Mondavio is a beautifully preserved, red-brick medieval hill town. It belongs to the association of  The most beautiful villages in Italy and boasts the Orange and Green Flag. 
The imposing fortress that stands out from afar was built by Francesco di Giorgio Martini, one of Italy's most celebrated Renaissance military architects; it now houses an entertaining 'living museum' portraying life when the fortress was built at the close of the 15th century for Giovanni della Rovere, son-in-law of Duke Federico da Montefeltro. 
The most remarkable monuments in the historic centre are: Palazzo dei Malatesta, the church of San Francesco, the Collegiate Church of St. Peter, Paterniano and Eleuterio, the fourteenth-century Palazzo della Comunanza and the Teatro Apollo, built in the mid-eighteenth century on the ruins of a fifteenth century church.
Every year in mid-August you can't miss the "Caccia al Cinghiale" (Hunt to the Wild Boar); the festival commemorates the arrival of Giovanni della Rovere in Mondavio for taking possession of the Vicariate, a gift from Pope Sixtus IV on the occasion of his marriage to Giovanna, Federico da Montefeltro's daughter. It was an important event, which influenced the entire Cesano Valley in terms of economy, culture, social organization. The re-enactment begins on 13th August with a sumptuous banquet and end on 15th August with parades, games, Renaissance life experiences and fireworks from the Roveresca Fortress. 

The Apollon Theatre, whose origins date back to the late 18^th century when it was converted from the pre-existing old church dedicated to San Filippo Neri and then entirely renovated in 1887, is an authentic treasure of its kind the recent restoration works returned the original splendour to. Especially, it was in operation in the 19^th century and in the first half of the 20^th century when it was initially run by the Accademia del Teatro (The Academy of the Theatre). The interior of the theatre remarkably creates suggestions for the harmony of its spaces and the elegance of its floral decorations with festoons, racemes of acanthus and grotesques, enhanced by the gorgeous velarium ceiling with dancing cupids in a circle around Apollon. Today the theatre has reacquired its fundamental cultural and social role not only across the community of Mondavio.

The Fossombrone Fortress is located on the St. Aldebrando Hill and it was one of the buildings of the Duchy of Urbino to protect the Metauro Valley and Flaminia Way. In 1444, the fortress was under Federico da Montefeltro. In order to meet the new military needs, the fortress was changed into a complex structure by Francesco di Giorgio. Nowadays, there are only the outer walls, the three towers and the keep. The fortress was destroyed in 1502 during the war against the Valentinois, and then the St. Aldebrando Church was built in the same place.

The glorious past of Pergola is reflected  in the famous Gilded Bronzes of the Julian-Claudian age, which were discovered in 1946 in Cartoceto di Pergola and  are housed at the homonymous Museum  dei Bronzi Dorati di Pergola.  It’s one of the very few equestrian statues in gilded bronze which has survived to the present day. Pergola is also known as the town of the one hundred churches, rich in works of art. They’re a mirror of the important economic, political and religious power of the town during the centuries. The most important churches are: the Medieval Gothic church of San Giacomo and that of San Francesco. The town's other attraction is a heavily perfumed purple wine made with local red grapes and sold as Vernaccia di Pergola.If you have a sweet tooth you might be tempted to try the lip-smacking local liqueur called visner or vino di visciole. This heavenly digestivo is made by macerating crushed sour cherries in red wine with sugar, lemon peel and either cinnamon or cloves. Some also fortify the mix with rum. Another important precious product of Pergola is truffle, to which, in autumn, a National Fair of white truffle is dedicated.  

Parts of the collegiate church of Santa Lucia, in Piazza della Repubblica date back to the Romanesque period. The town also has a remarkable series of six painted panels by Carlo Crivelli. The finest of these, depicting Saint Mary Magdalene, is reckoned to be among the artist's most beautiful figures. You'll find them in the Polo Museale beside the Church of San Francesco.

