Ancona
The 19thC Teatro delle Muse in the square has now been re-opened after a complete restoration. Take a brief detour up Corso Mazzini to see the 16thC Fontana del Calamo, a regimented row of 13 masked spouts, and stop for an icecream at 'Rosa's'.

From Piazza della Repubblica, amble along Via della Loggia to see the statue-decked Loggia dei Mercanti, an outstanding example of florid Late Venetian-Gothic. Further on is the singular 13thC front of Santa Maria della Piazza, rows of blind arches and plenty of fidgety carving. Inside, a glass panel in the pavement allows you to see the remains of the even older church below.

From Via della Loggia walk up to Piazza del Plebiscito ruled over by a resplendent if cracked statue of Pope Clement XII. Over his shoulder is the Neoclassical Church of San Domenico with a Titian Crucifixion above the high altar. As you climb up from the square on Via Pizzecolli you are in the heart of the oldest part of the city.