Borgo Santa Maria, Candelara, Case Bruciate, Casteldimezzo, Cattabrighe, Chiusa di Ginestreto, Colombarone, Fiorenzuola di Focara, Ginestreto,Monteciccardo, Novilara, Ponte Valle, Pozzo Alto, Santa Maria dell'Arzilla, Santa Marina Alta, Santa Veneranda, Trebbiantico, TrePonti, Villa Ceccolini, Villa Fastiggi, Villa San Martin
Pesaro (Italian:[ˈpeːzaro]ⓘ;Romagnol:Pés're) is acomune (municipality) in theItalian region ofMarche, capital of theprovince of Pesaro and Urbino, on theAdriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche, afterAncona. Pesaro was dubbed the "Cycling City" (città della bicicletta) by the Italian environmentalist associationLegambiente in recognition of its extensive network of bicycle paths and promotion of cycling. It is also known as "City of Music" (città della musica), for it is the birthplace of the composerGioachino Rossini. In 2015 the Italian Government applied for Pesaro to be declared a "Creative City" inUNESCO'sWorld Heritage Sites. In 2017 Pesaro received the European City of Sport award together withAosta,Cagliari andVicenza.
Local industries include fishing, furniture making and tourism. In 2020 it absorbed the formercomune ofMonteciccardo, now afrazione of Pesaro. Itsfrazione of Fiorenzuola di Focara is one ofI Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy").[3]
The city was established asPisaurum by theRomans in 184 BC as a colony in the territory of thePicentes, the people who lived along the northeast coast during theIron Age.[4][better source needed] In 1737, fourteen ancientvotive stones were unearthed in a local farm field, each bearing the inscription of aRoman god; these were written in a pre-Etruscan script, indicating a much earlier occupation of the area than the 184 BC Picentes colony.[4]
A settlement of the Picentes tribe has been found at Novilara. The northern Picentes were invaded in the 4th century BC by the GallicSenones, earlier by the Etruscans, and when the Romans reached the area the population was an ethnic mixture. The Roman separated and expelled theGauls from the country.
Under the Roman administration Pesaro, a hub across theVia Flaminia, became an important centre of trading and craftmanship.[citation needed] After the fall of theWestern Empire, Pesaro was occupied by theOstrogoths, and destroyed byVitigis (539) in the course of theGothic War. Hastily rebuilt five years later after the Byzantine reconquest, it formed the so-calledPentapolis, part of theExarchate of Ravenna. After the Lombard and Frankish conquests of that city, Pesaro became part of thePapal States.
During theRenaissance it was ruled successively by the houses ofMontefeltro (1285–1445),Sforza (1445–1512) andDella Rovere (1513–1631). Under the last family, who selected it as capital of their duchy, Pesaro saw its most flourishing age, with the construction of numerous public and private palaces,[5] and the erection of a new line of walls (the Mura Roveresche). In 1475, a legendary wedding took place in Pesaro, whenCostanzo Sforza andCamilla d'Aragona married.[6]
On 11 September 1860Piedmontese troops entered the city, and after their win over the Papal States at theBattle of Castelfidardo 8 days later, Pesaro was subsequentlyannexed to the newKingdom of Italy along with the entire Marche (and Umbria) regions.
Pesaro was significantly damaged in the1916 Rimini earthquakes.[7] Its historic centre was abandoned after the 16 August earthquake, leaving 14,000 displaced people crowded into 2,000 tents.[8] Many villages in its hinterland also suffered collapsed buildings.[9]
Ducal Palace (15th century): commissioned byAlessandro Sforza, the façade has a portico with six arcades supported by six heavy pilasters and an upper floor with five windows crowned by coats of arms,festoons andputtoes.
Rocca Costanza (15th century): massive castle built byCostanzo I Sforza; it has a square plan with four cylindrical corner towers and a wide dry moat. Later used as prison.
Mura Roveresche (17th century): "Della Rovere Walls", demolished in the early 20th century), only two gates,Porta del Ponte andPorta Rimini, and a short section remain.
Birthplace ofGioachino Rossini: now a museum dedicated to the composer, located at 34 Via Rossini. It has a museum with manifestos, prints, portraits and hisspinet. Also some of his papers are on display at the Biblioteca della Fondazione Rossini housed in thePalazzo Montani Antaldi.
Pesaro Cathedral (5th-14th centuries): Romanesque-Gothic Basilica built over remains of a late Roman edifice and dedicated to St Terence during the Middle Ages. The façade, in Romanesque-Gothic style, is unfinished: it has a simpleogival portal surmounted by a band of small arches. A recent restoration has brought to light floormosaics.
The Baroque Sanctuary of Beata Vergine del Carmelo (18th century).
^A Renaissance Wedding: The Celebrations at Pesaro for the Marriage of Costanzo Sforza & Camilla Marzano D'Aragona (26–30 May 1475): (Studies in Medieval and Early Renaissance Art History). Harvey Miller Publ., 2013,ISBN978-1905375936
^"Storia del Terremoto a Rimini" [History of the earthquake in Rimini].RomagnaZone (in Italian). 27 October 2016. Retrieved4 January 2024.
