Gabicce - History

Strange legends, ancient folk traditions and epic deeds by famous ruling Houses merge within the history of the town of Gabicce, a fascinating tourist destination also from a cultural and historical point of view. The creation of the municipal area of Gabicce is closely linked to that of Gabicce Monte, as Gabicce Mare began to develop independently only from the end of the nineteenth century.
In the distant past Gabicce Monte was a small fishing and farming village, known locally as ‘Castrum Ligabitii’. The origins of the name are unclear: there are those who say it is the name of the feudal lord who owned these lands around the Xth century and those who say that the name derives from livestock breeders, called ‘legabecchi’ at the time.

Whatever its origin ‘Castrum Ligabiti’ was a small village clustered around a Castle conquered by various lords over the centuries: from the Archbishopric of Ravenna to the Malatesta, the Sforza, Montefeltro Lords, followed by the Rovere family until it fell under the Papal states. What remained of the Castle was completely destroyed in the Second World War.  Information on the population during the middle ages is limited to some writings that mention that there were no more than 500 people living in the area at that time.

Gabicce Mare as a town was established in the early 1800’s, when there was the need to extend the town boundaries, build a port and open up the fishing industry.  The transfer of the Gabicce Town Hall to the area near the sea only came about one hundred years later, in around 1942. However it was only in the 1960’s that Gabicce Mare, like the majority of towns along the Adriatic Coast, accepted a new kind of tourism, the so-called “mass” tourism, that radically changed the customs of the area leading to the establishment of seaside facilities and hotels that were increasingly avant-garde.

Going back to the myths and traditions of Gabicce, it is said that in the distant past, in front of Gabicce Monte, in the area now known as the Vallugola Bay, there was an ancient city called Valbruna, today any evidence of this city has been submerged by the Adriatic Sea and no traces remain, excepting for local folklore and tales, which lend an air of mystery to the origins of Gabicce.