Marche Breaks

One of the most alluring of the hilltowns of the southern Marche, Fermo has an ensemble of architectural sights which make it well worth a visit.

The fortress which once topped the town was destroyed in 1445 in a popular rebellion against the ruling Sforza family and is now the site of municipal gardens which afford fine views over the marchigiano countryside (and a spacious car park).

From the sea, which is only 5 Km away from Fermo, the town is like a massive vessel whose stem overlooks the “Magic Sibillini”, the Blue Mountains that inspired the poet Giacomo Leopardi. Up there, on the Girfalco.

This huge cathedral, which is called after Maria Assunta in Cielo, was built in 1227 by the master mason Giorgio da Como. The front is made Istrian stone and has a marvellous rose-window dated 1348, as well as a Gothic niche containing the statue of S. Maria Vergine. Among the various elements of interest. The church houses the chasuble of Thomas Becket from Canterbury: from the terrace, your sight overlooks the Piazza del Popolo.

Built around the magnificent large square, the Piazza del Popolo, are the main municipal buildings. Sansovino's grand statue (1590) of the Bishop of Fermo who was to become Pope Sixtus V tops the main entrance of the Palazzo Comunale which contains the town's art collection, in which the most notable work is an early Rubens painting of the Nativity (1608).

Also worthy of note are the underground piscine romane (roman pools) which comprise thirty magnificently preserved underground chambers built between 41 & 60 BC to conserve and purify the town's water supply, and regarded as the finest example of their kind in Italy.

The square is rounded by two arcades; the northern portico includes the charming Loggiato di San Rocco dated 1528, while the southern one opens the way to the palazzo dei priori. The entrance of this stately buildings is enriched by two grand flights of steps and bronze statue of the Pope Sisto V.

Inside the building, there is the Pinacoteca, in which the most important pieces of art of the town are kept: from the “Shepherds’ Adoration” by Rubens to the Stories of Santa Lucia by Jacobello del Fiore.

The Palazzo dei Priori is next to the ancient University, the today’s Public Library. The library contains more than 400 books, 200 old codes, 15.000 sixteen-century books and thousands of old drawings and prints. In one of the rooms there is the Globo Terracqueo, a wooden globe, which was built by Annunzio Maroncelli in 1722. In Corso Cefalonia, the main street, you can find two important houses of the nobility, Palazzo Azzolino, with its typical cloister, and Palazzo Vitali Rosati, which was planned by Sangallo the Young. Not far away from the latter, you find the old pawnshop and the Matteucci Tower.

Fermo is not only the town, but also the external fortifications, such as Capodarco. It is a balcony on the sea and the main church houses a polyptych by Vittorio Crivelli. Some other districts are to be mentioned, that is to say San Marco alle Paludi, having a beautiful small church, and Torre di Palme. From the top of its hill, Fermo slopes down the sea and the soft sand of Lido di Fermo and Casabianca.