The “fermano”: a complex and old identity

“It is not easy to summarize the geographical surroundings and the cultural characteristics of the “fermano”, the territory included between the Adriatic shore and the Apennine buttresses, ploughed by rivers designing its typical “comb” morphology, where the landscape quickly changes from sandy stretches to the harmony of hills punctuated with farmhouses as far as the Sibillini tops swept by an old wind bringing hidden memories.
Landscapes shaped by ages of human care alternates with inaccessible cliffs which in the early Middle Ages hosted saints and hermits.

If we wanted to find out the lowest common denominator of the fermano we should necessarily use the concept of “varietas” spread over the morphology of places as well as any other aspect of local civilization. Never-ending is indeed the variety of urban structures from Roman settlements, they remain the only traces of, to medieval fortified villages protected by powerful walls and towers, as far as the Renaissance intervalled eurythmies when the urban space places itself in rational geometrical systems.
The Baroque has tempered its most theatrical excesses in the fermano, imposing itself more evidently in some insides whereas the 18th century rationalism, influenced by Luigi Vanvitelli, has left a deep trace on many aspects of public and private building.Although the fermano has been farmers land until the early middle part of last century
the territory hasn’t remained strange to culture: in the civilized little towns dozens of theatres rose between the XVIII and XIX centuries on the initiative of groups of coowners caring about the people education while in churches plenty of organs accompanied solemn liturgies thus spreading, through prayers, the habit of music as well.

Quite rich is also the outline of figurative arts which from the Middle Ages to the 19th century has seen important foreign artists in Fermo giving strength to local art promoting the coming out of many painters, sculptors, architects, carvers and goldsmiths. It’s hard to say which was the gold century for Fermo art because each period had its splendours: the 15th century has certainly been an intense one made lively by cultural exchanges with Venice through Jacobello da Fiore, Carlo and Vittore Crivelli, but not less fervid is the “sistina” age towards the end of the 16th century very important for building initiatives in Fermo, Montalto and Grottammare promoted by Sisto V himself.

Despite the Napoleon plunders and the dispersion which followed the annexation of the Marche to the Italian kingdom the fermano towns keep an immense artistic patrimony still to be studied and valued for its most. In the cultural time following the deep change brought by the assertion of industry discovering one’s own roots and keeping the contact with past times alive is fundamental not to loose one’s own territorial identity”.

(Prof. Stefano Papetti from the magazine Città Ideale n. 0 – December 1999)

Seaside, hills, mountains: the fermano is like a prism in which all the Italian landscapes are reflected, included in a strict territory allowing people to enjoy them in a short time.
If the Marches represents Italy in one Region, Fermo is its quintessence.

Each hill has dozens of bell towers and powerful walls as defence, Romanesque and Gothic churches, monuments, palaces and several farmhouses in the fields, main factor of the humanization and geometrizing of the territory. In the fermano is really hard to find a not cultivated strip of land even when the inaccessible site wouldn’t advice it.

All the 40 Communes in the fermano is a meeting with art and history as much fascinating as unexpected, first of all Fermo, noble and dominating town with an old and glorious history written in its streets, palaces, churches and important monuments.