Recanati is an Italian town of 21 076 inhabitants in the province of Macerata. It is known for being the birthplace of the poet Giacomo Leopardi.
Finding your way around the town center is very easy, thanks also to the signs which, at every crossroads, indicate the way to all the tourist attractions.
Birthplace of Beniamino Gigli: it is located in Recanati in via
Risorgimento (Castelnuovo district). Gigli was born there on 20 March
1890, as recorded by a commemorative plaque. The building dates back to
the mid-nineteenth century, built as a condominium structure in exposed
brick, with plaster covering the frames of the portals and windows,
which are distributed in two orders, divided horizontally by string
courses that mark the three levels of the building . At the base the
round arches are larger to accommodate the main entrance and the shops.
Aula Magna (Gigli's Piano), inside the town hall, in Piazza Leopardi,
there is the historic piano of Beniamino and Rina Gigli.
"Beniamino
Gigli" Museum, inside the Persiani Theater you can visit the museum
dedicated to the great tenor from Recanati, wanted and created with the
support of Beniamino Gigli's nephew from Recanati, Luigi Vincenzoni.
"Beniamino Gigli" Gardens: they are located next to the Persiani
Theatre.
"Ester Gigli" retirement home: located in via XX Settembre.
Villa Gigli: is located between Recanati and Loreto along viale
Beniamino Gigli. It stands on the Montarice hill, it was the tenor
himself who wanted this residence, purchasing the land at the beginning
of the twenties, giving the task of building it to the architect Guido
Cirilli, a student of Sacconi. Subsequently Gigli delegated his brother
Catervo Gigli, professor of Fine Arts. The works began in 1920, in 1923
the architect Florestano Di Fausto entered the construction site, who
clashed with Catervo over the excessive monumentality of the project,
which was completed in 1927. The villa extends over a vast park,
consisting of an Italian garden, made of symmetries and geometries,
where perimeter hedges surround ordinary groups of trees, palmettes and
topiary boxwood spheres. The north and south sides of the garden are
surrounded by a woodland strip, while the hilly side features an English
garden area. The villa, on the other hand, is a synthesis of the
architectural eclecticism of the early twentieth century, which mixes
Baroque, Renaissance and Moorish tastes: at the top of the access
staircase the moving main façade stands out, the façade boasts a
pediment with a roof terrace crowned by four statues, depicting
Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, Singing; instead, the surname "Gigli"
is referenced by the allusive drawings of the lilies, the mosaic floor,
in the various decorative elements of the villa and the garden. The
interior of the centrally planned villa is distributed across two-storey
spaces, in the attic apartment, connected to the others by staircases
and lifts. There are halls, bedrooms, study and music rooms, the private
chapel, with wall decorations with classical and mythological motifs
personally commissioned by Gigli. The furnishings consist of tapestries
from Parisian factories, furniture from the Ducrot company of Palermo,
Murano chandeliers, objects, tapestries, 17th century paintings, floral
arrangements by Giuseppe De Curtis. The attic is decorated with
allegorical scenes of work in the fields, the work of Adolfo De Carolis.
Tomb of Beniamino Gigli: in viale Dalmazia, inside the municipal
cemetery, there is the tomb of the famous tenor. It was built by his
brother Catervo Gigli, inspired by the classical monuments of the
nineteenth century: it has a pyramidal shape with a square base and is
entirely made of travertine blocks, inspired by the pyramids of Egypt,
even if Benjamin's remains are found in a sarcophagus of marble at the
entrance to the cemetery. The pyramid rests on a base decorated with a
Greek woman sculpted in bas-relief and with phytomorphic elements
inspired by Egyptian painting; the same sculpted decorations are carved
on the 12 travertine pillars that delimit the external perimeter of the
sidewalk. The entrance is underlined by a monumental Egyptian-style
marble portal, with a bas-relief with Christian and pagan symbols. On
the outside sides there are two bronze statues, created by Catervo,
which depict the 3 Theological Virtues. The interior is frescoed in
tempera. work by Arturo Politi: in a golden mandorla there is Christ at
the center of the Last Judgment. flanked by kneeling angels.
Palazzo Leopardi: it is the poet's birthplace, overlooking Piazzetta
Sabato del Villaggio. The palace is inhabited by descendants and open to
the public. It was renovated into its current form by the architect
Carlo Orazio Leopardi towards the middle of the 18th century. The most
evocative environment is undoubtedly the library, which houses over
20,000 volumes, including incunabula and ancient volumes, collected by
the poet's father, Monaldo Leopardi.
Piazza del Sabato del Villaggio:
overlooked by Palazzo Leopardi. There is Silvia's house and the church
of Santa Maria in Montemorello (16th century), in whose baptismal font
Giacomo Leopardi was baptized in 1798.
Garden on the Colle
dell'Infinito: Located on the top of Mount Tabor, it is the garden of
the former convent of Santo Stefano which commands a vast panorama
towards the mountains. This panorama would have inspired the poem of the
same name composed by Leopardi at the age of 21. The garden is located a
short distance from Palazzo Leopardi and in 2017 it was given under
concession to the FAI, which manages it and oversaw its restoration. On
the external walls of the garden there is a plaque with the initials of
the idyll The Infinite (1819), while walking along these walls in the
direction of the National Center for Leopardi Studies there are the
remains, recomposed by anastylosis, of the primitive tomb of Giacomo
Leopardi in Naples.
Palazzo Antici-Mattei: home of Leopardi's mother,
Adelaide Antici Mattei, building with simple and elegant lines with
Latin inscriptions. It is located on Via Antici, has a late
eighteenth-century appearance, divided by a stringcourse into two
levels: the first marked by an order of squares in white stone ashlars,
and by the architraved entrance portal, the second by a regular order of
rectangular windows. In front of this palace are the stables built by
Cardinal Tommaso Antici, which show a neoclassical concave façade, in
exposed brick, with a large central portal that occupies the height
space up to the top, where it culminates in a triangular, banded gable
with ashlar jambs, and with two niches on the sides, while the extreme
pillars are framed by pilasters with Ionic capitals and oculi with
busts. Palazzo Antici houses an important archive that comes from the
Roman family of the Principi Mattei.