The only set of Ancient Roman gilts bronzes kept in the world. The set represents a family group, two women in mantles and veils and two men in high rank military outfits on profusely adorned horses. Stunning unique pieces.

Urbino is situated between the valleys of the Metauro and Foglia rivers. Its historic centre now boasts the honour of being included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. It is  birthplace of two great artists, Bramante and Raphael, and it is home to one of the oldest and most important universities in Europe, founded in 1506. For the second half of the 15th century its windy hill was the setting for one of the most illustrious courts in Europe. Duke Federico da Montefeltro gathered around him the greatest painters, poets and scholars of his day and housed them in one of Italy's most beautiful Renaissance palaces, a palace that still stands as an eloquent memorial to this quintessential Renaissance man.
The Palazzo Ducale is a splendid late XV century residence, one of Italy's most beautiful Renaissance palaces, defined as "a city in the form of a palace", by humanist Baldesar. It was built by Luciano Laurana (1464-1472), who designed and carried out the main part of the building, like the Torricini façade, the Cortile D'Onore and the monumental series of steps. Francesco di Giorgio Martini, who built the most important fortresses in the Montefeltro area, finished the works started by Laurana. None of the rooms of the palace were designed to oppress with grandeur but were built on a human scale and decorated with glad-hearted sobriety. Nowadays they house the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche - a remarkable collection of paintings including one of the world's greatest and most enigmatic images, Piero della Francesca's Flagellation of Christ. Other great pictures here are Piero's Madonna di Senigallia , Raphael's La Muta, the Silent One, an anonymous portrait of a gentlewoman who we feel might talk to us if she only wished to, and a famous vision of the Ideal City by an unknown hand and much used by art designers to illustrate books on the Renaissance. The Duke's Studiolo is the most unusual room in the palace. His tiny study is entirely decorated in exquisite trompe l'oeil inlaid woodwork panels, some based on designs by Botticelli.
Urbino is the birthplace of Raphael, one of the most remarkable Renaissance artists. The house where he was born is now a delightful little museum. Further tourist attractions are: Oratorio S. Giovanni Battista entirely decorated in 1416 with wall-to-ceiling frescoes by the Marchegiani painters Jacopo and Lorenzo Salimbeni; Presepio or nativity scene of the Oratory of San Giuseppe by Federico Brandani; the elegant Cathedral with the nearby Albani Diocesan Museum; the Sanzio Theatre, built in the 19th century;  the rarely visited but nevertheless delightful Orto Botanico. You can't miss: the Collegio Raffaello, founded  by Pope Clement XI in the early eighteenth century, housing the town council hall, some offices of the Prefecture and the Cabinet Museum of Physics; the Albornoz Fortress, built in the second half of the fourteenth century by Cardinal Egidio Alvares de Albornoz. As you leave Urbino you can’t miss the tombs of Duke Federico and his son, Guidobaldo, in the fine church of San Bernardino. It was built in 1491 by Francesco di Giorgio Martini and stands on the hill above the junction for the Pesaro road.
The famous local specialty is "Casciotta of Urbino", one of the region's handful of officially protected DOP regional food; is a delicate pale cheese made from both ewe and cow's milk  across Pesaro and Urbino province. Crescia of Urbino is another popular specialty; it is a sort of focaccia (italian bread), filled with wiith sausage, wild herbs, ham or cheese. The most remarkable events  taking place in Urbino during the year are: Festival of Ancient Music (July), the Festival of the Duke (August) and the Kite Festival (September).

The Throne Hall, on the noble floor of a Palace that is the emblem of the Italian renaissance, is a majestic room 35 meters long, 15 wide and 17 meters high at the top of the vault. The hall, meant to show the military and dynastic power of the prince, was indeed a “Holiday Hall” and was named “The Throne Hall” when in the room was placed the seat of the papal legate. The indescribable roof garden connects the Torricini side and the ancient Castellare side of the Palace. They are two places available for exceptional civil weddings.

