Jesi is a town in Ancona province in Le Marche, a region on the Adriatic coast of Italy which gives its name to–but does not lie within–the Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi DOC region. Jesi lies on a plain, at the point where the valley Esino river valley widens as it nears the Adriatic sea. The old part of the town is surrounded by stone walls. Within are three squares and the town’s most important buildings, including the Teatro Pergolesi.

Nicolas Belfrage MW (2003, p.214-5) says Iesi (sic) derives from the ancient, possibly pre-Roman settlement of Aegis which gives its name to the nearby Esino river, rather than anything to do with Jesus, ‘a common error’, he says.

Jesi’s most famous son, Frederick II of Swabia, the “puer Apuliae” meaning son of Puglia, was born here in 1194 and it was his idea to have the Jesi area names Castelli di Jesi. The development of wine in the region was due largely to the monks, both Benedictine and subsequently Camaldolese.

Bibliography

The Italian Wine Guide (Touring Club of Italy, 1999), p.363.

Nicolas Belfrage MW, From Brunello to Zibibbo–The Wines of Tuscany, Central and Southern Italy (2nd edition, London, 2003).