Porto San Giorgio
traces its roots back to antiquity, when it was known as Navale Firmanum or Castrum Firmanorum. Its strategic role in defending the coastline was consolidated in the 11th century, with fortifications commissioned by the episcopate of Fermo to counter pirate and Saracen raids.
The first settlement arose on Mount Cacciù thanks to fishermen from Chioggia, who brought maritime traditions that are still recognizable today, even in the toponym (the "Squero" district - a Venetian term for a shipyard - located in the southern part of the city still represents a typical area linked to maritime tradition). In the 13th century, thanks to the alliance between Fermo and Venice, the port became a lively center of trade and was strengthened by the fortress built by Lorenzo Tiepolo, a Venetian politician and admiral who in 1266 was podestà of Fermo and the future doge of Venice, charged with monitoring the sea and defending the city from Saracen threats.
For its primary role in the defense of the city of Fermo, Castel San Giorgio led the procession of the Cavalcata dell'Assunta on August 15th.
A moment of great cultural significance occurred in 1470, with the creation of the famous Polyptych of Porto San Giorgio by Carlo Crivelli, commissioned by Giorgio di Prenta, known as "the Albanian." The Salvadori family (with whom the city would be inextricably linked) originated from him. From the 17th century, they were instrumental in the beach reclamation works that marked the beginning of the city's current urban development.
Giorgio had arrived on these Adriatic shores due to Turkish pressure, which his people strenuously resisted under the leadership of George Skanderbeg, known as George Iscariot.
Autonomy from Fermo
Already in the 13th century, despite widespread poverty among peasants, fishermen, and artisans, the Port of Fermo began to distinguish itself economically and socially from the surrounding territory. This growing differentiation fueled tensions with the municipality of Fermo, perceived by the people of San Giorgio as too closely tied to dominant powers, in line with its motto Firmum Firma Fides.
In the 18th century, hardships increased due to succession wars, with troop movements and requisitions. A crucial episode occurred in 1734, when the Port of Fermo was taxed separately: a sign that anticipated the Firmana Gravarum of 1741, which granted the Port the right to elect its own councillors and magistrates, marking its separation from Fermo.
The path to autonomy was consolidated with the French Revolution and, above all, with Napoleon’s decree of 1808, which made the Port of Fermo an independent municipality. After Napoleon’s fall, the Marche region was temporarily annexed to the Kingdom of Naples, but the Port’s autonomy remained a defining feature.
A further decisive step came in 1878, thanks to the initiative of Mauro Macchi and the commitment of Mayor Luigi Salvadori Paleotti Junior: the city obtained the aggregation of the parish of San Giorgio, thus defining the territorial boundaries we know today
Curiosities, Figures, and Places
From the tower of Villa Marina, built with an innovative “raft” technique without foundations, Luigi Salvadori Junior could observe the progress of land reclamation on the so‑called “sea relics” (On both facades of the Villa, you can read the phrase in Latin "Auspice Alosyo Seniore haec litora maris onere emphiteutico a flumine Tenna Altidona finitima Junior Aloysius sibi suis agricolturae redemit". Under the auspices of Aloysius the Elder, these shores of the sea, by emphyteutic lease from the river Tenna Altidona, bordering on the river, Junior Aloysius redeemed for himself and his agriculture) .
In this very residence, in October 1860, King Victor Emmanuel II met the British ambassador Sir Henry George Elliot, who informed him of the place where he would soon meet Giuseppe Garibaldi: Teano.
Already in 1834, Luigi Salvadori Junior had married Ethelyn Welby, daughter of Adlard Welby, from a wealthy English family that had settled in Porto San Giorgio at Villa Caterina. From their marriage came several children, including Tommaso Salvadori, destined to become one of Italy’s most important ornithologists. In 1860 Tommaso joined Garibaldi’s Expedition of the Thousand as a medical officer.
Another branch of the family was established by Giorgio Salvadori, Tommaso’s brother, who married his cousin Adele Emiliani. They had five children, including Guglielmo Salvadori Paleotti, known as Willie. He married Giacinta Galletti de Cadilhac, and from their union came three children: Gladys, Massimo “Max” Salvadori — historian and anti‑fascist — and Gioconda Beatrice Salvadori Paleotti, better known as Joyce Lussu. Joyce was a partisan, writer, translator, and poet, awarded the Silver Medal of Military Valor and captain in the Giustizia e Libertà brigades. She later married Emilio Lussu, politician and writer, with whom she shared civil and cultural commitment.
Villa Bonaparte – Villa Caterina – Villa Pelagallo
This residence was commissioned by Jérôme Bonaparte, Prince of Montfort and former King of Westphalia, brother of Napoleon. The building was intended as a home for his wife Catherine of Württemberg, his second consort after Elisabeth William Patterson. In 1826, the project was entrusted to the young architect Ireneo Aleandri, who designed an elegant and imposing villa, destined to become one of the city’s landmarks.
Jérôme Bonaparte lived in the residence of Porto San Giorgio for less than five years. In 1831, the property was confiscated by the Apostolic Chamber and later sold to the Pelagallo family, who became its new owners.
The Municipal Theatre of Porto San Giorgio, formerly known as Teatro Vittorio Emanuele II, was completed in 1817 to a design by architect Giuseppe Locatelli. The building is distinguished by its rectangular plan and brick façade. It has a total of 278 seats, with 150 in the stalls and 128 distributed across three tiers of boxes.
At the center of the façade stands a travertine plaque engraved with the Latin motto Castigat ridendo mores, attributed to the French poet Jean de Santeul. The inscription — “corrects morals by laughing” — highlights the value of comedy and satire, which, by casting ridicule on human vices and flaws, contribute to the improvement of social customs. To emphasize this meaning, the plaque is framed by two masks representing tragedy and comedy, eternal symbols of theatre and its educational and moral role.
The Theatre Square
The restoration, directed by Professor and Architect Marco Dezzi Bardeschi of the Polytechnic University of Milan, transformed the space in front of the theatre into a natural hall, an open‑air foyer. The fixed seats serve not only to welcome spectators but also as a barrier against traffic. The intervention created a large central platform which, exploiting the slope of the road descending from Fermo, ends in a parapet‑bench leading down to a “well.”
Beneath this space flows the Petronilla stream: through a system of pumps, the water can be lifted and made to run noisily along the parapet before plunging into the well below. This scenic gesture recalls the symbolic importance of water, already celebrated in the nearby Fountain of Liberty, adorned with dolphins and nymphs and bearing the inscription: “The water, brought here for the benefit of the People, marks the auspicious triumph of HYGIENE.”
The theatre square is enriched with symbolic elements: three serpent heads, representing chthonic forces of the underworld, emerge in four lampposts. Within the well unfolds an allegorical tale of two impossible climbs: one descending into the dark depths of the earth, the other ascending toward the sky in an attempt to reach the moon. On the parapet are engraved symbols of time (the hourglass) and of play (dice), together with verses from Baudelaire’s poem Le jet d’eau, amplifying the dialogue between architecture, nature, and imagination.
.... Lune, eau sonore, nuit bénie, Arbres qui frissonnez autour, Votre pure mélancolie Est le miroir de mon amour...
.... Moon, resonant water, blessed night, Trembling trees around, Your pure melancholy Is the mirror of my love...