PESARO
During the Second World War,
the City was heavily damaged, also because it was close to
the Gothic line, but after a period of standstill followed
by occupation by the Alliance troops (until August 1944),
the City eventually began its after war revival.
From an artistic and archaeological point of view, there are
very few referable finds from the Roman to the High Medieval
City.
The first artistic documents of any interest were established
by a noteworthy group of Roman-Gothic Churches, with numerous
remaining elements: the façade of the Cathedral (end
of the 13th Century), the beautiful portals of Saint Agostino
(1413), San Francesco (1356-1373) and San Domenico (1395).
Until the event of the Renaissance, the artistic ambience
of Pesaro presented numerous contacts with Veneta art, confirmed
by some Venetian paintings which can be seen today in the
Civic Museum.
The Renaissance is represented by the harmonious Ducal Palace,
built at the request of Alessandro Sforza during the second
half of the 15th Century, being then reconstructed after a
fire, by Bartolomeo and Girolamo Genga. The Laurana (Dalmata
(Dalmation) Architect who also worked in Urbino), arrived
in the City in 1476 and contributed to the building of the
Rocca Costanza, a important example of military architecture,
begun in 1474.
The Imperial Villa is situated in the outskirts of the City,
in the hills of San Bartolo, and takes its name from the Emperor
Federico III of Hapsburg, who was guest of the Sforza family
in 1452, attended to the foundation. Most of it was rebuilt
under the Della Rovere Family, beginning from 1530 with works
by Girolamo Genga, author also of a huge part of the interesting
fresco decoration, with further participation from Menzocchi,
Dossi, Bronzino and Perin del Vaga.
In the already mentioned Civic Museum, which is housed in
the Mosca building, we can point out the Pala dell’Incoronazione
della Vergine (Altarpiece of the Crowning of the Virgin Mary)
by Giovanni Bellini, a splendid piece of art from the 1400’s,
and a precious collection of majolica which reminds us how
from 1462, Pesaro has been an important centre of majolica
production, and that from the 15th to the 16th Century, it
flourished under the protection of the Sforza Family.
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