Our visit to the church of San Domenico started with a lot of confusion. We were not so much interested in the church itself, but rather in an adjacent chapel where one could reportedly admire a fresco by the painter Ottaviano Nelli (ca. 1375-1444). Having previously enjoyed his work in…
The oratory of Saint Joseph was used by a lay fraternity whose main concern was caring for those who had been condemned to death. The first version of the building was erected between 1503 and 1515, and co-sponsored by Duke Guidobaldo da Montefeltro (1472-1508) and his wife Elisabetta Gonzaga (1471-1526).…
In the living room of our apartment in Fratte Rosa we found a number of brochures with information about the attractions in the vicinity. There was one brochure that immediately caught my attention because of a beautiful and colourful fresco of Saint John the Baptist on the cover. In a…
After my visit to the cathedral of Urbino, I am certain that I will receive a high seat in heaven. The reason? Well, I managed to reunite an unfortunate Italian with his wallet. This is what happened. While strolling through the nave of the immense building, I suddenly noticed an…
Our visit to Urbino started rather far outside the built-up area of the town. The church and convent of San Bernardino degli Zoccolanti, dedicated to the famous Franciscan preacher Saint Bernardinus of Siena (1380-1444), are situated on a hill to the east of the town. Although our travel guide spoke…
We parked our car close to the hospital of Fano, at a free car park named Parcheggio ex Foro Boario. We had been tipped about this car park by a friend who had previously visited Fano, and especially the aforementioned hospital. For reasons that are quite understandable she did not…
We had limited expectations when we visited the small civic museum in Fano, but were nevertheless pleasantly surprised. The museum is housed in the Palazzo Malatestiano, a fifteenth-century mansion that is a curious mixture of styles. It bears the name of the family that ruled over Fano between the second…
The Duomo of Fano or cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta is intriguing rather than beautiful. My travel guide claims that the first version of the Duomo was built as early as the fourth century.[1] If this is correct, then this cathedral must have been destroyed during the Gothic War (535-554),…
The Roman origins of Fano have been preserved in the name of the town. Once Fano was called Fanum Fortunae. Fanum is the Latin word for a sanctuary, and this sanctuary was dedicated to Fortuna, the goddess of good and bad luck. The area around Fano had been inhabited since…
The archaeological museum of Cremona is housed in the former church of San Lorenzo. The history of that church goes back to the tenth century, but it was built over a cemetery that is much older and was already in use in pre-Christian times. In Cremona itself we find very…