Pesaro (Pés're in Gallo-Piceno dialect) is an Italian town of 96
250 inhabitants and the capital of the Province of Pesaro and Urbino
in the Marche Region. It is the capital of the Marche Province of
Pesaro and Urbino.
Overlooking the Adriatic Sea and crossed
by the river Folia, Pesaro is a seaside and industrial center
sandwiched between two coastal hills: San Bartolo and Ardizio. The
municipality extends beyond the city limits and includes other
municipalities such as Monterabbate, Vallefolia, and Mombaloccio.
It is also known as the "City of Music" due to Pesaro's strong
ties to composer Gioachino Rossini and his many works; in 2017, the
city was recognized by UNESCO as a Creative City of Music for its
efforts to popularize, promote, and reaffirm the music of Rossini.
In 2017, Pesaro and Tavullia created the "Terra di Piloti e
Motori" association with the aim of promoting motorcycle tourism in
the provinces of Pesaro and Urbino and Marche and enhancing the
century-old motorcycle tradition of these regions.
In 2017,
Pesaro also received the title of "European Sports City", shared
with the cities of Aosta, Cagliari, and Vicenza.
Every year,
Pesaro hosts important events in the Italian and international
cultural scene, such as the Rossini Opera Festival and the
International New Cinema Exhibition.
Pesaro overlooks the Adriatic Sea, has a sandy beach and a canal port located on the right bank of the mouth of the Foglia river. The town is between two hills, Monte Ardizio to the east-south-east and Colle San Bartolo to the west-north-west, which gives its name to the Monte San Bartolo Regional Natural Park. Inland, along the Foglia river, there is a modest flat expanse which narrows near the Apennines forming the Foglia valley.
Old Town.
Cinque Torri-Santa Veneranda.
Hills and Castles.
Villa Fastiggi – Villa Ceccolini.
Cattabrighe – Vismara.
San
Bartolo.
Montegranaro – Muraglia.
Pozzo Alto – Borgo Santa Maria –
Burnt Houses.
Soria – Tombaccia.
Villa San Martino.
Port – Sea.
Pantano, Monteciccardo/Montegaudio Municipality, Villa Betti.
Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta
It was built on the remains of a
late Roman building in the Romanesque period. The façade, in
Romanesque-Gothic style, is unfinished: it has a simple ogival portal
surmounted by a band of arches. The mosaic heritage is very interesting,
also recently restored to its original splendor; it was restored in
2006.
Church of Sant'Agostino
Built in the 13th century, much
remodeled in the 15th-16th century and almost redone in the 18th
century. It preserves a notable Gothic-Venetian portal on the façade and
important paintings inside.
Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie
Built in the 13th century by the Malatesta family, it was rebuilt in
baroque style. It retains the beautiful Gothic portal of the facade.
Basilica of Saints Decenzio and Germano, minor basilica
Church of
San Giuseppe
Suffrage Church
Church of Santa Maria delle Fabbrecce
Carmine Church
Church of the Name of God
Church of Saints Cassiano
and Eracliano
Church of the Sacred Heart of Soria
Church of the
Santissima Annunziata
Zoccolette Church
Church of San Giovanni
Battista
Church of San Giacomo
Church of Santa Lucia
Church of
Santa Maria Maddalena
Church of Sant'Ubaldo
Church and convent of
the Girolamini
Servants of Mary Monastery
Church of Santa Maria
del Porto
Church of Santa Madonna di Loreto
Church of San Martino
Vescovo
Sanctuary of Santa Maria dell'Arzilla
Church of Santo
Stefano in Candelara
Church of San Pietro in Rosis
Former San
Domenico convent
Synagogue
Ducal Palace
It was built by Alessandro Sforza in the second half
of the 15th century. The facade consists of a portico of six arches
supported by heavy pillars and an upper floor with five windows crowned
with coats of arms, festoons and cherubs. The right side (the only
visible side) has the terminal arch of the Gothic portico and, on the
upper floor, two large windows, similar to the front ones but without
crowning. It now serves as the seat of the Prefecture.
Birthplace of
Gioachino Rossini
Located a few meters from the Ducal Palace, it is
flanked by two typical eighteenth-century shops. Inside the house, a
museum has been created, Casa Rossini, dedicated to the composer,
consisting of a collection of posters, prints and portraits. His spinet
is also preserved inside the museum.
Imperial Villa
Located on the
San Bartolo hill, it was built in the 15th century and enlarged in the
following century. The rooms are decorated by authors of notable
importance, such as: Bronzino, Francesco Menzocchi, Raffaellino del
Colle.
Villa Cattani Stuart
17th century villa located in the
hills of Trebbiantico, 5 kilometers from the center of Pesaro. Famous
for the three Italian gardens and the rooms containing the frescoes by
Niccolò Berrettoni.
Former Benelli factory
Home of the Officine
Benelli Museum managed by the "Tonino Benelli" Moto Club and the Benelli
Historical Registry. The city's only example of 20th century industrial
archaeology.
Villa Caprile; Headquarters of the I.I.S. institute A.
