Tour of the Raphael’s places – the Renaissance Marche

Arrive in Pesaro. Visit of the city considered the homeland of the great composer Gioacchino Rossini and home to the “Rossini Opera Festival”, as well as his birthplace transformed into a Museum. Visit to the Civic Museums of Pesaro, which collect paintings, majolicas and Renaissance ceramics. In the Cathedral, the Church of Santa Maria Assunta, built in the Romanesque period, is preserved a double stained polychrome mosaic floor. Hotel accommodation, dinner and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel, departure for Urbino, birthplace of Raphael and UNESCO heritage, guided tour of its historic center with the birthplace of Raphael, the Piazza del Mercatale, Piazza della Repubblica, the Duomo, the Oratory of San Giovanni, Palazzo Ducale, which houses the works of the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche. Transfer to Urbania, visit to the Ducal Palace, home to the Civic Museum, the Library and the Art Gallery that preserves the famous globes of the Flemish cartographer Gerardo Mercatore. Visit the Crypt of the Church of the Dead, decorated with a wonderful Gothic portal, which inside houses the particular cemetery of the Mummies where there are several mummified characters, each with its own story. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel, departure for Osimo. Do not miss the Cantinone Caves; a tunnel of 300 meters under the covered market, used since the time of the ancient Piceni, the cathedral of San Leopardo and Santa Tecla, in Romanesque-Gothic style, the Basilica of San Giuseppe da Copertino, and the Palazzo civico located in Piazza Boccolino. Continue to Recanati; visit the house and the Library of Leopardi. The Palazzo Leopardi in Recanati overlooks the pitch that took its name from a famous opera by Giacomo “Il sabato del Villaggio”. The entire first floor, above the old cellars, is occupied by the famous Library, while the rest of the building is the private home of the family: to access it is a large 18th-century staircase halls. The library houses more than 20,000 volumes, most of them collected and ordered by Monaldo Leopardi, Giacomo’s father. In the afternoon transfer to Loreto, visit the Piazza della Madonna with the imposing Apostolic Palace in which some rooms are used as a Museum-Pinacoteca, the Sanctuary of the Holy House one of the most famous Marian sanctuaries. If you want to relive the spiritual experience of the pilgrims who for centuries have reached the Sanctuary, do not miss the climb along the famous Scala Santa. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel, transfer to Macerata, whose historic center still retains examples of Renaissance architecture. Visit of the city characterized by the famous Sferisterio, splendid example of neoclassical architecture, built in 1823 originally used for the game of the ball with the bracelet, adapted to concert venues and opera house, venue of the second largest opera season in Italy. Continue the visit with Piazza della Libertà with the Town Hall and the Civic Tower with the astronomical clock, Palazzo Bonaccorsi. Continue to Ancona, capital of the Marche. Visit the city with the Cathedral of San Ciriaco, the harbour, Piazza del Plebiscito, the Passetto Park, the Romanesque Church of Santa Maria della Piazza, the Arch of Trajan and the Mole Vanvitelliana. End of services.