Municipality in the province of Ancona, located in the valley of Giano, completely surrounded by mountains, Fabriano is known as the "city of paper" for the booming paper industry present here. It is a medieval village of which are still visible sections of fortified walls dating from the second half of the XIII century. The town preserves jewels of art and architecture, and numerous religious complexes and was the site of a late Gothic Art School with representative pupils such as Gentile da Fabriano.
While the surrounding territories had been inhabited since Prehistoric times, the center was built only in the Middle Ages, thanks to the aggregation, in the XII century, of the two castles of Castelnuovo and Castelvecchio. Great influence was exerted on the area by the spread of monastic settlements. It was proclaimed municipality in 1165, due to the gradual increase of its importance, up until the period of the Lordship of Chiavelli, against who the inhabitants rebelled. Traces of the XIII century walls, still visible today, report the period of urban expansion, fueled by the remarkable development of the local handicraft. At the fall of the domain of the Chiavelli in 1435, the town submitted a long period of decline that lasted until the XVIII century, period in which the town was ruled by the Sforza, and the Papal States.

Attractions:
- the Cathedral of San Venancio, founded in 1046, was rebuilt and enlarged in the XVII century. It features a single nave plan, in Baroque style, preceded by a stone staircase and preserves inside an apse and tabernacle of the XIV century, a porch completed between the XIV and XV centuries and some valuable paintings by Gentileschi. In the Chapel of San Lorenzo are visible frescoes by the artist Nuzi. The nearby cloister, with verandas and porches, is of the XIV century;
- the Complex of the Olivetani of Santa Caterina, which consists of a church and a monastery. Of the original XIV century building remain only the brick cloister of the monastery, due to the earthquakes of the XVIII and XIX century;
- the XIII century Complex of St. Augustine, of which remains the Church rebuilt in the middle of the XVIII century. Of the original construction remains the XIV century Gothic portal. Inside, it features a single nave plan in Baroque style with two chapels embellished with stucco decorations and Gothic frescoes;
- the Monastery of Saints Biagio and Romualdo, of the XIII century, whose church, was built in the XV century by the Camaldolesi on the ruins of an existing building. Expanded in later centuries, it was embellished by an XVIII century façade with two orders;
- the Complex of San Domenico, which still features architectural elements of the former XIV century convent, in the apse and in the Bell Tower of the church, rebuilt in the XVIII century, which preserves valuable frescoes;
- the Oratory of the Gonfalone of 1636, which inside features a rich Baroque decoration, a XVII century carved and gilded wooden ceiling and a painting depicting the Annunciation by the artist Viviani;
- the XIII century Collegiate Church of San Nicolò, rebuilt in the XVII century, features a cloister in contemporary brick;
- the XIII century Monastery of St. Benedict, rebuilt in the XVI century;
- the XV century Church of Sant' Onofrio;
- the XVI century Convent of San Luca;
- the Complex of Santa Margherita;
- the Complex of San Bartolomeo;
- the Church of Mercy;
- the Church of the Sacred Heart;
- the main town square, known as "Piazza Alta", located in a space that separated the two castles and proposes an interesting prospective through the arches of the XIV century loggia of St. Francis and the porch of the Bishop's Palace, built in the mid-XVI century, expanded and renovated in the XVIII century. Here also stands the Torre Civica, built in 1547 and the XIII century Palazzo del Podestà, in Romanesque-Gothic style, in front of which stands a fountain completed, in 1285, by Jacobo de Grondola and restored in the XIV century;
- the former Hospital of Santa Maria del Buon Gesù, founded in the XV century, is a Gothic building with a portico and five pointed arches, beneath which it is possible to admire frescoes of the Maestro of Staffolo;
- the porch of the Vasari, which is the only remains of the Market Square, also called the Lower Square. It is a building with pointed arches, built in 1364 as Hospital Corporation of the Calzolai, later ceded to the Vasari;
- the late XVIII century Collegio Gentile;
- the XIX century Theatre Gentile.