Guided tour of Fabriano – province of Ancona

In an upland area at the centre of a hollow in the Apennine mountains at 325m a.s.l., Fabriano is a town rich in sights of note laid out along the enchanting Medieval fabric of the old town centre. Home of the great painter, Gentile da Fabriano, it is a prosperous industrial town, famous all over the world for its centuries-long tradition of paper-making and its domestic appliances, besides production of its renowned ‘salame di Fabriano’.

To visit with a Fabriano tour guide:

Piazza del Comune, has the characteristic triangular shape and it is surrounded by buildings of varying times which come together to create a grand setting. It is embellished at the centre by the Medieval round fountain from 1285, called the Sturinalto due to its powerful water jet; at the bottom rises, simple and majestic, the 12th-century Palazzo del Podestà, recognised as being one of the highest examples of Gothic architecture in the Marche;

Gentile Theatre, inaugurated in 1884, it is one of the most elegant theatres in the Region, also appreciated abroad for its excellent acoustics;

Civic Art Gallery, housed within the ancient Santa Maria and Good Jesus Hospital, splendid late-Gothic building, constructed upon the wish of the preacher Giacomo della Marca of 1456, it contains one of the most important collections of Medieval Art in the Marche, besides precious works which go from the Renaissance to the Baroque;

Cathedral of Saint Venanzio (Saint Venantius), of Medieval origins, though it was rebuilt at the beginning of the 17th century by the architect Muzio Oddi from Camerino, it is a true treasure chest of works of art of great interest which holds the works of some of the greatest artists of the Marche and Italy. Not to be missed is the Medieval chapel of San Lorenzo, frescoed in the 14th century by the well-known painter and disciple of Giotto, Allegretto Nuzi;

Museo della Carta (Paper-making Museum), the fascinating space around the cloister of the former Dominican convent of Saint Lucia, hosts one of the most beautiful museums in the Marche. The visitor will be accompanied along a route to discover the history of paper and the centuries-old relationship which inextricably links it to the history of Fabriano.

Near Fabriano we advise the guided tour to the splendid Frasassi Caves and to the Abbey of Saint Vittore delle Chiuse, one of the most significant Romanesque sights in the Region.