Simona's suggestions to enjoy your stay at Civitanova

Reached by car, along Via Celeste, Civitanova Alta, remained unchanged in its medieval layout and protected by the castle walls, it opens to the east with the fifteenth-century Porta Sant’Angelo or Porta Marina and its typical cypress that stands out among the Ghibelline battlements. You are in Piazza Garibaldi: on the right, adjacent to the former Santa Lucia hospital, you will find the 16th century church of the SS. Sacramento belonging to the Confraternita della Misericordia which also ran the ancient hospital. Walk down Via Minniti perpendicularly to which the alleys of Fortuna, of the Moon (also known as the Jewish Ghetto of which only a modest brick arch with a wrought iron frieze remains), the Aquila and the Ginestra offer you the view of the northern walls and of the northern landscape that stretches to the Conero promontory. Arrived at Piazza dell'Unità, you will find yourself in front of Palazzo Donati which, built in the second century XVI and remodeled several times, is distinguished by the portal made of brick with pilasters and Doric capitals of eighteenth-century taste. On the left, in Via Duca d'Aosta, here is Palazzo Centofiorini, a residence between the 16th and 17th centuries. of one of the most distinguished families of the town's nobility, with a beautiful portal dating back to the early 16th century. From here, with two steps, you are in Piazza della Libertà, the fulcrum from which enchanting alleys unfold and Corso Annibal Caro, along which overlook: the nineteenth-century historical theater dedicated to the illustrious Renaissance man of letters, the Romanesque-Gothic church of Sant'Agostino, today Auditorium, and the home of Annibal Caro, today the seat of the Municipal Picture Gallery "Marco Moretti". Continuing, you will come across the characteristic alleys of Pavone, Sant'Agostino, della Notte and Bonaparte (before which you will notice the main entrance of the former Dominican convent, today the municipal Guest House "Imperatrice Eugenia", and the adjoining church of Madonna Beautiful). Staying in Corso Annibal Caro, here is the seventeenth-century Palazzo Conti. Further on Piazza della Vittoria, corresponding to the ancient Vicus Cluentensis, the first Roman settlement, with the Aqueduct Tower built in 1935 by the podestà Pier Alberto Conti; behind, in Via Croce Santa, the birthplace of the dancer and choreographer Enrico Cecchetti, who lived between 1850 and 1928. This leads to Via del Sole where, from the top of the walls, there is a panoramic view of the Marche countryside. Walking along Via del Tramonto and the narrow streets between the red brick houses, you reach Via della Tramvia, a typical little square of the village close to the former cattle market, where you can still see the bastion of the fifteenth-century Porta del Ponte, later called Porta Mercato, and the Palazzo della Tramvia, completed in 1910 in liberty style. If you decide to enter the Upper Town from the south, pass under Porta San Paolo, also known as Porta Zoppa, which remains, along with Porta Marina, unaltered unlike the Girone gates to the west and Mercato to the north. Here is a short itinerary that winds along Via Aurora, a characteristic little street with small houses leaning against the southern city walls, Vicolo Paolo Ricci with the palace of the Ricci marquises and the elegant small bridge with a bridge, the nearby Vicolo dell'Arco up to Piazza della Freedom is here, beyond the church of San Paolo Apostolo, the Palace of the Delegation, the church of San Francesco, today the Multimedia Area, and opposite Palazzo Frisciotti-Bernardini. On the square you can see in restoration the Palazzo Ducale, late sixteenth century, with the beautiful brick portal. Retracing your steps, we suggest you take the Via Oberdan descent, which is overlooked by several noble buildings: the Ferretti Palace from the 18th century; the seventeenth-century Palazzo Natinguerra of the noble family present in the city since the 12th century; opposite the Palazzo Paci remodeled in neoclassical style; further on, the elegant Palazzo Ciccolini from the 18th century where the Ciccolini family, originally from Macerata, has lived since 1622; the Palazzo Frisciotti de ’Pellicani which hosted Vittorio Emanuele II in 1860, on the keystone of the portal the noble coat of arms depicting a dog chasing a pelican. Once you arrive at Porta Marina, if the day is calm, you can wander with your eyes up to the horizon line that opens up to you the view of the green countryside surrounding Civitanova Porto and the blue of its sea, a particular background for a nice picture.

