[Territory]

Falerone

The numerous archaeological findings document that already in the 6th century b. C. the population of Falerone had made a sign in history. Falerio Picenus (the present town of Piane di Falerone) was born in 29 b. C.; at the Roman times it was already an important centre, featuring a theatre and an amphitheatre, numerous patrician villas, thermal resorts and sepulchral monuments. After this period of splendour, the town fell in a period of decadence. Its inhabitants were obliged to take refuge on the hills which dominated the river Tenna. From the 11th century until the Renaissance, the history of the town is bound with that of the various lords who govern it and its territory obtains very large possessions of land, including Montefortino, Caldarola, Force and Massa Fermana. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the town witnesses a flourishing cultural development, culminating in the agricultural tradition; in the following centuries it has been an important centre for the manufacture of hay and the production of hats.