Tower of the Lonely Sparrow: in
the courtyard of the cloister of Sant'Agostino you can see the tower,
whose spire was decapitated by lightning in the mid-19th century, made
famous by the poem "The Lonely Sparrow". The tower has a quadrangular
layout, dating back to the 13th century, with four arches for the
belfry. The upper part is more lively, decorated on the four facades
with hanging arches, and at the top by four small angular cusps.
Churches
Co-Cathedral of San Flaviano. The main door is located on
the side wall, it does not have a facade and the vast interior has three
naves with a beautiful wooden coffered ceiling. The Bishop's Palace and
the former prisons are annexed to it. Inside the cathedral there is the
sarcophagus of Pope Gregory XII buried there and the Diocesan Museum.
Church of Santa Maria di Castelnuovo. It is the oldest church in
Recanati and belonged to the Benedictines of Fonte Avellana. Located
along the road to Castelnuovo (via Angelo Giunta), it has a gabled brick
structure, a rectangular plan: the façade is adorned with three windows,
the central crescent-shaped one, flanked by two oculus windows, the
portal at the bottom, aligned with the crescent. of Romanesque stone
with round arch and lunette. The bell tower is the oldest in the city
(12th century), with a soaring square plan, with an order of mullioned
windows on the facade, and decoration with hanging arches at the top. In
the lunette of the Byzantine portal there is a beautiful bas-relief by
Master Nicola Anconetano signed and dated 1253, depicting the Madonna
enthroned with Saints Michael and Gabriel. The fresco depicting the
Madonna with Child found inside is attributed to Pietro di Domenico da
Montepulciano.
Church of San Francesco d'Assisi. It is located in the
north-west part, in via Castelfidardo. The adjoining convent was founded
in the 12th century, expanded in the following century by the Franciscan
Friars Minor, and finally extensively restored in the 18th. The works to
be precise began in 1251 as evidenced by the bull of Pope Innocent IV;
the current appearance dates back to the renovation by Father
Camaldolese Giuseppe Antonio Soratini. Behind the main altar you can see
the Madonna del Latte by Antonio da Faenza (1525), while on the side
altars there are paintings including the Madonna Immacolata (1631) by
van Schayck and San Giuseppe da Copertino by Benedetto Bianchini (1754).
On the choir loft of the counter-façade there is the painted wooden
organ from 1753, by Pietro Nacchini. The church is externally covered in
brick, with a rectangular plan with a single nave, and a gabled façade
with a triangular tympanum which still reveals its ancient appearance,
due to the presence of the classic arched access narthex. The bell tower
is in Renaissance style.
Church and cloister of Sant'Agostino. It
stands in Piazza Pietro Giordani, it was built together with the convent
of the Hermits of San'Agostino in 1270 and rebuilt a century later
together with the cathedral. The portal in Istrian stone (1485) is by
Giuliano da Maiano, while the interior was redone at the end of the 17th
century based on a design by Ferdinando Galli da Bibbiena, with
altarpieces made by Pomarancio, Pier Simone Fanelli, Felice Damiani and
residues of frescoes by Giacomo da Recanati. Then there are works by
Antonio Calcagni who is buried here.
Convent complex of
Sant'Agostino. One of the oldest barracks in the entire Carabinieri is
located in Recanati. It is located within the convent complex of
Sant'Agostino. Assigned to the Army after the absorption of its
territory into the Kingdom of Italy in the 19th century, despite the
renovations carried out by Ferdinando Bibbiena in the 17th century, the
barracks has retained its original fourteenth-century forms. With the
arrival of the Royal Carabinieri, another renovation project of the
complex included the setting up of the barracks on the first floor while
the ground floor and the basement were used as a district prison.
Church of Santa Maria di Montemorello. It is located in Piazzetta Sabato
del Villaggio, formerly called "de Platea" and was completely rebuilt in
1581 when the Jesuits came to Recanati. The church underwent further
radical transformations at the beginning of the nineteenth century by
Brandoni. Inside there is a panel dated 1580 by Durante Nobili da
Caldarola, a pupil of Lorenzo Lotto, and an altarpiece attributed to
Pier Simone Fanelli (17th century). Famous for having been the chapel of
the Leopardi family, located a short distance from the palace.
Capuchin Church - It was built with the convent in 1618. Inside there is
a painting of the Madonna di Loreto by Pomarancio and a canvas
attributed to Caravaggio (The Madonna of the Salad). In the square in
front, a travertine stele was erected with ceramics by Arturo Politi and
Rodolfo Ceccaroni.
Church of San Domenico. Also known as the
Santissimo Rosario, it stands adjacent to Piazza Leopardi. It was built
by the Dominicans in 1272, and remodeled in the 18th century. It is said
that Saint Peter the Apostle passed through the site of the convent,
later demolished, leaving a relic of the Cross. The apse is in
neo-Gothic style and dates back to the 19th century, like the facade.
The portal from 1481 is the work of Giuliano da Maiano. Inside there is
the San Vincenzo Ferreri in glory, a work from 1513 by Lorenzo Lotto,
cut in the eighteenth century to adapt it to an altarpiece; in front of
this is Torreggiani's San Sebastiano; to the right of the church is the
medieval Porta San Domenico.
Church of Santa Maria dei Mercanti.
Along Corso Persiani, it is for this church that the Annunciation by
Lorenzo Lotto was painted, now transferred to the Villa Coloredo Mels
Civic Museum. It was built around 1170 by the Merchants' brotherhood: it
has a very simple plastered façade, sandwiched between two structures,
punctuated by Ionic pilasters and string courses. In the center is the
stone architraved portal with brackets, surmounted by a central window.
The single nave interior is decorated with polychrome seas and stuccos,
the main altar is punctuated by Corinthian marble pilasters.
