Continued from the previous page ...
Churches are a major presence in Italy. There are multiple in Fano, one more beautiful than the next. The Duomo of Fano, more officially called "Le Cattedrale e la Cappella Nolfi" is historic and spectacular.
There was an informative booklet provided in the cathedral. The building was originally 12th century, modified in a major way in 1591, then somewhat restored to the original look in 1925. You can see the Crucifer Lamb in the above picture, immediately above the door; it is 14th Century. Side comment: did you know that Pope Clement VIII was born in Fano? (Teaser: we visited the hometown of another pope as well; check back later to find out more.) Back to the Basilica: behind the altar is a painting "Our Lady of the Assumption" by Sebasiano Ceccarini, 1750. Ceccarini was a Fano native. The two glass windows show Fano's four protectors: Saints Paternian, Eusebius, Ursus, and Forunato.
The most elaborate portion of the Duomo is the side chapel "Cappella Nolfi." It is dedicated "To the Trinity, to the Virgin Mother of God and to all the Saints" and, of course, it also bears the name of the Nolfi family that paid for the chapel. It was created in the early 1600s.
In addition to these pictures, you can see a video Paul took of this chapel (if the video is small, clicking on it should open up a larger version). (Picture below is link.)
The pulpit was reassembled in 1941. It consists of slabs with high reliefs in the Romanesque style. It was made by maestro Rainerio plus others. It is really amazing.
We will quickly mention another church in Fano, Chiesa di Santa Maria Nuova. This church has a lovely entrance, and great paintings along the walls. Like the Duomo, they had a booklet telling us more about the church. Although there are many lovely things in this church, its claim to fame are some paintings attributed to Raphael. This is not far-fetched, since he is from near-by Urbino.
The video (link is picture below) that Paul took gives a more extensive view of the beautiful interior of the church. (If the video is small, click on it and a larger version should come up.) In the video, you can see Anne looking in a cabinet. They had booklets available for a donation. We did that here and in the Duomo, plus made some donations for lighting votive candles (here and in other churches).
Of course, Italy has many ancient buildings and artifacts. But Italy also has many new items. Almost everything in Italy has both Old and New. For example, the 14th century buildings have apartments that have modern style and conveniences. And modern art is scattered around Fano. This sculpture is by the library, and doubles as a bird bath.
As we walked around Fano, we found a few very cute sections of wall painted to look like windows or similar places. Anne of course was particularly fond of this one with a cat; it was very well done:
Fano is a seaside resort in-season (which we were not). This sculpture is of someone enjoying the beach and sun.
Views of the off-season beach:
At the port, one of the schools had a project to paint the walkway wall using a theme of the horizon. There were many interesting scenes; this is one of them:
Displayed on this walkway is a replica of a Greek bronze sculpture, The Victorious Youth. This sculpture was found in 1964, and eventually sold to the Getty Museum in California. It is a bit of a contentious item, since the sale was not necessarily legitimate. (Update with breaking news: as of December 5, 2018 the Italian court has ruled that the statue needs to be returned to Italy. Getty Museum is likely to request the American courts to rule on it as well, though.) Someone in Fano likes to keep the statue partially polished.
During this vacation in Italy, Anne discovered a new treat: cioccolata calda, or Italian Hot Chocolate. This is nothing like American hot chocolate. It is thick and not too sweet.
Speaking of food, we mentioned Pasta della Peppa earlier. This is a shop in Fano that makes fresh pasta. We often walked by the shop, and loved watching them. One woman in particular (perhaps even Peppa herself) was a magician with pasta. Paul recorded this video of her making cappelletti.
... you really should watch it.
Finally for this review of Fano, we want to mention the doors. There aren't 2 doors in Italy that are the same. We could do pages on just the doors, but instead we will just give you this little sample photo.
Another teaser: We were also able to do an "underground tour" of Fano, of ancient Roman ruins, but that will be shown later. It was fascinating.
Updated July 2020