Fossombrone (Roman Forum Sempronii) is a small bishop's city on the Via Flaminia in the Metauro valley, below the Furlo gorge where the road climbs into the Apennines.
It lies between Urbino's hills, Fano's coastal plain and Cagli's mountains, and Fano's later attempts to take it into its contado brought wars and an interdict (undated). On 1 January 1200 it is a small self-governing town under the pope's overlordship; no war or officer is recorded.
Who holds it
- Title
- The commune of Fossombrone
- Since
- not pinned
- Confidence
- low
No officer or charter of Fossombrone is documented for 1200 in the sources read.
Lord in 1200
The commune and its bishop; not pinned in detail.
Overlord
The pope, as lord of the March.
Allies and rivals
Fano, which presses on its contado; Urbino and Cagli as neighbours.
How things stand that morning
Self-governing under papal overlordship. Urbino holds Fermignano upstream (Northern Italy map); Cagli holds the Furlo and Acqualagna.
Wealth
The road and the valley.
Military
Walls and the town's castle.
Threats
- Fano's ambitions in the Metauro valley
Communities
Not documented.
Militia
Citizen militia.
Walls and castle
A walled hill town with its castle above the Metauro.
Trade and crafts
Traffic on the Flaminia road and the farmland of the middle Metauro.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Nothing specific to 1199-1200 was found.
On the map: A small guessed contado round the town; its true extent in 1200 is not pinned.
Primary sources for Papal State
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Annals of Montecassino; Annals of Ceccano (Fossanova) (12th and early 13th centuries; Ceccano to 1217). Two sets of annals from either side of the papal and Sicilian frontier. Read online
- Chronicle of Richard of San Germano, Richard of San Germano (first version about 1216, enlarged to 1243). The fullest southern narrative of the Hohenstaufen kingdom, written by a notary on the border of the Terra di Lavoro. Read online
- Chronicle of Alberic of Trois-Fontaines, Alberic of Trois-Fontaines (about 1227 to 1241, at the Cistercian abbey of Trois-Fontaines in Champagne). The widest net of any Latin chronicle for 1200, compiled from dozens of sources, many now lost. Read online
- Chronicle of Andres, William of Andres (about 1220 to 1234). The chronicle and cartulary of a small abbey between Guines and Ardres, near the border of Flanders and Boulogne. Read online
- Chronicle of Burchard of Ursberg, Burchard of Ursberg (about 1229 to 1230, reworked by Conrad of Lichtenau). Written a generation later by a fierce partisan of the Staufen and a critic of Innocent III. Read online
- Chronicle of Robert of Auxerre, Robert of Auxerre (Robert of Saint-Marien) (about 1190 to 1211; continued at Saint-Marien to 1227). A universal chronicle whose last twenty years are contemporary and well informed from Burgundy and the Auxerrois. Read online
- Chronicle of Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year. Read online
- Chronicle of Sicard, bishop of Cremona, Sicard of Cremona (about 1210 to 1213). A universal chronicle whose last part is a well-placed eyewitness account by a Lombard bishop who served emperors and popes. Read online
12 more in the sources library for Southern Italy and the Islands.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.