Fermo Attractions

South of Macerata is the town of Fermo (319m/1,053ft; pop. 35,000), the see of an archbishop, with churches containing a number of fine pictures. At Porta San Francesco are remains of the town's ancient cyclopean walls. In the Piazza del Popolo, reached by steep lanes running up from the Porta San Francesco, are the Town Hall and the Palazzo degli Studi (library, museum, picture gallery). On the commanding Rocca is the 13th century cathedral, in the porch of which is the Gothic tomb of Giovanni Visconti (d. 1366) by Bonaventura da Imola. Nearby are remains of the ancient theater. Under the church of San Domenico, below the Piazza del Popolo, is an ancient cistern (first century A.D.). Also worth a visit are the churches of San Agostino (13th century) and San Francesco (13th-15th centuries).