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Home > Travel Italy > Italy Destinations > Fabriano
Fabriano
Italy, officially the Italian Republic or Repubblica Italiana, is a Southern European country comprising of the Po River valley, the Italian Peninsula and the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. It is shaped like a boot and for this reason Italians commonly call it lo Stivale, the boot or, due to its prevalent peninsular geographical nature, la Penisola, the Peninsula.
Fabriano is a town and comune of Ancona province in the Italian region of the Marche, above sea-level. It lies in the Esino valley 44 kilometers upstream and South West of Jesi and 15 kilometers North East of Fossato di Vico and 36 kilometers East of Gubbio both in Umbria. According to the 2003 census, Fabriano's population was 30,300. It is located on the main highway and rail lines from Umbria to the Adriatic make it a mid-sized regional center in the Apennines.
Fabriano appears to have been founded in the early Middle Ages by the inhabitants of a small Roman town 5 kilometers South at Attiggio, of which some slight remains and inscriptions are extant. Fabriano itself was one of the earliest places in Europe to make high-quality paper on an industrial scale, starting in the 13th century, and the town even today has a reputation for fine watermarked paper.
Even back in the 14th century, Fabriano's paper mills were producing a million sheets of paper a year and it was here that watermarked paper was invented. Its paper is still used the world over for banknotes and quality art paper.
While the industrial sprawl of the suburbs promises little, it is worth penetrating to the heart of the town to see the opera-set main Piazza del Comune flanked by the Gothic Palazzo del Podesta' with swallow-tail battlements. Centre-stage is a smaller version of Perugia's famous fountain built at the close of the 13th century.
The town was the birthplace of Gentile da Fabriano, Italy's greatest master of the late 14thC International Gothic style of painting. You will have to make do, however, with works by his followers, best of whom was Allegretto di Nuzio - you can find his work in the Pinacoteca Comunale in tiny Piazza Umberto I behind the main square, and in the Duomo next door.
It can also be considered as the preeminent, historical and potential tourism destination that enjoys a very positive reputation with worldwide travelers to become one of the most visited places.
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