remarkably attractive small hill town, Recanati is close to the
heart of many Italians as the birthplace of one of the country's
greatest poets, Giacomo Leopardi
(1798-1837)
and a great tenor of this century, Beniamino Gigli. In
addition the Civic Museum holds many of Lotto's paintings
GETTING TO RECANATIThe tour takes you far from the coast towards the poetic
atmospheres of the inland. Recanati is easily reached from the
Riviera by a panoramic road passing through Conero park and
leading to SS 16. Travel towards Pescara; after Loreto and before
entering Porto Recanti turn right for Recanati. A road going
uphill for 10 Km joins the main SS 77. Now you can see the ancient
town standing on the hill between Musone and Potenza valleys. The
route offers a spectacular view of the countryside and gentle
landscape. However Recanati can be easily reached by A 14 motorway
and SS 77.
VISITING RECANATIIn order to discover the town of Recanati you should start with
the Leopardi
Palace,
the ancestral home of the Leopardi family and the birthplace of
the poet his descendants still live in this palace today. The
residence is in Piazza del Sabato del Villaggio. The
writer's objects and manuscripts exposed in the Palace allow us to
learn more about Giacomo's life; then you can visit the valuable
library collection by his father, Conte Monaldo. From here follow
the signs to Tabor hill, the famous hill
of the "Infinito":
it offers a breathless panoramic view.Back to Leopardi Palace you will pass through Rome, Calcagni and
Cavour streets. Along Calcagni street is the church of
Sant'Agostino:
its old tower
was celebrated by Leopardi's poem "Passero Solitario".
Moving on you'll arrive in Piazza
Leopardi,
the town's central piazza, where the ancient Village
Towerfaces.
Just in the middle of the square is the monument dedicated to
Leopardi; behind it, there is the Town
Hall,
where the Beniamino Gigli Museum is located.
The museum is worth a visit: it holds 28 stage costumes, numerous
wings, neck ornaments , various footwear and photos of the great
From Piazza Leopardi, Corso Persiani takes us to the Cathedral,
hosting the Diocesan Museum. Nearby is Villa Colloredo Mels, a
magnificient 18th century Villa. The tour ends with a visit to the
new Civic
Museum
housed in the Villa. It preserves Recanati's greatest art treasure,
a room with four of Lorenzo
Lotto's
finest paintings, including the most haunting Annunciation.This
dignified place, just inland from the Adriatic Sea, is strung out
along the crest of a hill. It was renowned in the 16th and 17thC
for its commercial fair, one of the most important in the Papal
States, and its wide streets and comfortable buildings still bear
a mercantile character. Nowadays,
however, it is remembered for its famous son, Leopardi. He passed
a hothouse childhood, self-imprisoned in his father's
classics-filled library and spent the rest of his life trying to
recapture in his pessimistic verse the illusion of happiness,
glimpsed fleetingly as a youth in Recanati. Palazzo Leopardi at
the southern edge of town, where he was born and brought up, holds
memorabilia, manuscripts and a library. Around almost every
corner, plaques mark spots referred to in his poems. Recanati
was also the home town of the great tenor, Beniamino Gigli and the
Museo Gigli in the Palazzo Comunale, or town hall, on central
Piazza Leopardi holds a collection of his costumes from some 30
operas, a mock-up of his dressing-room and some of the many
presents he received, including a walking stick from Verdi. <v:shape
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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, including a most haunting Annunciation packed
with almost breathless narrative detail - a high spot in any
art-lover's tour of the central Marche. Other
delights in Recanati include the Cathedral of San Flaviano with
its magnificent 17th century wood ceiling and the
Teatro Persiani, another of the Marche's unexpectedly grand 19th
century theatres.LEOPARDIPALACEOpen to the public: we suggest that you phone first.Tel. and fax: ++39.0717573380MUSEUM
BENIAMINO GIGLIOpen to public: 10.00-13.00, 16.00-18.00 (in winter); 10.00-13.00,
16.00-23.00 (in summer); closed on MondayTel.: ++39.07175871CIVIC
MUSEUMVilla Colleredo, via Gregorio XII, nearby the CathedralOpen to public: 9.00-13.00; 16.00-20.00Tel. ++39.0717570410Porto
RecanatiIf
you're staying inland at Loreto or Recanati, you might like to
pass a day or two down here on the beach. This
small-scale, modern resort has an airy and spacious feel to its
streets, and an attractive view of the peak of Monte Conero to the
north. The beach itself is sandy gravel and rarely crowded though
somewhat narrow. Most pleasant bit is the northern stretch.Porto
Recanati has been a bathing resort for more than one century.
