Today, few traces remain of the fortress, except for Sant’Ermete
church, although up until the Second World War there remained also part
of the walls, the gateway surmounted by a small bell-tower, and a nucleus
of ancient houses huddled in narrow winding little streets, offering a
slight defence against the implacable force of the bora winds.
Origins and History
The castle probably inherited its name from a family who <ruled>
it long ago in the mists of time. Its original name was Castrum Ligabitij,
which evolved gradually into Ligabicci, Le Gabicce and finally Gabicce.
Another theory is that Ligabitius is the name given to those whose trade
was “legabecchi” ( tie the becchi), and this legend is supported
to some extent by the fact that in the past, billy-goats (known locally
as becchi) were very numerous in the area of the San Bartolo hills, an
ideal habitat for them.The earliest reference to this and the other castles,
or fortified settlements, is found in the Papal Bull dated 998, in which
Pope Gregory V gave the Archbishop of Ravenna authority over the fortress.
Until the thirteenth century it remained under the supreme authority of
the Church of Ravenna, then in 1271 this little fortified town submitted
to, and allied itself with, Rimini, in order to escape the continual attacks
made on it by the Comune of Pesaro, desirous of possessing the fortress
because of its highly strategic position. According to the writings of
Olivieri, a scholar from Pesaro, it appears that the populace of the town,
<weary of bloody battles which caused much damage to people and possessions>,
joined with other courageous inhabitants of the lands of Focara, to create
the fortress of Cattolica, in the territory of Rimini, so safeguarding
themselves from possible reprisals by Pesaro. In later times the fortress
of Gabicce Monte came once more under the jurisdiction of the Church of
Ravenna for a short time; it was then occupied by the Malatestas, then
by the Sforza and Montefeltro families, finally coming into the hands
of the Della Rovere family, who in 1625 gave it in fief to Ottavio Mamiani.
But soon afterwards, in 1631, Gabicce, along with the rest of the Duchy
of Pesaro and Urbino, passed into the hands of the papacy. This marked
the beginning of a slow but inexorable decline which was halted only in
the twentieth century, when the town and surrounding area were developed
for tourism.
The Church of Sant’Ermete
Sant’Ermete church is a small treasure trove, presumably dating
from the same time as the fortress; it is the only token of the fortress
to have survived to the present day. The first traces of its existence
are to be found in a document dated the 3rd of September 909, preserved
in the Archbishop’s archive in Ravenna, attesting that <…the
Countess Ingelrada…grants…the monastery of Sant’ Ermete>.
The church has been altered many times over the centuries, and was almost
completely rebuilt in 1700. Originally, the building was probably in the
Byzantine style, the dominant style in Ravenna during the late sixth century.
It was subsequently altered to the Romanesque style, and then altered
again, taking on Renaissance features, at the time of major restructuring
of church buildings in about 1570. Because the building was so old, it
was rebuilt from the foundations, beginning in the year 1782, and all
the church furnishings were replaced, with the exception of the paintings
adorning the altars. Many of these furnishings were subsequently lost
when the property of the Papal State passed into the possession of the
Kingdom of Italy in 1860. After the Second World War the church was renovated
yet again in 1952, in the eighteenth-century style, as can be seen today.
The façade is simple, with no particular decoration, and there
is a sturdy square bell-tower to one side. Inside the church are valuable
works of art, including candelabra and reliquaries, tokens of the church
furnishings before the many episodes of sack and pillage which have so
impoverished its heritage. Especially noteworthy are a fresco of the late
fourteenth /early fifteenth century Le Marche School depicting the Madonna
of Milk, and a painting of the Crucifixion by an unknown painter of the
early fourteenth century. Equally significant is the wooden crucifix in
the fourteenth-century Rimini style, once the property of a Monsignore
of Rimini, a member of the Tonini family of Gabicce Monte.
The art of Creating Majolica
As long ago as the sixteenth century, the little town of Gabicce was famous
throughout Italy thanks to two skilled potters, Girolamo and Giacomo Lanfranco,
father and son, who produced splendid objects in terracotta decorated
with gold. Girolamo Lanfranco was a descendant of a family which had emigrated
from Ferrara to Pesaro at the end of the fifteenth century. A master in
the art of ceramics, he became internationally famous for having introduced
the use of pure gold. Father and son worked in Pesaro from 1530 to 1590,
receiving official recognition in an edict issued by Duke Guidubaldo II
Della Rovere in 1569. Their elaborate ceramics can be found today in many
museums both in Italy and abroad, and are eagerly sought after by collectors.
The British Museum in London has a plate decorated with a scene showing
“Cicero and Julius Caesar as Legislators” signed by “Mastro
Girolamo Lanfranco dalle Gabicce” and dated 1541.
|
