 Territory:
It is an essentially mountainous and hilly region, facing the Adriatic Sea.
The mountain area is rugged, with narrow valleys, deep gorges and numerous
rushing, sometimes inaccessible, streams (Gorge of Furlo). The coastline
presents a succession of gently rolling hills and flat plains crossed by
rivers.
Cities: The regional capital is Ancona. Other important cities are
Ascoli Piceno, Pesaro, Urbino and Macerata.
Art: Numerous and remarkable remains of the Roman Age can be found
in Ascoli, Fano, Ancona, Fermo, Urbisaglia and near Macerata. Outstanding
examples of Romanesque architecture, with Byzantine elements, can be seen in
the areas around Ancona and Ascoli. The Gothic style is present in Ascoli
and Tolentino. The region reached its highest artistic splendor during the
Renaissance, thanks to the presence of very important local artists, such as
Raphael and Bramante.
Museums: In Ancona the National Museum of the Marches, with an
interesting local archaeologic collection; the Diocesan Museum of the
Cathedral, which houses interesting medieval relics; important pictorial
works (Tiziano, Lotto) in the Pinacoteca Civica. A rich pictorial exhibition
can be admired in the Pinacoteca Comunale of Ascoli. In Pesaro, the Civic
Museums display paintings, ceramics of the famous Renaissance “botteghe”
(art workshops) and archaeologic relics. In Urbino, the National Gallery of
the Marches holds the most important collection of the Marchigiana art
(Raphael, Tiziano, Piero della Francesca); in the Museo del Duomo “Albani”,
fourteenth-century frescoes, paintings, ceramics and sacred relics can be
admired; the native house of Raphael is interesting and deserves a visit.
The Biblioteca Comunale of Macerata houses very ancient incunabula; in the
Museum of the Carriages very rare specimens of ancient vehicles can be seen.
To be visited: On the seaside Fano, the coastline and the
panoramic area of Mount Conero. Then, there are the Gorge of Furlo, Pesaro,
and Urbino with its beautiful view and environs.
An essentially mountainous and hilly region, facing the Adriatic Sea.
The mountain area is rugged, with narrow valleys, deep gorges and numerous
rushing, sometimes inaccessible streams. The coastline presents rolling
hills as well as flat plains crossed by rivers.
URBINO
A renaissance town, the birthplace of Raphael. Several of his works may
be viewed in the art gallery at the Palazzo Ducale, along with works by
Piero della Francesca and Titian. Raphael’s childhood home is also open for
viewing; You will find it in Via Raffaello that runs up from Piazza della
Repubblica.
The hub of the town is this animated Piazza, ideal to start your visit.
In the Palazzo Ducale, among the several paintings, the Duke's Studiolo is
the most unusual room in the palace. His tiny study is entirely decorated in
exquisite trompe l'oeil inlaid woodwork panels, some based on designs by
Botticelli.
You may also visit the vast warren of cellars, kitchens, laundry rooms,
stables and even an ice store in the sotterranei or basements. Oratorio di
S. Giovanni Battista in Via Barocci to see a small church entirely decorated
in 1416 with wall-to-ceiling frescoes by the Marchegiani painters Jacopo and
Lorenzo Salimbeni. A rarely visited but nevertheless delightful stop is the
Orto Botanico. This small, walled botanic garden is full of rare plants.
PESARO
Attractive seaside resort, a thriving fishing port and an important
manufacturing centre. At the heart of the city lies the wide main square,
Piazza del Popolo with the clean-lined Renaissance Palazzo Ducale. Along Via
Rossini you'll find on your right the modest house where Italy's great opera
composer Gioachino Rossini was born in 1792. Step inside the towns’s
Cattedrale to see the remarkable mosaic floor uncovered in 2000. The
beautiful early Christian work dates from the 6th Century and can be admired
through glass panels set in the supended modern floor.
The city was once noted for its ceramic workshops that turned out the
brightly painted earthenware known as majolica. In the Musei Civici (Civic
Museums) in Piazza Toschi Mosca you can browse through one of Italy's finest
collections of Renaissance and Baroque pottery. You may view Giovanni
Bellini's masterpiece, the Coronation of the Virgin in the adjoining
Pinacoteca. On the sea-front you’ll notice one of the city's most flamboyant
buildings, the Villino Ruggeri. This heavily stuccoed confection is one of
the finest examples of the Italian Liberty style.
