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We observe immediately that about the origins of Camerino arose, especially among historians of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, various interpretations which involved a lot of confusion. Today, studies have shown that the etymology of "Camerino" comes from the population of “Camertes”, widely scattered over a territory which belonged in Roman times to Umbria and now it is in the Marche; but some historian confused Camerino with “Cluvius” (Chiusi), which was located in Etruscan territory, and which was once called "Camars" ("Ad Clusium, quod 'Camars' Olim appellabant”, Livy (59 BC-17 AD), X, 25 [" At Chiusi, which was once called 'Camars' ]). The confusion arose from fact that "Camars" has the same basic of “Camerinum”. GB Pellegrini writes :"[...] Chiusi was an old name of 'Camar(s)' ['Kamar(s )']... Giacomo Devoto stresses the affinity of 'Camars'-'Chiusi' with Umbrian 'Camertes' (Livy, IX, 36), who lived on the Adriatic side of  Apennines (Camerinum) [...]" (See GB Pellegrini,“Toponomastica Italiana”, ["Italian toponymy"] Hoepli, 1990, p. 24).

About this substantial linguistic identity "Camars" - "Chiusi" - "Camerinum", arose among scholars lively discussions with some solution very extravagant. Today, however, studies have shown that, even before the Etruscans, "Clusium" was inhabited by “Camertes” (Umbrians), and that in those times the city was called "Camars" for this reason. The issue was well explained by G. Buti and G. Devoto, who wrote that  the Umbrian-Indo-European “Camertes”  “ […] left a track immediately east of the existing borders, 'Camer(ino)', and immediately to the West in 'Camars', the ancient name of Chiusi [...]" (See G. Buti-G. Devoto, “Preistoria e Storia delle Regioni d'Italia” [“Prehistory and history of the Italy regions”], Florence, Sansoni, 1974, pp. 93-94).

On the other hand, we must also consider that the Etruscans had a specific name to denote "Clusium", i.e. “Clevsin.” "Camars" should mean "closed" and "curved" (some thought to a "closed place, surrounded by marsh") and, in fact, the Romans translated  name "Clusium" to indicate a place just "closed" and curvilinear. In the eighteenth century, Stanislao Bardetti observed: "[...] Livy shows that the city in his time called 'Clusium', was once called 'Camars'. It was close to a lagoon, or marsh, which so it was called 'Palus Clusina' ("Marsh of Chiusi"). With the name 'Clusium' one expresses itself perfectly the other name, 'Camars', which is composed of 'ca' and 'mars', namely it means 'closed into the swamp' [...]" (See S. Bardetti, “Della Lingua dei Primi Abitatori dell'Italia” ["The Language of the First Inhabitants of Italy], Modena, 1772, p. 899).

That remains about the origin of Camerino, imagination played a significant role, as we can deduce from this passage of G. Colucci: "[...] Camerino is a very ancient city, once belonging to Umbria, and today the Piceno. This city, situated in the Apennines, was founded by Camese, who called it, from his name, 'Camesena'. Then posterity, changing the alphabet, called it 'Camerena', then 'Camerino'. Others think Camerino derives its name from its curvilinear site, because 'camurum' in Latin meaning “curved”. Others claim that Camerino derives from 'Sea-Dog' [“Cane Marino”], which is the emblem of Dukes Varano [...]". Soon after, about the latter etymology, Colucci adds: "[...] The emblem of  Varani [sic], once lords of Camerino, has just a 'sea dog', but that has nothing to do with the etymology of city name, because Camerino was so named many centuries before Dukes Varani  became lords of it [...]" (See Giuseppe Colucci, “Delle Antichità Picene”, [“About the  Antiquities of Piceno”], Fermo, 1795, Vol. X, pp. 96 - 97, note 352).

But the fact that many could believe to be true that the name of Camerino could derive from arms of Lords Da Varano, suggests how important this ancient family was for Camerino, who ruled the city for several centuries. Before Dukes of Varano, Camerino was subjected to Roman rule. Camerino came into contact with Rome as early as 310 BC, and it was a city of ancient settlement, dating back the sixth century BC (See L. Braccesi “I Greci in adriatico”, [“The Greeks in the Adriatic Sea”] , 2004, p. 24). The Romans maintained excellent relations with the "Camertes" of Camerino, because the city was built on a hill easily defensible, and so it was very important from a strategic military point of view.

To this we must add that the "Camertes" of Camerino were always faithful allies of the Romans, fighting bravely alongside them against the Cimbres, so they deserve Roman citizenship on the battlefield. The "Camertes" were Roman citizens in all respects. There has been a short fragment in Latin, which is "the ‘motto’ of Camerino, and are the words of Gaius Marius (157-86 BC) in 1000 ‘Camertes’ who fought like lions in the war against the Cimbres": ‘Estote Cives and Pugnate, Camertes" , that is: "Be [Roman] Citizens  and fight, Camertes!" (See G. Fumagalli, “The ‘Ape Latina’”, Hoepli, 1987, p. 78, n. 666). For these reasons, Camerino enjoyed great respect and always had, by the Romans, very favourable treaties and administrative autonomy. After the fall of Roman Empire, the city came under rule of the Lombard Duchy of Spoleto, and, later, it was a city of considerable power, surrounding areas very distant from the city and its suburbs. For Camerino  a tragic event was the looting that it underwent by Manfredi (1232-1266), son of Frederick II of Swabia (1194-1250) in 1259.

Certainly, the most illustrious period for Camerino began with the government of  Da Varano. The Lordship of  Da Varano was made famous by Julius Caesar, who ruled the city from 1444 to 1502, promoting an intense artistic activity, which made the Court of Camerino one of the most exciting and important centers of Italian Renaissance. His splendid work of Maecenas, however, was interrupted in 1502, when, Cesare Borgia (1475-1507), son of Pope Alexander VI (1431-1503), began his political and military expansionism in the Marche, even with the help of his father. In this sense, Julius Caesar was in fact deprived of his city, because Alexander VI excommunicated him. Later, the city was occupied by Oliverotto da Fermo (1473-1503) and Francesco Orsini (died in 1503), Cesare Borgia's lieutenants. With the conquest of Camerino, all family of the Da Varano was exterminated, except for a young member of it, Giovanni Maria (1481-1527), who found refuge in Venice.

Then, when things changed radically with the death of Alexander VI and Cesare Borgia, Pope Julius II (1443-1513) restored the “Signoria”  to Giovanni Maria, who won, with Pope Leo X (1475-1521), the title of Duke. However, despite initial success, things turned, for the Da Varano, on the wane; Leo X and his successor , Pope Farnese (Paul III, 1468-1549) meant, in fact, to undermine the authority of  Da Varano, to entrust the government of  duchy to his relatives; and, in every way, Camerino in 1545 was subject to the dominion of  Church State, who ruled  city until  unification of Italy (1861) (For these events see F. Pirani, "Camerino between the Da Varano and Occupation of Borgia" in "Alexander VI and the Church State" in Atti del convegno (Perugia, 13-15 marzo 2000), a cura di Carla Frova e Maria Grazia Nico Ottaviani, Roma, 2003). Under the rule of  Church State, the city was governed by  Papal Legate, and it recorded a time of substantial political and economic decline, but, fortunately, not cultural; in fact,  in 1727-1728 the University of Camerino was born, who will rise to a long tradition of higher education, which made the city famous and active, even during periods of political decline, as the Napoleonic era and the nineteenth century,  in which, despite the stagnation, Camerino recorded some increase in construction , and the preservation of its architectural and artistic heritage.