"The six weeks in Grottammare will remain for me one of the best and sweetest memories..." FRANZ LISZT
Grottammare, praised in the 15th century by the humanist Flavio Biondo for its scenic and natural beauty, was already a renowned climatic and thermal resort as early as the 17th century. It was chosen as a vacation residence by nobles and prestigious personalities, so much so that in the summer of 1868 even the musician Franz Liszt spent a short vacation there.
Its transformation into a refined seaside resort favored in the early twentieth century the construction of elegant Art Nouveau villas surrounded by beautiful gardens. Despite the time elapsed Grottammare still offers tourists the opportunity to purify themselves from the city smog, to rediscover forgotten scents and colors, savoring again the serenity of hours lived in full harmony with nature. The clean waters, the coastline of the finest sand, the enchanting old town clinging to the hillside and the lush vegetation, combined with the care of the street furniture, the functionality and quality of services, have ensured Grottammare for several consecutive years prestigious international awards, such as the Blue Flag, the Three Sails of the Touring Club and more recently, the diploma of "Most Beautiful Village in Italy" for the old cascade.
The three proposed itineraries, among the many possible ones, allow to discover secret views, bright belvederes, to follow the traces left by the great personalities of Grottammare, and to appreciate the richness of history kept among ancient stones as in a casket. Grottammare is, therefore, a modern and comfortable town that has managed to jealously preserve its nature, history and the memory of tradition.
Fazzinian Itinerary
The famous sculptor Pericle Fazzini, author of the Resurrection exhibited in the Sala Nervi in the Vatican, was born in Grottammare on May 4, 1913. The Fazzini itinerary allows visitors to approach the artist's intense career, marked by numerous exhibitions in the world's most important museums.
Some significant stops are placed along an ideal itinerary that winds between the beach and the old incasato. At the entrance to the bicycle and pedestrian path 1 , which connects Grottammare to Cupra Marittima, in harmony with nature and the sea is a bronze author's casting of the Boy with Seagulls, obtained from the wooden original of 1940-1944, probably the artist's most accomplished sculpture. In the central town square 5 stands, on the other hand, the sketch of the monument to Kennedy entitled Metamorphosis, from 1965, donated by the artist to Grottammare: a stele that splits lengthwise, revealing in the gaps the profile of the American president. Near Madonnina Park, then, it is possible to admire Portrait of Mario Rivosecchi 7, the poet friend who discovered the young sculptor's talent and introduced him to Roman artistic circles. A bronze Via Crucis is, moreover, preserved at theinside Of St. Augustine's Church 8.
The heart of the Fazzini itinerary is the Torrione della Battaglia 11 museum, a fortification dating back to the 16th century that was restored in 2004. The exhibition rooms house bronze sketches, drawings, lithographs, notebooks and other precious objects donated by Pericle Fazzini to the model Lisa Schneider: a collection of 250 works, purchased by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Ascoli Piceno, that document the complex workshop and articulate inspiration of the "sculptor of the wind." Among the most prestigious works in the collection is the silver sketch for the famous Resurrection, the artist's splendid testament. Pericle Fazzini died in Rome on December 4, 1987.
Art Nouveau Itinerary
The features of Art Nouveau spread to the Marche region at the beginning of the twentieth century. Grottammare, along with other towns on the Adriatic coast, is in a special position compared to the great centers, Italian and European, that saw the flowering and development of this style. The most substantial nucleus of these villas is located on Viale Colombo 2 , the former Viale Marino, built in 1890.
The avenue, punctuated along its entire length by exuberant palm trees, features porphyry and white Carrara marble paving, enlivened and enriched with designs recovered from the decorative tradition of the 1920s. Villa "Marucchi," the "Alessandrini," "Ida" and "Ornella" cottages and, above all, Villino Matricardi-Cola 3 , the most exquisite example of Art Nouveau architecture in Grottammare, overlooks Viale Colombo, designed in 1913 by architect Cesare Bazzani, commissioned by Engineer Giuseppe Maria Matricardi, a builder from Ascoli and owner of a majolica factory (not by chance, the decorations of the villino are icons and means of dissemination of the ceramics produced by the owner). Continuing south, one encounters the Kursaal building, which presides over the recently restored and redeveloped Square 4.
The present building was inaugurated in July 1952; for years it was a renowned nightclub and constituted one of the most exclusive haunts on the entire Adriatic Riviera. Since 2003 it has housed the M.I.C. Museum of Comic Illustration on the first floor, which preserves and exhibits illustrations by the most important masters of the Italian scene, dedicated to prestigious figures in comedy and entertainment.
Walking along the Republic Promenade we can, moreover, admire the simple and elegant lines of the "De Nardis - Palombari," "Monti," "Pontremoli - Modigliani," and "Flaiani" villas. Finally, in addition to the coastline, good examples of Art Nouveau architecture and decoration are also located in the interior of the town. We only mention in Viale Garibaldi the "Ricci" small villa and the imposing building of the "G. Speranza" Elementary School, which is reminiscent of Art Nouveau forms due to the large projecting cornices and decorations in the lunettes of the windows.
Sistine Itinerary
Grottammare was the birthplace of men of strong temper and determined character, such as Felice Peretti, Pope Sixtus V (1521-1590), to whom the Sistine Itinerary is named. Strolling through the alleys and glimpses of a 16th-century Grottammare, it is possible to visit the church of St. Lucia 12, erected at the behest of the Pope near the house where he was born, which houses a splendid organ of refined Baroque structure, built in 1752 by the celebrated organ builder Francesco Fedeli della Rocchetta di Camerino, now masterfully restored.
To his hometown, moreover, Sixtus V bequeathed objects that testify to his happy relationship with his land, preserved in the Sistine Museum set up in the church of San Giovanni Battista 9 . On display inside are some very valuable objects donated by Sixtus V to Grottammare such as the chalice with paten and the medal with the effigy of Camilla Peretti, the pontiff's sister. The museum also houses valuable paintings by distinguished artists from the Marche region, such as Vittore Crivelli and Vincenzo Pagani.
Since 1794, a statue of the pontiff made by Swiss artist Stefano Interlenghi has towered over the loggias of Belvedere 10, placed in a niche on the facade of the Teatro dell'Arancio, an 18th-century structure restored in 2003, which hosts theatrical performances, small concerts and a permanent exhibition of works by painter Giacomo Pomili known as Il Tarpato. Finally, a bronze effigy of the pope, executed by sculptor Aldo Sergiacomi in 1984, stands sternly on the splendid Piazza San Pio V 6 , recently redeveloped. The itinerary can ideally conclude with a visit to the 19th-century church of St. Pius V, which houses works by Luigi Fontana, Cleto Capponi, Ubaldo Ferretti and Vittorio Fazzini, father of Pericle Fazzini.