Church
of San Vito. The current building was built on an ancient
Romanesque-Byzantine church and transformed into its current form in the
mid-17th century based on a design by P.P. Jacometti. In 1741 the
earthquake damaged the façade which was rebuilt to a design by Luigi
Vanvitelli, in terracotta and with bichrome spiral columns. The exterior
retains the apse and an unfinished bell tower of the original
fourteenth-fifteenth century construction. In the adjacent chapel
(beginning of the nave on the right) there is the oratory with the
canvas by Pomarancio depicting the Presentation in the Temple, two small
canvases by Pier Simone Fanelli, and the Assumption by Latre. Also of
notable value are the paintings by Felice Damiano da Gubbio (1582),
Giuseppe Valeriani (1550) and Paolo de Matteis (1727).
Church of San
Filippo Neri. Along Corso Persiani, dating back to the eighteenth
century, it has a single nave with a wooden high altar with pure gold
glazes, as are the decorations of the choir loft, the pulpit and the
choirs. Of interest is the canvas of the Ecstasy of St. Philip, by Pier
Simone Fanelli, while near the side altars there are the works of St.
Charles Borromeo and the Madonna among Saints by Andrea Pasqualino
Marini and Saverio Moretti. The brick façade is punctuated by pairs of
vertical pilasters, and interspersed with a string course cornice. On
the base floor there is the central portal with stone architraves and a
triangular tympanum, surmounted by a central window, while on the second
levels the pairs of pilasters have Corinthian capitals.
Church of San
Michele. It is located on Corso Persiani. The original one dates back to
1234, but was rebuilt in 1783 based on a design by Carlo Orazio
Leopardi. The layout is rectangular with a gabled façade ending with an
architrave and triangular gable. The white stone architraved portal
shows the Latin inscription of the renovation of the temple. The single
nave interior shows a delicate and sober Baroque layout of stuccos and
plumes, punctuated laterally by Corinthian pilasters for the altars.
Church of San Pietrino. In via Leopardi, the façade is perhaps by
Vanvitelli. The church belongs to the Confraternita degli Orti; it is
hypothesized, from wall fragments on the right, that the church may have
remote origins: the current appearance is eighteenth-century, with
renovations in neo-Romanesque style in the late nineteenth century. The
central portal is dominated by the beautiful oval window within a lively
frame, the work of Vanvitelli, flanked by four rectangular side walled
windows. The upper frame is decorated with dentils and hanging arches.
The single nave interior is very simple.
Church of the Madonna delle
Grazie. The church was built on the site where the Blessed Virgin is
said to have appeared to a young Albanian named Elena. The church and
the frescoes by Giacomo di Nicola da Recanati found there require urgent
restoration.
Church of Santa Maria di Varano. The church and the
adjoining convent were built for the Observant Friars Minor at the
expense of the then bishop of Macerata and Recanati, Nicolò dall'Aste
from Forlì. It was also called the "church of the Zoccolanti" from the
popular name of the Friars Minor Observants, i.e. "zoccolanti" Friars
(unified in the Order of Friars Minor). Part of the then convent became
the public cemetery in 1873, in which Beniamino Gigli is buried. The San
Diego chapel was built by Don Diego Zapata. Then there are two canvases
by Pier Simone Fanelli, San Francesco and San Lorenzo da Brindisi and a
Sant'Antonio by Marino Pasqualini. The wooden altar is from the 17th
century.
Church of Sant'Anna. Built at the end of the 15th century,
it was extensively renovated in the 18th. The baroque brick facade has a
large frame near the stone architrave with an inscription, inside the
church there is a copy of the Holy House of Loreto, as it was before the
fire of 1921, and a votive icon of the Madonna.
Convent of Santo
Stefano. On the Hill of Infinity, it was built in 1394 as a monastery of
female Franciscans, established in 1443, and suppressed in 1486. The new
monastery was rebuilt in 1507, finished in 1535, as witnessed in the
brief of Pope Alexander VI. The church was renamed after Santo Stefano
in 1691, with a Baroque renovation, decoration of the barrel-vaulted
ceiling and stucco decorations. Suppressed in 1810, the monastery lost
various works of art. In 1852 it was taken over by the Daughters of the
Sacred Heart, who established an educational institute there. Currently
the convent is owned by the municipality and is used for conferences and
events.
Palazzo Venieri. Built by Cardinal Venieri based on a design by
Giuliano da Maiano, who also directed the construction works. Located
astride the city walls, it was conceived halfway between a residence and
an urban castle. The Renaissance courtyard, porticoed on three sides,
features Istrian stone columns and refined capitals with the cardinal's
coat of arms. Open like wings over the hilly landscape, following a
model that we often find in Renaissance works from the Marche region, it
has an arch-balcony overlooking the sea above which stands a clock with
the writing "volat irreparabile tempus". In Recanati Giuliano
experiments with the solution which he will then retrace in his villa in
Poggioreale for Alfonso V of Aragon in Naples. In August 1479 the death
of the cardinal put an end to the work on the palace which remained
unfinished. The loggia of the Merchants of Macerata appears to have been
made with recycled materials from Palazzo Venieri in Recanati. Two popes
were guests of this palace, Paul III in 1539 and Pius VII in 1814. The
palace is home to the "Giacomo Leopardi" classical high school.
Palazzo Mazzagatti. In via Roma, it originally belonged to the Massucci
della Stella family. He owes his design either to Giuliano da Maiano or
to Luciano Laurana. The facade is an example of elegant noble
architecture, in the internal courtyard the double slender loggia as in
Palazzo Venieri allows access to the upper floors. The noble coat of
arms is found on the architrave of the central window of the internal
courtyard. In the middle of the pillars of the door there is a star, the
sign of the Massucci della Stella family, who owned the palace in the
15th century.
Palazzo Masucci della Stella. It was built on
fourteenth-century buildings designed by Can. Carlo Orazio Leopardi. The
stone entrance portal, with a round arch frame, is flanked by two stars,
symbol of the noble family (14th century), through which you can access
the staircase to the upper floors, or to the courtyard via a
barrel-vaulted entrance hall . The courtyard is truncated, with a
rectangular plan, partially surrounded by a beautiful portico with
barrel-vaulted bays, and an order of cylindrical columns with composite
capitals.
