Lazy Guide to the

Most Important Macerata Sights

Piazza della Libertà is the central square in Macerata, and a slow stroll around the square reveals some of the most important Macerata sights.

Macerata is a bustling medieval hilltown in Le Marche with a hiking paradise and a popular seaside round the corner.  But few tourists have discovered this well kept secret.

Macerata is only a short drive away from Urbino. In charm and beauty it measures up to the popular hilltowns in Tuscany and Umbria. And there’s a hiking paradise and a popular seaside round the corner in Sibillini Mountains and Senigallia. Yet there are virtually no foreign tourists in this provincial capital. So even if Macerata is a bustling city with a population 43.000 it still qualifies as undiscovered Marche.

The medieval city is contained within well-preserved city walls, where steep inclines combined with narrow, cobble stoned alleys keep most motorized traffic out. This means you can stroll around the centre without constantly watching your back.

Photos of some of the buildings surrounding Piazza della Libertà

Clock Tower Marking Worldly Events

One of the nice places to linger is Piazza della Libertà. This is the city centre with the town hall and the Torre Civica with bells that marks worldly events in contrast to church towers. In Medieval times civic clock towers were also used to display the wealth of the citizens and the municipal government, so they are generally quite good looking.

Take a Look Inside

Apart from the clock tower the buildings surrounding the square may seem a bit anonymous, but don’t be deceived by exteriors. The recently renovated theatre Lauro Rossi is magnificent. And if you enter the courtyard of the Palazzo del Comune you’ll see archeological remains from a Roman town named Helvia Ricina, which was destroyed by the Goths.

Modern Sculptures

The town Macerata is extremely fond of modern, thought provoking sculptures like the tortoise carrying a world upon its shield or being shielded from the world – an echo of the turtles in Piazza Santa Maria in Florence – and a naked man being pushed or supported by a child. Everything is open for interpretation.

Everywhere in Macerata, there are modern sculptures.

Loggia dei Mercanti

Finally, there’s the Renaissance gem Loggia dei Mercanti stucked away in a corner. This fine 16^th century building  consists of two floors with an open gallery made up of rounded arches on columns and completed by a pillar at the corner. It was designed by Giuliano da Maiano, who also left a strong mark on Florence.

When you have finished looking for the inscription dedicated to Pope Paul III, who lived in this house in Macerata as a Papal Legate before he became Pope, you might continue down Corso Giacomo Matteotti for some contemporary window shopping. A step from past to present I always find extremely enjoyable.

More on Le Marche

The musical attractions of Pesaro

Tomato’s ball or the artificial sun of Pesaro

The public squares of Ascoli Piceno

Ancona fountain: Drink with the fauns and satyrs