ANCONA
The town’s landmark is the Medieval Cathedral of San Ciriaco, a mix of
Romanesque and Gothic. On Corso Mazzini see the 16th century Fontana del
Calamo, a regimented row of 13 masked spouts. Get a bird's eye views of the
port from Piazza Stracca. A few steps further is Palazzo Ferretti, home of
the Museo Archeologico delle Marche, an outstanding collection of antique
nick-nacks - black and red Attic vases, Etruscan bronzes, Iron Age jewellery.
Take Via Pizzecolli to get in the heart of the oldest part of the city.
Palazzo Bosdari hosts Ancona's Pinacoteca; paintings to look for here are
Crivelli's chilly Madonna and Child, Titian's Virgin with Child and Saints,
and Lorenzo Lotto's Sacra Conversazione.
Loreto
Another town, is said to be the site of the house of the Virgin Mary and
attracts many pilgrims from around the world. According to legend, the house
was carried here from Nazareth by Angels, and is now enclosed in the
elaborate Gothic Santuario della Santa Casa. In RECANATI, birth place of
Giacomo Leopardi. Palazzo Leopardi at the southern edge of town, where he
was born and brought up, holds memorabilia, manuscripts and a library. The
new museum in Villa Colloredo-Mels, a splendid 18th century villa on the
edge of town, holds Recanati's greatest art treasure, a room with four of
Lorenzo Lotto's finest pictures.
Senigallia: Has been one of the most popular seaside resorts on the
Adriatic Coast with its thirteen kilometres of golden sands, the famous
Velvet Beach.
Mondavio: Medieval hill town with an imposing fortress, built by
Francesco di Giorgio Martini, one of Italy's most celebrated Renaissance
military architects. It now houses an entertaining 'living museum' (actually
dead wax dummies) portraying life in the16th century and a torture chamber.
Fano: The Arco di Augusto, a splendid Roman triumphal arch, provides a
fitting gateway to the town. Among the fine buildings flanking the main
square stands the Palazzo Malatesta with a remarkable courtyard and loggia
known as the Corte Malatestiana. The palace holds the town's Museo Civico
and Pinacoteca.
Serra San Quirico: A town apparently so short of building space within
its medieval walls that its early inhabitants built out over the streets,
creating picturesque covered roads or "copertelle".
Camerino - This small but impressive hill town has a charming old town;
from Piazza Cavour, around which stand the Cathedral, the Archbishop's
Palace and the Ducal Palace, now the University. The porticoed courtyard of
the Ducal Palace is partly attributed to the great 15thC architect Baccio
Pontelli. From it leads a splendid balcony with great views of the Sibillini
Mountains.
Tolentino in the heartland of the southern-central Marche is a thriving
medieval town set in rolling hills. Pilgrims come from across Italy to visit
the shrine of St Nicholas of Tolentino in the handsome Basilica. It hosts
Giottoesque frescoes in the Gothic Cappellone di San Nicola and a Romanesque
cloister.
Osimo - The mosaic pavement of the Duomo is a fine relic of Medieval
times; the church, originally built in the 13th century in Romanesque-Gothic
style, also has a magnificently atmospheric crypt and an outstanding bronze
baptismal font from the early 17th century.The old Romanesque church of San
Francesco has been redone inside and out in High Baroque to celebrate its
later reincarnation as the Sanctuary dedicated to San Giuseppe da Copertino
(1603-1663). It is now an important centre of pilgrimage. His remains are
kept in a crystal urn in the modern crypt. You can also see the rooms, known
as the camere di San Giuseppe.
Macerata - The best of the city's palaces line Corso Matteotti, the road
that leaves the square at the side of the Loggia dei Mercanti on central
Piazza della Liberta'( the most striking piece of architecture), while Corso
della Repubblica will take you to Piazza Vittorio Veneto and the civic
gallery and museum.
Ascoli Piceno - Start your visit with Piazza del Popolo, the
travertine-paved main square. To one side of the square stands the Palazzo
del Popolo, a splendid 13thC building guarded over by a monumental statue of
Pope Paul III. Look inside to see the arcaded Renaissance courtyard. The
other main square, Piazza Arringo, is almost as impressive as its big sister
and is flanked by the Duomo, or Cathedral, and the town hall, or palazzo
Comunale. Inside here you will find the Pinacoteca Civica, Ascoli's art
gallery. Wander round the old quarter of the town that stretches from the
banks of the Tronto river to the city's main street, Corso Mazzini - best
streets are via Soderini and via di Solestà. |
