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Thanks to the unearthing of a funeral stele, as well as of other Picenian remains in terracotta, we know that the origins of the village can be traced back to the period around the sixth century b.C. During the Roman times it was a fairly important urban centre, certainly related to the neighbouring Urbs Salvia. What remains of that period are only a few relics of a thermal site that must have remained visible until 1600.
The Medieval period, to which the town owes its original urban planning, was characterized by the domination of the powerful family of Brunforte, who, in the early XIII century, also built the castle that has survived to the present. Once become a self-governing Commune, it was first incorporated in the “Marca Fermana” and then came to be part of the Papal State in the ensuing centuries, until the constitution of the Kingdom of Italy.
Loro Piceno is well-known for its ´vino cotto´ (‘boiled wine’), a definitely original sweet drink obtained by boiling the must and by adding some local flavouring spices which definitely give a special flavour to it. The ties linking local people to this kind of drink are very old and deeply felt, especially by the elderly. The drink, which is also believed to have healing properties, has recently been included in the national list of products considered “prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali”, that is to say traditional products guaranteed by a certification procedure conferring it a requirement of unicity and typicality.
Text by Fabio Santilli
Translation by Gianfranco Martorano |