The Caves
About 2.500 years ago ancient people started carving out the hill, making underground and secret passages for defence purposes, to be supplied with water and to survive. Over the centuries these underground passages were used by the population for various purposes: safeguard hideways and escape routes in times of danger, water lines leading to and from cisterns and sources, places of religious worship, a meeting place of the Templar Knights and air raid shelters during the Second World War. There are four underground routes accessible to the public: the Cantinone Caves, the Dante Square Caves, The Riccioni Caves and the Simonetti Caves. Enter into the mistery, discovering the fascinating sculpted figures and cryptic symbols that inhabit this underground world. An experience you will never forget! One more fun fact: in 2016 the American rock band The Orphan Brigade was in concert in Recanati and visited the Caves in Osimo. They were so well impressed by this underground world that in 2017 they returned to record their album called precisely “Heart of the cave” and to shoot the video of the single that went around the world.
THE TOWN HALL WITH THE LAPIDARIUM AND THE EXCAVATIONS UNDER THE LOGGIA
In the entrance hall and in the inner courtyard there is the Lapidarium with a collection of Roman finds and the famous acephalous statues which earned the Osimo inhabitants the appellation of Headless people. Numerous are the suppositions. Maybe the heads were stolen in battle or they are statues of an old Roman craft shop whom heads were never sculpted. The Osimo inhabitants like answering who teases them by calling them Headless that, if they live in Osimo, a very beautiful town, they do have their head. The elegant palace looks onto the central square, the Commune Square, once used as Roman Forum. You can still see the crossing pattern of intersecting streets, called decumani and cardines, typical of Roman encampments. Recently during the restoration of the Loggia, excavations brought to light the ruins of an old church, some skeletons and a high-quality female statue in fine Greek marble. You can see the archaeological remains through a glass floor.
ROMAN TOWN WALLS AND FONTE MAGNA
The Town walls extend along the entire perimeter of the historic centre and are the result of rebuilding work carried out over the centuries. In the north section you can admire the original Roman walls built in the year 174 B.C. Another testimony of the Roman period is Fonte Magna where you can admire the remains of an imposing Roman nymphaeum dating to I century B.C. Its original charm, admired by anyone going to the source to draw water, is still evident. The legend goes that Pompeius Magnus watered his horses here.
THE CATHEDRAL OF ST. LEOPARDO AND THE BAPTISTERY
The Cathedral was erected on the highest point of the town where once a pagan temple and later an early church dating to the V c. stood. It is dedicated to the first bishop of Osimo, St. Leopardo and it is an example of the Romanesque-Gothic style dating to the XII-XIV centuries. Its precious engraved stone portals and the majestic adorned rose window are very interesting. Worthy of note is also the Crypt with the decorated marble sarcophagi with the relics of the first martyrs and saintly bishops of Osimo. Adjacent to the Cathedral stands the Baptistery, built in the XII c. Noteworthy is the coffered ceiling painted by Sarti and the impressive bronze baptismal font made by Jacometti brothers.
THE PUBLIC GARDEN OF PIAZZA NUOVA
A walk to the public gardens of Piazza Nuova not to miss! On especially clear days from this belvedere you can enjoy a magnificent panoramic view: from the Adriatic Sea to the Gran Sasso mountain and the Sibillini mountains.
Calici sotto le Stelle
It is on the 10th of August, the night of St. Lorenzo, a night of wine, music and stars, from sunset to dawn, in the historic centre and at Piazza Nuova. You can buy a goblet at a moderate price and taste all the wines that the most famous wineries of our region offer to the people in this occasion. There are numerous events: shops are open in the centre, observations of stars and shooting stars, photographic exhibitions, guided tour of the town and the Caves, live music and performances for adults and children.
THE GOOD FRIDAY PROCESSION
It is one of the most impressive events taking place at Easter time since the end of 1500. Every year on Good Friday the town turns off all the lights at 8 p.m. and you can hear a sinister noise coming from the past and giving you goose bumps. It is the noise of the “battistangole”, wooden boards, shaked by the “Saccò”, hooded men in black. Other Saccò parade down the streets with lit torches. They are 200 saccò and belong to the “Confraternita della Pia Unione del Cristo morto” of Osimo. The procession continues showing the symbols of the Passion, the “Cataletto”, an open coffin where the dead Christ lies and the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows. Around her there are seven girls, dressed as a nun, representing Our Lady’s seven sorrows. The procession ends with the authorities and the inhabitants in prayer, holding lit torches in their hands. The procession starts from the Cathedral of St. Leopardo and we suggest you not to miss its departure because the view from the Central Square is particularly suggestive. Then it continues through old narrow streets up to St. Marc Church, Corso Mazzini, the central square and finally returns to the Cathedral.
