FROM PIORACO TO CAMERINO

The burg is immersed in a natural environment that holds a delicate balance between past and present. Its territory is crossed by numerous historic trails, such as the Franciscan Way. It is renowned for its abundant waters (Potenza and Scarzito spring from these mountains) and rich history, which is tied to the history of paper and of the Da Varano family, who owned mills here. The little dragon depicted on this sign witnessed it all: it was watermarked on one of the oldest documents made in Pioraco. It will guide you on the Via della Carta. From the old town center, we go down via Camellaria and past the Church of the SS. Crocifisso to access a series of secondary roads leading to Seppio. From there, we proceed to Camerino.

HISTORICAL INFORMATION

Pioraco originated from a Roman settlement on an offshoot of the Flaminian Way. In the Middle Ages, it became a manufacturing centre of Italian and European renown due to the production of paper started in the 13th century. It was manufactured with the technological, financial, and commercial support of the neighbouring Camerino, with which Pioraco used to manage a complex production and distribution system. In medieval times, a road used to connect Pioraco to Camerino’sancient Porta Angelesca via the village of Seppio. As via della carta (“Paper Road”), the road moved goods and craftsmen between the mills of Pioraco and the market in Camerino; as a tributary stream to the artery between Rome and Loreto that crossed Camerino, it granted access to the pilgrim route to thousands of pilgrims over centuries. This was particularly crucial since the Flaminian Way and its offshoots were declining. To date, the gate of Porta Angelesca is now lost, although an opening in the city walls suggests its possible location.