It was first built in ancient times and it was rebuilt in the 16th and 17th century as it was considered too small in comparison to the other churches of the town. Outside you can see the brick façade which dominates the square of the Palazzo della Ragione and it’s divided into three parts by small columns. Over the portal, right at the centre, you can see the coat- of- arm of Pope Clement XIV, who was born in the town and who became pope from 1769 to 1774.

In 1639 the parish church became a basilica due to Pope Urban VIII who turned San’Angelo in Vado into a Town and Diocese. The church has a single nave and it was badly damaged starting from 1728. Works were carried out with the properties of the church and the donations of the faithful and of the confraternities.

The new cathedral was consecrated in 1770, inside there are a naive and two aisles and two chapels at the sides, one of which is dedicated to the Crying Madonna and the second one to the Ortolani confraternity. Inside you can see paintings by Francesco Mancini, Schiroli, other paintings attribute to Gentile da Fabriano (14th century) , Claudio Ridolfi (1570-1644) and Guido Reni (1575-1642): in the chapel of the Crying Madonna (1855) you can find works by local craftsmen: a wooden choir by Benedetto Boccioni and a wrought iron fence.

A few miles from the Adriatic beach resorts, Gradara is one of the most popular Marche’s tourist destinations. Gradara boasts the Orange Flag award, it belongs to the Association of The most beautiful villages in Italy and to the National Association of Wine Cities.

The imposing 14th century walls surrounding the town are some of the best preserved in the Marche, with their crenellated battlements and bristling towers. The single main street leads up through the city gates to the fortress at the higher end of the town. The squared fortress, a polygonal tower on the northern side, dominates the town: it was here, according to tradition, that the murder of Francesca da Rimini and her lover Paolo, the lovers immortalized by Dante in his Divina Commedia, took place in 1289. It dates back to the twelfth century, but was changed under the rule of the Malatesta and the Sforza families. Pieces of 15th century furniture, valuable frescoes and altarpieces can be admired inside. Around the castle people can walk along the Lovers’ path, which surrounds the hill. There you can enjoy a nice view of the farming landscape. In the wonderful setting of the Medieval castle there’s also a bird’s park, which is also a falconry centre ( The Teatro dell’aria” or Theatre of the air”). It’s a park of environmental education entirely dedicated to the art of falconry. Here you can enjoy exhibitions of flying birds of prey and intriguing shows with them. Must-see attractions are also the little theatre, which can accommodate 70 people; Rubini Vesin Palace, built by local artists in the second half of the 19^th century and now used for several cultural events: theatre, music and literary conferences.

The most typical dish is the "bigol," a kind of homemade spaghetti seasoned with mushroom or gravy sauce.

The most remarkable events taking place in Gradara during the year are: Gradara d’amare ( Gradara for lovers) in February, Solstice at the castle, Thursdays at the castle ( June/September) and Siege to the castle ( July).

The Ornithological Park and Falconry Centre "The Theatre of the Air" is an environmental education park entirely dedicated to the art of falconry. It is located in the fabulous setting of the medieval fortress of Gradara; built and designed according to green building and sustainability criteria, it is fully integrated into its surroundings, respect for the history and architecture of the village. Here you can see demonstrations of specimens of birds of prey in flight  - hawks, vultures, kites, eagles, owls, hawks and buzzards - and watch exciting shows with birds of prey engaged in amazing evolutions guided by the professional falconer and founder of the Park, Mr. Massimo Lanatà. In Summer, public performances, cabarets and concerts are also offered. "The Theatre of the Air" is also a cultural and scientific centre for the collection and dissemination of useful information to research on birds of prey. It also offers additional services with high professional standards: education, events, initiation courses and completion courses on falconry at all levels, actions of "pest control" for public and private subjects, removal service of invasive species, and much more.

