Potenza Picena
Potenza Picena is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Macerata in the Italian region of Marche, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) southeast of Ancona and about 15 kilometres (9 mi) northeast of Macerata.
Potenza Picena | |
---|---|
Comune di Potenza Picena | |
![]() | |
![]() Coat of arms | |
Location of Potenza Picena ![]() | |
![]() ![]() Potenza Picena Location of Potenza Picena in Italy ![]() ![]() Potenza Picena Potenza Picena (Marche) | |
Coordinates: 43°22′N 13°37′E | |
Country | Italy |
Region | Marche |
Province | Macerata (MC) |
Frazioni | Montecanepino, Porto Potenza Picena, San Girio |
Government | |
• Mayor | Sergio Paolucci (Partito Democratico) |
Area | |
• Total | 47.6 km2 (18.4 sq mi) |
Elevation | 237 m (778 ft) |
Population (31 December 2010)[2] | |
• Total | 16,081 |
• Density | 340/km2 (870/sq mi) |
Demonym(s) | Potentini, Santesi |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Postal code | 62018 |
Dialing code | 0733 |
Patron saint | St. Stephen, St. Girio, St. Anna (Porto) |
Saint day | May 25 (St. Giro)
December 26 (St. Stephen) (July 26 for Porto) |
Website | Official website |
Potentia was the Roman town situated in the lower Potenza valley, in the contemporary Italian region of Marche.
Geography
The town is on a hill a few kilometres from the Adriatic coast. The bordering municipalities are Civitanova Marche, Montecosaro, Montelupone, Porto Recanati and Recanati.
The now abandoned Roman town Potentia was located along the central Adriatic Italian coast, near the modern town of Porto Recanati, in the province of Macerata. Its original position was just north of the main Roman bed of the River Potenza (the ancient Flosis), which at present flows more than 1 km to the north.
Late Roman Potentia
The general agreement that in Italy the late and post-Roman period saw a widespread and marked decline in town dwelling, with various Roman centres progressively abandoned and those that survived were less populous and certainly less monumental than before, also applies for Potentia. Surviving literary sources indicate that Potentia had become an episcopal seat by the beginning of the 5th century and that a bishop was present in Potentia up to the beginning of the 6th century. Although archaeological studies still have to prove the existence of a new Christian sanctuary it should be assumed that a church was built around 400. From the 4th century onwards city occupation gradually contracted. The finding of later 5th- and/or 6th-century graves in the northern part of the town implies that the city wall no longer defined a deliberate and real limit to the town. From the 6th century onwards the former urban center was gradually abandoned and dismantled, to the benefit of the nearby new towns of Recanati, Potenza Picena and later Porto Recanati.
Geography
Modern Potenza counts three frazioni: Montecanepino, Porto Potenza Picena and San Girio.
Buildings
- San Francesco
- Sant'Agostino
- Santuario di San Girio
- Chiesa degli Zoccolanti
- Chiesa dei Cappuccini
People related to Potenza Picena
- Renzo Tortelli, photographer.
- Giordano Macellari, painter.
- Ludovico Scarfiotti, Formula One and sports car driver.
- Ferdinando Scarfiotti, art director.
Contemporary twin towns
Templemore (Ireland)
Burford (United Kingdom)
References
- "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Istat. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- All demographics and other statistics: Italian statistical institute Istat.