Guided tour of Tolentino – province of Macerata

A town of Art of Roman origins, Tolentino (Tolentinum), lies at 228m a.s.l., in the Chienti valley, at the centre of a circle of hills. For centuries, it was important due to its strategic position on the Via Lauretania route, the main roadway of the Papal States. Spa town, today Tolentino is an important industrial centre, famous for work in leather.

To visit with a Tolentino tour guide:

• Ponte del Diavolo, according to legend it was erected in a single night in 1268;
• Basilica of S. Nicola (Saint Nicholas), dedicated to the veneration of the body of the great Augustinian hermit and preacher, it is one of the most important and visited sanctuaries in central Italy. It displays an elegant Medieval cloister and the famous Cappellone di San Nicola, completely decorated by a grandiose cycle of 13th-century frescoes of the Giotto-Rimini school;
• Cathedral of S. Catervo (Saint Catervo), dedicated to the patron saint of Tolentino, it houses the grand sarcophagus of San Catervo and Santa Settimia of the 4th century AD, in a chapel with Renaissance frescoes;
• Piazza della Libertà, centre of town life, characterised by the Clock Tower which tell the time, day and phases of the moon;
• Palazzo Sangallo, Palazzo Sangallo, the 15th-century building hosts, o/n the second floor, the one and only International Museum of Humourism in Art, with more than 500 pieces;
• Palazzo Parisani Bezzi, here in February 1797, the famous Treaty of Tolentino between Napoleon Bonaparte and the Papal States was signed.

Near Tolentino, we advise the guided tour of the Rancia Castle, home to the public Archaeological Museum.