Central Italy, Marches and Abruzzo

By Enrico Massetti

Enrico Massetti wrote this book with 43 color images.
As a matter of fact: Italy possesses the most remarkable artistic and cultural heritage globally. And its culture is not just found in the great creative cities but is diffuse, "spread" throughout national territory as in no other country. The proof?
Le Marche. Its flat and sandy coast is interrupted by rugged, rocky precipices, a region with rich and varied countryside with the Adriatic Sea.
The musical agricultural landscape of its gentle hills, the deep and mysterious caves, and the protected areas of natural beauty enriched with towns, villages, palaces, and religious buildings is of significant architectural and artistic value. It highlights the case with Ancona's cathedral, the regional capital, an essential Adriatic port, or Pesaro's temple.
In Urbino, the Ducal Palace is a stupefying testimony of Renaissance grandeur. So naturally, it is unpardonable not to book a seat at the grand Sferisterio theatre for a play or musical performance if you are in Macerata during the summer.
At Ascoli Piceno, the blend of medieval and renaissance architecture (S. Francesco, Loggia dei Mercanti, Piazza del Popolo, etc.) arrested the attention of even the most distracted visitor.
But in almost all of Le Marche's centers, even the smallest, there are many genuine artistic treasures. This guide leads you on a two-week car trip through Central Italy, in the Marches, Umbria, and Abruzzo regions.
It covers the towns of Pesaro, Urbino, Gubbio, Perugia, Assisi, Spello, Foligno, Montefalco, Spoleto, Terni, Rieti, L'Aquila, Popoli, Rivisondoli, Roccaraso, Chieti, Pescara, Teramo, Ascoli Piceno, Macerata, Loreto, and Ancona. It includes many photos and descriptions of the attractions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Enrico Massetti
• Release date: Nov 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9780463689288

Enrico Massetti

Enrico Massetti nació en Milán, Italia, donde vivió durante más de 30 años, visitando innumerables destinos turísticos, desde las montañas de los Alpes hasta el mar de Sicilia. Ahora vive en Washington, Estados Unidos. Sin embargo, visita regularmente su ciudad natal y disfruta recorriendo todos los lugares de su país, especialmente aquellos a los que puede llegar en transporte público. Puede contactar con Enrico en [e-mail].

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Enrico Massetti

Table of content

Enrico Massetti

Table of content

From Pesaro to Roccaraso

Pesaro

SEASIDE RESORTS

FANO.

Urbino

Gubbio

Perugia

Visiting Perugia in one day

Assisi

Half-day visits to Assisi

Spello

S. Maria Maggiore

Foligno

Montefalco

Spoleto

Terni

Rieti

L'Aquila

Popoli

Rivisondoli - Roccaraso

Chieti

Pescara

Teramo

Macerata

Loreto

Ancona

Marches Food & Recipes

Piceno gastronomy

Marche food: Entrees

Marches food: First courses

Marches food: Main courses

Marches food: Fish courses

Marches food: cheese

Typical food from The Marches

Marche Recipes

Other tourism guides

Italian-visits.com

The Author

Travel books of the same author:

Things to Know

Index

From Pesaro to Roccaraso

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The itinerary

The Marches and the Abruzzi are parts of Italy that could be better known to international tourists.

It is not just a question of doing justice to these areas by recommending them to the tourist; the tourist himself will make some fascinating discoveries because these areas are no less rich in art treasures and natural beauties than much more famous ones.

There are mighty Roman ruins, beautiful churches, and abbeys. Renaissance palaces, picture galleries, rich, particularly in works of the Venetian School (to know the rare pieces of Crivelli or Lotto, one must visit the galleries of the Marches).

Then there is the majestic mountain scenery of the Majella and the Gran Sasso and the long golden sands of the Adriatic beaches.

There is yet another reason for visiting these parts. Everyone knows of the exploits of the other peoples of Italy, the Etruscans in the north and the Greeks in the south: but these peoples, even if they became acclimatized, were foreigners; they came from beyond the sea.

The Italics, the Marches, and Umbria were populated and civilized by native people.

On this route, we shall pass through the ruins of an ancient city, Corfinium.

In 90 BC, the people of this city rose against Rome and made it the capital of their state, giving it a name destined to have a very long life – Italia.

That ancient Italia was overwhelmed and defeated.

But the name remained and long outlived Roman power to spread to Italy.

Pesaro

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Pesaro Castle

Pesaro still has beautiful monuments dating from when it was a Signory, first of the Malatesta, then the Sforza and the Della Rovere: The Ducal Palace (15th cent.), and the Costanza Fortress by Laurana.

From here, passing the Romanesque Cathedral, we arrive at Palazzo Toschi-Mosca, with the essential Majolica Museum in Italy and the rich Picture Gallery (grand Coronation of the Virgin by Giovanni Bellini, works by Michele di Malice, Beccafumi, etc.).

We can go on to Sant'Agostino with its magnificent Gothic portal of 1413.

About 2 km (1 1/4 mi) out of the city, at a height near the sea, is Villa Imperiale (15th – 16th cent.), of which Emperor Frederick III laid the foundation stone, a luxurious noble dwelling with remarkable frescoes by Dossi, Bronzino, Perin del Vaga.

The Adriatic Sea wets the Pesaro-Urbino district: it is known for its maioliche, the parks, the castles, and its artistic treasures, as well as adequate receptive structures and amusements for the seaside, religious, green, and Eno-gastronomic tourism.

SEASIDE RESORTS

Visiting this part of the Adriatic means enjoying the spectacle of two of the very few headlands on the entire coastline, San Bartolo and Ardizio, taking advantage of the tranquility of small, isolated coves or experiencing the more frequented yet just as inviting sandy beaches.

Forty kilometers of a soft sand stretch from Gabicce to Marotta, with an abundance of hotels, updated and reclassified over the years, and numerous campsites between Pesaro and Fano.

Here the beach is even more extensive, and