Palazzo Carancini. The design of the palace is attributed
to the Bibbiena family. It is located in via Calcagni, it is one of the
most interesting buildings in the city, which already belonged to the
Marquis Roberti in the 17th century. The façade has travertine
decorations, the design of the entrance atrium is also interesting, with
the spectacular monumental staircase, the largest of the buildings in
Recanati, the atrium has a barrel-vaulted ceiling, and in sections
cross-vaulted, punctuated laterally by cylindrical columns with Doric
capitals.
Teresa Fattorini's house (Silvia). In Piazza Sabato del
Villaggio next to the church of Montemorello, it dates back to 1796,
when Monaldo Leopardi had the servants' homes rebuilt above the old
stables. The building was restored in 2017, and is included in the visit
itinerary of Palazzo Leopardi. It includes the new ticket office with
souvenir shop on the ground floor, while on the upper floor, accessible
via a narrow staircase, are the servants' rooms, where the young Teresa
Fattorini also lived there, immortalized by Giacomo Leopardi in the poem
A Silvia. There are three rooms that can be visited in total: dining
room-kitchen-heating room, Silvia's bedroom and the parents' bedroom.
Giuseppe Persiani Theatre. Inaugurated in 1840, it was strongly
supported by the standard bearer Monaldo Leopardi. The hall designed by
Tommaso Bandoni features a horseshoe curve and four tiers of boxes. The
proscenium has an architrave, supported by pairs of decorated pilasters
culminating in pairs of modillion corbels. The decorative apparatus was
painted by the Sangiorgiesi Saverio Basili and Eusebio Basili; the
ceiling, connected with lunettes painted in Trompe l'oeil, was frescoed
by Marco Capizucchi from Rimini and then renovated in 1870 by Luigi
Basvecchi and Lorenzo Urbani from Recanati; the stagecraft was handled
by Gaetano Ferri from Macerata; the scenes were provided by the famous
Faenza painter and set designer Romolo Liverani.
Theater of the
Nobles. Made by Giovanni Albertini.
Municipal building. In Piazza
Leopardi, it was built in 1872 based on a design by Pietro Collina above
the former Dominican convent. In ancient times it was the Palazzo dei
Priori (1467) created from three castles of Monte Volpino, Monte Morello
and Monte Muzio, dating back to 1150. The palace was demolished in 1871
to build the new town hall. On the second floor there is the Aula Magna
decorated by Gaetano Koch, the Representative Hall with the bust of the
poet Giulio Monteverde, the Hall of Coats of Arms with the city's
insignia, and the Council Chamber of Matteo Tassi. On the upper floor
there is the Guitar Museum dedicated to Oliviero Pigini, decorated by
the ceramist Ceccaroni. The plan of the building is rectangular, with
two arms at the ends that advance towards the square, forming right
angles. The cladding is in brick, alternating with sumptuous decorations
in Palladian style: the central forepart of the structure, slightly
projecting, is decorated at the base by three rounded narthex arches,
surrounded by stone frames in classical style, interspersed columns
decorated with Doric capitals, which support the balustrade of the
central balcony, with an order of three windows framed by a triangular
tympanum, in turn located inside blind round niches, with the stone
frame resting on Ionic capitals. At the top of the forepart there is a
monumental stone bas-relief with animal and plant motifs, which contains
the civic coat of arms. The other sectors also have the order of
triangular gable windows, but without the particular decoration of the
central forepart. The two right-angled arms are decorated with a portico
with barrel-vaulted bays and quadrangular columns with composite
capitals.
Piazza Leopardi and town hall: the neoclassical town hall built at
the end of the nineteenth century on the occasion of the first centenary
of the birth of Giacomo Leopardi is located in the square that takes the
name of the poet. The Aula Magna inside was decorated by the architect
Gaetano Koch (also author of the Bank of Italy building in Rome). Inside
the Municipality there is also the Museum dedicated to Beniamino Gigli,
where stage clothes, documents and records of the great tenor are
preserved. In the center of the square is the monument dedicated to the
poet by Ugolino Panichi and a beautiful Ghibelline tower (Torre del
Borgo) on the sides of which stand out the symbol of the city sculpted
by Jacopo Sansovino, the coat of arms of the city of Fermo (13th
century) given to Recanati in sign of alliance, the bronze bas-relief by
Pier Paolo Jacometti and a clock whose dial is in white stone dating
back to 1562.
Torre del Borgo: 36 meters high, located in Piazza
Leopardi, dating back to the 12th century, it remained isolated after
the demolition of the Palazzo dei Priori to which it was connected. The
current Ghibelline battlements on corbels, protruding from the top, are
the result of the nineteenth-century neo-Gothic revival reconstruction:
the plan is square, it is decorated with a marble plaque in relief
dedicated to the Fallen in the Great War, the work of Guido Cirilli
(1923), then a large monumental bronze relief portraying Translation of
the Holy House of Loreto by Pier Paolo Jacometti (1634), a civic clock
above whose dial dates back to 1562, a rampant lion depicted in the
civic coat of arms, sculpted by Sansovino, and finally the internal bell
tower. The tower can be visited, it houses the MUREC (Recanati Museum,
set up along the seven levels of the tower, and it is possible to climb
to the top to admire the view).
Monument of Giacomo Leopardi: built
in the scenic municipal square on the occasion of the first centenary of
the poet's birth (1898), it stands on a bronze pedestal with an eagle
and commemorative inscription. The statue portrays the poet in imaginary
forms collected in the act of thinking, with a slightly melancholy face,
while he stares down at the square.