Cecchi
House of Pandolfo Collenuccio
Pescheria Visual Arts Center
Former San Benedetto psychiatric hospital
Almerici Palace
Monte
Palace
Barignani Palace
Baviera Palace
Biondelli Palace
Ceccolini Palace
Palazzo Ciacchi
Cinelli Palace
Ferroni Palace
Palazzo Fronzi
Giungi Palace
Gradari Palace
Lazzarini Palace
Palazzo Mamiani-Gradari
Palazzo Mazzolari Moscow
Montebarocci
Palace
Palazzo Muccioli
Palazzo Montani Antaldi
Palazzo
Olivieri Machirelli
Palazzo Passeri-Giovannelli
Perticari Palace
Tombesi Palace
Palazzo Toschi Moscow
Leonardi Palace
Palazzo
Giovanelli
Palazzo Gabrielli
Leuchtenberg Ricci Palace
Scattolari Palace
Benelli historical register
Villa Vismara Currò
(formerly Villa Ciacchi)
Villa Almerici (formerly Berloni)
Villa
Antaldi (now Baratoff)
Villa Caprile
Villa Ciacchi
Villa
Guerrini
Villa Mamiani
Villa Miralfiore
Villa Molaroni
Villa
Montani
Villa Montebarocci
Villa Olivieri
Villa Serena
Villa
Torraccia
Villa Ugolini
Villino Ruggeri
Villino Mengaroni
Villa Vismara (formerly Villa Almerici)
Rocca Costanza, a fifteenth-century work with a square plan,
strengthened by cylindrical towers, and surrounded by a large moat,
formerly used as a prison; in 1528 the Duke of Urbino Francesco Maria I
della Rovere had held Ercole da Varano, pretender to the ducal throne of
Camerino, prisoner there. In 2004 the fortress received a series of
restoration interventions on its monumental complex. Some of these
interventions were also carried out thanks to Lotto Game funds, as
regulated by law 662/96. The complex was used as a prison until 1989.
Porta Rimini – Roveresque walls
Civic bell
Port Fountain "La Foglietta"
Trebbio Fountain "Fonte
Rossa"
Obelisk Fountain
Fountain in Piazza del Popolo
Monument
to Giuseppe Garibaldi (1891) by Ettore Ximenes
Monument to Terenzio
Mamiani (1896) by Ettore Ferrari
Monument to the fallen of the
Resistance
Freedom Square
Sfera Grande (or "The Tomato Ball")
Roman aqueduct of Pesaro
Colombarone - Archaeological area
The
lucus Pisaurensis, the sacred forest of Pesaro
Mosaics of the
Cathedral
Domus in via dell'Abbondanza
Picena necropolis of
Novilara
Rossini Opera Festival (ROF), via Rossini 24, ☎ +39 0721 3800294,
rof@rossinioperafestival.it. month of August. Since 1980 it has been the
most important event worldwide regarding the production, both operatic
and chamber music, of Gioachino Rossini.
Pesaro International New
Cinema Exhibition (Pesaro Film Festival), Piazzale Albani, 12, ☎
+390721387511, fax: +390721387685, info@pesarofilmfest.it. End of June -
Beginning of July. it is one of the most important Italian film
festivals. Conceived by Lino Miccichè and Bruno Torri at the end of
1964, it has been held in Pesaro since the first edition (29 May – 6
June 1965). Over time, alongside the main editions, the Exhibition has
created numerous collateral initiatives: simultaneously with the
Exhibition, the Special Event, dedicated to Italian cinema; in autumn,
initially in Ancona, then again in Pesaro, the international
retrospective exhibition; still in the autumn the international
conference on cinema studies, initially in Urbino, then in Pesaro, and
various cinematographic events in cities in the Marche region but also
in Rome, New York, Berlin and Paris.
Pesaro Comics & Games, Piazzale
Matteotti, 1 (Rocca Costanza). Last weekend of August. three-day event
for fans of role-playing games, board games, comics, cosplay and trading
cards. Seminars, concerts, demonstrations and competitions in the
setting of the medieval Rocca Costanza. 2016 is the fourth edition.
Saint Nicholas Fair, seafront area. 10, 11, 12 September. This fair
marks the end of summer. Walking through the stalls and stands of the
fair you can buy clothes, household items as well as food and wine
specialities. For the occasion, a free shuttle service will also be
activated which runs between the Fair and the San Decenzio car park.
Other car parks in the surrounding area are that of Viale dei Partigiani
and that of Via Marsala for a total of almost 700 parking spaces. In the
latter car parks you can easily rent a bicycle.
PesaroWineFestival
(International craft wine fair), Pescheria Visual Arts Centre, Via
Cavour, ☎ +39 338 9929670 (Organisation), info@pesarowinefestival.it.
€17.20. April. Spring festival dedicated to wine. The event is organized
by the Pesaro Vino Cultura cultural association with the patronage of
the municipality of Pesaro. It is hosted by the Pescheria Visual Arts
Center in via Cavour, a fine and elegant nineteenth-century building
which features elements of the pagan temple, used as a wholesale fish
market until the 1980s. Present national and international wineries
selected according to quality criteria, production processes, choice of
raw materials grown in the production territories. The event offers
concerts, educational seminars, and is also a fair during which wines
can be purchased for tasting.
