Ecomuseo della Valle dell'Aso

Monterubbiano, a noble land of ancient origins, stands majestically on the top of a singular hill 463 meters above sea level. Its roots go back to the remotest of times, among the legends of the first inhabitants of the Picenum, evidenced by the numerous tombs and small necropolises found in the area, the finds of which are now kept in the St. Francis Cultural Pole.
Chosen by Roman settlers, the locality took on the nameUrbs Urbana orUrbana Civitas, “Roman city” par excellence. After the fall of the Roman Empire, it was devastated by the Goths, but experienced a slow revival around the year 1000 thanks to the work of the Benedictines of Montecassino and, later, the Monks of Farfa. In the communal period it experienced the complex dynamics typical of the period, until it fell, in the 15th century, under the rule of Francesco Sforza, who expanded and fortified its walls. Later, it passed to the Papal States.
Over the centuries, Monterubbiano was the birthplace of numerous illustrious men who spread its name throughout Italy and the world. Among them: Matteo, Lucido and Giacomo, companions of St. Francis; Vincenzo Pagani, celebrated painter; Benedetto Mircoli, physician and rector of the University of Camerino; Luca Galli, architect; Temistocle Calzecchi Onesti, scientist; Carlo Calzecchi Onesti, architect and restorer; Rosa Calzecchi Onesti, great translator of Homer and Virgil, a leading figure in the modernization of classical translation canons; Gaetano Mircoli, cabinetmaker and pupil of Donati di Offida, whose works embellish churches and convents in the Marche and Umbria.
Monterubbiano is an authentic open-air museum, where nature, landscape, culture, science and art come together in an indissoluble union. In this setting every day, “the mystical silence that makes works cease and gathers the soul to God” is renewed, as if by enchantment, alongside the dynamism of the modern world, which exalts the vivacity, intelligence and kindness of its people.