War memorial: located in Piazza
Europa, made in the shape of an obelisk on decorated bronze, resting on
a limestone base. The base is placed on a circular staircase, it is a
high podium where three cannonballs are placed, above there is the
prismatic base with a triangular base on whose faces there are verses by
the poet Leopardi All'Italia. The trunk has a prismatic shape made in
bas-relief with the bronze casting technique; each of the three faces
represents 10 episodes linked to the war events of the Great War. The
narrative respects the chronological order of events, it takes place
from top to bottom; the composition also presents allegorical scenes,
even if the description of the places and events is very precise
(battles of the Isonzo, of the Piave, of Dogali). Another side tells the
story of the unification of Italy through the three wars of
Independence, with the panels of the meeting of Garibaldi and Vittorio
Emanuele II in Teano, the hanging of Cesare Battisti in 1916, the
Conference of Paris in 1919, then impressive scenes of the Second World
War, such as Pope Pius XII visiting the San Lorenzo district (20 July
1943). In the last Risorgimento scene the conquest of Libya is depicted.
Historiated obelisk of Piazza Europa: recently made obelisk, which
recalls through historiated panels the classical myth of the birth of
Europe from the rape of Zeus, who transformed into an ox who carried the
girl at a gallop across the sea.
It was built in the Late Middle Ages and is located on the border with Montefano. Dating back to the 10th century, built in the border area of the Duchy of Spoleto and the Byzantines of the Pentapolis. The castle was rebuilt in the 13th century to contain the troops of the Osimo fiefdom which was located in front of the Montefano castle. Montefiore acquired the municipal statutes in 1405, fortification works were carried out, with the construction of the large central tower, documented in 1429, while about twenty years later the walls were reinforced due to the attacks of the mercenary captains, and against the Pope and Duke Sforza of Milan. In 1467 the work was carried out by its lords Antonio Politi and Tommaso Gabrielli, as attested by a plaque. In 1486, the governor of the Marca Fermana Boccalino di Gozzone, lord of Osimo, installed a military garrison there, bringing the castle to its maximum splendor, making it an impregnable fortress, compared to the original construction with lookout functions. The slow transformation into an inhabited village occurred from the 17th century, the chapel of San Biagio from 1184 was transformed, and the increasingly large influx of villagers led to the construction of a new church outside the walls in 1840. The castle was damaged during 1943 -44 and renovated. The castle has a polygonal plan with four masonry bodies and is dominated by a high quadrilateral tower with battlements. In subsequent periods it underwent significant expansion works.
There were 14 gates of Recanati in total, and only these are
preserved:
Porta Marina: located between via Carducci, via XX
Settembre and via Cesare Battisti, it is also called "Porta Pia" from
the name of Pope Pius VI who had it rebuilt from scratch by the
architect Giuseppe Valadier (1783). The original structure dates back to
the 14th century, the project was entrusted to Francesco Cianfaroni by
Jaesi, who delegated Valadier; it has a bronze bust of Pope Braschi,
Pius VI and the coat of arms of the noble family, demolished in 1860 by
the Piedmontese. On the sides of the round arch you can see the two
guard posts, with lateral gun openings. The two original terraces have
been demolished and the civic one has been placed in place of the papal
coat of arms. The door is wrapped in ashlar, especially in the area of
the arch, with the ashlar pilaster jambs, which ends on both sides with
projecting capitals, fused with the string course frame which supports
the monumental triangular tympanum, adorned with the coat of arms, and
surmounted by a large high relief with cusps with plant motifs, and in
the center an oval with the coat of arms.
Porta San Filippo: located
on the street of the same name, at the intersection with via Battisti,
it dates back to the 12th-13th century, also called Porta Mercato, which
allowed access to the district until 1665. In the 19th century it was
partly rebuilt by the engineer Collina; it still retains
well-recognizable medieval features, the central tower with protruding
corbels and the defensive curtain cut by the arched opening.
Porta
Romana: in via Rampa del Duomo, also known as Santa Margherita, the gate
is of medieval origins, extensively rebuilt in 1844 by Tommaso Brandoni
and Domenico Masserini, incorporating the Ghibelline battlements into
the brick superstructure, demolishing the defense corridor that united
it at the guardhouse at the Monti house. Like Porta Marina, this is
decorated on the sides of the arch with two large cylindrical capital
columns, which support the triangular tympanum architrave.
Porta San
Domenico: near the walls behind the church of San Domenico, overlooking
Via Battisti. Dating back to the Middle Ages, it was deprived of its
masonry and battlements in the 18th century, and has a round arch on the
outside, while the fornix of via San Domenico is ogee-shaped.
Porta
Cannella: dates back to 1358, although it underwent interesting
interventions in the nineteenth century. The name comes from the spout
fountain that was located next to it. The door is made of brick, with
the front characterized by the large round arch, and by three niches
arranged in a triangular manner on the area of the facade itself.
Torre dell'Acquedotto: although it does not belong to military
architecture, it is mistakenly confused with that of the Lone Sparrow,
due to its proximity to the church of Sant'Agostino.
Fontenoce settlement: excavations conducted in 1984-1985, 1992, and
1997-1998 identified a settlement dating back to an advanced phase of
the Neolithic (6th millennium BC)
Necropolis of Fontenoce - Guzzini
Area: excavations conducted from 1992 to 1997 brought to light an
important Eneolithic necropolis consisting of 20 artificial cave tombs
(4th millennium BC). Residents were also found in the area.
Cava Koch
Necropolis: Eneolithic necropolis (4th millennium BC).
Contrada
"Valle Memoria": the "memory" usually indicates the place where the
Christian martyrs were buried during the first centuries. Near the small
church called "Ottaviani" (in the territory which is the property of the
Holy House, near the bridge on the Regina road) there is still a source
of living water, called "Fons Episcopi", where an ancient bishop and
some Christians were led and martyred during the Roman persecutions. The
bishop and the martyrs came from the city of "Potentia" which stood at
the mouth of the current Potenza river.
Municipal archive of Recanati
Archive of the Beniamino Gigli
musical band, an exclusively musical archive, mainly preserves mss and
prints that refer to the repertoire practiced by the band.
