JESI

Birthplace of Frederick II of Swabia and principal center of the Vallesina, Jesi is located in the centre of the Marches amid rolling, fertile hills crossed by the River Esino. Probably founded by Umbrians, it was subsequently occupied by Etruscans, the Gallic Senones and then Romans who called it Aesis. Destroyed several times by the Visigoths, Ostrogoths and Lombards, the town always managed to arise again from its ruins. The o1d centre (where remains of the Roman decuman gate can still be seen) is a maze of narrow streets and squares surrounded by majestic 14th-cent. walls. In 756 A.D. Pippin presented the town as a gift to the Church of Rome and Benedictine monks carried out extensive drainage works thereby improving the fertility of the entire valley. The remains of ancient abbeys and Romanesque churches can still be seen. It was bere that, in 1194, Costanza d'Altavilla gave birth to the great Frederick II of Swabia and Jesi remained for many years allied with the Ghibellines. In 1305 Jesi passed under the rule of the Church and began a long struggle against Fabriano, but on 8 March, 1328 the town was forced to surrender and once again became "imperial". After the great battle fought in the Marches by the Spanish Cardinal Egidio d'Albarnoz, Jesi again became subject to Papal rule; it subsequently fell to Galeotto Malatesta, then to Braccio da Montone and finally to Francesco Sforza (1433); in 1477 it passed back to the Church, but in 1517 was sacked by the troops of Urbino who were fighting against the pope.

In 1831, an attempt was made to constitute an independent government with a national guard but the experiment soon failed and Jesi's destiny followed that of the entire region. Today the town is an important commercial and industrial centre along the Falconara-Rome railway.

Historical town center

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