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macerata |
| A little-known provincial capital surrounded by Marche's loveliest
countryside, MACERATA is one of the region's liveliest historical towns,
thanks to its ancient university. Easy-paced and unpretentious, it's an
ideal place to wind down in the evenings after exploring the province.
For opera and ballet fans, its annual Stagione Lirica , held in Italy's
best open-air venue outside Verona, is a must: in recent years it has
drawn such heavyweights as Placido Domingo, Birgit Nilsson and José
Carreras. And if you're the slightest bit interested in contemporary art,
Macerata has a gallery that alone is reason enough for visiting the town.
The Town Piazza della Libertà is the heart of the old town, an odd square in which the disparate buildings vie for supremacy. The Renaissance Loggia dei Mercanti was supplied by Alessandro Farnese, better known as Pope Paul III, the instigator of many architectural improvements to sixteenth-century Rome; sadly he did nothing else for the square, and the loggia is elbowed out by the bland Palazzo del Comune and overlooked by the dull Torre del Comune . The dreariest feature, however, is the mournful brick facade of San Paolo , a deconsecrated seventeenth-century church now used as an exhibition space. Things buzz a bit more along the main passeggiata route, the boutique- and bar-lined Corso della Repubblica , which ends at Piazza Vittorio Veneto and the Pinacoteca Civica (Mon 4-7.30pm, Tues-Sat 9am-1pm & 4-7.30pm, Sun 9am-noon; free). The collection here, ranging from the Renaissance perfectionist Crivelli to Ancona-born futurist Cagli, isn't bad, but you might find the artworks on show in the Palazzo Ricci (Tues, Thurs & Sat 10am-noon & 4-6pm; free), off the square on Via Ricci, more challenging; they make up what is by any standards a fine collection of Italian contemporary art. There are two thrilling sculptures by Francesco Messina - a nerve-tingling nude of a dancer putting on her shoes, and a leaping horse. Enrico Baj's Military Head depicts a general decorated with assorted fabric on a background of upholstery material, and you might see a similarly satiric intent in Manzu's bronze bas-relief of a clutch of cardinals. There's also a good cross-section of work by the Italian futurists, followed by de Chirico's weird Worried Muse ; de Chirico's brother, Alberto Savinio, provides the gallery's jokiest piece of social satire in the form of a painting of a richly dressed society woman whose long neck ends in a goose's head. Seeing the rest of Macerata's sights doesn't take long. Via Ricci leads along towards the bleak Piazza Mazzini , below which is the Neoclassical Sferisterio , built in the early nineteenth century as an arena for sphaera , a traditional game that involved bashing a ball with a spiked iron glove. It was also used for bullfights, horse racing and mock jousts until, in 1921, the opera festival was inaugurated and the musicians took it over. It's rather dismal and not worth visiting, except for a performance. Up Via Ciccarelli from Piazza Mazzini, the town's Duomo on Piazza Strambi is no architectural showpiece either - a workaday chunk of Baroque, which might have looked slightly more appetizing had its facade been finished. Inside there's a statue of Macerata's patron saint, Giuliano, whose path to sainthood sounds like something out of a Sunday tabloid. He arrived home to find two people in his bed and, thinking they were his wife and her lover, promptly killed them. Discovering he'd murdered his parents, he hacked one of his arms off in remorse - the severed limb is now kept in a church strongroom, encased in a sleeve of gold and silver. The relic is displayed on request, but a day's notice is required. |