Benedettucci Municipal Library
Library of the Charles Péguy Cultural
Center
Library of the National Center for Leopardi Studies: The
library of the National Center for Leopardi Studies is made up of
approximately 15,000 "pieces" including books, reviews, magazines and
miscellanies. An exclusive critical collection on Leopardi's production
that begins with the poet's first printed editions.
Library of the
Capuchin convent
Library of the Convent of the Passionist Fathers
Diocesan Library of Recanati
Father Clemente Benedettucci Library:
exclusively musical archive, it mainly preserves mss and prints that
refer to the repertoire practiced by the Band. The majority consists of
fantasies and transcriptions from operas and operettas (particularly
Italian), mostly dating back to the 1880/1930 period.
Leopardi
private library: the historical library of the Leopardi counts is
largely the result of the research of Monaldo Leopardi, who purchased
books at nearby fairs, on various occasions and taking advantage of the
suppression of many religious congregations between 1808 and 1810. The
library grew also thanks to the continuous donations of relatives and
friends and to the purchases made by Monaldo's descendants.
Popular
library of the Fonti San Lorenzo Cultural Center
There are present in the territory of the city of Recanati: 6 nursery or nursery schools, 6 elementary or primary schools, 2 educational clubs (nursery and elementary), a middle or secondary school, the "Giacomo Leopardi" high school (which includes the classical, scientific, scientific applied sciences, linguistics, high school of human sciences and high school of human sciences economic and social courses) the "Enrico Mattei" Industrial Technical Institute (with specializations in computer science, chemistry, mechanics and telecommunications), the Professional Institute for Industry and Crafts "F. Corradini", the Professional Institute for Commercial and Tourist Services "V. Bonifazi"
Villa Colloredo Mels Civic Museum: of medieval layout, the building
took on the appearance of a palace towards the end of the 16th century,
becoming the subject of continuous transformations in the following
centuries until obtaining its current appearance in the neoclassical
age.
The inauguration took place in the summer of 1998 after the
transfer of the Art Gallery from the Town Hall. It is divided into four
sections: the archaeological section, which allows us to understand the
organization of a Neolithic community with various overlaps up to the
Iron Age; the medieval section which documents the life of the city in
its period of maximum splendor and includes, among other things, works
by Ludovico di Magno da Siena (not. 1395), Pietro di Domenico da
Montepulciano (fl. 15th century) and Vincenzo Pagani ( 1490-1568); the
Renaissance section which groups together four of the most significant
works by Lorenzo Lotto (1480 - 1556): the Annunciation of Recanati, the
Polyptych, the Transfiguration, the San Giacomo Maggiore, the section
dedicated to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. A space for
temporary artistic-cultural exhibitions is located on the ground floor.
Diocesan Museum: at the Cathedral of San Flaviano, which boasts
paintings from the 14th to the 16th century by artists such as:
Guglielmo da Venezia, Pietro di Domenico da Montepulciano, Ludovico
Urbani, Giacomo da Recanati (1443), one attributed to Mantegna and a
Saint Lucia by Guercino, Pomarancio, furnishings and goldsmithery from
various centuries, sculptures, missals, works of minor art. Among the
marbles: a Roman statue and a sink by Andrea Sansovino
The Beniamino
Gigli Civic Museum: inside the Persiani Theater you can visit the museum
dedicated to the great tenor from Recanati
Museum of contemporary art
and emigration painters: located in the former convent of Sant'Agostino,
it was inaugurated in 2001 to host works by artists such as Virgilio
Guidi, Cesare Peeruzzi, Arnaldo Ciarocchi, Luigi Bartolini, Wladimiro
Tulli, Aurelio De Felice, Domenico Purified. The museum is divided into
four sections, abstractionism, that of Umbrian painters, graphics and
Recanati painters of the 20th century, two rooms dedicated to W. Tulli
and Lorenzo Gigli.
Oliviero Pigini Guitar Museum: located in the town
hall, inaugurated in 2004, it houses guitar models from the EKO company,
produced between the 60s and 70s, used for beat and rock 'n roll music.
Silicon Museum "Silicio Inside": temporarily set up in the two-year
period 2011-12, it was then permanently inserted into the urban context
of Recanati in 2013. Collaborating with the University of Camerino and
the Association of Business Culture "Il Paesaggio dell 'Excellence', the
theme concerns the use of silicon and its chemical-physical properties
of exploitation for electronic and industrial equipment.
The Way of the Fabulous Young Man. Every Sunday in July, from 6pm to
midnight. Market in the streets of the town
Lovely. half July. Born
in 2010, it takes place in the Castelnuovo district and offers a program
focused on traditional music and the accordion instrument.
Botteghe
Aperte, in the former Eko artisan area. Exhibition and demonstration of
local artisan products. The program also includes thematic conferences,
tasting courses, musical performances, workshops and games for children.
Lunaria, Piazza G. Leopardi. Every Thursday in July. Concert review
Memorabilia. Folk and pop music festival in memory of the Marche singer
Oliviero de Quintajé
Feast of San Vito. June 15. patronal feast
Good Friday procession. Friday before Easter. Procession in which sacks
carry objects representing the martyrdom of Jesus.
By plane
The closest airport is Ancona-Falconara.
By car
The SS 571 "Regina" connects Macerata with the coast and passes a short
distance from the town centre;
The SP 24 "Bellaluce" connects
Recanati with the A14 motorway exit of Porto Recanati/Loreto.
By
bus
The lines passing through Recanati are:
Ancona-Recanati
managed by Conero Bus
Macerata-Recanati managed by Contram
Recanati-Passo San Ginesio managed by SASP
By public transport
There is an interurban bus line operated by
Contram in the country.
Recanati stands on the top of a hill, whose
winding crest is almost flat, at 293 m a.s.l., between the valleys
of the Potenza and Musone rivers. It is about 20 km from the capital
Macerata, 8 km from Loreto and just under 40 km from Ancona.
