JESI

also spelled Iesi, Latin Aesis town and episcopal see, Ancona provincia, Marche regione, east-central Italy. Jesi lies along the Esino River, just southwest of Ancona. The Roman colony of Aesis from 247 BC, it was destroyed by the Goths and Lombards and formed part of the Frankish king Pippin III's gift to the church in 756. In the early medieval conflicts between the Holy Roman emperors and the papacy, it supported the former until the Battle of Benevento (1266), after which it passed to the church. Jesi was the birthplace of Emperor Frederick II and of the 18th-century composer Giovanni Batista Pergolesi. The old quarter of the town is completely enclosed by 14th-century walls. The Palazzo della Signoria (148698) houses the town hall, library, and art gallery. An agricultural centre, Jesi manufactures agricultural machinery, soap, matches, silk, wool, and paper. Pop. (1991) mun., 40,156.