Marche is one of the twenty regions of Italy (similar to our states). Within Marche are 5 provinces (similar to counties). Fano (where we were staying for the second half of our time in Italy) is in Pesaro e Urbino. The capital is Pesaro, which is about 7 and a half miles north of Fano. Pesaro is the second largest city in Marche, after Ancona, with a population of about 95,500 people. As with any relatively large city, parking can be an issue. For our visit we had arbitrarily selected a parking area that looked promising on a map, but it was not. However nearby was another spot that was spacious and not crowded. It was the parking area for a city park, Parco Miralfiore (named after a building that dates from 1599 and is positioned on the edge of the park). This spot came with the bonus that we got to walk through the park to get to the downtown. We entered in an area that probably has outdoor performances in the summer.
This bit of modern sculpture was much more than just a sculpture. It was also a light, as well as an information sign. The sign was a much more poetic form for rules of the park. Here is the translation:
Miralfiore welcomes you, you accept the rules for a respectful and sensible visit.
You will find trees with fruit. If the person who preceded you had taken it all away, you would not be able to enjoy it with your sight and your palate. Taste the cherries, eat a pear, but leave the tree as rich as it was. There will be enough for everyone.
The grass is beautiful even just to look at, when it sways in the wind, do not crush it uselessly, do not pick even a flower, if you do not want to rob the lawn and those who come after you, let the beauty nourish anyone who walks in the park.
Asking you not to damage the trees is perhaps boring, but not superfluous: do not tear, do not cut, do not break.
Silence has welcomed you, leave it intact.
Leave no trace of your passage other than evanescent: do not abandon anything, there are many wastebaskets. The vulgar and aggressive ugliness of a place soiled by waste is a sign of unbearable ignorance and arrogance. Civilized and evolved is to take away even what we did not leave.
Our exit point was most likely the main entrance to the park.
Google Maps had a few fails that day. First it brought us to the originally selected parking area from a direction where you could not actually get into the lot. Then our walking directions from where we parked to the centro (downtown) had us going over a bridge with no pedestrian walkway. The bridge was over the train tracks. A person passing by was able to direct us to the proper way to get past the train tracks, which is through a tunnel.
Does anyone who has been reading these pages want to guess what the main piazza was called? On our way there we saw this fun little car painted with an image of Rossini pizza.
If anyone guessed Piazza Del Popolo for the main plaza's name, give yourself a gold star.
Pesaro is justifiably proud of its native-born son Gioachino Rossini. On this visit we decided to tour his childhood home. It has a rather attractive exterior.
The interior was simple and did not have a lot of furniture on display. This picture is of the kitchen area. Rossini was a gourmand; there was a modern kitchen area on the top floor that is used for special events.
Most of the floor space had various exhibits. Every year they select an opera to feature. The one selected for 2023 was his last Italian opera, 'Semiramide'. This opera was first performed in 1823 with Rossini's wife Colbran in the title role.
We enjoyed the Rossini Museum, although it is a quick visit. A short block away is the Pesaro Civic Museum, and our ticket gave us entrance to this as well. It primarily featured art created by local and regional artists and artisans. One interesting painting was 'Madonna and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist'. What makes it interesting is that it is by a woman, Elisabetta Sirani.
There was a special exhibit on the singer Lucio Dalla. We are not very familiar with him, other than the song 'Caruso'. There were also some interesting displays in the building atriums. One was a wall of books. The other was a large round plaque sculpture with a Medusa represented on it. A sign told us the sad story of the sculpture. Ferruccio Mengaroni, the artist, made the face a self-portrait. While the sculpture was being transported up a flight of stairs, it came loose and Mengaroni ran towards the sculpture to catch it. The sculpture weighs over 2500 pounds and he suffered fatal injuries from its weight.
By this time we were getting hungry. Anne had gotten her favorite sandwich ever in Pesaro back in 2018, a grilled veggie sandwich. We heard that the restaurant had closed, but we walked over to that area anyway. It turns out that the restaurant, Baghetta, and NOT closed. Anne was able to get another delicious sandwich. Paul got a caprese salad for his lunch.
After our lunch, we walked down to the seaside. We visited The Great Sphere. On the page for Orciano di Pesaro in this trip report, we mention that this sphere was done by the brother of the sculptor featured in Orciano. There is also a Ferris Wheel. The Italian language phrase for Ferris Wheel is 'ruota panoramica' which translates as scenic wheel.
It was a lovely, although windy, day. We enjoyed the sounds of the sea. You can also enjoy those sounds via the video below.
Further up the shore walk are the winds. What does that mean? It means that there is a compass created on the ground that names the winds; each direction has its own corresponding wind name.
You will be able to hear the wind some in this video that Paul took.
A look south and then north from the pier we were standing on to take the video.
We did more wandering around. We were hoping to find another museum, but most are only open on holidays and weekends at the end of October. We still enjoyed our walk. This street had the words to a hometown poet's poem up in lights. It is 'La Lumaghéna' by Carlo Pagnini. It seems to be written in the dialect, not in Italian.
We saw this on our way to have some cannoli and cioccolata calda, which we had at Caffe Arlecchino (next door to our lunch restaurant). When we arrived, Anne asked "Hai cioccolata calda?" (Do you have hot chocolate?) The man nodded, and replied "Hai cioccolata calda?" But wait, that is what Anne just asked! This was VERY confusing, since obviously we did not have hot chocolate. It is one of those examples where language is used differently. Instead of asking "Do you want hot chocolate" he asked what amounted to "Will you have hot chocolate?" Despite the confusion, it did not take us long to get our hot chocolate and cannoli.
We needed to walk a bit more after eating those treats, so we wandered into one of the city buildings. On a large staircase, there were two costumes from an opera production 'Elisabetta regina d'Inghilterra' (an opera by Rossini, of course).
Before we left, our wanderings brought us to Rocca Costanza, an old fort built in the late 1400s. The large indented space originally was actually a moat; seawater was channeled to it. As with many of these buildings, it is now used for events and festivals.
Updated October 2024