The Adriatic Sea, beyond which you can see the Dalmatian mountains
when the air is clear, is about ten kilometers east of the city. To
the north is visible Mount Conero which is lost in the waters and
from the other sides of the city, not closed or limited by future
elevations, you can see the peaks of the Apennines. The peaks of the
Sibillini mountains with Mount Vettore and higher up Mount San
Vicino, the Strega and the Catria are clearly visible.
Like
other towns in the Marche region, Recanati is also the typical
"balcony city" due to the wide panorama that can be seen there:
cities and villages are scattered in large numbers in the wide
expanse, between floors, valleys and hills.
Origins and foundation of Recanati
There is no certain
information about the origin of the first inhabited center of
Recanati. Surely the surrounding territories were already inhabited
in prehistoric times by the Piceni population, widespread in the
region. In Roman times, two important cities arose along the valley
of the Potenza river, then navigable: Potentia, at the mouth and
Helvia Recina, also called Ricina, towards the interior.
Due
to the invasion of the Goths led by Radagaiso around 406 AD, which
set the area on fire and iron, the population sought refuge in the
hills. It is believed that both Recanati and Macerata owe their
origin to that ancient city. The name Recanati, in Latin Recinetum
and Ricinetum, also indicates the derivation of the city from
Ricina. Recanati then gradually formed with the meeting of some
small places located on the same hill: the castle of Monte Morello,
the castle of San Vito, otherwise known as Borgo di Muzio, the
castle of Monte Volpino and the village of Castelnuovo, village that
originally seems to have been called Castello dei Ricinati.
Recanati between the late Middle Ages and the age of the
municipalities
In the twelfth century, when the dissension arose
between the Church and Federico Barbarossa, Recanati rejected the
government of the Counts who supported the Emperor and elected the
consuls. The city became a Free Municipality. It was administered by
the consuls until 1203, then adopted the system of the Podestà.
In 1228 Frederick II of Swabia, favored by the Ghibellines, made
war on the Pope. Recanati, generally loyal to the Papacy, chose to
stay with Frederick II. For this reason, in 1229 Recanati obtained
from the emperor Frederick II the ownership of the whole coast, from
the Potenza river to the Aspio, with the right to build a port
(today Porto Recanati). But soon the Recanatesi returned to the side
of the papacy. In 1239, the quarrel between the Pope and the Emperor
rekindled, Recanati, the only one of the surrounding municipalities
to have remained faithful to the papacy, gave hospitality to the
Bishop of Osimo Rinaldo, the Guelph Dukes and the Papal Legates,
forced to flee from the harassment of the Ghibellines. In 1240, Pope
Gregory IX removed the title of city and bishopric from Osimo,
reducing it to the condition of a villa and at the same time he
declared the castle of Recanati a city and decorated it with the
episcopal cathedral of San Flaviano.
1296 marked a very
important period. In fact, this year it became clear that the chapel
venerated inside the church of Loreto, at that time in the Recanati
area, was the Holy House of Nazareth, brought by angels from
Palestine.
Monaldo Leopardi writes in his annals: "The
fourteenth century rose turbid and threatening as the previous
century had already waned, and in many municipalities of the Marca
one could see preludes of novelty and war apparel. These signs
appeared mainly in Ancona, Fermo, Iesi, Camerino, Cagli, Fano, Osimo
and Recanati ". In fact, there was no lack of discord between these
countries which often led to clashes, wars and long sieges. For this
reason, in 1301 the rector of the Marca Piero Caetani published a
constitution which "ordered not to make sedition, army, cavalcade or
any other move", under penalty of severe penalties. Despite this, in
the years to come the clashes were numerous and bloody.
The years from 1311 to 1315 were among the most dismal in the
history of Recanati. The factions of the Guelphs and Ghibellines
burned in the city with increasing fire. Recanati, historically
linked to the Guelph side, had a strong supporter of that side in
Bishop Federico and his family, arousing jealousy and bitterness in
the other side. So in 1312 some Ghibelline nobles from Recanati,
supported by the podestà, the magistrates and many councilors,
attacked the Bishop's properties and sacked them. The General Curia
summoned the Municipality and the people involved to appear,
condemning them to pay a thousand lire of Ravenna, thus causing new
riots. The city fell into Ghibelline hands and remained there for
two years resisting the various sieges, until John XXII sent a
warning from Avignon; the rector of the Marca, Amelio di Lautrec,
sent his cousin Ponzio Arnaldo with enormous forces, forcing the
Ghibellines to surrender. Everything seemed to have returned to
peace when the conspiracy broke out: in the night armed men from
Osimo were introduced, commanded by Lippaccio and Andrea Guzzolini.
Overwhelmed the Marquis, they first massacred his army, then
slaughtered the Guelph leaders and their families, without sparing
women and children. The bishop and the clergy were expelled and
anyone loyal to the Pope was imprisoned.
On February 2, 1316
Stefano Colonna, head of the Lega degli Amici, founded in 1308 by
the Ghibellines of Romagna and Piceno, obtained pardon from Giovanni
XXII for having tried to conquer the city. Despite this, in the
following months the Ghibellines clashed again with the Guelphs.
Then John XXII asked them to submit to papal power but they did not
accept. So the pope, after sending soldiers who were defeated,
excommunicated the podestà and transferred the bishopric to
Macerata. On 8 December 1321, John XXII launched a crusade against
the Ghibelline rebels, granting those who participated in it the
same indulgences bestowed on pilgrims to the Holy Land. Many came to
the Pope's invitation, especially from Tuscany, and a strong army
was built. In the early months of 1322, under the command of
Fulcieri de Calboli, the Guelph army laid siege to Recanati and
devastated its territory. The Ghibellines awaited the aid promised
by Federico da Montefeltro but, when the news of his death arrived,
they fled the city which surrendered to the Marquis Amelio di
Lautrec. A few days later the Ghibelline leaders from Recanati also
fled. Liberated the city from the Ghibellines, the leaders of the
Guelph party sent ambassadors to Macerata to make an act of
submission to Amelio and hand over the keys to Recanati.