Pesaro is an attractive seaside resort, a thriving fishing port and an important manufacturing centre; it is crossed by the Foglia river and is situated between two hills: Mount Ardizio and Mount San Bartolo (which gives its name to the Monte San Bartolo Natural Park).
Pesaro boasts seven kilometers of sandy beach; some of them are free and some equipped with beach resorts. There's a wide range of accommodation facilities, like hotels, holiday farms, B&B, camping resorts, apartments -  for a total amount of almost 11,000 lodgings. Pesaro welcomes visitors warmly; a special care is given to families and children. Since 2010 Pesaro has been hosting the Night festival of children, with music, plays, exhibitions, shows; further educational activities, including public readings on the beach, organized by Baia Flaminia Library, are dedicated to children. Due to the peculiar shape of the territory, characterized by a narrow and sandy coast to the south, and by the San Bartolo and Ardizio uplands to the opposite side,  you can find beach resorts close to the hotels and the town centre, and little bays. There are several biking trails: “Bicipolitana” is an itinerary for bikers, connecting several parts of the town. Trails are marked by specific signs and lines painted with different colors. The Pesaro-Fano biking trail runs south along the coast, up to Fosso Sejore.  The pedestrian and biking  “Umberto Cardinali” trail flanks the Foglia river and leads to the discovery of the local flora and fauna.
The most remarkable religious buildings are: the Cathedral, built on the remains of a late Roman building, which boasts an interesting mosaic floor; the Church of St. Agostino, with its remarkable Venetian Gothic portal ; the Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie, built in the thirteenth century by the Malatesta family and rebuilt in Baroque style. The most important monuments and museums are: the fifteenth-century squared Rocca Costanza, surrounded by a wide moat, formerly used as a prison; the Ducal Palace, now seat of the Prefecture, built by Alessandro Sforza in the second half of the fifteenth century; the Oliveriano Archaeological Museum and the Civic Museums (including the Art Gallery with Giovanni Bellini’s masterpiece, Coronation of the Virgin, and the Museum of Ceramics). The city was once noted for its ceramic workshops that turned out the brightly painted earthenware known as majolica. Here you can browse through one of Italy's finest collections of Renaissance and baroque pottery, much of it striking for its spontaneous, almost modern, use of colour and design. Rossini's House, the modest house where Italy's great opera composer Gioachino Rossini was born in 1792, is now a small shrine/museum dedicated to the composer. The annual Rossini Opera Festival in August has earned a world-wide reputation for performing works from his large repertoire of bel canto operas. Maritime history is well documented by the Washington Patrignani Museum. A striking contemporary sculpture is the "Palla di Pomodoro”, a bronze sphere realized in 1998 by sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro. Villino Ruggeri is one of the city's most flamboyant buildings: this heavily stuccoed confection is one of the finest examples of the Italian Liberty style that swept the Adriatic Riviera at the turn of the 20th century; not far from Pesaro, in the Colle San Bartolo area, is Villa Imperiale, a splendid Renaissance villa. In the Mount San Bartolo Park, must see attractions are Casteldimezzo, Fiorenzuola of Focara and Santa Marina Alta, picturesque villages overlooking Adriatic Sea. The most significant events taking place in Pesaro during the year include the already mentioned ROF (Rossini Opera Festival) , the International Festival of New Cinema, (Pesaro Film Festival), one of Italy's most important Summer Film festivals.

The church and convent have always belonged to the Friars Minor Conventual (dell’Osservanza). The complex was rebuilt in 1543; the architects were Girolamo Genga (d.1551), followed by his son Bartolomeo (d.1558). 

The interior, on a Latin cross plan, was mainly restructured during the seventeenth century. In 1729 four of the nine altars were demolished to restore balance to the spacious nave, very similar to the present one. This became the local population’s favourite church

This Romanesque church was built in 1258, and in 1282 became the property of the Order of the Eremitani of St. Augustin, to which saint it was dedicated. During the second half of the fourteenth century the church was modified to meet the taste for gothic architecture of the Augustinians under the special protection of the Malatesti lords of the city.

