Macerata, one hour drive from is known across the world for its annual open-air opera festival. Macerata is a human-scaled provincial capital that also warrants a visit for its other charms.

Its open-air opera festival in July has found an international following and takes place in the 7,000-seater Sferisterio - a monster of a Neoclassical arena erected by private subscription in the 1820's. As you listen to a Verdi aria, you might care to know that the arena was originally built as a stadium for pallone, or Italian football.

The city centre has a measured dignity fitting the place's solid, if unostentatious wealth. Its centre was almost entirely built between the 16th and 19thC. The Renaissance two-tiered arcades of the Loggia dei Mercanti on central Piazza della Liberta' is the most striking piece of architecture.