Walking Tour: Macerata

Interested in visiting the city of Macerata, in Le Marche? Our class wrote a walking guide for your visit!

Our walking tour of Macerata starts from PIAZZA DELLA VITTORIA, where you can find the MONUMENTO AI CADUTI. Take CORSO CAVOUR, which is just across the square. It's one of the main streets of Macerata. It's very busy and there are a lot of shops.

Go straight on CORSO CAVOUR, pass the IMMACOLATA Church and the University of Literature. On the right you will find PIAZZA GARIBALDI with its monument devoted to the famous "Captain of the Thousands" and "Hero of the Two Worlds," Giuseppe Garibaldi.

Cross the street using the underpass, and you will get to PIAZZA ANNESSIONE. Here you will find the CANCELLI gates, one of the entrances to the city centre.

Go straight on CORSO GARIBALDI, a wide pedestrian~only street full of shops. At the end of this street turn right and walk up VIA LAURI passing PIAZZA 25 APRILE, where you can have a good ice cream cone at the ice cream shoppes there.

Take the second street on the left--CORSO MATTEOTTI. Here you will find lots of beautiful and expensive shops!

In the middle of CORSO MATTEOTTI there is the PALAZZO DEI DIAMANTI, or "Palace of the Diamonds." Its name comes from a particular aspect of its facade: a whole series of stones carved like diamonds!! It's an elegant building which is the seat of the BANCA D'ITALIA. Just across it you will find the steps that lead up to the GALLERIA SCIPIONE, where you can have a coffee-break in the elegant bar, VENANZETTI.

From the GALLERIA SCIPIONE, turn left and go straight on until you get to PIAZZA DELLA LIBERTA' where you can go to see a musical in the Lauro Rossi Theatre or climb the Clock Tower. This is the main square of the town, and it is a wonderful place to people watch or spend a sunny day. From here, you can run straight down Scalette Road (a long staircase that connects the two main piazzas)...until you fall down and have to go to the hospital!!! Ha ha--we're just joking!

Seriously now (ahem), while you go down the scalette, you will find the church of SANTA MARIA DELLA PORTA on the left. It is very small but very beautiful.

Go back up to the PIAZZA DELLA LIBERTA' and visit the UNIVERSITY and CITY HALL. In the UNIVERSITY, you can meet a lot of young people that might like to spend Happy Hour with you! Also, try to take in the culture of the beautiful AULA MAGNA, a large classroom with beautiful frescoes and town seals, which today is used for graduation ceremonies.

The CITY HALL is an old palace with a beautiful courtyard. In it, there is a fountain where a lot of little gold fish live (or lived--we think the fountain might be closed for repairs).

Then, take Don Minzoni Street down until you get to Strambi Square, where you can admire the DUOMO, the biggest church in the city.

On the left of the DUOMO, you can find a little church called SANTA MARIA DELLA MISERICORDIA, which, according to legend, was built in one day. It is a beautiful church, and inside it is a treasure trove of baroque delights.

Now, turn right and go straight on GIOBERTI STREET, past the quaint little PIAZZA LAURO ROSSI, until you find the church of SANTA MARIA DELLA PORTA again on your left. Go down the SCALETTE, and at the end of the road, you will find yourself in PIAZZA MAZZINI, where you can get an ice-cream at the most famous little GELATERIA (ice cream shoppe) in the city, Ghiotto Mariotto. There are lots of delicious flavours to choose from! Take a break to enjoy them.


Finally, at the end of PIAZZA MAZZINI, there is the SFERISTERIO, perhaps Macerata's most famous site. It is a fabulous big outdoor opera house, where every July and August, there are a lot of fantastic opera performances. If it's that time of year, buy yourself a ticket, and enjoy the warm summer evenings surrounded by beautiful music. You've earned it after a long day of walking in Macerata!

If you have more time to spend...

Consider some of the following ideas:

• You might lose yourself in the wonderful alleyways of the city centre and drink a glass of good wine at one of the typical bars.

• You should visit the FONTI, in BORGO SAN GIULIANO Street. Here, there is are old public fountains where people went to wash their laundry. From here, you can admire the beautiful view of the nearby hills. If you are lucky, you might see the sea!

• Finally, you can relax by sitting or lying down in the Diaz Gardens. The gardens are full of flowers and trees, and there is even a fountain for taking a crazy and fresh bath in the summer!

Enjoy your visit to Macerata! A day is not nearly enough time to enjoy our little city, so we hope you stay longer! Have a wonderful time!

- fleas