As was the case of other religious buildings, the church assumed its present form after radical eighteenth century modification. Of the gothic façade only the portal remains. The portal of sant’Agostino, built between 1398 and 1413 and commissioned by Malatesta dei Sonetti, is of Istria stone and red marble, richly decorated with friezes, bas-reliefs and  small columns. The portal is guarded by two lions, one on each side, an iconographic motif of the Malatesti family also found at san Domenico and san Francesco.

The most important work is the walnut-wood choir with pictorial inlay, one of the finest of the fifteenth century. It was made in honour of the Sforza dynasty

Pesaro is an attractive seaside resort in Northern Marche; it has 7 km of wide sandy beach. It is an ideal holiday destination for families; for a more secluded beach with green hills as a backdrop, Baia Flaminia just to the north of the centre is the best. There are a lot of accommodation facilities: some of them are open all around the year. A wide cycling path running for about 12 km is fully available. The city has always been connected with the sea: the Museum Washington Patrignani documents the tradition and the history of Pesaro’s Maritime Culture.
Must see attractions in the historic centre are: the Palazzo Ducale ,the Cathedral, the Musei Civici , the Pinacoteca and the modest house where Italy's great opera composer Gioacchino Rossini was born in 1792; the annual Rossini Opera Festival in August has earned a world-wide reputation. On the sea front there’s the Villino Ruggeri, one of the finest examples of the 20th century Italian Liberty style. Pesaro is in the area of the regional park of Monte San Bartolo; you can’t miss touring Casteldimezzo, Fiorenzuola di Focara e Santa Marina Alta, lovely villages overlooking the Adriatic Sea.

Tourist information
Tel. 0721 69341
Iat.pesaro@provincia.ps.it
www.turismopesaro.it
www.parcosanbartolo.it

Villa Imperiale is one of the most interesting examples of Mannerist architecture in Italy. The foundation stone was laid in 1468 by the Emperor Frederick III of Habsburg while he was a guest of Alessandro Sforza in Pesaro; it took two centuries to complete the villa.

In 1521, after regaining the Duchy usurped by the Medici, Francesco Maria I Della Rovere commissioned the architect Gerolomo Genga to add another building, thereby transforming the whole into a holiday residence (1523-’38). The Della Rovere wing was conceived as a walled organism also enclosing the three gardens on the hill, where aromatic herbs typical of Classical and Renaissance cultures were grown. Genga was also responsible for coordinating the decoration of the interior, on which, among others, worked Dosso and Battista Dossi, Raffaellino del Colle, Bronzino and Francesco Menzocchi. The themes represented in the frescoes are nature, antiquity, love and the feats of Francesco Maria I.
In 1635, on the marriage of Ferdinando II, the last Della Rovere heir, to Vittoria, the villa became the property of the Medici and then passed to the House of Lorraine. It was sold to the Apostolic Chamber and granted in perpetual emphyteusis by Pius VI to the Albani family, who are the present owners.

The piazza is delimited on its four sides by the Post Office and three palazzi: Ducale, Baviera and Comunale (Municipal). The fountain at the centre is a faithful 1960 reconstruction of the  17th. century fountain destroyed in 1944. 

The piazza was originally the forum of the Ancient Roman city situated at the crossing of the cardo (via San Francesco and corso XI Settembre), the urban section of the Consular via Flaminia, with the decumannus (via Branca and via Rossini). The foundation layout of Pisaurum (184 B.C.) consisted of orthogonal axes corresponding to the two main streets meeting in the piazza. The piazza has been the political and administrative centre of the city since the Middle Ages.
 
Around 1450, when Alessandro Sforza built the avant-corps of Palazzo Ducale, the piazza was halved in size. In the mid sixteenth century, at the time of Guidobaldo II della Rovere’s great restructuring of Palazzo Ducale, the piazza was increased to its present sdimension. The plan was by the architect Filippo Terzi, who interpreted Guidobaldo II’s project for the improvement of the city. On the marriage of Federico Ubaldo Della Rovere to Claudia de' Medici in 1621, Palazzo Ducale was enlarged and, under the guidance of Terzi’s successor, Niccolò Sabbatini, the piazza finally assumed its definitive form.

