numerous itineraries make it easy to enjoy the many splendors of the province of pesaro. beginning in pesaro itself, highly-recommended is a visit to the ceramics museum, italy's most important, and decorated with items from the best pottery workshops of the renaissance age. indeed, a majolica industry of exceptional importance flourished in pesaro between the 14th and 17th centuries, and in a style of decoration inspired by raphael during the 16th century.
pesaro offers many sightseeing opportunities, starting with the streets around piazza del popolo and the palazzo ducale and moving to the civic museums (includes the ceramics museum) and the pinacoteca or painting gallery, with works by giovanni bellini, vitale da bologna and guido reni. on the opposite side of the civic museum is the oliverian archeological museum, with valuable artworks exhibited in the 17th-century halls of palazzo americi.
the rocca costanza and its cylindrical towers, built by luciano laurana for costanzo sforza (1474-87), comprise a prime example of 15th-century architecture. pesaro is also the birthplace of composer gioacchino rossini, whose house-museum is open to visitors. every year, the conservatory and theatre, both named after him, host the rossini opera festival, drawing enthusiasts from around the world.
also meriting visits are two villages etched into the bluffs outside pesaro: fiorenzuola di focara, a picturesque medieval village, and casteldimezzo with its 13th-14th century walls. afterwards, a drive to gradara is in order: this delightful medieval village maintains its original defensive walls made up of towers and battlements, and its square castle, thus making for an authentic medieval environment. fano is a town with a wealth of historical landmarks, such as the arch of augustus and the palazzo malatesta, home to the civic museum and painting gallery, with collections ranging from the neolithic period to the present.
moving on to urbino, be sure to see one of the most evocative sites here: the fonte avellana hermitage and the romanesque-gothic church, mentioned by dante in the 21st canto of his paradiso. visitors to urbino will find its grandeur particularly captivating. surrounded by 16th-century walls built by the montefeltro family, first is the ducal palace, with its winged façade that opens itself out to the city. the palace is a symbol of a new, more humanistic architecture, where the geometric rigor of proportion dominates. the 'staircase of honor,? decorated by ambrogio barocci, conducts visitors into the national gallery of the marches, a palace museum with invaluable artworks. in duke federico's apartment reside two masterpieces by piero della francesca, the flagellation and the madonna of senigallia, while in the duchess's apartment are rafphael's portrait of a young woman (la muta), bramantino's the blessing christ, along with titian's the last supper and the resurrection, to name but a few. finally, the cathedral and diocesan museum, reconstructed in the neoclassical style after the 1789 earthquake. from there, walk along via raffaello to arrive at raphael sanzio's birthplace, still exhibiting engravings and reproductions of his masterpieces. urbino's extraordinary renaissance art and architecture, which blend superbly with its medieval past, so much so that urbino is listed as a unesco world heritage site.
finally, visit the ducal palace, sant?angelo in vado and the mercatello sul metàuro.
