TheMarch of Fermo (Latin:Marchia Fermana[1] orFirmana,[2]Italian:Marca fermana) was a frontier territory (march) of theHoly Roman Empire in theKingdom of Italy between the late 10th and early 12th centuries. It faced thePrincipality of Benevento and later theDuchy of Apulia to the south. It covered part of the modern regions ofMarche andAbruzzo.
The relationship of the March of Fermo to earlier administrative divisions is uncertain. By the 12th century it had been merged with theMarch of Ancona. The name continued in use to describe the province around Fermo and in this way formed one of the marches that gave the region of Marche its name.
The March of Fermo may be a direct continuation of theDuchy of Fermo of theLombard era. This was created by KingLiutprand around 727 out of territory he conquered from theByzantine Empire. The name of only one duke is recorded, Tasbun, named in an inscription of 769 or 770 atFalerone. The Duchy of Fermo was distinct from the duchies ofAncona andOsimo, probably also created by Liutprand. It survived theFrankish conquest of 774 and is mentioned in a diploma ofCharlemagne dated 787. It is uncertain when it was downgraded to a march. A letter of PopeJohn VIII to the EmperorCharles the Fat dated 882, in which DukeGuy II of Spoleto and his sonGuy III, are referred to as margraves (marchiones) for the first time, may indicate the shift.[3]
The March of Camerino, detached from theDuchy of Spoleto in the 9th century, may be identical to the March of Fermo first attested in the 10th.[4] In the early 840s, the march(es) of Fermo and Camerino were devastated bySaracen raiders.[5]
The March of Fermo is first attested in a diploma of EmperorOtto II in 983. Writing in the 11th century,Hugh of Farfa andGregory of Catino refer to the March of Fermo in connection with the reign of KingHugh of Italy (926–947) and the abbacy ofRimo of Farfa (920–930). The march included the four counties of Fermo,Camerino,Ascoli andAbruzzo.[3]
For his war against theNormans, PopeLeo IX recruited an army from the Holy Roman Empire. Men from the March of Fermo were in his army that was defeated at theBattle of Civitate on 18 June 1053.[6] In 1055, the EmperorHenry III appointed PopeVictor II to the offices of margrave (or marquis) of Fermo andduke of Spoleto.[7][8] In his capacity as margrave of Fermo, Victor held aplacitum atTeramo.[9]
After the death of Victor in 1057,Godfrey the Bearded took control of the March of Fermo and the Duchy of Spoleto.[10] He was already themargrave of Tuscany and his brother was elected PopeStephen IX to succeed Victor, making him the preeminent power in Italy.[11] In the March of Fermo, however, there was opposition to Godfrey's rule. In the first months of 1059, PopeNicholas II visited the march in person to place the city of Ancona under interdict.[12]
The Abruzzo, the coastal region south of Fermo, was considered part of the March of Fermo. By the mid-1070s, the Normans were encroaching on this area. In an agreement reached between PopeGregory VII and the Norman dukeRobert Guiscard atCeprano in June 1080, the pope refers to "the territory which you now hold unjustly, such as Salerno and Amalfi and part of the March of Fermo".[13] These incursions were among the reasons Gregory gave for excommunicating Guiscard.[14] PrinceJordan of Capua also led invasions into the March of Fermo. His conquests passed to Guiscard on his death.[15]
In 1075, KingHenry IV of Germany demanded that Robert do him homage for his lands inApulia, but the duke responded that he would only do homage for imperial lands.[16] In May 1081, when Henry entered Italy with a small force, Gregory VII was informed that he intending to recruit more troops in the March of Fermo.[17] It seems that he intended to marry his sonConrad to a daughter of Robert Guiscard and to enfeoff the latter with the march, which lay immediately north of Guiscard's duchy and the south of which Guiscard's Normans had already occupied.[16][18] Nothing came of these plans and in July 1081 Henry IV enfeoffedRainer II with the March of Fermo and Duchy of Spoleto.[16][19]
Around 1100, a new formation appears in the records under Rainer's successor,Werner II: theMarch of Ancona, which was limited to the north of the March of Fermo and the southernPentapolis.[20] At first this new march took Werner's name as themarca Guarnerii or March of Werner.[4] Werner was also Duke of Spoleto.Ekkehard of Aura describes him as "one of the king'sministeriales, who held the command of the march in the region of Ancona".[21]
On 3 May 1111, PopePaschal II complained to the EmperorHenry V that thepossessions of the Roman See in the March of Fermo—presumably some of them in the hands of the Normans—had not been restored.[1] The March of Fermo was ultimately absorbed into Werner's March of Ancona.[4][22]