Being situated at the seaside with the marvelous frame of the
Monte Conero it offers the tourist the possibility to spend serene
and relaxing holidays. To those who come to visit her, she
presents herself as a lovely town of fishermen with the sea being
the natural place of relaxation and holiday. The beach
promenade, completely closed to the traffic, invites you to take
relaxing walks among the typical houses in every minute of the
day. Numerous traditional events
contribute to render Porto Recanati a city even more pleasant.The southern
part of Porto Recanati still preserves the remains of Potenzia, a roman maritime colony founded in 184 a.C. and abandoned
in V cent. d.C.; the nearby abbey of S.Maria was instead founded in the XII cent. The history of the
actual city begins in the 1299, when Frederik II ordered the
construction of a castle and of a port in between the two rivers
Potenza e Aspio; the castle was completed in the XV cent. (then destroyed and rebuilt
many times), while the big port remained always a utopia. In the
XVI cent. the city changes its name to Porto Giulio, in honor to
the pope Giulio II - and during this period was built the church
of the Banderuola, where in 1294 the Holy House made a halt in its
translation into Italy. Always linked to the city of Recanati,
Porto Recanati reached authonomy only in 1893. A note of interest
goes to the Picture
Gallery Moroni. The court of the castle hosts today the Arena dedicated to Beniamino Gigli, place of numerous events and
manifestations.LoretoLoreto is the centre of devotion to the blessed Virgin Mary, thanks to
its the famous shrine enclosing the Holy House (Santa Casa).<v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600"
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GETTING THEREFrom the Riviera seaside the tour moves to
the land of faith and art. Our route avoids the busy coastal road
and leaves the backdoor along more quiet and pretty roads, passing
through the Conero Park to reach the main street SS 16.
Driving southward (towards Pescara), after about ten kilometres,
we turn right at the exit of Loreto and drive up to the
town. The A 14 motorway, the main SS 16 and SS 77 streets are the
Italian arteries to reach Loreto.VISITING LORETO
Already from far away we can recognize Loreto as a City-Shrine. The church's dome and bell tower
stand out over the compact cluster of buildings forming the old
town, still encircled by the XVIth century town walls and massive
bastions. The origin of Loreto is linked with the legend of the
transferral of Mary's House by angels in 1294. It arose as
testimonial to a miracle. In a short time the town got a famous
worship and a pilgrimage centre; in 1469, with the construction of
the new fortress-church, ordered to defend the Holy House, Loreto
started to develope. Our itinerary explores the very heart of the
city: piazza
della Madonna.Parked your car outside the town walls, the main
square can be reached from Corso Boccalini Main Street, from Sisto
V street or from Porta Marina. The square, embellished by a XVIIth
century fountain placed at its centre, is bordered to the east by
the facade of the Basilica. The Basilica, between the late Gothic and the Renaissance
style, is worth a visit. Inside the church, in the presbytery
beneath the dome, is the Holy
House. The walled "Chamber" of Our Lady in
which Mary was born, was fostered and received the angelic
annunciation, is protected by the Marble
Screen: projected by Bramante, it preserves the Statue of
the Blessed Virgin garbed in the traditional dalmatian robe. Many
of the most talented architects and artists of the Renaissance
worked on the construction of the Basilica: Baccio
Pontelli, Andrea Sansovino, Giuliano da Sangallo, Luca
Signorelli, Pomarancio, Luigi
Vanvitelli, Melozzo
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The
Museum
Gallery of the Holy House, is also worth a visit. It is housed on the upper
floors of the Apostolic Palace, in the north-west part of Piazza
della Madonna, and preserves objects and paintings coming mainly
from the Basilica. Outstanding among all art objects, eight
estimable canvasses of Lorenzo Lotto, a fine collection of Renaissance ceramics and ten
Raphaelesque tapestries. Exiting the museum, we can then discover
some typical city sights walking and shopping in Boccalini Main
Street, looking at the apses from piazzale Loreto and at the landcape from piazza Giovanni
XXIII.BASILICA - HOLY HOUSEOpen to public:6.00 to 19.00; on Sunday from 6.00 to 20.00; sanctuary is closed from 12.30
to 14.30.
