itself was one of the earliest places in Europe to make high-quality paper on an industrial scale, starting in the 13th century, and the town even today has a reputation for fine watermarked paper. This led to Fabriano's prosperity in the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and was also one of the factors that led to the establishment of nearby Foligno in Umbria as one of the earliest printing centers in Italy in the 15th century, from 1470 onwards.

Main sights

Fabriano's wealth and commitment to the fine arts in the late medieval period have left it with many monuments.

Churches

  • The Cathedral of St. Venantius (14th century, rebuilt in 1607-1617). From the Baroque restoration are the stucco decoration of the interior and the canvasses by Gregorio Preti, Salvator Rosa, Giovan Francesco Guerrieri, Giuseppe Puglia and Orazio Gentileschi. To the original Cathedral belong the polygonal apse, the cloister and the St. Lawrence Chapel, with frescoes of Allegretto di Nuzio (c. 1360). Also important are the frescoes with histories of the Holy Cross by the Folignate Giovanni di Corraduccio (1415).
  • San Domenico
  • Sts. Blaise and Romuald
  • Sant'Onofrio
  • St. Philip
  • The Benedictine Abbey
  • St. Augustine
  • St. Catherine
  • Collegiata of St. Nicholas
  • Santa Maria del Piangato
  • St. Benedict
  • Oratory of the Gonfalone
Palazzo del Podestà.

Other buildings

  • Palazzo del Podestà (1255) built in white stone from Vallemontagnana and subsequently modified several times. It has a distinctive bridge structure, a memory of the stream which once flowed under it. The central arcade has frescoes from the 13th-14th centuries portraying warriors, and an enigmatic Wheel of Fortune moved by a feminine figure.
  • Sturinalto Fountain (1285), designed by Jacopo di Grondolo, who was inspired by the Fontana Maggiore in Perugia.
  • Communal Palace (c. 1350, rebuilt in 1690). It was the residence of the Chiavelli family, lords of the city until 1435. In the courtyard is a lapidarium with fragments of buildings of the ancient Roman cities of Attidium (Attiggio), Tuficum (Borgo Tufico) and Sentinum (Sassoferrato).
  • The former Hospital of St. Mary of Good Jesus (1456)
  • Loggiato of St. Francis (c. 1450)
  • Vasari Portico (1316)
  • Museum of Paper

People

  • Gentile da Fabriano, 15th century painter, whose most famous work, an oil painting of the Epiphany, is in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
  • Saint John dal Bastone 12th Century Silvestrine monk, born in Paterno.
  • Jessica Rizzo (born 1964), an actress and businesswoman.

Frazioni

Frazioni of Fabriano are:

Albacina, Argignano, Attiggio, Bassano, Bastia, Belvedere, Borgo Tufico, Cacciano, Ca' Maiano, Campodiegoli, Campodonico, Cancelli, Cantia, Castelletta, Ceresola, Ciaramella, Coccore, Collamato, Collegiglioni, Colle Paganello, Cupo, Fontanaldo, Grotte, Marena, Marenella, Marischio, Melano, Moscano, Nebbiano, Paterno, Poggio San Romualdo, Precicchie, Rocchetta, Rucce, San Donato, San Giovanni, San Michele, San Pietro, Sant'Elia, Serradica, Valgiubbola, Vallemontagnana, Valleremita, Vallina, Varano, Viacce, Vigne.

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External links

(Incorporates text from Bill Thayer's Gazetteer of Italy, by permission.)

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