Servigliano

A Brief History

After the primitive Picenian settlements, the town of Servigliano came to be named after a rural landowner called Servilio, who chose to build a villa there. Around the year 1000 an association of families erected a castle, Castel San Marco, upon the highest hill of the village, which came under the jurisdiction of the committee of Fermo. Subsequently, most of the population lived in the neighbouring districts of Santa Lucia, San Gualtiero, San Filippo, Castel Belluco, Rocca, San Pietro, Ete, Peschiere, Chiarmonte, Piana Santa Maria, Castellano, San Cataldo and others.
 
In the second half of the 18th century the castle started sinking down due to water erosion, until popular support headed by Father Monti asked the conclave Cardinals for help, and in 1769 Pope Clement XIV decided that it should be rebuilt elsewhere. The new village, called Castel Clementino, began building in 1773 and was completed in 1773 under the reign of Pius VI. The name Servigliano was taken again by the town in 1863 during the reign of Savoy.

Some of the famous people to have emerged from Servigliano over the years include:

• Luigi Vecchiotti (1804-1863) the musician and choir-master of Loreto, to which he gave an everlasting fame.
• Father Serviliano Vecchiotti (1819-1876) set up the Montani institute (now a technical school) on Christmas day 1854
• Gaetano Vecchiotti (1886-1973) was Italian consul and ambassador in the Helvetic Confederation
• Father Vincenzo Minorita, teacher of Philosophy in the University of Fermo in the 18th century
• Father Giovanni Curi (1776-1846), a Jesuit teacher of Dogmatic and Moral Theology at the
• Papal Gregorian University and at the seminary of Fermo
• Monsignor Augusto Curi (1870-1933) the promoter of Voce delle Marche, the Voice of Marche, and Archbishop of Bari
• Amerindo Camilli (1879-1960) a famous glottologist and phonetician in Florence
• The God Servant Sister Angela Benedetta Bongiovanni (1640-1713), a Clare nun at Potenza Picena. Devotees still pray to her for various graces
• Sister Maria Liberata Isidori del Carmelo, a pioneer among the lepers in Santa Fe in Brazil.

Places to Visit

The urban plan for the old centre of Servigliano is peculiar because of its formalised structure, planned and executed as a rectangular block of 144x137 metres. Three entrance gates contain the flanked houses, a collegiate church and other classical buildings. There are two main leading axes, the Cardo and the Decumanus, which the buildings all border. They converge in the square in front of the Collegiate of San Marco. Within the ‘squared town’ are decorations and paintings by the Ricci brothers, famous painters from Fermo. This group of buildings runs parallel to the 16th century monastery of the Friars Minor along with the church of Santa Maria del piano, which was widened by Father Mancinelli (the guardian) in the 18th century. Fortunately that did not affect the lovely frescoes of the Madonna con Bambino, Crocifisso con la Madre e San Giovanni, and also Sant’Antonio, all of which are attributed to Brother Giacomo, who dates back to 1468.
 
The sixteenth century wooden sculpture of the Madonna Assunta (Our Lady of the Assumption) and the polychromatic wood engraved crucifix crafted in Venice in 1599 by Cecco di Udine are both very valuable. The remains of Saint Walter, a 13th century local, are kept in a golden shrine dated back to 1403. This was moved from the old village hall to the present collegiate church. The town Hall has an enchanting courtyard with a beautiful council hall within which reside two semi-busts that celebrate the former glory of Pope Clement XIV and Luigi Vecchiotti from Servigliano, the composer of important and valuable music. The parish church of Santa Maria delle Piagge, which is situated at Curetta and built in 1784, has paintings of Our Lady of Consolation and The Education of Mary Child with Sant’Anna and San Gioacchino.

Nature Routes

Surrounding Servigliano are panoramic views of the rolling hillsides, dotted with Poplar and oak. There are also the lush riverbanks and other areas of beautiful, arable farmland.

Exhibitions and Folk Festivals

In 1454 the abbot of Farfa from Santa Vittoria in Matenano surrendered the plain of San Gualtiero to the ancient community of Servigliano. In order to celebrate this event some games were organised, and since 1969 this tradition has been re-established thanks to Pro Loco (the local tourist office). Hence every year on the Saturday and Sunday following Ferragosto (15th August), the Torneo Cavalleresco di San Clementino (The Knight Tournament of Saint Clementine) takes place. It is a lavish 15th century historical, costume celebration.

It consists of an historical parade with over 500 ‘knights’ taking part and it carries the revellers through the ages of Italy in costume. In fact one can view the costumes in more detail at the district tailors, where the copies are made from drawings by artists of the period including il Bronzino, il Ghirlandaio, Piero della Francesca, il Pollaiolo and many others. The festival reaches its peak with the Giostra dell’Anello (Joust of the Ring), four rounds of a tournament in which the knights compete on an octagon shaped playing field with the aim being to hit the centre of twelve concentric circles with their joust. The winner gets the coveted Palio defending the districts colours.

Another highlight is the flag waving which occurs on every third Sunday of August. Everything is skilfully and artistically choreographed to the rhythmical military music of the drums and chiarine (long trumpets). In contrast the day of Corpus Christi is a particularly solemn festival as it celebrates the real presence of Christ at the Eucharist. People enjoy the preparing of the multi-coloured flower carpet illustrating the symbols of the Eucharist.

In addition to these festivals is the so-called Fiera de lu pia (Fair of the Appenines plain), which has been famous since the 14th century. It has taken place in Servigliano on the day after the feast of the Annunciation on the first and third Monday of every month for centuries.

Gastronomy

Typical Servigliano produce includes vincisgrassi, tagliatelle, polenta, pork, lamb, mutton, olive oil, Ascoli’s fried and stuffed olives. The wines are the Picenian red, Cotto (cooked) and white.