The piazza was paved for the occasion with bricks separated by marble strips converging on the fountain; these were replaced in 1733 by strips of white Rovigno stone. The piazza’s present stone paving subdivided by strips of white stone is based on its eighteenth century aspect. 

Once the illustrious residence of one of the most important families of the Pesaro aristocracy, precisely the Mosca family, since 1936 the Palace is the location of the Civic Museums. Placed in the homonymous little square, it hosted such important personalities as Napoleon Bonaparte and poet Vincenzo Monti. Nowadays Palazzo Mosca shows to visitors a simple façade, characterized at its centre by an elegant ashlar portal, dominated by the coat of arms of the Mosca family. After passing the entrance, three wide courts appear; inside, several halls may be chosen as suggestive locations to celebrate civil weddings.

This location boasts an exceptional anniversary, Gioachino Rossini’s one-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of death. The theatre is unique in the whole country for the celebration of weddings. The stage, Republic Hall, the parterre, the foyer and the dressing rooms are all at full disposal of the newlyweds. The location is exceptional, the more so thinking of the historical and artistic meaning of this theatre to all opera lovers, due to the famous Rossini Opera Festival.

Built by Alessandro Sforza, the villa was called this way because its first stone was laid in January 1452 by emperor Frederic III, who was passing by Pesaro. Building ended in 1469, as is recalled by the inscription on the portal, near the coat of arms bearing the shield and the imperial eagles. The Villa stands on the southern slopes of St. Bartolo Hill, on the left side of the valley of the Foglia river, and even though it was meant to be an out of town “place of delight”it kept such formal features, typical of the defensive architecture, as merlon crownings (later removed) and turrets.

If the architectural structure is amazing, as much exceptional is the extraordinary plant life linked to the villa. It is divided into three sections: the wood surrounding the estate, the blooming lawn marking the entrance, and the garden inside the “Imperiale Nuova”(“New Imperial”) whose construction, entrusted to Girolamo Genga, was promoted by Eleonora Gonzaga, the wife of a member of the Della Rovere family (who had succeeded the Sforzas). This environment consists of a terraced garden, the first in the region lying on several levels, precisely the two highest ones out of the three the space of the great inner court consists of. Citrus trees were some of the first ones planted in the gardens. After the extinction of the Della Rovere family, the villa changed several hands and the gardens deteriorated. In the XVIII century the villa passed to the Albani family, who performed a wide restoration. The currently existing gardens are the result of free reconstructions performed by counts Albani between the XIX and the XX century. The lower court shows nowadays a few blossoming flowerbeds; on the first terrace there are lemon tree espaliers and boxwood flowerbeds; the upper garden is instead divided into sixteen hedged flowerbeds, inside which further sections have been created whose shape echoes the vaults and decorations of the loggia in the lower court. Even though they cannot be compared to the original green environments, today’s gardens are all the same very evocative.

The “Possessione di Miralfiore”(“Watch the flower”Estate), in the outskirts of the city, became a Della Rovere property in 1559, when Guidobaldo II bought it from the Court Butler Pier Simone Bonamini. The building and the gardens which existed at that time were completely restructured by architetcs Bartolomeo Genga and Filippo Terzi.

The way this garden appeared at the Della Rovere times can be guessed watching a 1626 drawing by Francesco Mingucci: the great rectangular “Fountain garden”was the pivotal point of the complex. The most characteristic element was a no longer existing quadrangular pergola placed along its whole perimeter. It was a promenade covered with plants, held by a wooden arched scaffolding built in classical style. All around laid the other parts of the green composition which included two little still existing brick terraces, designed as secret gardens. The abundance of water everywhere in the garden, the niches, the rustic decorations and the little woods, joined in giving the place the atmosphere of a nymphaeum by the strong manneristic taste.