Candele a Candelara, Strada Borgo Santa
Lucia, 40, 61122, Candelara di Pesaro (Free shuttle bus from the train
station every 30'), ☎ +390721286693, proloco@candelara.com. €2.50.
Weekend at the end of November / mid-December 10:00-21:00. Evocative
pre-Christmas event dedicated to candles and the history of the
characteristic medieval village. One of the most particular
pre-Christmas events in the Marche takes place on the hill where the
ancient castle stands. During the evenings, public lighting will be
turned off to enjoy the illumination of the flickering light of hundreds
of candles.
18 Villa'N'Roll (#VNR), Str. in Sala, 254, 61122 Pesaro
PU. Villa'n'Roll defines itself as a festival of inter-urban human
trafficking, but it is first of all a festival that promotes quality
music. Now in its seventh edition it can proudly say that it has
maintained its first duty: discovering and disseminating beauty. With
eyes and ears turned to the contemporary and a sober soul, this year too
he will try to interpret the effectiveness of the changes with the
punctuality of the musical proposals included in the program.
Stradomenica. third Sunday of the month. City open to shopping (downtown
shops open), culture, meetings and free time.
Carnival. The Carnival
parades in Pesaro are repeated every year.
By plane
airport 6 Rimini-Miramare Airport. It is 30 km away.
airport 7 Ancona-Falconara airport. It is 60 km away. 150 km from
Bologna Marconi Airport.
airport 8 Bologna Airport. It is 150 km
away.
By car
Pesaro is connected to the motorway (Pesaro
Urbino toll booth) and to the Strada Statale 16 Adriatica.
On
boat
ferry Ferries Pesaro, Road between the Two Ports. The port of
Pesaro connects Italy with Croatia.
port Tourist port (Pleasure craft
must request prior authorization from the Port Authority), ☎ +39 0721
177831. Canal port with 400 berths located on the eastern bank of the
mouth of the Foglia river.
On the train
station 9 Railway
station. Very close to the Civil Hospital and the historic centre, it is
served by sixty to one hundred and twenty trains a day on the Milan-Bari
and Rome-Pesaro lines.
By bus
bus 10 Bus terminal, Piazzale
Falcone e Borsellino, ☎ +39 0721 370734. The Adriabus terminal is
adjacent to the train station. Regular connections to the main centers
of the province. The shuttle that connects Pesaro to Fano leaves every
30 minutes. There is a fast connection every 30 minutes to Urbino.
By public transport
City buses offer fast but not excessively
frequent connections. Especially recommended for reaching the suburbs.
By taxi
taxi CO.TA.P. (Pesaresi Taxi Drivers Cooperative), Via
Lombardia, 7, ☎ +39 0721 454425. Radio Taxi service on telephone call.
taxi Piazza del Popolo (tel. +39 0721 31430)
taxi Railway station
(tel. +39 0721 31111)
taxi Piazza Matteotti (tel. +39 0721 34053)
By car
Private transport can be useful for reaching peripheral
and hilly areas such as the villages of Novilara and Candelara. The
historic center is mainly traffic-limited, but there are two major
"exchange" car parks in strategic areas near the centre.
By bike
The most convenient and fastest way to get around the center is by
bicycle. Pesaro has a dense network of cycle paths (77 km) renamed
Bicipolitana which safely connect all the city districts. A coastal
cycle path starts from the seafront, completely separate from the road,
12 km long, which connects Pesaro to Fano in contact with the sandy
coast. It is possible to rent bicycles for free in the hotels and in the
centre, at the "Il Curvone" car park (viale dei Partigiani).
Standing
The historic center is not very large and is mainly limited
to traffic. Walking along its small streets and squares is very
pleasant. Many people from Pesaro spend a few hours of the afternoon
lingering among the shop windows, libraries and meeting and refreshment
points in the centre.
Pesaro boasts seven kilometers of sandy beaches.
1 Levante Beach.
Equipped with shallow waters and equipped with 11 equipped bathing
establishments.
2 Ponente Beach. Equipped with shallow waters and
equipped with 13 bathing establishments.
3 Baia Flaminia beach. Quiet
beach located near the Monte San Bartolo Natural Park and equipped with
three beach establishments.
4 Bagni Lucio, Viale Trieste 12.
5
Bagni Ridolfi, Viale Trieste.
6 free beaches. Six kilometers in the
direction of Fano.
7 Palasport SportArena.
1 Stradomenica, historic centre. every third Sunday of the month.
City market and antiques market.
2 Herb market, entrance to Via
Branca (cloister of the former San Domenico convent). every morning. The
market which extends for approximately 1300 m2.
3 Merchants in
Pesaro, Piazza del Popolo. every third Sunday of the month. Furniture,
products and high-value items.
4 Antiques market, in the historic
center and Via Rossini, ☎ +39 0541 827254, info@promo-d.com. third
Sunday of the month excluding July and August.
1 Enigma Escape Pesaro, Viale della Vittoria 167, ☎ +39 379 1378516.
The game consists of entering a room, looking for a way to get out and
reaching the given objectives in 60 minutes.
