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ASCOLI
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ASCOLI PICENO' (anc. Asculum), a See also:town and episcopal see of the See also:Marches, See also:Italy, the See also:capital of the See also:province of Ascoli Piceno, 17 m. W. of See also:Porto d' Ascoli (a station on the See also:coast railway, 56 m. S.S.E. of See also:Ancona), and 53 M. S. of Ancona See also:direct, situated on the S. See also:bank of the Tronto (anc. Truentus) at its confluence with the Castellano, 5oo ft. above See also:sea-level, and surrounded by lofty mountains. Pop. (1901) town, 12,256; See also:commune, 28,608. The Porta See also:Romana is a See also:double-arched See also:Roman See also:gate; adjacent are remains of the massive See also:ancient See also:city walls, in rectangular blocks of See also: Higher up is the See also:castle, which now shows no traces of fortifications older than See also:medieval; it commands a fine view of the town and of the mountains which encircle it. The town has many good pre-See also:Renaissance buildings; the picturesque colonnaded See also:market-See also:place contains the fine See also:Gothic church of S. See also:Francesco and the See also:original Palazzo del Comune, now the prefecture (Gothic with Renaissance additions). The See also:cathedral is in origin Romanesque,2 but has been much altered, and was restored in 1888 by See also:Count Giuseppe Sacconi (1855-1905). The frescoes in the See also:dome, of the same date, are by Cesare Mariani. The See also:cope presented to the cathedral See also:treasury by See also:Pope See also:Nicholas 1V. was stolen in 1904, and sold to Mr J. Pierpont See also:Morgan, who generously returned it to the See also:Italian See also:government, and it was then placed for greater safety in the Galleria See also:Corsini at See also:Rome. The See also:baptistery still preserves its ancient See also:character; and the churches of S. Vittore and SS. Vincenzo ed Anastasio are also good Romanesque buildings. The fortress of the Malatesta, constructed in 1349, has been in the See also:main destroyed; the See also:part of it which remains is now a See also:prison. The See also:present Palazzo Comunale, a Renaissance edifice, contains a fine museum, chiefly remarkable for the contents of prehistoric tombs found in the See also:district (including good See also:bronze fibulae, necklaces, amulets, &c., often decorated with See also:amber), and a large collection of See also:acorn-shaped See also:lead missiles (glandes) used by stingers, belonging to the See also:time of the See also:siege of Asculum during the Social See also:War (89 B.C.). There is also a picture See also:gallery containing See also:works by See also:local masters, Pietro See also:Alamanni, Cola d' Amatrice, Carlo See also:Crivelli, &c. The See also:bridges across the ravines which defend the town are of consider-able importance; the See also:Ponte di Porta Cappucina is a very fine Roman See also:bridge, with a single See also:arch of 71 ft. span. The Ponte di See also:Cecco (so named from Cecco d' Ascoli), with two See also:arches, is also Roman and belongs to the Via See also:Salaria; the Ponte See also:Maggiore and the Ponte Cartaro are, on the other See also:hand, medieval, though the latter perhaps preserves some traces of Roman See also:work. Near Ascoli is See also:Castel Trosino, where an extensive Lombard See also:necropolis of the 7th See also:century was discovered in 1895; the contents of the tombs are now exhibited in the Museo Nazionale delle Terme at Rome (Notizie degli scavi, 1895, 35). The ancient Asculum was the capital of li'icenum, and it ' The epithet distinguishes it from Ascoti Satriano (anc. Ausculum), which lies 19 m. S. of See also:Foggia by See also:rail. 2 It contains a fine polyptych by Carlo Crivelli (1473).occupied a strong position in the centre of difficult See also:country. It was taken in 268 B.C. by the See also:Romans, and the Via Salaria was no doubt prolonged thus far at this See also:period; the distance from Rome is 120 M. It took a prominent part in the Social War against Rome, the proconsul Q. Servilius and all the Roman citizens within its walls being massacred by the inhabitants in go B.C. It was captured after a See also:long siege by Pompeius See also:Strabo in 8g B.C. The See also:leader, Judacilius, committed See also:suicide, the See also:principal citizens were put to See also:death, and the See also:rest exiled. The Roman See also:general celebrated his See also:triumph on the 25th of See also:December of that See also:year. See also:Caesar occupied it, however, as a strong position after See also:crossing the See also:Rubicon; and it received a Roman See also:colony, perhaps under the triumvirs, and became a place of some importance. In A.D. 301 it became the capital of See also:Picenum Suburbicarium. In 545 it was taken by See also:Totila, but is spoken of by See also:Paulus Diaconus as the See also:chief city of Picenum shortly afterwards. From the time of See also:Charlemagne it was under the See also:rule of its bishops, who had the See also:title of See also:prince and the right to See also:coin See also:money, until 1185, when it became a See also:free See also:republic. It had many struggles with See also:Fermo, and in the 15th century came more directly under the papal sway. See N. Persichetti in Romische Mitteilungen (1903), 295 seq. (T. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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