Recanati

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.

 

How to orient yourself

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.

 

Monuments and places of interest

Giglian places

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.

 

Leopardian places

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.

 

Art and architecture

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.

 

Palaces and civil architecture

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.

 

Public squares and monuments

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.

 

Military architecture

Montefiore Castle

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.

 

Civic gates

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.

 

Archaeological sites

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.

 

Libraries

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

 

Schools

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"

 

Museums

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.

 

Events and parties

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.

 

How to get here

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

 

How to get around

By public transport
There is an interurban bus line operated by Contram in the country.

 

Physical geography

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.

 

History

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.