2 Circolo Tennis Baia
Pesaro, Piazza Europa 15, ☎ +39 392 9888488. City tennis club.
3
Ludoteca Pesaro in Gioco, Largo Volontari del Sangue 15, ☎ +39 392
4142806. every Saturday evening.
4 Punto Kart Garage, Via Litoranea
232 - Marotta di Mondolfo, ☎ +39 347 3163242.
5 Dalla Cira Pesaro, Viale Trieste 244, ☎ +39 347 9529363.
Modest prices
1 La Rosa, Via Trieste 263, ☎ +39 0721 35624.
Excellent tigelle.
2 Piadineria Da Terry, Viale Londra 9/11, ☎ +39
329 1946738. Piadine of all types.
Average prices
3 Il
Commodore, Viale Trieste 269, ☎ +39 0721 32680, fax: +39 0721 64926,
info@ilcommodoro.com. Located on the seafront, specializing in seafood.
4 Il Falco, Strada Panoramica Adriatica 168, ☎ +39 0721 23956,
ilfalcopesaro@gmail.com. Good quality pizza restaurant, in a panoramic
area, overlooking the city.
5 Nostrano Ristorante, Piazzale della
Libertà 7, ☎ +39 0721 639813. Close to the beach.
High prices
6 Lo Scudiero, Via Baldassini ang. via San Francesco D'Assisi, ☎ +39
0721 1651804. Classy restaurant.
7 Gibas, Str. Panoramica Adriatica,
☎ +39 0721 405344. Excellent quality local products.
Modest prices
1 Hotel Capitol, Via Rovereto 19, ☎ +39 0721 35123.
2 star hotel.
Average prices
2 Hotel Gala, Viale Trieste 49, ☎
+39 0721 35114. Hotel Gala is located facing the sea, in a quiet area,
just 30 meters from the beach. Ideal for summer holidays and a point of
reference for discovering the culture, flavors and traditions of the
Marche. Extremely quiet and wonderfully furnished, the spacious bedrooms
offer tranquility to enjoy your holiday in maximum comfort. All rooms
are equipped with private bathroom with shower, balcony with sea view,
air conditioning, fridge, safe, satellite TV and telephone.
3 Hotel
Atlantic, Viale Trieste 365, ☎ +39 0721 370333. Hotel with sea view.
4 Hotel Clipper, Viale Guglielmo Marconi 53, ☎ +39 0721 370333. Hotel
near the beach.
High prices
5 Hotel Villa Cattani Stuart, Via
Trebbiantico, 67, ☎ + 39 0721 55782. 4 star hotel.
6 Relais Villa
Giulia, Via di Villa Giulia - Fano, ☎ +39 0721 823159. 4-star hotel.
Post office
poste 22 Post office, Piazza del Popolo 28, ☎ +39 0721
432231.
Telephony
Pesaro is covered by 3G 4G 5G networks.
Internet
Wifi Pesaro. free. In different areas of the city,
including: Coast from Baia Flaminia to Fosso Sejore, Piazza della
Libertà, Piazza del Popolo, Piazza Europa, Piazza Redi.
The origins of the city date back to the Iron Age,
when Pesaro was a Piceno village, as evidenced by the excavations
carried out in the city center in 1977. The name of the city, in
Latin Pisaurum, according to some derives from the old name of the
river Foglia (Isaurus or Pisaurus).
Tradition has it instead
that the name of the city derives from the fact that, in Roman
times, in the city, Furio Camillo, defeated the Gauls, weighed the
gold (aurum in Latin) that the barbarians were stealing from Rome.
In the surrounding area, on the other hand, there was one of the
most important and ancient Picenian settlements of the Marches: the
village of Novilara. This settlement was among the few, together
with Numana and Ancona, which overlooked the sea. The port of
Novilara used the mouth of a stream.
Among the best known and
most discussed artifacts found in the Pesaro area, there is the
stele of Novilara, generally believed to be Piceno and written in
the Northern Picene language. It has recently been interpreted and
translated as an archaic Greek inscription, engraved in an alphabet
that with some variations had been adopted by all the peoples of
Italy (Piceni, Samnites, Etruscans, etc.) between the 6th and 2nd
centuries BC. From the reinterpretation of the stele it can be
deduced that the Greeks (known colonizers in the Mediterranean) also
infiltrated these areas (probably in the 6th-5th century BC),
interfering with the previous populations, Picene and probably also
Umbrian and Etruscan.
Traces of ancient languages have been
preserved in the dialect, especially of the hinterland and are
mainly of Greek derivation. It can be assumed a certain hegemony of
Greek over the others, or that the Greek terms became widespread
later, at the time of Byzantine domination. In any case we can see
the apparent Greek origin of the name Pisaurum, which could mean
"behind the mountains", from the location of the city between two
hills.
In the 4th century BC, during the Celtic invasion of
the Italian peninsula, the Senonian Gauls occupied the northern
territories of the Piceni, and therefore also the area of Pesaro,
overlapping the Italic ethnic groups of the place.
