Mogliano, a land of peace and ciauscolo
From our home at your home
"If it's called Mogliano it's because in that town wives have always been in charge"
No, seriously, we don't know the origin of the name, but it has something to do with eating. It is one of the few villages in the area to be distinguished by its own denomination before the year 1000 and to boast a continuity of settlement. Its origins are lost in the mists of time but we know that the territory was already inhabited between the seventh and sixth centuries BC by the Piceni, one of the most ancient Italic populations. In the third century BC when the Romans conquered the territory and established their main settlements in Urbs Salvia (Urbisaglia) and Pausulae (San Claudio), the small agglomerations of the Apennines devoted themselves to agriculture to supply them. One of these communities probably owes its name to the noble of a Roman who had built his villa there: Molianum means "belonging to Molius". In short, already in Roman times in Mogliano people thought more about cooking than making war.
And since good eating predisposes to a peaceful soul, during the turbulent medieval years Mogliano managed to grow and prosper. After the barbarian invasions it became a Longobard administrative center under the control of the Duchy of Spoleto. In the year 705 Duke Faroaldo II gave Mogliano as a gift to Abbot Tommaso di Farfa, thus linking its history for centuries to the famous Abbey of Farfa in Sabina. From the end of the twelfth to the mid-fourteenth century the castle was dominated by a dynasty of lords called "da Mogliano". Gentile became lord of Fermo in 1345 and ruled the city until 1355 when he was defeated by the troops of Cardinal Albornoz. Thus began the papal dominion in the Marches, which were reorganized politically by the institutional reform of Albornoz himself in 1357: Mogliano was included in the district of Fermo, of which it became one of the major castles. In 1569 it obtained autonomy from Pope Pius V. for a short period: already in 1578 it returned under the Fermo dominion.
In all these changes, Mogliano maintained its agricultural and peaceful vocation. So little by little a village developed around the castle. Houses, churches and bell towers took the place of watchtowers and fortifications.
UA choice of agriculture and peace which between the 1500s and 1700s gave its fruits when Mogliano experienced a real period of splendor, testified by the numerous works of religious and civil architecture. The numerous churches such as Santa Maria in Piazza, which preserves the altarpiece of the Madonna in Glory and the Saints (1548) by the famous painter Lorenzo Lotto, witness to this. But there is also the oratory of the Madonna della Misericordia (1420) built to ward off a plague, which now houses the parish museum; the Church of the Holy Crucifix which houses the fresco of Christ Crucified and rebuilt in neoclassical forms in the 19th century; the monastery of San Giuseppe (1630) with the adjoining Rococo church of saints Grisogono and Benedetto. The civil buildings are also noteworthy, above all Palazzo Forti built between the 1500s and 1600s and today the seat of the Municipality and the Apollo theater.
The spirit of welcome and hospitality
Mogliano's spirit of welcome and hospitality was fully demonstrated in 1744. As part of the War of the Austrian Succession, the troops of Empress Maria Theresa were traveling through Italy towards Naples. On Good Friday, four Austrian regiments arrived in Mogliano: over 5,000 soldiers quartered themselves in the upper part of the town awaiting an order to move. Their commander, General Bruone, was housed in Casa Forti, another general in Casa Cosimi. After the initial distrust, the troops found themselves so well that they remained a month spending their time celebrating... Only one fact disturbed this quiet: the annoyance caused by a soldier to a commoner (it is said that, he was hungry and he stole two pieces of bread). The commander, to wash away the shame suffered by the country, requested and obtained from the Court-Martial the death sentence of the soldier. The punishment, however, was judged too harsh by the population. So magistrates, clergy, nobles and commoners beg for clemency until pardon was obtained. In few words, in Mogliano two pieces of bread are not denied to anyone! On April 30, the order of departure for the troops arrived and the farewell was solemnized by a general procession. On the same day, as a sign of gratitude for the welcome given, a "Diploma of the Queen of Hungary" arrived from the Macerata headquarters, which elevated Mogliano to the rank of city. Even today in July in Mogliano this episode is remembered with the Mogliano 1744 event, one of the most beautiful historical re-enactments in the Marche region.
Even during the Second World War, Mogliano's welcoming spirit prevailed: numerous families welcomed and hid in their homes stranded soldiers, draft evaders and allied prisoners who fled the concentration camps of Sforzacosta and Servigliano. Finally, it was in Mogliano that on the night between 24 and 25 June 1944 a meeting took place between the commander of the Polish Army Corps General Vladislaw Anders and Lieutenant Augusto Pantanetti, commander of the "Nicolò" Partisan Band, during which were laid the foundations for the liberation of Macerata which took place on June 30th. Upon liberation, the first municipal council was democratically elected on 10 March 1946.
