Monte Urano

The history of Monte Urano subsequently runs parallel to that of the major center (City of Fermo) on which it depended; after alternate events, Fermo finally acquired Monte Urano, along with other castles, in emphyteusis from the metropolitan chapter. With the intervention of Cardinal Albornoz aimed at bringing its territory back under the control of the Holy See by reorganizing the State of the Church, Monte Urano too, along with the castles dependent on Fermo, was summoned to take an oath of allegiance. In the statutes of Fermo the various castles were divided, according to their contributive capacities, into Maiores, Mediocres, Minores: Monte Urano was also counted among the latter. In the following centuries the ancient settlement expanded with the enlargement of the hamlets connected to the three churches outside the perimeter of the walls and united to the original castle nucleus in the last century: as the old parish church was now dimensionally insufficient, it was decided to rebuild the church of San Michele Arcangelo, elaborated on the design of architect Giovan Battista Carducci and modified by the famous architect Giuseppe Sacconi, who was entrusted with the continuation of the work. The new church and the square in front of it, the current center of the city, determined the connection with the old castle nucleus, which can be accessed, on this side, from the Porta Nova (18th century). Beginning in the sixteenth century from the urban centers, castles or free communes, the process of appoderament in the territory began, laying the foundations of sharecropping farming, which has been maintained as the main resource until part of the present century. Since the eighteenth century, in addition to agriculture, the collection of wine lees, associated with the establishment of a cremor tartaro factory, and the collection of rags, which were sold by wholesalers to the main paper mills in the Marche or Northern Italy, as well as to the Prato mills, became established in Monte Urano as main activities. From the Tuscan town they also supplied raw materials for use in the footwear business, the development of which made Monte Urano one of the major manufacturing centers in the entire Picenum region.

The origin of the name

According to some scholars the origin of the name MONTE URANO comes from Greco-Roman mythology where the mythological character God-Uranus, personification of the sky fertilizes the earth, Gaea, by means of rain. According to other scholars the origin of the name MONTERIANO and MONTERONE so was called MONTE URANO in the past centuries, comes from the combination of two words one Latin and the other Greek: MONS THERION ( mountain with wild animals) as the word “tero” means “beast,” a place therefore where sacrifices were offered with immolation of bulls to the deities.

Presentation

Monte Urano is a pleasant town nestled among the green and restful hills of the Marche, ten minutes from the Adriatic Sea and a few kilometers from the magical Sibillini Mountains. Monte Urano, after its century-old history, which has seen it as a protagonist together and united with the town of Fermo, is today a productive town of 8,500 inhabitants, covering a territory of just 16.5 sq. km. To those who visit it, Monte Urano offers an ever-expanding productive reality (in fact, numerous are its footwear factory outlets), a typical and excellent local gastronomy (which traces the route of the best Marche cuisine). together with a serene and pleasant climate. Not to be forgotten, the town’s characteristic medieval views, typical of every urban agglomeration in the Marche hinterland.
Of particular interest is the Church of San Michele Arcangelo (1860 – 1877) designed by architects Giovan Battista Carducci and Giuseppe Sacconi. Cultural and tourist events include the “Footwear Market of Monturanese Manufacturers,” every Friday in July and the first two Fridays in August in the town’s historic center, the festival at the Alex Langer River Park on April 25, and in addition to a rich series of events strictly held in outdoor spaces during the Monturanese Summer, the interesting cultural program (art cinema, theater, music) of the show season at the Arlecchino municipal cine theater from October to May each year.