In 184 BC
the Romans founded the colony of Pisaurum, (in Latin Pisaurum, whose
etymology is the same as the river Foglia, Pisaurus or more probably
Isaurus which, following Francisco Villar, has the form of many
other pre-Indo-European hydronyms of Europe); at that time the
northern part of the Marches was called by the Romans ager Gallicus
and then ager gallicus picenus.
This date of foundation of a
center with the current name does not agree with the fact that
Strabo in his Geography, published around 18 AD, does not mention
Pesaro, while he names Fano and from this goes directly to Rimini.
If it is not an oversight of the Greek historian, the foundation of
a center of some importance and with the name Pisaurum should have a
more recent age.
It was subsequently colonized again during
the second triumvirate by Ottaviano and Marco Antonio, becoming,
during the Empire, a castrum and economic center located on the Via
Flaminia.
Destroyed by Vitige in 539 AD, it was rebuilt by
Belisarius and occupied from 545 to 553 by the Goths. After the fall
of Rome, Pesaro, with Rimini, Fano, Senigallia and Ancona, became
one of the cities of the Pentapolis, close to the Byzantine
Exarchate of Ravenna.
In 752 it was taken by the Lombards who
kept it until Pippin the Short, king of the Franks, donated it to
the State of the Church in 774, starting the centuries-old papal
dominion over the city. However, this domain was only nominal, since
the city was ruled since the Carolingian age by a representative of
the Empire.
In the first half of the twelfth century the
flourishing Municipality followed the fate of the imperial part
during the Italian enterprises of Federico Barbarossa. The
podestarial government was then introduced in 1182, but already at
the end of the century it was subject, as included in the Ancona
March, to the power of Marquardo di Annweiler, imperial vicar who,
despite the harsh defeat inflicted on the army of Innocent III on 25
March 1198, he had to renounce his aims in the face of the military
action of the Catholic Church, aimed at recovering the territories
stolen from him. In the 13th century, once the Commune was
re-established, it passed under the rule of the Este family from
1210 to 1216 by the will of Pope Innocent III.
For a long
time Ghibelline, during the reign of Frederick II of Swabia, it
rebelled against the Empire and joined the league of Guelph cities
of the Marca which were at war in 1259 with King Enzo. In the same
year, Pesaro was forced into obedience by Manfredi of Sicily, but
upon his death in 1266, she returned to the Church.
In the Renaissance the Adriatic city saw a succession of
lordships: the Malatesta (1285-1445), the Sforza (1445-1512) whose
dominion was interrupted by Cesare Borgia from 1500 to 1503 and
later handed over by Pope Julius II to the Della Rovere ( 1513-1631)
to which he was related.
From a cultural point of view, the
end of the 14th century is reported, with the transfer to Pesaro of
the Forlivese ceramist Pedrinus Johannes a bocalibus, that is
Pierino Giovanni dai boccali (1396), which marks the beginning of a
flourishing ceramic market. However, the period of greatest cultural
fervor was during the rule of the Della Rovere, who had chosen
Pesaro as the headquarters of their Duchy. In the first years of
their government in the city the construction of new public and
private buildings was begun and the construction of a new and safer
wall was begun, also useful for defending itself from sudden attacks
from the sea.
On the death of Francesco Maria II Della Rovere
in 1631, the Duchy returned under papal dominion which made Pesaro a
cardinal seat. At that time the city was much smaller and the coast
was further back, arriving at the current "piazzale Primo Maggio".
In 1799, during the Napoleonic occupation,
peasants and Sanfedisti stormed the city and the fortress, snatching
it from the garrison for a few months. Several works were brought to
France due to the Napoleonic spoliation in this period. Of the 7
works mentioned in Canova's catalog as sent from Pesaro to France in
1796, only 3 returned, the others remained in France, some, such as
Barocci's Circumcision went to the Louvre, The Vocation of Saint
Peter in Brussels, The Annunciation of Caravaggio in Nancy, the San
Michele went to the Vatican Pinacoteca.
On 11 September 1860
it was occupied by General Enrico Cialdini and was annexed to the
Italian state following the plebiscite of November 1860.
2020
year
On 1 July 2020, it incorporated the municipality of
Monteciccardo, after - in a consultative referendum held on 19
January 2020 - the inhabitants of both cities approved by majority
the "merger" between the two municipalities.
Guidobaldo II Della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, a few days before his
death (which took place in Pesaro on 28 September 1574) communicated
to the Gonfaloniere of the city: "I give you my oak and I want it to
be placed in the coat of arms of the Community above the white
quarter and red with four hands that hold each other and support the
oak, and under the motto "PERPETVA ET FIRMA FIDELITAS" (steadfast
and everlasting fidelity) and I want to be named your Lord and
Father ».
The Municipality of Pesaro fulfilled the will of
the Duke and so the coat of arms of the city was modified with the
addition of the writing on the foil: «MUNUS. GUID. UB. [Aldi] DE.
RUVERE. PISAURI. D [omi] NI. ET. PATRIS. " (gift of Guidobaldo della
Rovere Lord and Father of Pesaro).
