The Italian Catholic diocese of Fossombrone existed in the province of Pesaro and Urbino until 1986, when it was united into the diocese of Fano-Fossombrone-Cagli-Pergola. It was a suffragan of the archdiocese of Urbino.

History

Fossombrone

Fossombrone

Fossombrone is a town and comune in the province of Pesaro e Urbino .-History:The ancient Roman colony of Forum Sempronii took its name from Gaius Sempronius Gracchus....

 was included in the Donation of Pepin

Donation of Pepin

The "Donation of Pepin", the first in 754, and second in 756, provided a legal basis for the formal organizing of the Papal States, which inaugurated papal temporal rule over civil authorities...

, but remained subject to the Duchy of Spoleto

Duchy of Spoleto

The independent Duchy of Spoleto was a Lombard territory founded about 570 in central Italy by the Lombard dux Faroald.- Lombards :The Lombards, a Germanic people, had invaded Italy in 568 and conquered much of it, establishing a Kingdom divided between several dukes dependent on the King, who had...

 until 1198, when it passed under papal rule. It was then held in fief of the Holy See

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

 by different families: by the house of Este (1210-28), the Malatesta

Malatesta

Malatesta may refer to:*The House of Malatesta, an Italian family which ruled over Rimini from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century*Errico Malatesta , an Italian anarchist*Malatesta , a 1970 German film...

 (1340-1445), the Montefeltro

Montefeltro

thumb|Coat of Arms of the Montefeltro family.Montefeltro is the name of an historical Italian family who ruled Urbino and Rimini.The family's reign began in 1267 when Buonconte I da Montefeltro was elected podestà of Urbino...

 of Urbino

Urbino

Urbino is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of Federico da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482...

, 1445-1631); from 1500 to 1503 it acknowledged the rule of Cesare Borgia

Cesare Borgia

Cesare Borgia , Duke of Valentinois, was an Italian condottiero, nobleman, politician, and cardinal. He was the son of Pope Alexander VI and his long-term mistress Vannozza dei Cattanei. He was the brother of Lucrezia Borgia; Giovanni Borgia , Duke of Gandia; and Gioffre Borgia , Prince of Squillace...

.

Christianity was introduced there, according to Ferdinando Ughelli

Ferdinando Ughelli

Ferdinando Ughelli was an Italian Cistercian monk and church historian.-Biography:He was born in Florence. He entered the Cistercian Order and was sent to the Gregorian University in Rome, where he studied under the Jesuits Francesco Piccolomini and John de Lugo.He filled many important posts in...

, by Felicianus of Foligno. The martyrologies mention several martyrs: Aquilinus, Geminus, Gelasius, Magnus and Donata, also a bishop, Timothy, and his daughter (4 February). The first bishop of certain date is Innocent, present at the synods of Pope Symmachus

Pope Symmachus

Saint Symmachus was pope from 498 to 514. His tenure was marked by a serious schism over who was legitimately elected pope by the citizens of Rome....

 (504).

Other bishops were:

• Fulcuinus (1086), present at the Council of Salona as legate of Pope Gregory VII
  Pope Gregory VII
  Pope St. Gregory VII , born Hildebrand of Sovana , was Pope from April 22, 1073, until his death. One of the great reforming popes, he is perhaps best known for the part he played in the Investiture Controversy, his dispute with Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor affirming the primacy of the papal...
  
   to receive the oath of fidelity to the Holy See from Demetrius, King of Dalmatia;
• St. Aldebrando Faberi
  Aldebrandus
  Aldebrandus, also known as Hildebrand, was a Bishop of Fossombrone. Having been born in 1119, at Sorrivoli, Italy, Aldebrandus went on to study at Santa Maria de Porto a commune near Ravenna, Italy...
  
   (1119), who died at the age of 118 years;
• Blessed Riccardo (date uncertain);
• Addo Ravieri (1379), poet and littérateur;
• Paul of Middelburg
  Paul of Middelburg
  Paul of Middelburg was a Flemish scientist and bishop of Fossombrone.-Biography and work:Paul was born in 1446 at Middelburg, the ancient capital of the province of Zeeland, belonging then to the Holy Roman Empire, now to the Netherlands. His family name is unknown, but in one place he is called...
  
   (1494), of German origin, a skilful mathematician, and author of a work on the computation of Easter;
• Giacomo Guidiccioni (1524), poet and writer;
• Cardinal Nicolò Ardinghelli (1541);
• Giulio Aloisini (1808), internuncio in Russia.