Welcome to the city tour of Castelfidardo.

Castelfidardo is a town in the Marke region.
It is located in the Ancona province. 
It stands on a hill 212 m above sea level, between the valleys of the rivers Aspio and Muson. It overlooks the forest of Castelfidardo and is a few kilometers from the Conero Riviera.

Brief historical introduction.


The territory was already inhabited before the Romans conquered the Marke, as evidenced by the findings of some Picene tombs belonging to the 3 and second century dc. 

After barbarian invasions, the hill was covered by a large wooded mantle to which we owe the toponym Valdum (from the Lombard wald, wood) de Fico. 
Not far from the Valdum de Fico, shortly after the year one thousand.
It was known as as Castrum Guicardi 
"Giccardi" and then "Castrum Ficardi" or "Ficcardi". 
The castle, as evidenced by ecclesiastical documents and Vogel's Miscellanea Picena, existed at least since 1139, mentioned under various names, the most illustrious of which is remembered by the nickname "De Castro Ficardo". 
The foundation of the city has long been attributed by local historians to an initiative of the strong municipality of Osimano, but the archaeological material found in some excavations, attests to the existence of close ties with the port of Numana, to whose diocese on the other hand Castelfidardo belonged in the first centuries of its history. 
However, the relationship with the nearby Osimo is undeniable, without forgetting the very close one with the city of Ancona. It is documented that Castelfidardo (then called "Castrum Guicardi") offered every year a "pallium" to the Anconitani as a sign of vassalage. 
Because of this close alliance, it had to suffer the consequences derived from the invasion of Barbarossa in 1174, when the Doric center was subjected to a long siege. This caused the Osimani to rise up against Castelfidardo. Led by Bishop Gentile, in 1193 the Osimani stole the relics of Saints Vittore and Corona. 3 years later Castelfidardo swore loyalty to Bishop Gentile, establishing a relationship of dependence with Osimo broken only during the thirteenth century. In 1240 the city was destroyed by King Enzo.
The thirteenth century also saw the passage on the territory of St. Francis of Assisi, herald or rue peace and the construction of the convent of St. Francis (as recalled by a document of 1271). 

In the fourteenth century, to the never appeased struggle between Guelphs and Ghibellines, were added the mourning and miseries related to the appearance of the companies of fortune. 
In this chaotic situation, the free communes alternated with the lordships. 
The Malatesta of Rimini had influence on the castle territory, until 1366, when Castelfidardo passed under the dominion of Pope Urban V.
This last division will be for many years a source of conflicts until the "Fidardensi" accepted, in 1449, the protectorate of Ancona, ended in 1451 with the direct passage of the city to the Church. 
In the fifteenth century the urban center is divided into three parts called, "Cassero", "Varugliano" and "Montebello". 

Around 1484 a drawbridge was built at the "Cassero", the cistern of the "Varugliano" was rebuilt.
 the Pescara bridge was rebuilt and the construction of the Municipal Tower was entitled to Mastro Tiberio da Fabriano. 

In 1513 the city was ransacked by the bands of Paolo Vitelli and in 1517 by those of Francesco Maria della Rovere, Duke of Urbino. 


In 1550 the act of concord with Osimo was definitively ratified. 
The alliance provided for complete freedom of transit and trade between the two municipalities and favored the slow, but sure economic development of Castelfidardo in the second half of the sixteenth century. Defined as the century of the Renaissance and, therefore, of expansion of culture and economic activities, it was once again a period of great difficulty for the "castellana" community that had to suffer the continuous passage, on its territory, of armies that raided food and provisions thus determining a strong economic crisis. 

In 1588 regulations and laws regulating the life of the municipality were also codified. 

At the end of the sixteenth century Castelfidardo was among the most flourishing lands in the region, especially for the weavers.


The seventeenth century was not such a brilliant period for the city. It was characterized by a political and economic decay due in large part to the increasing influence that the administration of the Holy House of Loreto exercised on the "castellano" territory, controlling most of the agricultural land and the ownership and management of the important mills of the valley. 
However, the resident population recorded a strong population increase and the buildings near the two most important gates thickened. 

The eighteenth century represented the real beginning of the modern era: economy, mainly agricultural, booming and a remarkable urban development.
There was a renewal from the urban point of view.
The nobility gave a strong impulse to civil and religious urbanism through the construction or renovation of almost all the churches and buildings of greater value that can still be admired today. 

19 Century. 

It is in this century that Castelfidardo had its historical consecration in the national field. 
On 18 September 1860, almost at the end of the battles of the Risorgimento, the battle of Castelfidardo was fought, a decisive clash between the papal troops and those of the IV Piedmontese army corps led by General Cialdini. 
The defeat of the Popes determined the annexation of Umbria and Marche to the Kingdom of Sardinia first and then to the Kingdom of Italy. 
Towards the middle of the nineteenth century originated, thanks to the industriousness and ingenuity of Paolo Soprani, the construction of accordions that will transform the economy of Castelfidardo and other nearby centers, until then mainly agricultural, in a real industrial economy. 

20 Century. 

The local community benefited enormously from the accordion industry and expanded dramatically to 17,000 residents today. 
In 1988 it obtained the title of "city" for its merits. The more traditional one has been joined by the avant-garde industry with world-leading companies in the field of electronics, musical instruments, the production of objects and design.