The Castellara bike path is perfect to walk and/or to ride you bike, and/or to walk with your dog or your kids. 5 Km from Civitanova (Downtown) to Civitanova Alta.

According to ancient tradition, and today substantiated by historical and archaeological research, the Santa Casa is the house from Nazareth where the Virgin Mary was born, educated, and where she received the Annunciation. The house was composed of one room in masonry, with three walls in stone placed so as to enclose a rock cavern. This cavern is worshipped by pilgrims who flock to Nazareth, that is to the Basilica of the Annunciation, while the three stone walls, as legend has it, were brought to Italy (first passing through Illyria) by crusaders expelled from Palestine in 1291. The walls arrived in Loreto in 1294. Not only, but documents and archaeological excavations have continued to reinforce the hypothesis that the walls of the Santa Casa were transported to Loreto by ship, an initiative undertaken by the Angeli Family, nobles who ruled over Epirus at the time. Indeed, one document dating back to 1294 (recently discovered), testifies that Niceforo Angeli, despot of Epirus, in offering his daughter Ithamar’s hand in marriage to Philip of Taranto (son of the King of Naples, Charles II of Anjou), gave the Prince a dowry that included such treasures as the “holy stones taken from the Home of our Lady the Virgin Mother of God.” In order to protect these humble stone walls, and to receive the ever-larger masses of pilgrims visiting the sacred relic, construction works on the magnificent Sanctuary of Loreto were begun in the mid-15th Century. Some of the most prized works here are the marble paneling of the Santa Casa’s walls, commissioned by Julius II and realized on Bramante’s design from 1507. It is considered one of the greatest sculptural masterpieces from the Renaissance. Since its beginnings, great artists have adorned the Sanctuary one after the other through the centuries: from Cristoforo Roncalli (so-called Pomarancio), painter of the Treasury Room and the cupola; to Francesco Selva, who decorated the Sacristy Atrium; and Tiburzio Vergelli, architect of the majestic Baptistry. As a result, the sanctuary’s fame diffused rapidly throughout the world, and it became a privileged destination for millions of pilgrims. As the works drew to their conclusion, then, it was Carlo Maderno who created the fountain in the Piazza del Santuario (1600), while the feat of the bell tower on the Basilica’s left side is attributed to Luigi Vanvitelli (1700). The entire City of Loreto, immersed in the tranquility of the Marches’s quiet rolling hills, rose up around the Sanctuary della Santa Casa, constructed on a hill that offers a spectacular panorama touching both the sea near Monte Conero and the Umbro-Marches Apennine Mountain Chain. Today Loreto beckons to thousands of tourists – not just Catholics – for its grandiosity as a trove containing invaluable treasures. Besides the importance of the Santa Casa as object of pilgrim devotion, this site represents an authentic sacred art anthology that includes architectonic, sculptural, and painting master works by some of the most celebrated names in art history. And the beautiful, charming borgo that developed around the Basilica offers remarkably-evocative vistas, externally and internally, e.g. the Museum-Painting Gallery in Piazza del Santuario featuring canvases by masterful Venetian painter Lorenzo Lotto. Thus, Loreto equals pilgrimage site, tourist locality and gracious city of art set amidst gorgeous scenery. Finally, worth noting is the Macerata-Loreto Pilgrimage, in existence since 1978 (when John Paul II became Pope): on this route thousands of pilgrims travel on foot every year, from Macerata to Loreto’s Sanctuary. Approximately half of the pilgrims originate from the Region of The Marches itself – the rest arrive in Macerata from all over Italy and various parts of Europe (particularly Belgium, Spain, Portugal, the republics of the former Yugoslavia, as well as Albania, Switzerland, and Germany).