Pesaro overlooks the Adriatic Sea, with the town that extends in
the area between the two main coastal hills: Colle Ardizio to the
south-east and Colle San Bartolo to the north-west, which is home to
the homonymous Natural Park of Monte San Bartolo.
Pesaro has
a sandy beach divided into three areas: the coast of the Flaminia
bay (close to the San Bartolo hill), the Ponente sector in the
central area and the Levante sector which extends from Piazza della
Libertà along the slopes of the Ardizio hill to to the locality of
Fosso Sejore.
Since 2005, the city has been awarded the Blue
Flag, an annual award conferred by the FEE to recognize
municipalities that meet the criteria of excellent quality of
bathing water and the service offered. Since 2016 Pesaro has also
been awarded the prestigious "Green Flag", official recognition of
the Association of Italian Pediatricians, for those seaside resorts
that have the ideal family-friendly characteristics for the best
livability of children.
The main river that crosses the city
is the Foglia, which starting from the Umbrian-Marche Apennines
flows in the northern area of the urban agglomeration and then
flows next to the port of Pesaro. In the southern area, on the other
hand, there is the Genica stream, a small watercourse partly
cemented, which once served as a drainage channel for the city.
Inland, along the Foglia, there is a modest flat expanse that
narrows near the Apennines forming the Foglia valley.
Pesaro, according to the Köppen classification, is included in
the climatic zone C (temperate climate). On the basis of the
vegetation it falls within the warm sub-Mediterranean belt, of
deciduous oak woods of downy oak with the presence of holm oak, an
evergreen oak.
According to the climatic classification of
the Italian municipalities it is included in the climatic zone D
(the lighting of the heaters is allowed from November 1st to April
15th for a maximum of twelve hours a day).
There are two main
meteorological stations: that of ASSAM in Villa Caprile and the
Valerio Observatory, founded in 1861 and still in operation today,
located in the historic park of the Orti Giulii.
The climate
is sub-continental. The presence of some hilly reliefs in the area
partially shelters the surrounding from the cold air currents coming
from the west, but there is no shelter from the really cold
north-east winds (bora).
In winter, the climate is cold and
humid (the average temperature of the coldest month, January, is
generally between 3 and 4 ° C) while in summer it is hot and muggy.
The historical maximum of 39.2 ° C dates back to 6 July 1950,
while the absolute minimum of -15.2 ° C was recorded on 16 February
1940.
Thunderstorms are mainly concentrated in the autumn
period. Snowfalls are rare and do not create circulation problems.
Until 2009 the city was equipped with a hospital: the "San Salvatore"
hospital. In 2009, the hospital "Ospedali Riuniti Marche Nord" was
established by regional law, which incorporated "San Salvatore" (Pesaro)
and "Santa Croce" (Fano).
The two hospitals in the city are the
Central Hospital and the hospital in the Muraglia district. The Central
hospital is among the highly specialized Italian hospitals.
The
regional administration has for years initiated an intense debate with
the municipalities interested in the creation of a new hospital center
covering the entire basin of the city of Pesaro and nearby Fano. At the
end of 2016 the project was confirmed by the governor of the region,
Luca Ceriscioli, in conjunction with the definitive choice of the place
where the new hospital will be built, i.e. the southern area of Pesaro
(Muraglia district) through an expansion of the already present second
city hospital. The Central hospital in Pesaro and the smaller Santa
Croce hospital in Fano will not be abolished, but will continue to be
active as emergency medicine and emergency medicine centres.
Pesaro was proclaimed "Italian Capital of Culture 2024" on 16 March 2022. This was announced in Rome by Minister Dario Franceschini, in the presence of the mayors of the ten finalist cities. Proclaimed unanimous winner by the Commission of the Ministry of Culture, Pesaro prevailed thanks to a cultural project which, enhancing an area already extraordinarily rich in historical evidence and landscape and environmental preciousness, proposes concrete actions through which to promote integration, innovation and socio-economic development.
State Archives
Art Library of the Civic Museums
the Oliveriana
Library, which includes important manuscripts and incunabula
San
Giovanni Library
Photo Archive of the National Association of
Partisans in Italy
Archive of the "Valerio" observatory
The civic museums, in Piazzale Toschi-Mosca, include the Art Gallery
and the Ceramics Museum. In the entrance courtyard there is the Medusa,
a late-Art Nouveau work by the ceramist Ferruccio Mengaroni. The Art
Gallery also preserves the Head of the Baptist and the Pesaro
Altarpiece, by Giovanni Bellini
Rossini National Museum, inaugurated
in 2019, located on the main floor of Palazzo Montani Antaldi.
Diocesan Museum of Pesaro, in via Rossini in front of the Cathedral,
preserves very ancient historical finds of the Christian presence in the
area, including the famous sarcophagus of San Decenzio from the Lombard
era and fragments of early Christian mosaics from the 4th century.
the Oliverian Archaeological Museum, which houses precious
archaeological pieces, especially from the Picene necropolis of
Novilara.
Pescheria Visual Arts Centre, contemporary art museum
which, since 2002, has been part of AMACI, an organization that brings
together 25 of the most important Italian museums.