On the history of footwear

The earliest evidence regarding the manufacture of slippers in the Monte Urano area dates back to the 1820s-30s. An 1808 survey by the Ministry of the Interior of the Italic Kingdom, reveals the existence in Monte Urano of “shoemakers’ factories.” In an 1815 “register of death records” of Monte Urano, shoemakers then very often appear among the witnesses. Among the scanty and fragmented testimonies collected in the Marche by the Industrial Investigation Committee in 1872 is the deposition of engineer Giovan Battista Carducci of Fermo on the production of slippers. According to the note presented on that occasion, 30,000 pairs of slippers were being produced in Monte Urano (the report points out that “all industries are increasing”) . Beginning in the 1970s, the spread of the treadle machine for sewing uppers marks the progressive and massive inclusion of women in manufacturing. Women’s work, hitherto limited to the weaving and finishing of uppers, is expanded and the hemming of uppers becomes the exclusive task of women; this allows for an increase in production, a decrease in costs, as women’s wages are lower than men’s, as well as an expansion in the variety of items. By the early twentieth century, shoemaking had attained a decided prominence in the Monturese economy and complemented the traditional business of collecting, sorting and selling rags and lees. The “stracciaroli” of Monte Urano are active straddling the provinces of Ascoli Piceno and Macerata. The goods traded by them are sourced both from private homes and within the few “industries” of the time. In this period there is definitely an osmosis between rags collection and shoemaking activities. The less valuable rags are given to the industrialists of Prato, in exchange for heavy cardboard and leather scraps; the “nobler” ones are used in the local shoemaking industry; slippers and lightweight shoes are made there, often with a thin central quilting that joins the right and left sections of the upper.
The solution to get out of the depression of the early 1900s is unanimously identified in the opening of mechanized factories, which will also arrive in Monte Urano after 1910. Meanwhile, during the First World War, the entire Italian production apparatus is subjected to a massive effort in the logic of having to produce everything necessary for the war, partly positively affecting the footwear economy of the Monte Urano area. The reorganization and partial mechanization of the industry, especially in the interwar period, is often the responsibility of experienced former workers. The first Monturanese entrepreneur who mechanized his shoe factory was Alfredo Berdini.
In the interwar period, Monturanese shoemakers had not yet specialized in the manufacture of children’s shoes; this would happen in the early 1950s. The artisans make slippers, slippers and canvas shoes; entrepreneurs with machinery produce men’s shoes that are the most popular.
With World War II, the Ministry distributes a huge amount of shoe orders, and this time all regions are beneficiaries of state orders.

The end of the conflict marked a turning point in shoemaking, although agriculture still constituted the sector with the highest percentage of the working population, in our region, the attraction to the factory and the desire to set up one’s own business grew dramatically. The search for a more secure and probably higher income than farming often results in the transition from farmer or sharecropper to factory worker and then, sometimes, after not many years, to entrepreneur. Monte Urano, too, is positively affected by this new economic fervor; “in every home,” an activity related to the shoe industry opens. The local shoemakers, precisely in the decade 1951-1961, focus, almost exclusively, their production in the making of children’s and boys’ shoes; the reasons that led the “industrialists” of Monte Urano to choose this segment of the market were basically two: the relative ease with which children’s shoes could be made and the scarce competition present in the market; The economic growth of the town was very rapid: “one house, one craft workshop” is the slogan of those years; in fact, artisans rapidly mechanize their workshops, which in the short space of a few years turn into “modern shoe factories”; other businesses are opened, ex novo, by former workers in the sector who take advantage of the positive trend to set up on their own. Monte Urano is now one of the largest municipalities in Italy in terms of productivity and economic development. It stands as one of the largest concentrations of the Italian footwear industry. In recent years, it has greatly diversified its footwear production, occupying (in addition to 15% of the world production sector of children’s footwear), also important market shares in men’s and women’s footwear. Monturan enterprises have achieved in recent years, a very high degree of industrialization even with the most sophisticated means of information technology. They now enjoy international prestige for high quality, comfort, design. The production exported to various countries of Europe and the world, is sold under the brands of the most important and publicized commercial. With its 70 hectares of extension, the industrial zone of Monte Urano called the “CAM” zone (from the original Consortium of Monturanesi Artisans) is certainly a landmark for the economy of the area and a point of pride for all Monturans. A magnificent proof of maturity of local entrepreneurship. The area, which is home to Monte Urano’s largest footwear and industrial industries, is equipped with quality infrastructure with ample green spaces and a very convenient road system. For the past few years, during the months of July and August, Monte Urano has been hosting the “footwear market of Monte Urano manufacturers,” an opportunity for the many tourists who frequent the coastal areas of Fermo, both to buy “at factory prices,” the “renowned” footwear produced in Monte Urano, and to get to know “the town,” its architectural history and its artistic heritage.

Monuments, churches:

• Church of San Michele Arcangelo (1897) built to a design by Giovan Battista Carducci and Giuseppe Sacconi
• Church of San Rocco (16th cent.)
• Church of St. John the Baptist (17th cent.)
• Church of Santa Maria Apparente (14th cent.)
• Church of Sant’Isidoro (14th cent.), temporarily closed for restoration.
• Wooden crucifix, Madonna del Rosario by L. Fontana (Church of San Michele Arcangelo).
• No. three paintings from the mid-1800s (Church of San Rocco)
• Fresco of the “Madonna dellen nevi” (Church di Sant’Isidoro, currently closed for restoration)
• Oil paintings by painter Ludovico Spagnolini, (1858/1943) permanently displayed in the Council Chamber of the Municipal Palace
• Piazza dela Libertà Square, design by Giovan Battista Carducci
• Core of the ancient medieval castle (12th-13th cent.), with the Civic Tower, The Bulwark, Porta nova, Marconi Square, Cortile Square, Leopardi Square
• The public fountain (19th cent.)
• The Public Clock (located at the top of the Porta Nova) still working and fully manual. (19th cent.)
• Alex Langer” River Park , crossroad of the S.P. Faleriense