THE BASILICA OF ST. JOSEPH FROM COPERTINO AND THE ST. MARC EVANGELIST CHURCH
Saint Joseph from Copertino, patron saint of the town, is also the protector of students known as the “saint of the flights”. Inside the basilica a crypt holds his remains and you can visit the small rooms where he spent his last years, containing the saint’s personal objects and many of the ex-voto left by those who obtained his intercession. Inside the St. Marc church, near the Three Arches, eastern gate of the town, you can admire the altar – piece portraying the Madonna of Rosary painted by the Guercino. Leaving the church a stop at the Bar Gelateria 4+1 is a must. There you can taste one of the best ice cream in the area!
Rivivi Settecento
It is a historical re-enactment inspired by the tales of some historians. They narrate how the Earl Guarnieri, a Captain from Osimo, won a naval battle against a Turkish ship in Anzio on the 22 nd of September 1723. As the battle took place on St. Tecla’s day, joint patron saint of the Cathedral of Osimo, the captain sent the flagpole of the enemy ship to the bishop of Osimo as a sign of gratitude and devotion to the saint. The Earl gave also written instructions how to deliver it, details about the parade route and the participants’ clothes. The re-enactment of the parade and the delivery is based on this historical source. The episode is remembered also by a memorial stone placed on a wall at the entrance of the Cathedral of St. Leopardo in 1766 where the conquest of a Turkish torch is narrated. It is not a simple parade in old costumes, but is the reproduction of the social, cultural and political context in Osimo at that time. It is organised and directed by a youth committee, young fans of Osimo and its history. It offers various events: a Baroque concert, scenes from a XVIII century wedding ceremony, animated tours looking for old characters, taverns offering ancient menus.
THE NUOVA COPPA PIANISTI – THE NEW INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION
This international competition takes place inside the theatre La Nuova Fenice, and with its excellent acoustics provides an opportunity for Italian and foreign pianists to be known and grow up musically.
THE FEAST OF ST. JOSEPH FROM COPERTINO, PATRON SAINT OF THE TOWN
It is celebrated on the 17 th and 18 th of September with stalls, expositions, concerts and fireworks.
THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF MONTETORTO
In the village of Casenuove, a district of Osimo, you can visit the country Roman Villa of Montetorto with the remains of an important rural production system of olive oil and wine dated between the end of the I c. BC and the IV-V c. AD. The site is the second of this type in Italy and documents the wine and oil-making process: the picking, the squeezing and the storage.
THE SANCTUARY OF CAMPOCAVALLO AND THE COUNTRYSIDE AROUND OSIMO
Faith, art, culture and tradition.
A short tour through the agricultural villages around Osimo can be very interesting. It is enough to return to these rural spots to relive sensations and emotions of the past. The old houses of the sharecroppers, the small country churches, the narrow roads leading from one hill to another, everything testifies to the fact that it is still possible to breathe the calm and tranquillity of life from the past. A village not to miss is Campocavallo. A small village located around a fine sanctuary built to welcome the pilgrims coming from across Italy to see the miraculous picture of Our Virgin Lady of Sorrows that would have cried on several occasions. Every year its inhabitants realise an artistic manufactured work, called “Covo”, completely covered with ears of wheat interlaced in a very artistic way, faithfully reproducing to scale the image of another sanctuary, making with this one a partnership. The Covo is carried in procession on the first Sunday of August. You can admire the masterpieces of the latest editions in the Covo Museum where there are also many testimonies of rural past life. Here are the names of some reproduced world-famous faith places: Lourdes, Santiago de Compostela, Pompei, St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow. In the square behind the sanctuary you can visit also the artistic Crib, famous for the attention to details and the proportion of the scenes.
THE RIVER MUSONE, THE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTRE AND THE PARK GREEN ENERGY
Not far from Campocavallo, along the river Musone, there is a natural complex where you can take relaxing walks and ride a bike. Families with children can also take part in educational workshops on environment and sustainability in the Environmental Education Centre. Sport and meeting activities can be done in the Park Green Energy connected with the “Anello Girardengo”, a cycle circle path, 4,82 kilometres long, mixed surface, average gradient 0,2%, maximum gradient 3%, that goes along the valley of the river Musone and through the Settefinestre hills. Along the river you can also see the river bank where the bee-eaters make their nests. The very colourful birds come here from Africa to make their nests and to grow up the progeny in spring, they return to Africa in autumn.
THE BISCUIT FACTORY “FROLLA”
In the countryside, near the small village of San Paterniano, in 16, XVII July road, you can visit the “Diversamente bar” (A different cafè), with the laboratory and the shop annexed, to have a tasting breakfast and to buy unique souvenirs. In doing so, you finance a good project that has the goal to produce artisanal biscuits employing disabled people and using flour of our territory. “Frolla” is the winner of the European citizen’s prize 2021 and received the price from the President of the European Parliament, Davide Sassoli, in Bruxelles on the 9 th of November.