Officine Benelli
Museum and Marche Historical Motorcycle Library (Headquarters of the
"Tonino Benelli" Moto Club and the Benelli Historical Registry), housed
in a small portion of the original factory in Viale Mameli.
Other
museums are:
Rossini House
Washington Patrignani Sea Museum
Pesaro is the birthplace of the composer Gioachino Rossini, whose
Rossini house-museum can be visited and to whom a very popular
conservatory and the theater of the same name are named; Furthermore,
since 1980, the Rossini Opera Festival has taken place here every
summer, attracting opera enthusiasts from all over the world.
For
the number of events linked to Rossini culture, Pesaro obtained the
prestigious recognition of Creative City for Music from UNESCO in 2017,
a title for which it applied in 2015 with the official support of the
Presidency of the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Cultural
Heritage.
On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Rossini's
death, in 2018, a piped music system was installed to broadcast
Rossini's symphonies through the streets of the historic centre.
Pesaro cuisine can boast some specialities, some of which are
typically linked to the name of the great composer Rossini:
Rossini
cannelloni;
the Easter Crescia;
veal olivettes, a kind of rolls
with ham and basil, favored by Rossini;
pasticciata alla Pesaro, a
particular type of stewed meat;
the cappelletti Pesaro style;
passatelli (in broth or dry), large and rough spaghetti, prepared with
breadcrumbs, grated parmesan, eggs, nutmeg and lemon zest.
Pesaro-style fish broth, much less well-known than the other Marche
broths, but no less important
the Cresc'taiat alla Pesarese (also
called patacuc), squares of corn and wheat flour served with robust bean
sauce;
Tagliatelle sa'l sgagg (with bacon or lard)
the Rossini
pizza, dedicated to the famous composer Gioachino, made with the base of
the Margherita pizza but with the addition of hard-boiled eggs and
mayonnaise.
Pesaro-style mullets
Pesaro-style tripe
Cuttlefish
soup
Paganelli and artichokes
fake sauce
Jagged donut
Since 1965, the Mostra del Nuovo Cinema has taken place annually in Pesaro, one of the most important Italian film festivals and one of the main international events dedicated to experimental and research cinema.
Pesaro is an important tourist center thanks to the beaches,
monuments and cultural initiatives that take place there annually but it
is above all an industrial city. The industrial area of the city is
characterized by strong development and currently occupies almost the
entire valley of the Foglia river and a large part of the surrounding
hills.
The manufacturing industry represents the main productive
activity of the city. In particular, the furniture district is one of
the most renowned local production systems, third in terms of turnover
after the Brianza and Alto Livenza districts.
7% of Italian
furniture is produced in the Pesaro district, a percentage that rises to
14-15% for modular kitchens, thanks to leading companies in the sector
such as Scavolini, Berloni and Febal. It is also the headquarters of
companies of national and international importance such as Biesse,
Benelli, Morbidelli, Renco, Rivacold, Pica, Scavolini.
A historic
sector for the Pesaro economy is that of engines and motorcycles in
particular. Among the most important companies (of the present and past)
we find Benelli, TM, MotoBi, Andreani Group. For its important
contribution in this field, Pesaro has deserved the title of Motor City.
Pesaro also boasts an ancient tradition of majolica, also
demonstrated by the rich collection of the Pesaro civic museums. Still
regarding craftsmanship, Pesaro is renowned for copper processing, aimed
at decorating buildings and places of worship around the world, for
wrought iron and finally for goldsmithing.
Pesaro is crossed by the three-lane A14 motorway, which can currently
be accessed from the "Pesaro-Urbino" toll booth. A second toll booth is
planned, called "Pesaro Sud", which will be built in the central-south
area of the city (Santa Veneranda), to be built by the end of 2023.
The other main connecting roads consist of the SS16 Adriatica state
road, along the coastal axis, and the Montelabbatese road, along the
Foglia valley, which connects Pesaro with Urbino.
In 2012, the
3rd lot of the so-called Interquartieri was built, the small ring road
of the city, which quickly connects the Baratoff district (southern area
of Pesaro) with the Torraccia (northwest area). The project includes a
further 4th lot, to be carried out as a compensatory work by Autostrade
per l'Italia in parallel with the works for the second toll booth, which
will connect the existing section with the Montegranaro district
(south-east area of Pesaro) and the hospital of Muraglia, thus
completing the semicircle around the city.
The local section of the Ciclovia Adriatica is already operational on
the Pesaro seafront, the long cycle path on the Adriatic coast which,
according to forecasts, will connect the mouth of the Po with Puglia.
The Pesaro-Fano (13 km) constitutes branch no. 2 of the local network
called Bicipolitana which currently extends for over 80 km (with a plan
to extend up to 100 km). Since 2015, Pesaro has been ranked first in
Italy, equal with Bolzano, in Legambiente's annual ABiCi ranking for
urban travel by bicycle, a success which has therefore given it the
official nickname of "City of the Bicycle", a title later applied to all
road signs accessing the city. The city was reconfirmed at the top of
the ranking, always paired with Bolzano, also in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
The original name of Bicipolitana takes inspiration from the metro
networks of large cities; each branch of the Pesaro cycle path, in fact,
is characterized by a number and a color on the signs, with numerous
signs indicating the "stops" and the intersections between the lines of
the network.
