Mondavio is situated on a hilltop 280 mt above sea level with multiple views that go from the Adriatic Sea to the Apennines Mountains. Its beautiful ancient town center is one of the most well preserved of the whole Marche Region. The shape of its town planning is inspired to the architectural standards of a city that is a “living body” of Leonardo & Francesco di Giorgio Martini. The Complex “Rocca – Square – Town Hall – Church” represents the Head; “Corso Roma”, the Main Street represents the body and the connected Streets the arms and legs.
The residence of the family Della Rovere in Matteotti Square and Palazzo Giorgi in Corso Roma (Main Street) are two of the most striking palaces in the area. Charming & fascinating are the minor streets with their beautiful courtyards and tiny squares..
The origins of Mondavio are quite uncertain, the ancient traditions say it derives from the name of “Mons Avium” that is “Bird Hill” from lyric poetry and from Franciscan memoirs from which we also learn that the village arose around the Franciscan Convent on the piece of land that the Ricci family had donated to San Francesco..
Others sustain that the village was founded by Roman exiles arriving from Suasa, following the invasion and destruction by the Gothic King Alarico in the year 409, this was the year before the “Sack of Rome”. The first document in which Mondavio appears is in a papal bull dated 1178 and in a Register of the Vatican prior to 1289.
The existence in this municipality of a “Castrum” (a fortified center) and of a “Cassero” (bridge house) is proven in 1316 when inside this Municipality, Fano & Fabriano sign the peace treaty.
Its glorious history goes across numerous disputes and conquering wars between various noble families of the Italian Renaissance from the Sfroza to Malatesta, the Piccolomini and last but not least the Della Rovere. This because Mondavio was in a strategic geographic position between Urbino and Senigallia. The period of greatest development and abundance (richness) of Mondavio coincides with the regency of about 130 years of the Della Rovere family together with the Montefeltro family following the wedding between Giovanni Duke of Mondavio and Giovanna, daughter of Federico from Montefeltro of Urbino. Mondavio is situated on a hilltop 280 mt above sea level with multiple views that go from the Adriatic Sea to the Apennines Mountains. Its beautiful ancient town center is one of the most well preserved of the whole Marche Region. The shape of its town planning is inspired to the architectural standards of a city that is a “living body” of Leonardo & Francesco di Giorgio Martini. The Complex “Rocca – Square – Town Hall – Church” represents the Head; “Corso Roma”, the Main Street represents the body and the connected Streets the arms and legs. The residence of the family Della Rovere in Matteotti Square and Palazzo Giorgi in Corso Roma (Main Street) are two of the most striking palaces in the area. Charming & fascinating are the minor streets with their beautiful courtyards and tiny squares…. |