In the heart of the mid-Marecchia valley, in a largely flat area, this is a fairly new municipality that was established in 1907 and is now one of its main commercial and industrial towns.
Elegant Piazza Vittorio Emanuele overlooked by 17th-century Palazzo dei Conti Segni, now home to the town hall, boasts a Romanesque treasure - the Oratory of St. Marina.
The entire municipal area is interesting, with a few outlying villages well worth visiting. These include Perticara, which is surrounded by a pine forest on one of the slopes of Mount Aquilone and was an important mining centre.
Sulphur was extracted in ancient times, but the main vein was only exploited from 1917 onwards. It employed 1,600 men in what became an underground city with 100km of tunnels on 9 different levels. The activity ceased in 1964 and this had a devastating effect on life in the village and the thriving community of 5,000 residents.
The Sulphur Museum keeps alive the memory of these past times.
