Jesi: a splendid historical city in the hearth of Marche..

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Jesi is a place, among those I visited last summer during my stay in Italy, which I was very pleased. A beautiful city in the province of Ancona, with about forty thousand inhabitants, which is present with a very pleasant old town and a large part still surrounded by walls and ramparts, which is accessible, preferably through the so-called Arco Clementino, that the inhabitants of Jesi built in 1700 in honor of Pope Clement XII in gratitude for having put the road linking the city and all'Adriatico have abolished the duty on the trade of grain.

A beautiful city from the ancient past that is traced back to Umbrians, then the Etruscans, then Castrum Municipium the Roman Empire and then under the name Aesis. In 1100 to become a free town with its own administrative autonomy, in 1400 is Signoria di Francesco Sforza, which in mid-century, gave to the Church, understood as the territories of the Papal States until the battle in the nearby Castelfidardo Risorgimento (1860) after which entered the Kingdom of Italy. Frederick II of Swabia and Giovanni Battista Pergolesi are among the distinguished natives of Jesi.

We arrived in Jesi tracks coming from where we were staying, a short trip of about twenty km which, however, requires a forty minute drive through the streets very tortuous and initially thought I had to park the car in the immediate vicinity of 'Arco Clementino and walk, then I decided to groped my good fortune and so I came by car, finding a convenient parking in front of Palazzo Pianetti (which houses the Pinacoteca Civica) in a street parallel to the central one.

If we exclude the main axis through the city center, Clementine's throw to Piazza del Duomo, I noticed that the road is fairly smooth, despite the narrow roads. The car parks are pay and the system scomodissimo scratch that forces to stop to look where to buy the coupons, but I noticed that on the streets parallel to the main street there are several and not all were used, despite the period of Ferragosto.

We started the visit from his palace Pianetti, who was one of the goals set, because we wanted to see the paintings by Lorenzo Lotto that are exhibited in this gallery. The building that houses the exhibition is certainly one of the most interesting examples of architecture of the eighteenth and especially the Galleria degli Stucchi (or Rococo Gallery) is truly a spectacle that alone is worth the admission ticket (5.50 euro). Interesting works on display, especially the five of Lorenzo Lotto and then the modern collection in which there are works of Guttuso, Sassu, Mattioli, Brindisi, Cassinari, etc.

From the gallery we moved a few tens of meters and we have begun the real tour of the old town of Jesi, starting with the fifteenth century Sanctuary of Madonna delle Grazie and the thirteenth-century Church of San Nicolò (very beautiful its gothic portal) that is almost front, to move to feature Church of St. John the Baptist (whose origin appears before the year thousand) before you arrive in Piazza Repubblica which overlooks the Teatro Pergolesi, end of the eighteenth century and soon after the sixteenth century Palazzo Ricci, characteristic for the façade of stones cut in the shape of a diamond.

Going to the Dome is faced with many historic buildings of particular visual impact as a facade but not visited, such as the fifteenth century Palazzo Colocci (part-owned and municipal seat of the Museum and Colocci dell'Archivio Colocci-Vespucci) and immediately after the fifteenth century Palazzo della Signoria with a beautiful interior courtyard with a porch and overhanging porch (which sees the bars, even this entry), after which you arrive in the charming Piazza Federico II.

A very scenic place which overlooks Palace Ripanti, in late Gothic style, the former church of San Floriano (which now houses the Archaeological Museum and the Studio Theater), the eighteenth century palace and the Balearic eighteenth Cathedral (built in this century on place where there was an earlier church) with an internal very sober, but embellished with many fine frescoes and stucco decorations, and the side chapels particularly artistic.

What strikes the center of Jesi and I refer particularly to buildings that face on the road Clementine's throw to the Duomo, is the pleasant harmony of the buildings there are. There are medieval buildings, Renaissance and, more recently, construction, renovation or upgrading, but that harmonize with each other at a glance very nice. The only building that differs from these fees is the Palazzo della Banca Popolare di Ancona (if I remember correctly) that, in my opinion, only a building committee in the grip of alcohol fumes may be granted. A real shame.

We stopped for lunch all'Osteria Gattomatto, a nice local who is in the center, just off Piazza Repubblica and the Teatro Pergolesi. We chose the antipasto di mare (octopus with potatoes, peppers and race with cuttlefish with celery), for the first course Paccheri shrimp, skipped the second and closed with pineapple sorbet, two coffee, water and a bottle of Verdicchio, a that was 55.00 euros which I would consider reasonable.

We have taken the car for a ride around the walls of the historical center from which rose a few more towers of a certain grandeur, like the Tower in the south of Piazza Pontelli and the Tower of Mortirozzo. Just outside the walls, a stop deserve the thirteenth-century Church of San Marco, very nice, with the brick facade and a valuable three-nave interior ceiling and the cross very well decorated and frescoed.

I was very satisfied with the visit of this city, had it not been for the Palace of the People's Bank, I would not have hesitated to define the center of Jesi among the most beautiful of all among those whom I had visited so far, and then the advice to visit is a must. From the Adriatic is very convenient to get there by car, exit at Ancona Nord and follow the highway Ancona Rome. The rail service is very good, Jesi situated along the railway line Rome Ancona.