The route map

 

From the sea at Civitanova Marche to the hills of Macerata

 

Art and characteristic villages a stone's throw from the coast

 
Blue flag designated Civitanova Marche is a popular seaside resort offering a long beach and both a fishing port and a leisure port as well as three cycle paths. Starting from the coastal inhabited area, start your itinerary by visiting Upper Civitanova, an ancient village built on a hill and enclosed behind the walls of a medieval castle. 

A roughly 20 minute drive from Civitanova Marche brings you to one of the most important destinations in the world for Catholic pilgrims, the city of Loreto, which owes its celebrity to the famous Basilica with its prized relic from the Holy House of Mary of Nazareth where, according to tradition, the Virgin Mary was born, grew up and received the annunciation of the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ. The celebrated sanctuary has been embellished by the works of numerous artists including Luigi Vanvitelli, Pomarancio, Luca Signorelli, Melozzo da Forlì and Federico Zuccari. 

A few kilometres away from Loreto lies Recanati, a typical "balcony city" because of the wonderful panorama it offers. This was the birthplace of Giacomo Leopardi, one of the greatest poets of Italian literature as well as Beniamino Gigli, the famous opera singer.
Next to Recanati is Porto Recanati, a seaside resort with both pebble and sandy beaches and a steeply plunging shoreline. The area is completely flat with modern bathing facilities and play parks for children. Water sports can be enjoyed and there are cycle paths too. 

Travelling inland, visitors can discover some of Italy’s most beautiful towns and villages - small urban centres of considerable artistic and historic interest in the Marche: Montecassiano, awarded the tourist-environmental quality mark known as the Orange Flag by the Italian Touring club, an example of a compact urban layout of the late medieval period where still today it is possible to walk along a route through streets, squares and alleyways that have remained unchanged since the 15th century. Do not miss a visit to the Collegiata di S. Maria Assunta to admire the monumental altarpiece by Friar Mattia della Robbia.

Montecosaro, a small castle projecting upwards near to which stands the delightful Basilica of Santa Maria a Pie' di Chienti, a masterpiece of Romanesque architecture; Montelupone, a medieval town which is also Orange Flag accredited, whose major attraction are the town walls with four gates which once acted as the town’s defences. Here the visitor would be strongly advised to visit the thousand-year-old Abbey of San Firmano, a Benedictine abbey founded in the final years of the 10th century, featuring a considerably raised presbytery accessed by an impressive staircase.
 
 
 

From the sea at Civitanova Marche to the hills of Macerata

 

Attractions along the route

Discover the attraction of Montecosaro - Abbey Santa Maria a Piè di Chienti

Montecosaro - Abbey Santa Maria a Piè di Chienti

One of the Marche's earliest and most charming churches, Santa Maria a Piè di Chienti, lies 6 km inland along the SS 485, just below Montecosaro. This...

Discover the attraction of Montelupone - Abbey of St. Firmano

Montelupone - Abbey of St. Firmano

The Benedictine Abbey, initially dedicated to the Saints John and Benedict, was founded towards the end of the 10th century and Firmano, a monk from Acquacanina...

Discover the attraction of Montecassiano - Church of Saint Mary of the Assumption

Montecassiano - Church of Saint Mary of the Assumption

The church was built in the second half of the 15th-century, when a previous church dating back to 1136 was changed in gothic style following the design of...

 
Discover the attraction of Saint Mary's Abbey in Potenza

Saint Mary's Abbey in Potenza

In the south of the built-up area, not far from the arhaeological site of the ancient Potentia, stands a well-constructed complex covered with a very...

Discover the attraction of Montelupone - Church of San Francesco

Montelupone - Church of San Francesco

The Church of San Francesco, built by the Franciscan Brotherhood in the second half of the 1200s and later remodeled in the late Baroque style, has an...

Discover the attraction of The Church of

The Church of "Banderuola"

Place of the first stay of the Translation of the Holy House. Place of great religious importance in the spiritual itinerary Porto Recanati - Loreto is the...

 
Discover the attraction of The Sanctuary of Loreto Holy House

The Sanctuary of Loreto Holy House

Loreto, a small town of Ancona Province, is known all over the world for its Sanctuary that makes it one of the most important places of pilgrimage and...

Discover the attraction of Marina Civitanova Marche

Marina Civitanova Marche

The marina of Civitanova Marche is protected by three quays piers: the north pier, the south pier and the east pier. There are numerous floating docks with 600...

Discover the attraction of Archaeological area

Archaeological area "Potentia"

On the south of the town, lies the archaeological area of the Roman town of Potentia, where it is possible to visit the ruins of some buildings. There are...

 
Discover the attraction of Orto sul Colle dell'Infinito

Orto sul Colle dell'Infinito

L'Orto sul colle dell'Infinito is a few steps from the birthplace of Giacomo Leopardi, in the garden of the ancient Monastery of St. Stephen and is the place...

Discover the attraction of Civitanova Alta

Civitanova Alta

Civitanova Alta is an ancient village built on a hill surrounded by the walls of a medieval castle. Here lies the historic theater Annibal...

Discover the attraction of Loreto - The Museum of the Ancient Treasure of the sanctuary

Loreto - The Museum of the Ancient Treasure of the sanctuary

The Museum of the Ancient Treasure of the sanctuary is located in the upper floors of the Western side of the Apostolic palace. The museum has been created...

 
Discover the attraction of Recanati - Museum Collaredo Mels

Recanati - Museum Collaredo Mels

Of medieval, the building became the Palace towards the end of the sixteenth and following centuries until it was modified into its present age 'neoclassical....

Discover the attraction of Demo-Ethno-Anthropological Museum of Ancient Art and Crafts

Demo-Ethno-Anthropological Museum of Ancient Art and Crafts

The new museum is located in the basement of the Town Hall. It has eight rooms: the field work (plough, gin), weaving, various tools, ateliers (shoemaker,...

Discover the attraction of Recanati: The Leopardi library

Recanati: The Leopardi library

The library of Count Monaldo Leopardi (1776-1847) significantly documents how cultivated social classes from the Marche were much interested in antiques’...

 
 
 
 

Locations along the route

 
 

Other Itineraries

Continue your journey to discover the Marche through the many routes available

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