Pesaro is crossed by the Bologna-Ancona railway and has a railway
station, located near the historic centre. From the point of view of
passenger transport, Pesaro station is served by sixty to one hundred
and twenty trains a day, for both regional and long-distance transport.
The structure is managed by the Centostazioni company, which
includes the major Italian stations.
In the summer of 2017, the
cities of Pesaro and Fano launched the project to move the Adriatic
railway backwards, moving its route along the route of the A14 motorway
rather than along the coast. The project, connected to a broader network
of infrastructure interventions in the area and also supported by the
Marche region, was presented to the Ministry of Transport and Anas.
Among the most significant sporting events held in the city, named
European City of Sport for 2017, the two editions of the international
Davis Cup tennis tournament (in 1997 and 2016), the Rhythmic Gymnastics
World Championships (2017) held for the first time in Italy, in addition
to the national artistic gymnastics championships hosted every year in
the Marche city.
The most popular sports are basketball and
volleyball, with the city teams present in the top category competition
(Serie A1) for both disciplines.
Victoria Libertas Pesaro, playing in Serie A, has won two
championships, two Italian cups and one Cup Winners' Cup. Home matches
are played in the Vitrifrigo Arena, the city's main sports hall and one
of the largest in Italy. The training sessions instead take place in the
Scavolini Auditorium, the city's old sports hall, for which a complete
renovation project was approved in 2016.
In February 2020 the
basketball Final Eight took place at the Vitrifrigo Arena.
Robursport Volley Pesaro, Italian champion team for three consecutive
times and twice winner of the CEV cup, one Italian Cup and four Italian
Super Cups, ceased all types of activity at the end of the 2012-13
season, merging with Snoopy Volley Pesaro, giving life to a new club
called Volley Pesaro. Home matches are played inside the PalaCampanara.
In the 2016-2017 season the team managed to win the A2 series
championship, thus bringing the team back to the Italian top division.
In the men's field, the main team is Montesi Pesaro which plays in
the Serie B championship.
The Pesaro motorcycle tradition dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, when Benelli Moto was born in 1911, founded by Giuseppe and his five brothers. From then on, motorcycling will become a social and economic phenomenon as well as a sporting one. In a city with a population of just over 30,000 inhabitants at the end of the 1930s, around a thousand people worked at Benelli. Between the two world wars Benelli will become part of the small group of the largest Italian motorcycle manufacturers, the so-called "pentarchy", together with Bianchi, Gilera, Moto Guzzi and Sertum, the latter all belonging to the Lombard industrial district. Tonino, the youngest of the six Benelli brothers, won four Italian titles between the 1920s and 1930s riding the bikes that bore his name. After the war, a real motorcycle district was born in Pesaro and its province with the birth of numerous brands, riders and technicians.
After having already hosted the match between Italy and Spain in the Davis Cup quarter-finals in 1997, in 2016 the city hosted the Davis Cup round of 16, played between the Italian and Swiss teams inside the Adriatic Arena. and the quarter-finals between Italy and Argentina, held on the courts of the Baratoff Tennis Club.
The main team is Vis Pesaro dal 1898 which in the 2017/18 season
ranked first in group F of Serie D and obtained, after 13 years, access
to Serie C.
Many smaller entities also represent the hamlets and
compete in the regional and provincial tournaments of the Marche: Villa
San Martino and Vismara are involved in the Promotion; Pesaro Calcio and
Santa Veneranda compete in the First Category; Arzilla, Atletico River
Urbinelli, Hellas Pesaro, Muraglia, Usav Pisaurum, Villa Ceccolini play
in the Second Category; in the Third Category there are the playing
fields of Bedosti, Dini School Education Institute, Junior Centro Città
and Viri Fortes.
The 5-a-side football team, Italservice Calcio a
5, plays in the Serie A championship and has become Italian champion
three times (2018-19, 2020-21 and 2021-2022 season).
Rugby
Since the 2008/2009 season, Pesaro Rugby has played in Serie
B and after promotion, in the 2016/2017 season it debuted in Serie A for
the first time.
Fencing
The fencing treatise of 1610 entitled
"Great simulacrum of the art and use of fencing by Ridolfo Capoferro of
Cagli, Master of the sublime Alemannic nation, in the esteemed city of
Siena. Dedicated to the Most Serene Mr. Don Federigo Feltrio della
Rovere Prince of the State of Urbino", testifies to the antiquity of the
practice in the territory.
On January 1, 1953 the C.O.N.I.
proceeds with the first affiliation of Italian fencing clubs. The
company currently has the name of A.S.D. Pesaro Fencing Club
American Football
The city's American football team is the Pesaro
Angels, which participates in the B series of the Italian American
football championship.
Water polo
The U.S.D. Water polo
Pesarese, founded in 1999, won the Serie C championship for the first
time (2010-2011) and entered the Serie B. It participates in the Serie C
championship.
Skating
Since February 2016, the Italian Indoor
Racing Skating Championships, an official FISR event, have been held in
the Adriatic Arena.