Osimo, Medieval hilltop commune in Province of Ancona, Italy.
Osimo is a commune in the Province of Ancona with residential quarters, churches, and squares spread across a hilltop surrounded by Roman-era defensive walls. The Romanesque Cathedral of San Leopardo stands at the highest point alongside several Renaissance palaces lining the main streets.
Greek settlers from Ancona founded the settlement as Vetus Auximum before Romans expanded it into a fortress in northern Picenum starting in 174 BCE. Over the centuries rulers and administrations changed hands many times until the commune became part of unified Italy.
The name comes from the Latin Auximum and reflects the long occupation of this hill above the Adriatic coastal plain. Visitors notice the many houses and public buildings made of ochre-colored stone along the narrow lanes that wind around the central square and town hall.
Visitors reach the commune from Ancona by regular bus lines or via the regional road through the hills north of the city. A walk through the old town leads over steep lanes and staircases between the houses and takes about an hour.
Beneath the streets an underground network of tunnels runs with mysterious decorations, inscriptions, and petroglyphs carved into the walls. Archaeologists continue to debate the original purpose of these passages, whether religious, military, or economic.
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