Sights in Le Marche
-
A
Duomo
On the eastern flank of Piazza Arringo, Ascoli’s Duomo was built in the 15th century over a medieval building and dedicated to St Emidio, patron saint of the city. In the Cappella del Sacramento is what is considered by critics to be Carlo Crivelli’s best work, the Polittico, a polyptych executed in 1473. The crypt of Sant Emidio has a set of mosaics any ceramicist will appreciate, but be sure to look through the locked gates at the ancient tunnels.
reviewed
-
B
Pinacoteca
The second-largest art gallery in Le Marche is inside the 17th-century Palazzo Comunale. The Pinacoteca boasts an outstanding display of art, sculpture and religious artefacts, 400 works in total, including paintings by Van Dyck, Titian and Rembrandt, and a stunning embroidered 13th-century papal cape worn by Ascoli-born Pope Nicholas IV. The gallery was founded in 1861 with works taken from churches and religious orders that were suppressed in the wake of Italian unification.
reviewed
-
C
Chiesa di San Francesco
The beautiful Chiesa di San Francesco was started back in 1262 as a homage to a visit from St Francis himself. In the left nave is a 15th-century wooden cross that miraculously made it through a 1535 fire at the Palazzo dei Capitani, and has since reputedly spilled blood twice. Virtually annexed to the church is Loggia dei Mercanti, built in the 16th century by the powerful guild of wool merchants, to hide their rough-and-tumble artisan shops.
reviewed
-
D
Palazzo Ducale
A microcosm of Renaissance architecture, art and history, the Palazzo Ducale houses the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Museo Archeologico and Museo della Ceramica. The museum triptych is housed within Federico da Montefeltro’s Renaissance palace, a work of art in itself, as the duke employed some of the greatest artists and architects of the Renaissance to create what was then a modern masterpiece.
reviewed
-
E
Cattedrale di San Ciriaco
Via Giovanni XXIII leads up Monte Guasco and Piazzale del Duomo, where there are sweeping views of the city and the port. Here, the Cattedrale di San Ciriaco sits grandly atop the site of an ancient Pagan temple, jimmied together with Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic features. You can take bus 11, which runs from Piazza Roma to Piazza della Repubblica, or get your exercise walking up the steep hill.
reviewed
-
Musei Civici
Opened in 1860 just after Italian reunification, the town’s original art gallery is now the Musei Civici, which also displays Pesaro’s 700-year-old ceramic tradition with one of Italy’s best collections of majolica ceramics. The Pinacoteca houses Giovanni Bellini’s magnificent altarpiece depicting the coronation of the Virgin.
reviewed
-
Museo Tattile Statile Omero
Museo Tattile Statile Omero is the only museum of its kind in all of Europe; this is one museum where you’re supposed to touch the art. All of its sculptures have been created for the blind in order to feel the representations of Roman statues, the Parthenon and St Peter’s, as well as Michelangelo’s David.
reviewed
-
F
Chiesa di San Pietro Martire
On Via delle Donne (Street of Women) is the 14th-century Chiesa di San Pietro Martire, dedicated to the saint who founded the Dominican community at Ascoli. The chunky Gothic structure houses the Reliquario della Santa Spina, containing what is said to be a thorn from Christ’s crown.
reviewed
-
G
Museo Archeologico Nazionale delle Marche
The Museo Archeologico Nazionale delle Marche is in the 16th-century Palazzo Ferretti, where the ceilings are covered with original frescoes and bas-reliefs. Although not the most thoughtfully laid-out display, artefacts range from Greek and Etruscan back to the Bronze and Neolithic Ages.
reviewed
-
H
Museum
The small museum attached to the cathedral holds the 4th-century sarcophagus of Flavius Gorgonius, a masterpiece of early Christian art. You can take bus 11, which runs from Piazza Roma to Piazza Repubblica, or get your exercise walking up the rather steep hill.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
Casa Rossini
In 1792 the famed composer Rossini was born in a typical Pesaro house that is now known as the Casa Rossini. Follow the history of Rossini and opera through the early 19th century via a series of prints, personal effects and portraits.
reviewed
-
Museo Palazzo Ricci
The 16th-century Museo Palazzo Ricci houses a collection of 20th-century Italian pop art and futurists such as Giorgio De Chirico, Giacomo Balla and Renato Guttoso, alongside an impressive display of 18th-century noble furnishings.
reviewed
-
I
Chiesa di San Francesco delle Scale
North along Via Ciriaco Pizzecolli and off to the right is Chiesa di San Francesco delle Scale, noteworthy for its 15th-century Venetian-Gothic doorway by Orsini. Check out the ancient waterway below or ascend the many steps to the bell tower.
reviewed
-
J
Casa di Raffaello
North of the Piazza della Repubblica you’ll find the 15th-century Casa di Raffaello, the house where Raphael spent his first 16 years. On the 1st floor is possibly one of Raphael’s first frescoes, a Madonna with child.
reviewed
-
K
Museo Albani
The Duomo's Museo Albani contains religious artefacts, vestments and more paintings, including Andrea da Bologna’s Madonna del Latte (Madonna Breastfeeding) and one by Giovanni Santi (Raphael’s father).
reviewed
-
L
Duomo
Rebuilt in the early 19th century in neoclassical style, the interior of Urbino’s Duomo commands much greater interest than its austere facade. Particularly memorable is Federico Barocci’s Last Supper.
reviewed
-
M
Chiesa del Gesù
Beyond Chiesa di San Francesco delle Scale is Vanvitelli's Chiesa del Gesù, which is closed to visitors. Nearby, in the Palazzo degli Anziani, is the economics faculty of the city's 13th-century university.
reviewed
-
Mole Vanvitelliana
The large building at the waterfront is the Mole Vanvitelliana, designed by Luigi Vanvitelli in 1732 for Pope Clementine. It is now the magnificent venue for some major exhibitions. Call them for details.
reviewed
-
N
Chiesa di San Domenico
The elegant Piazza del Plebiscito is flanked by the baroque Chiesa di San Domenico, containing the superb Crucifixion by Titian and Annunciation by Guercino.
reviewed
-
O
Chiesa di Santa Maria della Piazza
You'll also find the small Piazza Santa Maria and the disused, tumbledown Chiesa di Santa Maria della Piazza, which retains scraps of 5th- and 6th-century pavement mosaics.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
P
Teatro delle Muse
The ornate Teatro delle Muse, built in 1826, has a neoclassical facade of six Ionic columns which meld with Greek friezes portraying Apollo and the Muses.
reviewed
-
Q
Arco di Traiano
North of Piazza Dante Alighieri, at the far end of the port, is the Arco di Traiano, erected in 115 BC by Apollodorus of Damascus in honour of the Roman Emperor Trajan.
reviewed
-
R
Fontana del Calamo
Head along Corso Mazzini, where you will see the 16th-century Fontana del Calamo, 13 masked spouts supposedly representing effigies of those who had been beheaded.
reviewed
-
Pinacoteca
Recently reopened after years of renovation, the Pinacoteca has a good collection of early Renaissance works, including a 15th-century Madonna by Carlo Crivelli.
reviewed
-
S
Museo Archeologico
The Museo Archeologico holds a small collection of tribal artefacts from Piceni and other European people back to the first centuries AD.
reviewed
