Borgo Pace

Ridges of woods and rocky skies of poetic crescent shape. At the point where the rivers Meta and Auro meet and give life to the Metauro, the longest river and the largest river basin in the Marche region. Here one can discover the oasis of Borgo Pace, cut out between the Alpe della Luna and Massa Trabaria . A casket wrapped in tombstones of beech, maple and lime trees and sculpted by unspoiled waters.

It is an ideal background in which to let oneself be inspired by the tradition of Aesop and La Fontaine to compose new fables and mix them with stories of myths and legends closely linked to the territory.  A place of silence and balsamic air, but also a very lively mountain resort.

The history of Borgo Pace is intertwined with that of its medieval fortresses: Castel Bavia (originally Castrum Abbatiae), situated at the top of a hill and built in the early Middle Ages to defend the abbey of Lamoli, and the castles of the neighbouring territories of Castel dei Fabbri, Sompiano, Lamoli, Palazzo Mucci, Parchiule and Dese, which from 1827 until the establishment of the Kingdom of Italy were aggregated to the territory by the will of Pope Leo XII.

Conquered by ancient peoples, from the Umbri to the Romans and the Lombards, and dominated by the powerful families of Massani, Feltrechi and Rovereschi, during the Risorgimento the area supported Giuseppe Garibaldi and in the years of the Resistance became the theatre of the partisan struggle against Nazi-fascism.

Razed to the ground by German troops, the town was declared "war-torn land" and was able to recover and expand thanks to the construction of its tourism facilities.

Today, the traditional farming economy joins a more modern and structured tourist destination. Cultural memory is included in the circuit of the three participating museums: the Museum of Natural Colours of Lamoli, the Interactive Coal Museum and the Museum of Apennine Peasant Civilisation.

Examples of artistic vivacity are found in the modern church of Santa Maria Nuova, which houses the 15th century Umbrian school picture "Madonna con Bambino" and a group of polychrome majolica statues from the sixteenth century.

Among the most interesting monuments is the Romanesque abbey of San Michele Arcangelo of Lamoli, with fragments of ancient sculptures preserved in the crypt, and San Leone in Figiano. In the delightful pre-romanic hamlet of Parchiule, among the ancient houses built with sandstone blocks and rocks, the church of St. Mary is attached to the Oratory. Inside, among the remarkable works of art is the canvas named  "Madonna del Rosario" painted in 1636 by Gianfrancesco Guerrieri. The Green Hall, a centre specialised in the dissemination of scientific knowledge and the promotion of the river environment, is the ideal place to absorb the benefits and influences of a stay in full contact with nature.