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Macerata
Macerata
	— Comune —
Comune di Macerata
	A view of the historical center of Macerata
	; Coat of arms
	; Coat of arms
	; Macerata Location of Macerata in Italy
	Coordinates: 43°18′N 13°27′E / 43.3°N 13.45°ECoordinates: 43°18′N 13°27′E / 43.3°N 13.45°E
Country	Italy
Region	Marche
Province	Macerata (MC)
Frazioni	see list
	Government
- Mayor	Giorgio Meschini (since April 2005)
	Area
- Total	92.73 km2 (35.8 sq mi)
Elevation	315 m (1,033 ft)
	Population (30 April 2009)
- Total	43,062
- Density	464.4/km2 (1,202.7/sq mi)
- Demonym	Maceratesi
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	62100
Dialing code	0733
Patron saint	Julian the Hospitaller
Saint day	August 31
Website	Official website

Macerata is a city and comune in central Italy, the capital of the province of Macerata in the Marche region.

The historical city center is located on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza rivers. Together with the modern town, sprawling on the plain below, it has a population of about 43,000. There is a lift (elevator) connecting the two towns.

[edit] Main sights

The great hall of the University.

In the central Piazza della Libertà is the Loggia dei Mercanti with two-tier arcades dating from the Renaissance. There are a number of striking palazzi, mostly along Corso Matteotti, including Palazzo dei diamanti. Next to the Loggia dei Mercanti, Corso della Repubblica leads to Piazza Vittorio Veneto where, in the Palazzo Ricci, there is a museum and art gallery: the most important artpiece is the Madonna and Child by Carlo Crivelli. Another museum is the Museo delle Carrozze (carriages).

The cathedral was built in Neoclassical style in 1771-1790; it has remain of a 15th century Gothic bell tower. The interior was designed by Cosimo Morelli.

Madonna with Child by Carlo Crivelli (1470), Macerata Art Gallery.

The University of Macerata was founded in AD 1290 and has about 13,000 students; Macerata has also an Art school, two publishing houses (Liberilibri and Quodlibet) and therefore, Jazz clubs and the like.

The Palazzo Buonaccorsi was built 1700-1720 for Count Raimondo Buonaccorsi and his son Cardinal Simone Buonaccorsi using designs by Giovanni Battista Contini. The piano nobile is known for the Sala dell'Eneide, decorated with frescoes by the Rambaldi, Dardani, Solimena, and canvases by Garzi. Giovanni Gioseffo dal Sole painted a canvas. Other submissions were from Gambarini, Balestra, Lazzarini, and Franceschini. See main entry at Palazzo Buonaccorsi.

Just north of the town, at the Villa Potenza, lie the remains of ancient Helvia Recina, a Roman settlement destroyed by the Visigoths.

Some way south of the town is the Romanesque church of San Claudio al Chienti: its unusual shape is due to one church being built on the remains of another; it was built during the 14th century as war reparation to Montolmo (nowadays Corridonia), which defeated Macerata in a bloody and long war. San Claudio al Chienti' is very close to Macerata, but it is a Frazione of Corridonia since that time.

[edit] Sferisterio Opera Festival

Sferisterio open-air theatre.

In July and August the Sferisterio Opera Festival is held in the 3,500 to 4,500 seat (depending upon each opera's sets) Arena Sferisterio. It is a huge neoclassical arena erected in the 1820s as a stadium for a form of handball by the architect Ireneo Aleandri. The orchestra pit is so wide that musicians at each end cannot hear each other. The monument “Alla Vittoria” at its gates, projected by Cesare Bazzani, dates from fascist times.

Since 1990 some operas have been performed in the 550-seat Teatro Lauro Rossi following extensive renovation which was completed in 1989. Originally named the Teatro Condomini and built by Antonio Bibiena from 1767, it opened in 1774 with Anfossi's Olimpiade. In 1872 it was renamed for the musician Lauro Rossi who was born in the town.

[edit] Famous residents

The mathematician and humanist Matteo Ricci was born in Macerata. Ricci was the first western man to enter Beijing in 1601 and to translate into Chinese Western classics like Euclid, Cicero and many others.

Giuseppe Tucci (1894-1984), the Italian scholar of oriental cultures, was born in Macerata. He is the recipient of the 1978 Jawaharlal Nehru Award for international understanding and a pioneer of archaeological excavations in various locations in Asia, from Iran to Tibet.

The Futurist painter and Bauhaus architect Ivo Pannaggi was born and died in Macerata (1901 to 1981) after living in Rome, Berlin and in Norway.

[edit] Districts

Acquesalate, Acquevive, Botonto San Giacomo, Botonto Sant'Isidoro, Cervare, Cimarella, Cincinelli, Collevario, Consalvi, Corneto, Helvia Recina, Isola, Madonna del Monte, Montanello, Piediripa, Sforzacosta, Valle, Vallebona, Valteia, Villa Potenza.