• Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Gplus
  • Twitter
Italian Notes
  • HOME
  • PEOPLE & PLACES
    • Abruzzo
    • Basilicata
    • Calabria
    • Campania
    • Emilia-Romagna
    • Friuli-Venezia Giulia
    • Lazio
    • Liguria
    • Lombardia-Lombardy
    • Marche
    • Molise
    • Piemonte-Piedmont
    • Puglia – Apulia
    • Sicilia
    • Toscana-Tuscany
    • Trentino-Alto Adige – Trentino-South Tyrol
    • Umbria
    • Veneto
  • FOOD
    • Antipasti
    • Primi piatti
    • Secondi piatti
    • Dolci
  • PR/ADVERTISING
  • Search
  • Menu

The public square in Jesi where a king was born

The Holy Roman Emperor Federico II, who became King of Sicily and one of the most powerful men in Europe in the Middle Ages, was born on a public square in Jesi in the province of Ancona.



Booking.com


People sleep late on Sundays in Jesi in Le Marche. The public squares are virtually deserted apart from a man sitting on a bench with his laptop and stone lions spewing water around the fountain. There is not a lot to see. Which may explain why an inscription in the pavement catches my attention. It says: ‘In questa piazza nasce il 26 dic. 1194 L’imepratore Federico II di Svevia’ followed by a full stop tent.

Square in Jesi

The square is quiet on an early Sunday morning.

The King of Sicily

Now for someone with an affinity with Puglia, Frederick II is not just any old king. He was known as puer Apuliae, before he became King of Sicily and started conquering Europe. And there are still 39 bombastic castles in Puglia bearing his name along with the magnificent Castel del Monte. Federico II is not a man easily ignored.

The same can be said about his birth on this public square in Jesi.

Federico’s mother Constance was heiress of the Norman kings of Sicily and an old spinster, when she married Henry VI who was King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor. For 8 years the ambitious couple struggled to remain in power and conquer the kingdom of southern Italy, but they failed to have any children, until Constance became pregnant at the age of 40. At that point her husband prepared to invade Sicily for a second time, and Constance was travelling down from across the Alps to join him, when she went into labour.

square in Jesi

A statue of Federico II by old city wall.

She stopped on the market square in Jesi, where they raised a pavilion tent, and Constance invited the matrons of the town to witness the birth. A few days later she could be seen on the square breastfeeding in public to prevent speculation in whether or not the child was really hers.

Royal City

I sit down on one of the cool marble benches and try to imagine what the square must have looked like in 1194. The cathedral had not yet been built nor the clock tower, the convent or the palaces of the nobility.  Even the fountain with the obelisk did not exist until 1844, but it all serves to emphasize the title of ‘Royal City’ which Federico II bestowed on Jesi as his place of birth.

square in Jesi

All these buildings surrounding the square had not been erected in 1194, when the King of Sicily was born in Jesi.

And the people of the Jesi are still proud of their legacy. As can be seen from all the schools, swimming pools, hotels, gardens and wellness centers not forgetting the public square in Jesi named after him.

The square in Jesi is one of many interesting sights in Marche such as

Splashes of spring along Ancona hills

Senigallia – gastronomy and rock-n-roll

Holidaying at the Adriatic Riviera

This blog post was last updated in March 2017 with new links and captions.

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Google+
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
18 replies
  1. Muza-chan
    Muza-chan says:
    March 30, 2014 at 8:43 pm

    Interesting…

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      April 2, 2014 at 6:23 pm

      Thank you.

      Reply
  2. Agata
    Agata says:
    March 31, 2014 at 8:15 am

    I haven’t heard this story before! THX for sharing it. Italy has such amazingly rich history and cultural heritage. Life is too short to know them all!

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      April 2, 2014 at 6:27 pm

      Agreed.

      Reply
  3. Sophie
    Sophie says:
    March 31, 2014 at 8:17 am

    Fascinating story. And breastfeeding in public in 1194…I don’t know whether this is a debate in Italy at all – would it be as easy in 2014?

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      April 2, 2014 at 6:28 pm

      Come to think of it, I’ve never seen public breast feeding in Italy. I don’t think it lives up to their ‘bella figura’

      Reply
  4. Mike
    Mike says:
    April 1, 2014 at 7:59 pm

    Wow, age 40 was an accomplishment in of itself to achieve back then. I’m the same with you, Mette, about standing/sitting in historical places and picturing what it was like back in the day. Good post :)

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      April 2, 2014 at 6:33 pm

      Yes. Their life cycle was not quite as long as ours.

      Reply
  5. Mary {The World Is A Book}
    Mary {The World Is A Book} says:
    April 4, 2014 at 6:44 am

    What an interesting piece of history. The town looks very charming. Constance was so ahead of her time. It’s always great to just sit somewhere quietly and imagine what life was like back then.

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      April 6, 2014 at 9:51 am

      Yes, the lady new a thing or too about publicity and power, which I find interesting.

      Reply
  6. Leigh
    Leigh says:
    April 4, 2014 at 5:43 pm

    What an interesting story. I find it so hard to imagine how life really was hundreds and hundreds of years ago – without all the modern conveniences.

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      April 6, 2014 at 9:54 am

      True. It is really difficult to figure out how people survived without electricity, flush toilets and hot water taps.

      Reply
  7. Mary @ Green Global Travel
    Mary @ Green Global Travel says:
    July 16, 2014 at 4:58 pm

    Wow, really interesting history behind Jesi. Amazing that Constance was so healthy at the time! Thanks for sharing this story!

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      July 29, 2014 at 6:13 pm

      Yes, that and her incessant will and ability to travel over great distances by means of horse power alone.

      Reply
  8. Alessandra
    Alessandra says:
    October 5, 2014 at 12:59 pm

    Wow. I love this square so much. I’m from Jesi and reading this gave me chills. Not the story itself, I already knew it, like every other jesino does. I just think that it’s awesome that tourists from all over the world find that interesting.

    Reply
    • Mette Vaabengaard
      Mette Vaabengaard says:
      October 5, 2014 at 6:45 pm

      It is a fantastic story, and I find it really strange, that it is not explained more elaborately to tourists.

      Reply

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. The public square in Jesi where a king was born | goodthingsfromitaly says:
    March 31, 2014 at 9:02 am

    […] See on italiannotes.com […]

    Reply
  2. The public square in Jesi where a king was born... says:
    March 30, 2014 at 7:32 pm

    […] The Holy Roman Emperor Federico II, who became King of Sicily and one of the most powerful men in Europe in the Middle Ages, was born on a public square in Jesi in the province of Ancona.People sleep late on Sundays in Jesi. The public squares are virtually deserted apart from a man sitting on a bench with his laptop and stone lions spewing water around the fountain. There is not a lot to see. Which may explain why an inscription in the pavement catches my attention. It says: ‘In questa piazza nasce il 26 dic. 1194 L’imepratore Federico II di Svevia’ followed by a full stop tent. […]read more click on the photo  […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Followon TwitterSubscribeto RSS Feed
Discover Rome - Italian Notes

Discover Rome

Discover Florence - Italian Notes

Discover Florence

Discover Venice - Italian Notes

Discover Venice

Discover Puglia - Italian Notes

Discover Puglia

Discover Sicily - Italian Notes

Discover Sicily

Discover Piedmont - Italian Notes

Discover Piedmont

© Copyright - Italian Notes
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Gplus
  • Twitter
Homemade cherry ice cream Homemade cherry ice cream Cannelloni with radicchio filling Cannelloni with radicchio filling
Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

OK