| Description: |
According to tradition, the name Force (from it. ´forca´), refers to its being located among the valleys of the rivers Aso, Tesino and Tronto. Its origins can be traced back to the V century, when people began fleeding from the villages down the valley, ravaged first by the Goths and then by the Lombards. By the beginning of the VI century the small village had grown to 9000 inhabitants, so as to be conferred the status of town by Pope Gregorio Magno. Between the X and the XI century Force came to be part of the jurisdictional orbit (check) of the Farfa Abbey, and in the XIII century it was granted the autonomy of a municipal entity as a free Commune, thereby gaining territorial and jurisdictional concessions. When Pope Sisto V erected the Diocese of Montalto, the little town lost most of its privileges; nonetheless, in 1804, it was granted the title of city by Pope Pio VII. In 1849 Force gave shelter to Felice Orsini, extraordinary commissioner of the Roman Republic for the province of Ascoli, with the result of being besieged by both the Austrian and the pontifical troops but managing to allow Orsini to escape and reach Rome.
Force also owes part of its fame to its copper craftsmen, engaged in a craft with an-age old tradition.
An age-old legend claims that it was brought here in high medieval times by a band of itinerant gypsies, and that it had been particularly encouraged by the Farfa monks. However this may be, their activity is documented already in the XVI century, and by the nineteenth century as many as 28 copper workshops existed within the city walls; although decreased in number, they are currently found on the streets outside the walls.
Text by Fabio Santilli
Translation by Gianfranco Martorano |