Monsampietro Morico appears for the first time in a document of 1061, when Malugero Melo — son of the Norman Drogo of Hauteville, count of Apulia — founded three walled castles in the Fermo country: this one, Sant'Elpidio Morico and Monte Rinaldo. From them comes the second half of the name, which tradition takes to be a tribute to Malugero's wife, who was called Morica; more probably it comes from the Latin murex, which denotes both a plant and a mollusc, in either case something prickly.
The village was attacked and taken more than once, until in 1317 it chose to submit to Fermo of its own accord, and from then on shared its fortunes. Of the castle, rebuilt in the fifteenth century, there remains the stone tower of squared blocks, set to guard the Romanesque gateway below: at the top it had a projecting corbelled course, the kind used for dropping fire on anyone who reached the foot of the walls. Today the village is best known for its August fair, where eighteen dishes of country cooking are served, among them the moccolotti de lo vatte, the pasta with lamb ragù that was made in the days of the wheat harvest.
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📅 Every year, on 29 June
On 29 June Monsampietro Morico, a municipality of 682 inhabitants in the province of Fermo, celebrates its patron Saint Peter; on 8 and 9 August the sagra «Lo Magnà de' 'na 'ota» is held.
Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Outside Monsampietro Morico, but an easy day trip away.
