A day trip to Senigallia and Fano

Our second day in the area starts off in Senigallia, highly recommended on various forums I read, as a destination on the Adriatic coast. We find parking not far from the centre, which is ok. A ‘high street' of shops takes us to the Foro, where leftovers and rubbish from a weekend event are being dismantled and removed in the midst of a few fruit and veg stalls and one or two bars which are open. Maybe it’s a bad time to visit but it’s not a captivating place. We walk past the Rocca and see the fountain in front of the square but don’t go in. 

From there, we head towards the beach, never easy in this part of the world because of the railway lines which hug the coast from north to south. We go under the station and through a residential area which is a mix of smarter hotels and grittier buildings and come out onto the sea front. My grumble here is my usual grumble about a lot of the most popular  seaside towns on the Italian  coastline – you can’t see the sea from the promenade because of the long line of restaurants and beach clubs. We head onto the beach – la spiaggia di velluto, which is nice, well, the sand is soft and firm so a good beach for walking but nothing much to see in either direction except for the line of hotels and apartment blocks in varying degrees of repair on one side and the, yes, blue, sea on the other. There’s also the ‘famous’ Rotonda di Mare, if you’ve never seen a pier before. 

It’s a warm and sunny day so we walk a little, sit a little and then go to the self-service fish restaurant called Pesceazzurro. For 16.50 euros per person we get two antipasti – alici marinate and polenta with sea food, fish risotto, breaded sardines, mixed fried fish, bread, water and wine. Is it high cuisine? No. Is it fun and good food? Undoubtedly. Although a microwave to warm up the later courses would have been perfect.

We have a look inside the Chiesa della Croce, interesting for the dark baroque interior. 

After lunch we go to see the Portici Ercolani and wander more around the historical centre including the impressive and empty Piazza Garibaldi. We find a bar open for a coffee and stop at the Antica Cantina Mastai Ferretti so Andrea can get some of the unusual local wine called Lacrima di Morro. Maybe I was expecting too much, maybe I was still charmed by Corinaldo and Mondavio but I don't fall in love with Senigallia.

It’s still early by the time we get back to the car and we are undecided. In the end we drive to Fano and park near the beach. More flat stones here, so no high rise, few hotels and more thanaverage glimpses of the sea between the beach clubs along the promenade. It’s a short walk to the historical centre which in the mellow early autumn light is very pleasant. Our first stop is at the remains of the former Church of San Francesco where there are the Tombs of the Malatesta family. The ex-church now roofless is used as an auditorium.

Piazza XX Settembre is an impressive square with some of the main monuments of Fano including Palazzo del Podestà which houses the theatre and the Palazzo della Ragione. The Malatesta Palace which houses the Archaeological Museum and the Civic Art Gallery, is just off the square. The fountain 'fontana della fortuna' makes for a nice photo.

There are quite a few people strolling now it’s late afternoon as well as bicycles whizzing by, something I find difficult to cope with since I’m hard of hearing and don't realise they're approaching in time to get out of the way. We come across the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, Fano’s Cathedral, which was rebuilt in Romanesque style in the 12th century after a fire destroyed the previous early Christian basilica. The façade is simple but the ornamental portal is nice. Inside, the enormous and square shaped Romanesque pulpit is probably the most interesting element. Our last stop is at the travertine Arch of Augustus, erected in 9 AD in honor of Emperor Augustus, it marked the monumental entrance to the city along the Via Flaminia, an ancient consular road that connected Rome to the Adriatic.

It’s getting late and we have a long journey the next day, so we head for our home base. Fano is nice and definitely deserved a longer visit.