Camerata Picena: a papal castle near Ancona

On a low hill above the right bank of the river Esino, only a short way inland from Ancona, the small town of Camerata Picena guards a castle with an unusual story reaching back to the days of the Avignon papacy. Around 2,400 people live in the commune, whose name comes from an old word for a naturally fortified place.

The castle of the Cassero

In the hamlet of Cassero, two kilometres from the centre, stands the Castello del Cassero, one of the historic castles that once defended Ancona. It was founded in 1375 by the Anconetan admiral Niccolo Torriglioni, who received the fief from Pope Urban VI as a reward for bringing the papacy back from Avignon to Rome by sea. Square in plan with three towers and a church built into its walls, the castle was later turned into a residence and even formed part of the estates of Eugene de Beauharnais, stepson of Napoleon.

Hill and river

A frontier post between Ancona and Jesi, Camerata was the scene of a notable battle between the two cities in 1309. Beneath the old centre runs a network of underground shelters dug in centuries past, and the lakes left by old gravel workings along the Esino now form a green haven for wildlife.

Getting there

Camerata Picena is about fourteen kilometres south-west of Ancona, close to the coast and the Marche regional airport.