Macerata () is a city and comune in central Italy, the county seat of the province of Macerata in the Marche region. It has a population of about 41,564.
It is home to the University of Macerata (founded in 1290), making it one of Europe's oldest universities, specializing in humanities and social sciences, and located in a historic center with medieval walls.
One of the city's best-known landmarks is the Sferisterio, a large neoclassical open-air arena built in the 19th century, which later became a major venue for summer performances, including opera.
History
The historical city centre is on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza rivers. It first consisted of the Picenes city named Ricina (Helvia Recina), then, after its Romanization, Recina and Helvia Recina. After the destruction of Helvia Recina by the barbarians, the inhabitants took shelter in the hills and eventually began to rebuild the city, first on the top of the hills, before descending again later and expanding. The newly rebuilt town was Macerata. It became a municipality (or comune in Italian) in August 1138.
In 1320, Pope John XXII transferred the episcopal see to Macerata, a change that strengthened the city's institutional status within the Papal States and contributed to its subsequent demographic and political growth.
During the sixteenth century the city underwent significant urban and architectural development, including major works to its defensive system and the remodelling of key civic spaces. Studies on Macerata's urban walls describe important early-modern interventions associated with bastioned fortifications and the work of Cristoforo Resse da Imola. The Loggia dei Mercanti (1504–1505), attributed to Cassiano da Fabriano (with Matteo Sabatini), is among the best-documented civic monuments from this period.
In the wider cultural ferment of late Renaissance Italy, on 2 July 1574 the scholar Gerolamo Zoppio—professor at the University of Macerata—founded the Accademia dei Catenati, which became a longstanding cultural institution in the city.
From the late sixteenth century, administrative centralisation driven from Rome also affected the Papal State's provincial governance; a frequently cited reference point in this context is Clement VIII's bull De Bono Regimine (1592).
During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic period, the Marche experienced repeated episodes of mobilisation and conflict. In 1799 Macerata was involved in the anti-French “insorgenze”; after fighting, French troops broke into the city and it was subjected to looting (reported for early July 1799).
In the nineteenth century, Macerata took part in the Risorgimento. Archival accounts record Giuseppe Garibaldi's presence in the city from 1 January 1849 and his election during that period. In October 1860 Victor Emmanuel II passed through Macerata, an event noted in contemporary political biographies and local historical reconstruction. In the plebiscites of November 1860, the Marche voted for annexation to the Kingdom of Sardinia (and subsequently the Kingdom of Italy).
20th century The comune of Macerata was the location of an internment camp for Jews and refugees, and a prisoner-of-war camp (PG53, at Sforzacosta) during World War II.
In the Second World War, partisan formations operated in the province; Macerata was liberated on 30 June 1944, an episode associated with the Gruppo Bande Nicolò led by Augusto Pantanetti in local and national resistance documentation.
Geography Macerata lies on a hill at about 314 metres above sea level, between the Potenza valley and the Chienti valley, and about 21 km inland from the Adriatic coast.
Climate The city's climate reflects its inland hilly setting, with Mediterranean influences from the nearby sea and more continental features linked to elevation and distance from the coast. Winters are generally mild for central Italy, although cooler spells can occur; summers are typically warm and largely sunny. At times, a south-westerly wind locally associated with the libeccio (also known regionally as garbino) can bring noticeably warmer conditions, including outside the summer season.
Precipitation in the Marche region commonly varies across the territory; one regional overview reports annual totals typically between about 600 and 1,000 mm, with Macerata around 769 mm per year (as a reference value). Heatwaves can bring very high temperatures in summer; during early August 2017, maximum temperatures exceeded 40 °C in parts of the Marche.
Government
Main sights
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, houses the city's modern art gallery. The nearby Palazzo Buonaccorsi houses the main civic art museum, as well as a Carriage Museum. The palace was built in 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 (Hall of the Aeneid), decorated with frescoes depicting episodes of the Aeneid depicted by Rambaldi, Dardani, Solimena, and canvases by Garzi and Giovanni Gioseffo dal Sole. Among the museum's masterpieces is the Renaissance work of the Madonna and Child by Carlo Crivelli.
The Biblioteca Comunale Mozzi Borgetti, the main civic library of Macerata, founded in the 18th century, is housed in the former Jesuit seminary, located on Piazza Vittorio Veneto.
The University of Macerata was founded in 1290 and has about 13,000 students; Macerata also has an art school, two publishing houses (Liberilibri and Quodlibet), jazz clubs and the like.
Just north of the town, at the Villa Potenza, lie the remains of ancient Helvia Recina, a Roman settlement destroyed by the Visigoths.