On
15 May 1322 the Guelphs from Recanati made their peaceful entry into
Macerata but Amelio, to avenge the killing of his nephew and his
companions in the previous battle, ordered the fire and devastation
of the city and destroyed the fortifications, the houses of the
leaders Ghibellines and the Palazzo dei Priori. Despite the severity
of the damage, Recanati continued to be one of the most important
municipalities in the province. In 1324 the war between Amelio and
Recanati ends, a period of harmony was hoped for to repair the
damage suffered. On 29 June 1326 the Ghibellines led by the nobles
from Recanati attacked the Town Hall, trying to kill the Podestà and
to raise the people. But the plan failed and the organizers of the
revolt were caught and hanged. In the following years, the
Recanatesi remained faithful to Pope John XXII and to Bishop
Francesco de 'Silvestri of Cingoli, who had the task of pacifying
the region and forgiving the rebels. In exchange for the acquittal,
Bishop Francesco de 'Silvestri imposed a fine of three thousand
florins and the delivery of twelve hostages a month. The Episcopal
See was returned only in 1354.
In 1393 Boniface IX granted
the City the right to mint copper, silver and gold coins, to be
considered valid throughout the State.
On 13 September 1405
the Municipal Council approved an ordered collection of the
Constitutions, Statutes and Regulations of the City of Recanati
divided into four books printed with the title: Municipal Rights, or
Statutes of the illustrious City of Recanati. These statutes were
requested by the City of Florence as a model for the constitution of
its own juridical body. The Republic of Recanati was awarded the
title of Justissima Civitas by the Priors of the Municipality of
Florence.
In 1415 Pope Gregory XII left the pontificate to allow the
conclusion of the Western schism and came to live in Recanati as
legate and perpetual vicar for the Marca. In October 1417 he died.
He was buried in the Recanatese cathedral of San Flaviano, where his
ashes still rest. He was the last pope not to be buried in Rome.
Recanati between the Renaissance and the modern age
In 1422,
Pope Martin V ordered that merchants, goods and competitors had free
and safe access to the already famous annual fair held in Recanati.
This considerably strengthened the fair which significantly
contributed to the economic development of the city, allowing
diplomatic relations to be established with the main Italian and
European centers. For two centuries Recanati played an important
role in the commercial exchanges of the Adriatic; over the years men
of letters, such as the humanist Antonio Bonfini, jurists, such as
Antonio da Cannara, and famous painters such as Lorenzo Lotto,
Guercino, Caravaggio, Sansovino, Luigi Vanvitelli arrived there. In
this climate, in the mid-sixteenth century, a family of sculptors,
the Lombards (Aurelio, Ludovico and Girolamo Lombardi), came from
their native Ferrara and Venice to work in Loreto and opened their
own foundry behind the church of San Vito. Over time Recanati became
an important land center. Others joined them: Tiburzio Vergelli di
Camerino, Antonio Calcagni (father of Michelangelo Calcagni,
sculptor), Sebastiano Sebastiani, Tarquinio and Pier Paolo
Jacometti, Giovan Battista Vitali. It was the Recanatese sculptural
school that started the tradition of goldsmiths and silversmiths who
have worked on the territory since then in the following centuries.
On March 21, 1456, the Blessed Virgin miraculously appeared to a
young Albanian named Elena. Slavs and Albanians were present in
large numbers in the Marche countryside, who took refuge here to
escape the Turkish marauders on the Dalmatian coasts. At the point
of the apparition the little church of Santa Maria delle Grazie was
built shortly after. In 1586 Pope Sixtus V raised the castle of
Loreto to the rank of a city, built around the Church of Santa
Maria, which had previously been a territory under the jurisdiction
of Recanati. Throughout the 18th century Recanati had to endure
burdens and hassles to supply fodder and provisions, now to the
Austrians, then to the Spaniards and the French. This lasted until
the Treaty of Aachen (1748).
Recanati in the Risorgimento
In 1798 the city suffered the French occupation by the Napoleonic
troops. Participation in the Risorgimento riots of 1831 cost the
life of the freedom patriot from Recanati, Vito Fedeli, locked up in
a papal prison. In 1848 Giuseppe Garibaldi wanted to pass through
the city of Giacomo Leopardi to help Rome, the capital of the Roman
Republic, to which Recanati belonged.
In 1860 the annexation
of the Papal State to the Kingdom of Italy, following the battle of
Castelfidardo, integrated the history of the Municipality of
Recanati with the history of Italy today. In 1893 a stretch of coast
was separated from the municipal area to form the new municipality
of Porto Recanati.
Recanati in the contemporary era
In
1937 with R.D. n ° 1335, converted into Law 2255, the National
Center for Leopardian Studies was established, whose headquarters
had been designed by Guglielmo De Angelis d'Ossat. In 1968, the
Recanatese politician Giacomo Brodolini, elected to the ranks of the
PSI, was appointed Minister of Labor and Social Security in the
second government of Mariano Rumor (1968-1969). As Minister, he
introduced fundamental reforms in the world of work: the overcoming
of wage cages, the restructuring of the social security system and
the drafting of the Workers' Statute are just some of the
initiatives he promoted.
In 1990 the City of Recanati Prize
was born, which later took the name of Musicultura. The Festival
stands out as one of the most important national events of author
music. In 2005 the festival moved to the Sferisterio in Macerata. In
2008 it was born at the Artika Festival which offers exhibitions of
contemporary art, performances and concerts. The festival, which
featured artists such as Hernan Chavar, Nicola Alessandrini, Niba,
Hotel Nuclear, 7/8 kili, Zapruder filmmakersgroup, Davide Savorani,
Carloni & Franceschetti, ceased its activity in 2012. The festival
saw the presence of musicians such as Turin Brakes , Dente,
Stoneworms, Ronin, IOIOI, Il pan del diavolo, Above the tree, Der
Feuerkreiner, OvO, Uochi Toki, Pitch, Bob Corn, Dadamatto. In
literature, among others, Paolo Nori and Alessandro Bonino were
hosted.