RIPATRANSONE, DIOCESI di. – In the province of Ascoli Piceno, from which it is 48 km. distant, 9 km. from the sea, at an altitude of 508 m., on steep hills, between the Menocchia and Tesino torrents. Over an area of 227.25 km², it has 9,034 resident inhabitants and 8,897 present inhabitants (1951 census).
Almost impregnable because of its position and its extremely strong ancient walls, it was called «propugnaculum Piceni».
The first population nucleus dates back to the 10th century B.C., as is suggested by lithic finds and a vast Cuprensian necropolis. According to local historians, R. originated from Cupra Montana, now a small town in the province of Ancona; according to others, from Cupra Marittima, the ancient city and religious center of the Cuprenses, situated by the sea about 2 miles north of the present town of the same name. Toward the end of the 2nd century B.C., the Romans established a military colony in Cupra, whose inhabitants, during the period of the barbarian invasions (5th–6th centuries), took refuge on the hill of R., which seems to have borne the name Mons Cuprae. For three centuries (10th–12th), R. was a fief of the Dransone and Trasone families, whence its present name, derived from Ripa Transonum, as indicated in the Constitutions of the March of Cardinal d'Albornoz (1357), in which R. is listed among the civitates mediocres. Others derive the name from trans Asonem, beyond the Aso River, in relation to other localities situated north of R. At the end of the 12th century, R. appears to have been formed by the union of four castles: Monte Antico, Capo di Monte, Agello, and Roffano. In 1212 a commune was established; it subsequently underwent various vicissitudes: sieges, sackings, and fires at the hands of Fermo, Malatesta, F. Sforza, and the Spaniards, from whom it freed itself in 1521.
Pius V, by the bull Illius fulciti praesidio of 1 August 1571, declared R. a city and diocese, with territory detached from Fermo, Teramo, Ascoli P., and the possessions of the abbeys of Farfa and Campofione. Sixtus V, by the bull Universis orbis Ecclesiis of 24 May 1589, while elevating Fermo to an archdiocese, established R. as its suffragan. Pius V reduced the 14 parishes, too numerous in relation to the population, to 4, one for each quarter: S. Benigno (in existence before 1000 and declared the cathedral), S. Angelo, S. Niccolò, and S. Gregorio Magno. Subsequently, the parish church of S. Gregorio was demolished in order to build a new cathedral on the site (the first being inadequate), between 1597 and 1623; the work was completed at the end of the 18th century, with the final works carried out in 1842. At present R. has 22 parishes: 7 in the city and 15 in the diocese, distributed among the municipalities of Cossignano, Cupra Marittima, Grottammare, S. Benedetto del Tronto, Acquaviva Picena, Monteprandone, and Colonnella (the latter in the province of Teramo). In addition to the cathedral chapter and a numerous secular clergy, the Augustinians, the Friars Minor Observants, the Conventuals, the Capuchins, the Passionists, the Sacramentines, and various women’s communities reside in the diocese of R.; these direct educational and instructional institutions and orphanages. The local seminary (minor) provides for elementary studies; for the higher courses, the students are sent to the regional seminary of Fano. At present the diocese of R. is united ad personam with that of Montalto.
Among the various institutions, mention should be made of the Monte di Pietà, dating from 1471, the hospital founded in 1505, and the School of Educational Manual Work, the first in Italy, founded (1889) by Emidio Consorti of R.
Notable figures. – Many figures distinguished for learning and holiness were born in R. and in the diocese: St. Giacomo della Marca and Bl. Rita in Monteprandone, Bl. Sante of the Friars Minor Observants in R., Bl. Alberto in Cossignano, and the Venerable Lavinia Sernardi-Giammarini in Grottammare; Apollonio Petrocchi (15th century), a celebrated woodcarver; A. Condivi, a disciple and the first biographer of Michelangelo.
Monuments. – R. still partly retains its medieval appearance, although little remains of the original forms of the ancient Romanesque churches. Noteworthy are: the apse (9th century) of S. Niccolò; the Romanesque portal of S. Maria d’Agello; and the Romanesque-Gothic portal of S. Angelo, which still preserves the ancient original crypt. In the Cathedral are splendid examples of wood sculpture (pulpit, episcopal throne, and bench for the magistrates) by Desiderio Bonfini of Patrignone (17th century); a S. Carlo by Guercino; S. Gregorio, a valuable statue by Fedele Bianchini of Macerata, one of Canova’s finest followers; and, in the chapel of the Blessed Virgin, a highly venerated image of Our Lady of Loreto. In S. Caterina or S. Agostino (with Gothic elements on the side), there are 15 small panels depicting the Mysteries of the Rosary by A. Condivi. The 18th-century interiors of the churches of S. Chiara and S. Filippo are elegant. The Palazzo del Podestà, now the Town Hall, dating from 1304, is important. The Museum and Picture Gallery contain important paintings, excavation finds and curiosities, medals, coins, maiolica, etc.