Offida

Of ancient origin, it is believed to have been founded by the Pelasgians. Inhabited by the Piceni, as the evidence of numerous archaeological finds show, it was later conquered by the Romans and had a period of great splendour in the Middle Ages, when it became the seat of a steward. Two notable characters were born here: the Blessed Bernardo (1604-1694) and William Allevi (1834-1896), archaeologist, palaeontologist, patriot.

The historic centre of Offida is enclosed within the ancient castle walls (XII century), the starting point of an ideal route through the streets and squares of the town, a path along which there are monuments of great historical, artistic and architectural interest, an evidence of an illustrious past.

In the main square stands the Town Hall, an elegant building dating from the eleventh and twelfth centuries, which still represents the heart of the administrative life of Offida.

Inside the Town Hall there is the Theatre "Golden Snake", a true jewel of Baroque design proscenium-type or, as they say here: Italian-style with a "horseshoe pattern."

A short distance away, the Collegiate Church, which houses in the crypt the reconstruction of the Lourdes Grotto; the Addolorata Church which houses the casket of the dead Christ and the Church of St. Augustine, with its adjacent chapel of the Eucharistic Miracle.

The most notable monument of Offida is the church of Santa Maria della Rocca, rebuilt in 1330 on an eleventh-century church.

Also on the tourist itinerary not to be forgotten are the Museum of Offida and the former convent of San Francesco, which houses the Enoteca Regionale delle Marche.