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We owe the Benedictine monk Gregorio Catino (1060-1130) the first written documentation about the existence of Petriolo, whose foundation is believed to have taken place at the beginning of the VIII century, by the name of Fundo Peturiolo, from praetoriolum, which attest to its Roman origins.
It is nevertheless possible that the most ancient castle was built just by the monks of Farfa Abbey from the remains of a former Roman site. Around year 1000 the territory of the commune was under the ‘podestà’ of the bishop of Fermo who, in 1070, sold it to Grimaldo, son of Attone of the Nobili. It was he who had the new castle built. In 1264, after the town had failed to guarantee its loyalty to the Ghibelline Party, Manfredi di Svevia ordered the distruction of the castle and the deportation of its inhabitants. The destruction was fortunately avoided and that is why some of the parts of the old village and of the city walls have survived up to the present day. Once sold to Fermo, the town’s history came to be identified with this latter’s, before being integrated in 1807 in the Papal State until, in 1860, the town voted unanimously in favour of the foundation of a united Italy.
Text by Fabio Santilli
Translation by Gianfranco Martorano |