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ferno and porto san giorgio |
| Southeast of Macerata, a short distance from the coast, is the
attractive old town of FERMO . Its web of streets is lined with medieval
and Renaissance buildings, erupting out of which is a wooded peak
crowned with a Romanesque-Gothic duomo. The town's most spectacular
monument, however, is hidden from view - a first-century underground
complex of thirty filter beds known as the Piscina Epuratoria Romana ,
originally designed to supply the Roman Imperial fleet with fresh water
when it docked at the nearby port. Entered from Via Aceti, off the main
Piazza del Popolo, it's something akin to a flooded cathedral, with its
well-preserved vault and arches subtly lit and reflected in the dark,
still water. From Fermo a road descends to the resort of PORTO SAN GIORGIO , with a small fishing and sailing port and a long sandy beach. Its palms, pines and oleanders, and its sprinkling of Art Deco villas, make it a pleasant enough place, though the modern seafront is predictably bland. The best day to visit is on the second Sunday in July, for the Festa del Mare , when fish are fried in the open air in a giant frying pan - 5m across, it weighs 10,000 pounds and needs 3310 litres of oil to fill it. |