After the Della Rovere age, both the villa and the gardens were owned by several noble families, and were finally bought by the Apostolic Holy Seal, which gave them in perpetual lease to the Albani princes. Since 1993 the villa belongs to the FIAM industrial group, which made it its representative headquarters and performed extensive restructuration.

At the centre of the garden there are fountains, several species of trees, including a gingko biloba which in autumn loses bright yellow leaves, little concretions of shells and a chapel, dating from the beginning of the XX century and decorated in a middle ages style. In the garden’s orangery the latest FIAM projects are on display, and a liberty iron spiral staircase leading to the top of a turret. Even though the most downstream part of the garden doesn’t exist anymore, and its perimeter has changed because service buildings and a chapel have been built, the general design is still intact (the garden portion where the fountain was placed is still recognizable, being marked by six rectangular compartments designed by means of boxwood hedges) and is one of the most important examples of historical gardens in the region.

Villa Caprile is a wonderful example of a villa boasting an Italian garden. its construction was started in 1640 by the marquees Giovanni Mosca from Bergamo, the heir of a noble Lombard family that had moved to Marche since the mid XVI century.

Meant to be a summer and partying residence, it was built at the lowest slopes of St. Bartolo hill, on a  property of the marquees’called “Caprile”, not far from the left shore of the Foglia river and close to both Imperiale and Vittoria villas. It hosted very famous and important personalities, including Casanova, Stendhal, Rossini, Leopardi and Napoleon.

It nowadays hosts the Technical-Agricultural “A.Cecchi”high school and has consequently the double function of being a school and a historical-artistic monument.

The main garden, oriented south, consists of three terraces linked by staircases below the level of the villa and dominated by the tall building, which is overlooked, on its turn, by a covered roof-terrace. In the first, typically Italian garden, one finds, with a fountain, flowerbeds and citrus trees; there are still working water games spreading out of hedges, jars and monuments, which were designed to leave open mouthed the visitors with sudden and amusing jets of water. To create them, a wide gallery, which penetrates for almost two kilometers inside the hill, was dug in due time. The second level is occupied by the orchard, rich with fruit trees, recalling the Arab gardens typical of Spanish culture areas. Finally, the third level hosts the viridarium, with such scented essences as rosemary, sage, juniper and thyme.

Remarkable is also the little vegetable theatre, inserted into an arena delimited by cypresses and fully made with living plants, including the stage and the large steps. Here shows were performed by the Arcadia Academy of Pesaro. It currently hosts little and great events.

The cathedral is along Via Rossini. The first early Christian cathedral of Pesaro dated back to the 5th century and it was within the perimeter of the ancient Roman city. 

In 1503 the bell tower was destroyed by Cesare Borgia, so the presbytery and the apse were rebuilt and widened.

A further radical restructuring process was started in 1865 by the architect Giambattista Carducci, although the 13^th century Romanesque façade was left.

On that occasion a large mosaic (ca 900 sq. m.) was sensationally discovered. It covers the entire cathedral floor. But for the parts changed during the Middle Ages, it dates back to the 6^th century B. C. and it’s visible.

Thus, more than a metre below the surface, a basilica came to light, identified by critics as the early Christian cathedral. 

The 14^th century portal in white stone is flanked by two lions, dating back to the 12- 13^th centuries, probably a coat- of-arms of the Malatesta family. The church is in the shape of a Latin cross, with a nave, two aisles, seven altars and three chapels.

In the right aisle you can see the chapel of St. Terentius, where the relics of the patron- saints of Pesaro and a 14^th century fresco of the Madonna of the People can be found. The Chapel of the Very Holy Sacrament is in the left aisle and it houses marble sculptures of the old baptistery. The two chapels were re-made between the 19^th and 20^th centuries.

Above the entrance a painting by Marco Benefial represents the Assumption among saints, whereas in the left transept a painting by Giovanni Giacomo Pandolfi represents the Crucifixion with Saints.