Macerata

It is located at an altitude of 314 m on a ridge of the hill that rises between the valleys of Potenza and the Chienti. It is the site of a university and the school of military aircraft specialization. The city's economy is based on the marketing of agricultural products of the surrounding area, constituting the most important market for cereals from the centre and also livestock (cattle). Industrial development is a relatively new phenomenon, but there are companies already very active in the fields of construction, mechanics, food and furniture. There are considerable cultural events and folklore of Macerata in September. The city has some of the original fourteenth century walls, the Montana door, the church of Santa Maria della Porta, with a pre-XI century church, and the ‘Fonte Maggiore’ with five arches at its heart from 1326. No remarkable monuments survive from the fifteenth century, whilst the first half of the XVI century is witnessed by the elegant Loggia dei Mercanti, the restructured Palazzo Maggiore (prefecture) and the Maggiore tower, while the second half of the century is reflected in the architecture with the Bramante style in the church of? Santa Maria delle Vergini, by Galeazzo da Carpi, constituted by a Greek cross inscribed in a square with high dome. Of the XVII century are also some significant buildings: Ferri, Mozzi, Carradori, Lazzarini, Consalvi, the last two awarded to Tibaldi. The seventeenth century is seen in the church of St. Giovanni and the church of St. Paul, both by the Barnabite Rosato Rosati, and by the Town Hall (rebuilt in 1820). There was intense architectural activity in the XIII century with the Church of St. George and the cathedral, both by Cosimo Morelli, with the theatre (Bibiena-Morelli), with buildings and Santafiora Bonaccorsi, nor should we forget the small church of Our Lady of Mercy, caught between buildings nowadays, dating back to 1497 but completely rebuilt by Luigi Vanvitelli in 1742. The nineteenth century boasts the sferisterio of Irenaeus Aleandri, perhaps the most outstanding achievement of neoclassicism in the centre of Italy. In the old Jesuits’ college the city library was established, along with the Museum and the Municipal Art Gallery (with paintings by Allegretto Nuzi, C. Crivelli, Girolamo di Giovanni da Camerino, Pulzone).

Ascoli Piceno

It is situated on a hill at an altitude of 154 meters which the “Castellano nel Tronto” merges into and is enclosed on three sides. The old city centre, with its colourful streets, surrounds the monumental public Square of the People which is encircled by Renaissance palaces and dominated by the Palace of the People (XIII century). Other sites of interest are the gothic church of San Francesco with the “Loggia of the Merchants” (XVI century), the Romanesque churches of San Vincenzo and San Anastasio, the cathedral (XV century) which has been restructured many times over the years and includes a baptistery of the XII century, the Malaspina Palace (XVI century) and the Roman bridge of Solestà on the Tronto river. The Pia Fortress, erected by Pope Pio IV in 1564, dominates the city from the hill of the Annunziata. The city was hit on 28-29 November 1972 by strong earthquakes (8 degrees on the Mercalli scale) that triggered very serious damage to many buildings in the historical centre. The regional capital of a mostly farming area, Ascoli Piceno has developed industrially over the last few decades to create a new and differentiated market alongside the traditional functions of agriculture (wines) and the administrative centre. This is accompanied by an extension of services and a good valorisation of tourist resources – the consequence of the formation of a modern industrial area along the public road “Piceno-aprutina” and the sub-urbanization of some villages (Castel di Lama, Folignano and Maltignano). The industries are small-medium sized, but have a very good export market. The most developed are mechanics, chemicals, plastics, paper, ceramics and food (pasta); on the decline is the silk industry that in the past worked with cocoons produced in the region. The annual avicunicola and fur animal fair is an important event. The service industries employ most of the active population. Ascoli is the homeland of Pope Niccolò IV and of the poet and philosopher Francesco Stabili, also called Cecco d’Ascoli.

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