Osimo | |
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Comune | |
Comune di Osimo | |
Belfry and city hall
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Location of Osimo in Italy | |
Coordinates: 43°29′N 13°29′E / 43.483°N 13.483°E | |
Country | Italy |
Region | Marche |
Province / Metropolitan city | Ancona (AN) |
Frazioni | Osimo Stazione, Passatempo, Casenuove, Campocavallo, Padiglione, Abbadia, San Paterniano, Santo Stefano, San Biagio, Santa Paolina |
Government | |
• Mayor | Simone Pugnaloni |
Area | |
• Total | 106 km2 (41 sq mi) |
Elevation | 265 m (869 ft) |
Population (31 December 2015) | |
• Total | 34,977 |
• Density | 330/km2 (850/sq mi) |
Demonym(s) | Osimani |
Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
• Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
Postal code | 60027 |
Dialing code | 071 |
Patron saint | St. Joseph of Cupertino |
Saint day | September 18 |
Website | Official website |
Osimo is a town and comune of the Marche region of Italy, in the province of Ancona. The municipality covers a hilly area located approximately 15 km south of the port city of Ancona and the Adriatic Sea. At the census of 2011 Osimo had a total population of 33,891. The total area is 106 km² which gives a population density of 320 inhabitants per km².
Vetus Auximum was founded by the same Greek colonists of Ancona; later it was contested by the Gauls and the Piceni, until conquered by the Romans, who used it as a fortress for their northern Picenum settlement starting from 174 BC. The walls were made of large rectangular stones which are still visible in some locations. It was a colony until 157 BC. The family of Pompey were its protectors and resisted Caesar in 49 BC. Inscriptions and monuments in its town square attest to the importance of Osimo during imperial times.
In the 6th century it was besieged twice in the course of the Gothic War, by Belisarius and Totila; the Byzantine historian Procopius said it was the leading town of Picenum.
Osimo was a free commune by 1100 A.D. It was later returned to the Pope by Cardinal Gil de Albornoz. In 1399–1430 it was a fief of the Malatesta family, who built a rocca, or "castle", which is no longer intact. Osimo was again made a part of the Papal States, and remained so until the unification of Italy in 1861.