Fano


Fano is a coastal city and comune of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy located southeast of Pesaro at the point where the Via Flaminia reaches the Adriatic Sea. As of 2021, it has a population of approximately 59,000, smaller than Ancona and Pesaro.

History

Originally part of ancient Marche, the settlement was known as Fanum Fortunae after a prominent local sanctuary dedicated to the goddess Fortuna. Its first mention in history dates from 49 BC, when Julius Caesar held it, along with Pisaurum and Ancona. Caesar Augustus established a colonia, and built a wall, some parts of which remain. In 2 AD Augustus also built an arch at the entrance to the town.
In January 271, the Roman Army defeated the Alamanni in the Battle of Fano that took place on the banks of the Metauro river just inland of Fano.
Fano was destroyed by Vitiges' Ostrogoths in AD 538. It was rebuilt by the Byzantines, becoming the capital of the maritime Pentapolis that included also Rimini, Pesaro, Senigallia and Ancona. In 754 it was donated to the Holy See by the Frankish kings.
The Malatesta became lords of the city in 1356 with Galeotto I Malatesta, who was nominally only a vicar of the Popes. Among the others, Pandolfo III resided in the city. Under his son, the condottiero Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, Fano was besieged by Papal troops under Federico III da Montefeltro, and returned to the Papal administration. It was later part of the short-lived state of Cesare Borgia, and then part of the duchy of the della Roveres in the Marche.
During the Napoleonic Wars it suffered heavy spoliations; the city had an active role in the Risorgimento. In World War I Fano was several times bombed by the Austro-Hungarian Navy. During World War II it was massively bombed by Allied aeroplanes due to hit the strategic railway and street bridges crossing the Metauro river. When the Nazis withdrew from the town they destroyed all of the bell towers in the town.
During the 1916 Rimini earthquakes, two spires of Fano Cathedral collapsed, a large stucco angel fell in the, and part of the belltower wall of the collapsed. Part of a wall of the Church of San Paterniano collapsed. The earthquake of 16 August caused an exodus from the town.
In 2026, archaeological excavations in the piazza at Fano found the remains of the civic basilica described by Vitruvius in his treatise De architectura.

Main sights

Religious structures

  • Fano Cathedral:, which was erected over a pre-existing cathedral destroyed by a fire in 1111. The current façade is from the 1920s restoration, but is similar to the original. The interior has a nave and two aisles.
  • The town's namesake temple of Fortuna is identified in the remains of a monumental podium located beneath the medieval convent of Saint Augustine.
  • San Domenico
  • San Pietro in Valle:
  • San Paterniano: with a Renaissance cloister.
  • San Francesco: church housing the tombs of Pandolfo III Malatesta and his first wife Paola Bianca Malatesta.
  • Santa Maria Nuova: Church has an ancient portal and two works by Perugino.
Outside the city, in the place called Bellocchi, is the church of St. Sebastian, for the construction of which parts of the ancient cathedral were used.

Secular structures

  • Arco d'Augusto: The upper story of this Roman gate was destroyed in a siege conducted on the order of Pope Pius II in 1463, although a bas-relief of it was made by Bernardino di Pietro da Carona in 1513 on an adjacent wall of the annexed church and the loggia of St. Michael, the former having a noteworthy Renaissance portal.
  • Corte Malatestiana: built after 1357 by Galeotto I Malatesta. The 14th-century section includes a great vaulted hall and a small turret. The modern part was built under Pandolfo III in 1413-23. The current edifice was heavily restored in the 20th century, but the original mullioned windows in Gothic style, as well as the staircase and the loggia from a 16th-century restoration. Also noteworthy is the Borgia-Cybo Arch. The palace is connected to the Palazzo del Podestà by a modern bridge, probably present also in the original structure.
  • Rocca Malatestiana: was partially destroyed in 1944. The most ancient part dates probably from pre-existing Roman and medieval fortifications. The castle in its current form was begun in 1433 or 1438 by Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta. The now missing mastio was erected in 1452. Here, Sigismondo's son, Roberto, was besieged by Papal Troops in 1463 and signed the peace treaty that ended the Malatesta domination of Fano.
  • Museo Civico of Fano:, located inside the Palazzo Malatestiano, is a museum with archaeological findings, coins, medals, and an art gallery with works by Guido Reni, Domenichino, Guercino, Michele Giambono, and Giovanni Santi.
  • Palazzo del Podestà or della Ragione. The interiors are in Neoclassicist style, and it houses the Teatro della Fortuna.
  • Fontana della Fortuna .

    Culture

  • Fano dei Cesari is an annual week-long festival held in July or August, featuring cultural events ending with a parade in Roman costumes and chariot races.
  • The Fano Jazz by The Sea festival is held annually for one week.
  • The library, the Biblioteca Federiciana, was established on 17 November 1720.

    Sports

The Fano Ultimate Frisbee Association, established in 2001, fields four teams—Croccali, Mirine, Spaccamadoni and Angry Gulls —and has won eight Italian championships.
Alma Juventus Fano 1906 is the local football team who play at the Stadio Raffaele Mancini.

Notable people

Fano is twinned with: