The town of Ortezzano borders on the territories of Monte Rinaldo, Montottone, Monte Vidon Combatte, Carassai and Montalto. The nearby rivers are: the Aso (from the Latin Hausum = river) and its left tributary, the torrent Indaco (from the Latin Indago > Intus ago = runs inside).
The place-name is cited by Pliny (NH, III, 12, 108): "Gellianus auctor est lacu Fucino haustum Marsorum oppidum Archippe, conditum a Marsya, duce Lydorum; item Urticinorum in Piceno deletum a Romanis Valerianus" = "Gellianus (Cneo Gellio) narrates that the Marsa town of Archippe, founded by Marsya, duke of the Lidi, was swallowed by the lake Fucino; even Valerianus (Valerio Anziate) narrates that the town of the Urticini in the Piceno was destroyed by the Romans". From the term Urticorum, which in other documents appears as vidicinorum, viticinorum and vicinorum, we get Urticinum. Later variants are Horticinum and Horticinium. The etymology derives from the Greek còrtoj = fence (Latin: hortus; Russian: gorod; Slavic: grad; Bengali: graamen). The site was contiguous to the zone called "the city" in the locality of Prato. They were of the Piceno ethnic group, whose civilisation, culminating between the 9th and 3rd centuries b. C., consisted of different tribes. They owed the language and the writing to the Greek ethnic group. The defeat of the Piceno in 268 b. C., against a single Roman army led by consuls Publio Sempronio Sopho and Appio Claudio, was due to a treachery. The battle took place in the territory of Ortezzano; Urticinum was destroyed and its inhabitants were deported to the Fucino lake in the Marsica region, where today the town of Ortucchio perpetuates its name. With the foundation of the colony of Fermo (264 b. C.), the Romans were constantly present in the territory and another ethnic group constituted the town, contiguous to the one with Piceno origin. Archaeological documents testify of the discovery of mosaics, opus spicatum, armillas, fibulas, vases, burners, arrows, rings and of a vast pre-Roman necropolis (G. A. Giulietti). However, the citation by Speranza has no verification: - in 1877 "in a propriety of Mr Giulietti Romeo, [the discovery] of a coloured mosaic floor, long and large more than five metres. Between a gracious rounded frieze, there were portrayed, at the corners, the four seasons; in the middle there was another image which was not identified by those who saw it and referred it to the inspector Allevi" (Notizie degli scavi di antichità, Salvucci editions, Rome, 1878). There has been much talking about this lost mosaic; something was certainly taken away and the rest has degraded. The place of origin must have been "the city". - in 1975 in the locality of Castelletta [the discovery] of a writing with Etruscan signs: _UPTIL. L - in 1996 in Molino street [the discovery] of an oil-lamp. There is to be read: FRONTO. At the time of the abbot Benedetto (803-815), Colucci, citing Muratori, writes: In territorio firmano monasterium S. Silvestri et Sanctae Marianae" (Cronicon col. 424 and 469). It is to be underlined that : - the Church with Monastery of St Silvestro was placed in Ortezzano, not in Fermo. It was where now Elio Malaspina’s old house is - the Cronicon states that the Church of St Marina with Monastery was robbed by abbot Ildebrando. But I think it is an unfounded information, since the same court was enlisted in the possessions of the abbey in 1118. The Cronicon states, indeed : "De valle de Ortatiano alibi curtis S. Marie ossia S. Marine de Ortatiano" and "Curtis S. Maroti et S. Gregorii de Ortezzano cum magnis pertinentiis". Now the Church of St Maria corresponds to the homonymous church on the square; the Church of St Maroto was in the locality of St Massimo and, with the presence of a monastery, it became a parish church; St Gregorio was in the locality of Rignano.
There are rests of walls, tiles and bones in F. Foglia’s house. The presence of the Farfense monks is important for: their stay in the Fermo zone. The abbot Pietro I abandoned the abbey of Farfa in 897 to escape from the predatory incursions by the Saracens. - the land possession. As a result of donations and acquisitions, they were always jotted by imperial certificates. - the name Marche. The term Markia appears several times in the Cronicon and in the Regesto farfensi. The word does not derive from the Gothic “marka”, so it does not mean border, nor district, nor region. The etymon, introduced by the Longobards, is to be traced back in the old German term “mark”: it was a coin. In our case it was a tax given to the clergy - the gratuities. They were a kind of tributes. Under the government of the abbot Sicardo (830-843), Lotharius I, in December 840, renovates to the abbey the gratuity on the “portum in Aso”. The “portus” was a point of support for the traders. It does not indicate any harbour with rafts or ferryboats. The passage between the two banks was done through a line of trunks. - the name of Ortatiano, then Ortezzano. Variants of these are Hortezzano and Ortentiano. - the garrison. It was a jurisdiction inserted in the feud. Born in 1225, it reigned until 1586. Ortezzano, however, was excluded from the above-mentioned garrison. In 774 Charles the Great defeated the Longobard reign of King Desiderio and the Fermana Marca, notwithstanding the Promissio carisiaca by King Pipino of 754, remained annexed to the Dukedom of Spoleto. Charles the Great founded the Sacred Roman Empire, which lasted from 800 until 1806, the year in which King Francesco II abdicated. In 927, under the reign of King Ugo of Provence (926-944), the Castle of Ortezzano was built, as an act of rebellion against Fermo and on October 10th 1060 Ortezzano obtained the municipal government. In 1117 the Norman (Suavi) damaged the town; they were descendants of the Vikings and they used to go on forays in the region of Fermo already at the time of Pope Leone IX (1049-1054). In 1357 the cardinal Egidio Albornoz, under the reign of Pope Clemente VI, took the State back to normality and promulgated in Fano the “New Constitutions”, which ruled until the Napoleon period. The Marche region was divided into three garrisons: S. Lorenzo in Campo (Pesaro), Camerino (Ancona) and S. Vittoria in Matenano (Ascoli Piceno); and into ten States: Ascoli, Fermo, Macerata, Recanati, Ancona, Jesi, Cagli, Pesaro, Urbino, Montefeltro.
Ortezzano was a castrum minore (minor town) and depended on Fermo. In 1415, Carlo Malatesta from Cesena, contender of Ludovico Migliorati, nephew of Pope Innocenzo VIII, for the dominion of Fermo, set a devastating fire on the Castle of Ortezzano.
The castle, instead, prospered until the years between 1433 and 1446, under the protection of the Sforza family. In 1528, Lautrec, with his army of Lanzichenecchi and transiting in the Marche coming back from the Kingdom of Naples, stayed in the territory of Ortezzano, with consequent discomfort of the local population. In 1549, the bandit Federico Nobili invaded the State of Fermo. The bishop of Pesaro Simonetti attacked him and defeated him in Ortezzano in 1561.
In 1591 Ortezzano was taken by Battistello: he, with his gang, entered during the night, devastated the town but then, to obtain freedom of passage in the territory, tried to repair his damages. At the time of Pope Paolo V (1605-1621), the Oratory of St Filippo Neri received the title of Congregation.
In 1608 the Confraternities of St Maria del Rosario and of St Spirito were constituted in Ortezzano; whereas the Confraternity of St Sacramento was founded in 1641.
In the 1960s Ortezzano was a testimony of the social change: no more patriarchal families. The search for land to be cultivated, the fear of eviction, the discrimination of families with daughters and illiteracy ended. There followed a consistent emigration; to block this phenomenon the Municipality founded the Ortenzia Company (1969-1999) for the building of a shoe-factory. The stables diminished; coppersmiths, horse-breeders, cartwrights, smiths and hemp workers disappeared.
In the 1970s, in Ortezzano, there flourished new building activities and the historical town centre was restored.
In the old centre you can admire the ruins of the castle which rose around a look out tower on the present house Malaspina. You can still have a look at a Ghibelline tower with an open pentagonal basis, walls of the 1400’s portals and vaults in Gothic style.
The church of Carmine founded by the Papetti Brothers is worthy of note. It preserves some xylography by Ceschini and a work of art by Maratta. The building of the fountain da Bora is attributed to the same family.
The church of San Girolamo is the parish church rebuilt in 1767. On the major altar by Domenico Zampieri a copy of the painting of Pavese about Domenichino is preserved. Above one of the side doors you can see the oldest armorial bearings of the village: three mountains with a flower over the central one.
The Church of Santa Maria: this church is situated in the square, it was once located outside the walls. It is of Farfa origin and has since been rebuilt (1450) in the shape of a Greek cross, it was subsequently widened (1585) and had a bell tower added in 1759. The church is home to a painting on wood by Giovanni and Vincenzo Pagani (1509), a via Crucis by the Sebastiano Conca da Gaeta, a 14th century fresco fragment and a work of art by Carlo Maratta. There is also an organ constructed by Attili di Ortezzano, a work of art by Antonio Liozzi and, most importantly, a golden inscription on the cornice by Dante Alighieri.
Going downhill towards Sobborghi da sole it is worth noting the restoration of the imposing city walls, the cut off towers and the armorial bearings. Another fountain called Tre Cannelle was used for the supplying of water.
Along the Aso river and on the Indaco outlet we can see the typical river vegetation with some remains of Mediterranean areas: the many mid-hilly landscape views are crossed by the typical white country roads spotted with age-old oaks and poplars.
There are several small villages and Hamlets worthy of note.
Croce – there are several sights here, but the Church of Santa Maria in Nives (1641), of the Antonini family, is a definite highlight.
Castellatta – was once an ancient colony (1148-1573), only the church of Santa Croce remains. The village was also once a likely Roman settlement due to the ancient walls that can be seen here as well.
Cisterna – the first of several Picenian settlements in the region, referred to by Pliny as Urticinum. There is a fountain, and a little church still remains in this ancient village.
San Massimo – Archaeological activity in the area uncovered ancient mosaics and, more recently, a kiln.