Monuments and places of interest
Religious architecture Cathedral of San Giovanni. Dedicated to Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, designed by Rosato Rosati, it was built in 1600 at the behest of the Jesuits. It was consecrated in 1721. Notable features include its imposing dome; the interior has a single nave with six side chapels. Reopened and reconsecrated in December 2022, it is the cathedral of the Diocese of Macerata. Duomo of San Giuliano. Dedicated to the city's patron saint, it served as the cathedral of the diocese until 6 February 2023. Basilica of Santa Maria della Misericordia Church of San Filippo Neri Church of Santa Maria della Porta Church of Santa Maria delle Vergini Former church of San Paolo and former Barnabite convent. Church of San Liberato (or Santa Maria Incoronata), built in the 14th century around a frescoed shrine depicting San Liberato (Pietro da Macerata), later replaced around 1515–1520 by a Santa Maria Incoronata painted by Lorenzo di Giovanni de Carris and now almost completely repainted; the church, rebuilt from 1520, took its second name from this work.Alessandro Delpriori, Lorenzo di Giovanni de Carris (1482/1485–1545). Per una cultura artistica in area adriatica nel Rinascimento, in Lorenzo de Carris e i pittori eccentrici nelle Marche del primo Cinquecento. Pittura tra rilievi e frantumazione d’immagini, Perugia, 2016, p. 35. In the church there are other votive frescoes by Lorenzo di Giovanni, including a fragmentary Saint Francis on the counter-façade dated 1532 in the inscription, one with Saint Raphael the Archangel, Tobias and Saint Blaise, and another with a Crucifixion between Saints Nicholas of Bari, Julian and Mary Magdalene, probably all from the same period.Alessandro Delpriori, Lorenzo di Giovanni de Carris..., in Lorenzo de Carris e i pittori eccentrici nelle Marche..., Perugia, 2016, pp. 57–62. Another Crucifixion between Saints Roch and Sebastian on the wall next to the fresco with Raphael and Tobias has been attributed to Giovenale da Narni and, more recently, to Lorenzo di Giovanni himself in the mid-1530s.Alessandro Delpriori, Lorenzo di Giovanni de Carris..., in Lorenzo de Carris e i pittori eccentrici nelle Marche..., Perugia, 2016, p. 49. Church of Santo Stefano, built by the Capuchins in 1544 and later rebuilt between 1665 and 1682, when it was decided to bring inside a much-venerated fresco of the Madonna and Child between Saints Julian and Roch by Lorenzo di Giovanni de Carris, made as an ex voto against pestilence, the French invasion and, reportedly, locusts; it had previously been placed in a roadside shrine.Alessandro Delpriori, Lorenzo di Giovanni de Carris..., in Lorenzo de Carris e i pittori eccentrici nelle Marche..., Perugia, 2016, p. 41. In the chapel of Santa Maria della Fede there are two canvases depicting Angels with the symbols of the Immaculate Conception, presumably painted to flank a Marian image (perhaps from Loreto), signed and dated 1604 by Marcello Gobbi, a pupil of Andrea Boscoli, and made for the Florentine Gino Capponi, then Treasurer of the Marca.Silvia Blasio, Percorsi della pittura toscana nelle Marche del Cinque e Seicento, in Marche e Toscana. L’arte fra le due regioni dall’età moderna al contemporaneo, edited by F. Mariano, Milan, 2004, p. 38. Church of San Giorgio – one of the oldest in the city; documents date the building to 1268. In 1542 the municipality rebuilt the church, removing the front portico; later works completed in 1845 led to the current façade, designed by Agostino Benedettelli. Church of Santa Maria della Pace Church of San Michele Arcangelo Church of San Francesco Church of Santa Madre di Dio Church of the Sacred Heart Church of Santa Croce Former Capuchin church, now the chapel of the civil hospital, preserves on the high altar an altarpiece signed by Bernardino Nocchi and dated 1804 depicting the Immaculate Conception.Silvia Blasio, La Chiesa di Santa Croce, già dei Cappuccini, e la decorazione. In: L'Ordine dei cappuccini tra arte e architettura, edited by F. Mariano, Florence, 2007, pp. 222–223. Former convent of San Vincenzo with adjoining centrally planned church. The restored complex is now one of the sites of the Academy of Fine Arts of Macerata. The deconsecrated church has become the academy's main hall/auditorium.
Civil architecture
Palaces Autopalazzo: the Autopalazzo (also known as the Palace or Garage Perogio) is a Liberty-style building built adjoining the western city walls of Macerata. It was completed in 1911 to a design by engineer Ugo Cantalamessa as a multifunctional workshop. Since 2014, after a brief period of closure, it has housed the offices of Confcommercio. Former Casa del Fascio. The Academy of Fine Arts of Macerata has recently acquired the building with the intention of redeveloping it (2025), with the aim of bringing together teaching activities currently carried out across several sites in the city. Located in the historic centre of Macerata and dating to the late 14th century, the building has undergone multiple demolitions and reconstructions over the years. Loggia del grano: the area where the building stands previously hosted the church of Santa Maria del Suffragio, completely destroyed by a fire in 1832. It is the work of the local artist Agostino Benedettelli who, in 1841, built it as a “Borsa” for the trade in grain and silk. It currently houses the Department of Political Science, Communication and International Relations of the University of Macerata. Loggia dei Mercanti: a historic building located in Piazza della Libertà. Originally intended to house the municipal steelyard for weighing grain, it was also a place for negotiation and the display of goods. Palazzo Buonaccorsi Palazzo Floriani Carradori