Falerone

Falerio Picenus was a Roman colony, founded in the Augustan age probably around 29 BC as part of the reorganization of the Picenian territory and the settlement of veterans. Epigraphic records show that the inhabitants were predominantly members of the Velina tribe. Little information can be deduced from literary texts about this colony, but numerous are the evidences of its glorious past: the town of Falerone boasts, in fact, a remarkable archaeological heritage, which includes monuments such as the theater, the amphitheater, two cisterns and finds of valuable historical and artistic value exhibited in the local archaeological museum or dispersed in various museum sites in Italy or abroad.

There are also numerous and significant attestations of the medieval period, such as the rural Churches of San Paolino and Santa Margherita, dating back to the 13th cent, the 15th-century Loggia dei Mercanti, a striking two-tiered portico that once welcomed pilgrims, and the Church of San Fortunato, flanked by the original bell tower with its characteristic conical spire, inside which are housed works of considerable value, such as Vittore Crivelli’s Tablet depicting the Madonna adoring the Child and the San Fortunato Altarpiece attributed to Domenico Malpiedi, as well as an organ by Angelo Morettini made in 1835.

Inside the Civic Art Gallery, set up in the Church of St. Sebastian, is a panel painting attributed to Fra’ Marino Angeli depicting Stigmata of St. Francis and St. Michael the Archangel, while in the Church of St. John, in addition to works of significant artistic value, an organ by the Fratelli Fedeli of Camerino dating back to 1765 is preserved.

Monuments, churches

• Loggette dei Mercanti, picturesque 15th century two-tiered portico that welcomed pilgrims
• Church of San Fortunato, of Romanesque origin (13th-14th cent.) with a Renaissance portal. Inside is preserved a panel painting by Vittore Crivelli depicting the “Madonna Adoring the Child, and Two Angels” (1479)
• Former Church of St. Sebastian, small picture gallery housing the work by Frà Marino Angeli depicting “Stigmata of St. Francis and St. Michael the Archangel” (15th cent.)
• Church of St. Margaret (13th cent.)
• Church of St. Paulinus, of Lombard origin, is built with river stones and material from ruined Roman buildings. It has Roman-Gothic features with a quadrangular single-sloped tower

Food and wine

• Falerio Picenus Extra Virgin Olive Oil (olives produced from the Piantone di Falerone, an olive tree that takes on strong typicality in the Falerone area and neighboring municipalities)
• Lu serpe, a traditional Christmas cake prepared since the 17th century by the Poor Clare Sisters
• Prosciutto marchigiano
• D.O.C. Rosso Piceno and Bianco Falerio wines made from the grapes of the Falerio hills.