MUSEUM-GALLERY
OF THE HOLY HOUSEOpen to public: from 9.00-13.00, 16.00-19.00 (April-September);
10.00-13.00, 15.00-18.00 (October-March);on Sunday closed.Tel.: ++39.071977759.Turistic guide
tel. ++39.071970104APT, via Solari, 3 tel. ++39.071970276Pro loco, corso Boccalini, tel. ++39.071977748FrasassiStalactites and stalagmites, lakes and alabaster offer an unforgettable
show to the tourist, attracted by the fairy tale landscape of the
"Grotta grande del Vento" ( Great Caves of the Wind)
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GETTING TO THE CAVESThe tour heads for the inland
mountains. It's advisable to start the visit to the Frasassi caves
and its countryside in the morning. Leaving the Riviera, we reach
and follow the main SS 16 towards Pesaro; after 10 km about
we take the main SS 76 towards Rome. Passing throughout the
typical landscape of the Marche, tourists can admire homely
rolling hills rising gradually towards the peaks of the Apennines.
Then we turn off for Genga-Sassofferrato and follow the
signs for Frasassi caves. The caves are easily reached by the A14
motorway, the SS 76 (Ancona-Roma), exit Genga Sassoferrato.VISITING THE CAVESLeaving the car in the large
parking-lot of San Vittore delle Chiuse, a ward of Genga, we walk
up to the entrance of the Frasassi
caves. The majestic cave systemwinds underground for almost 18
km; it is in the "Regional Park of Gola della Rossa and
Frasassi". The park is a green oasis, rich of history and art.
The
caves, discovered in 1971 and opened on 1974,
have been visited by ten million tourist from all over the world.
The visit to the caves lasts approximately one hour with free
guides. The caves, a product of carsic phenomena, offer evocative
scenographic effects and the walkways are smooth. The tourist can
admire the impressive composition of stalagmites, fairy lake,
labyrinths, windings with low ceiling and rich of different
concretions. The different caves have been given fairy-tale like
names such as Abyss Ancona, one of the biggest hollow in the world,
Two Hundred Hall, the Grand Canyon, the White Hall, the Candles'
Hall the Ursa Hall, the Never Ending Hall.
From the caves we go back to the parking lot. The Abbey of Sain
Vittore, a nearby church, is perhaps the most important
Romanesque building and Benedictine Monastery of the Marche. Then
we can choose where to eat among the many restaurants offering
traditional dishes. After lunch we drive up for 1,5 km to the cave
of the Sactuary. Once we reach the parking-lot we go on walking
towards the outstanding cave. In the wide mouth of a natural
tunnel there are a Benedictine Monastery (Monastery of Infrasaxa)
and the temple of Valadier. On the altar there is a venerated statue of the
Virgin with the Infant Jesus, a copy of the original by Antonio
Canova's school.THE CAVESOpening times: March -
October: 9.30, 11.30, 12.30, 15.00, 16.30,18.00; November-
February: 11.00, 15.00, 16.00; August: from 8.00 to 18.30; from 20
July to 25 August: night time opening from 21.00 to 22,30; closed
1 January, 4, 25 December and from 10-30 January.Entrance free for child under 6 ages and
handicaps. The ticket office, information desk and toilets are at
a short distance from the entrance. The tour of the Cave is made
in groups and takes 70 minutes. Every group is composed of a
maximum of 70 people and is accompanied by professional guides
supplied by the Organization.The track is 1.500 metres long and is completely cemented and
covered with a mantle which avoids slipping. The inside
temperature is 14�C and it's necessary then to wear a pullover at
least.ABBEY OF S. VITTOREOpening times:9.00-13.00; 15.00-19.00Free admissionSPELEO TOURISMBack to the spring of time a journey towards infinity, with
speleological tourism of Caves of Frasassi, a three-hour off-track
excursion with guides andUSEFUL NUMBERSConsorzio Frasassi, 60040, Genga (AN) tel.++39.073297211;
fax 0732972001Information and booking: tel.++39.073290080 (972000) tel.
or and fax ++39.073290090 (97200).
