(ancient: '''Firmum
Picenum ''') is a town and commne of the
Marche ,
Italy , in the
Province Of Ascoli Piceno .
Fermo is located on a hill with a fine view, on a branch from
Porto S. Giorgio on the
Adriatic coast railway.
Fermo's attractions include:
- The , reconstructed in 1227 by Giorgio Da Como , has fine Mediaeval facade and campanile, as well as the side portal. The rose-window over the main door dates from 1348. In the porch are several good tombs, including one of 1366 by Tura Da Imola , and also the modern monument of Giuseppe Colucci , a famous writer on the antiquities of Picenum. The interior has been modernized. The building is now surrounded by a garden, with a splendid view.
- The Roman ; scanty traces of an amphitheatre also exist. Remains of the city wall, of rectangular blocks of hard limestone, may be seen just outside the Porta S. Francesco ; whether the walling under the Casa Porti belongs to them is doubtful. The medieval battlemented walls superposed on it are picturesque.
- The church of has a good tower and choir in brickwork of 1240, the rest having been restored in the 17th Century .
- Under the Dominican Order monastery is a very large Roman reservoir in two storeys, belonging to the imperial period, divided into many chambers, at least 24 on each level, each 9 by 6 m., for filtration.
- The , restored in 1446, with a statue of Pope Sixtus V in front of it. The Biblioteca Comunale contains a collection of inscriptions and antiquities.
The fraction of Porto S. Giorgio has a fine castle of 1269, blocking the valley that leads to Fermo.
The ancient was founded as a Latin colony in 264 BC, after the conquest of the
Picentes , as the local headquarters of the Roman power, to which it remained faithful. It was originally governed by five quaestors. It was made a colony with full rights after the
Battle Of Philippi , the ''legio IV'' being settled there. It lay at the junction of roads to
Pausulae ,
Urbs Salvia and
Asculum , being connected with the coast road by a short branch road from
Castellum Firmanum (Porto S. Giorgio). In the 10th century it became the capital of the
Marchia Firenana .
In 1199 it became a free city, and remained independent until 1550, when it was annexed to the
Papal States .
Fermo is now the capital city of the new
Province Of Fermo , that will be effective in
2009 .
Camera, Cantagallo, Capodarco, Cartiera di Tenna, Campiglione, Ete Palazzina, Faleriense, Gabbiano, Girola, Lido di Fermo, Madonnetta d'Ete, Marina Palmense, Moie, Molini Tenna, Montesecco, Parete, Pompeiana, Ponte Ete Vivo, Sacri Cuori, Salette, Salvano, San Biagio, San Lorenzo, San Marco, San Michele, San Tommaso, Santa Caterina, Torre di Palme, Villa San Claudio
