Ascoli

Ascoli stands in the valley of the Tronto, between the Apennines and the Adriatic. Ancient Asculum was a centre of the Piceni and lay on the Via Salaria, the road joining Rome to the Adriatic salt country. In 91 BC it was the first Italian city to revolt against Rome in the Social War.

A free commune emerged at Ascoli in 1189, but strife inside the city and wars with its neighbours weakened its independence. That opened the way for outside strongmen. In the fourteenth century Galeotto Malatesta, first hired as a mercenary captain in the war against Fermo, became one of its rulers, and Francesco Sforza later held the city too. In the end Ascoli again submitted to papal authority.