Macerata

Macerata
Country	Italy
region	Brands
province	Macerata  (MC)
Coordinates	43 ° 18 '  N , 13 ° 27'  E Coordinates: 43 ° 18 '0 "  N , 13 ° 27' 0"  E
height	315  m slm
surface	92 km²
Residents	41,163 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density	447 inhabitants / km²
Factions	Sforzacosta , Piediripa, Villa Potenza Sub -municipalities: Madonna del Monte, Montanello, Pieve
Post Code	62100
prefix	0733
ISTAT number	043023
Popular name	Maceratesi
Patron saint	San Giuliano (August 31st)
Website	Macerata
View of downtown Macerata

Macerata is an Italian commune and the capital of the Macerata province of the same name in the Marches . Macerata has 41,163 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019) and is located on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza rivers .

history

Macerata is a medieval city ​​that arose from the merger of the two places Castrum Maceratae (civil center) and Podium Sancti Juliani (church center). In 1138 the two parts of the settlement merged and became a free commune . The town belonged from 1532 to 1808 and then again from 1814 to 1860 to the Papal States , in the meantime the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy .

In January 2018 there was a murder in Macerata , in which a Nigerian immigrant is suspected. On February 3, 2018, the Italian right-wing extremist Luca Traini carried out a racially motivated attack on people from Mali , Ghana , Nigeria and Gambia in the city center . Six people were injured and all of the victims survived.

→ Main article : Attack in Macerata

Attractions

The city, located on a ridge with wonderful views of the surrounding area, offers numerous sights such as city palaces, a university (founded in 1540) and an open-air opera theater, the Sferisterio from the 19th century, which seats up to 4500 people.

Piazza della Libertà with clock tower

The main square, Piazza della Libertà , was built in 1581. Here you will find the Lodge, the Clock Tower, the Town Hall, the Church of San Paolo, the Theater, the University and the Prefecture. The Renaissance- style lodge has marble columns with elegant capitals . The 65 m high clock tower (Torre Civica) stands over a square floor plan of around 9 × 9 m. It was built between 1492 and 1653 and was to be the tallest in the Marche. At the traditional university, you can study law, philosophy, education, foreign languages ​​as well as political and economic sciences.

To the right of the city tower there is a steep medieval staircase, the Piaggia della Torre , also known as the Scalette . At its end you get to Piazza Mazzini, where the city market used to be held. Today is market day every Wednesday.

In the Piazza Mazzini is the Sferisterio , which was built between 1819 and 1829 primarily as a sports facility for the Pallone game . When football didn't exist, it was the most popular sport in Italy between 1600 and 1900. At the end of July / beginning of August, a Europe-wide known opera festival is held in the Sferisterio. Individual opera productions for which this arena is too big are now also shown in the Teatro Laro Rossi . The theater was completely renovated in 1989 and has had 550 seats since then.

Not far from the Sferisterio is the cathedral , built between 1459 and 1464, with the campanile built between 1467 and 1478 . The patron saint of Macerata is St. Julian . His arm is kept as a relic in the cathedral and his feast day is celebrated on August 31 with a big city festival.

Next to the cathedral is the small basilica Santa Maria della Misericordia . According to tradition, a small chapel is said to have been built in a single day (August 4, 1447) to implore the help of St. Madonna to fight the plague . In 1735/1741 the small church was rebuilt and expanded to its present size and shape by the famous architect Luigi Vanvitelli .

Another tourist attraction is the city walls of Macerata.

Other facilities

• Macerata University
• The diocese of Macerata-Tolentino-Recanati-Cingoli-Treia has its seat in Macerata

Town twinning

Sister cities of Macerata are

•  Weiden in the Upper Palatinate , Germany , since 1963
•  Issy-les-Moulineaux , France , since 1982
•  Floriana , Malta , since 2007
•  Kamez , Albania, since 2011

sons and daughters of the town

• Matteo Ricci (1552-1610), a Jesuit priest who in China during the Ming Dynasty had
• Giovanni Mario Crescimbeni (1663–1728), poet and historian
• Guglielmo Pallotta (1727–1795), cardinal of the Catholic Church
• Giovanni Francesco Compagnoni Marefoschi (1757–1820), Curia Bishop
• José Maria Macerata (1779–1845), prelate of Cuiabá
• Giuseppe Ugolini (1783–1867), Cardinal to the Curia
• Lauro Rossi (1812-1885), composer
• Giuseppe Gariboldi (1833–1905), flautist and composer
• Giuseppe Tucci (1894-1984), orientalist
• Lino Liviabella (1902–1964), composer
• Gino Bonichi (1904–1933), known under the stage name Scipione , painter and writer
• Franco Graziosi (born 1929), actor
• Giuseppe Brizi (* 1942), football player and coach
• Dante Ferretti (* 1943), production designer
• 

  Sferisterio Opera Arena
  Stefano Scodanibbio (1956–2012), double bass player and composer, who organized an annual festival of contemporary music here
• Laura Boldrini (* 1961), journalist and politician, President of the Chamber of Deputies
• Camila Giorgi (* 1991), tennis player

Lived and worked in the place

• Anton von Cavallar (around 1775–1831), old Austrian diplomat and court official

Web links

Commons : Macerata  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Statistiche demografiche ISTAT. Monthly population statistics of the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica , as of December 31 of 2019.
2. ↑ Luca Traini, confermati 12 anni di carcere in appello: ferì 6 stranieri a Macerata dopo l'omicidio di Pamela Mastropietro. Il Fatto Quotidiano on October 2, 2019
3. ^ Website Macerata - Città gemellate