Fano

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This article is about the Italian town. For the Danish island, see Fanø.

Comune di Fano
Municipal coat of arms
Country	Italy
Region	Marche
Province	Pesaro e Urbino (PU)
Mayor	Stefano Aguzzi (since June 2004)

Elevation	12 m
Area	121 km²
Population
- Total (as of December 31, 2004)	61,675
- Density	512/km²
Time zone	CET, UTC+1
Coordinates	43°50′N 13°01′E
Gentilic	Fanesi
Dialing code	0721
Postal code	61032
Frazioni	Bellocchi, Camminate, Carignano, Carrara, Centinarola, Cuccurano, Fenile, Magliano, Marotta di Fano, Metaurillia, Ponte Sasso, Roncosambaccio, Rosciano, Torrette di Fano
Patron	San Paterniano
- Day	July 10
Website: www.comune.fano.pu.it

Fano is a town and comune of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort 12 km southeast of Pesaro, located where the Via Flaminia reaches the Adriatic Sea. It is the third city in the region by population after Ancona and Pesaro.

The Castle of Fano in a 19th century etching. The high watchtower was destroyed during World War II.

[edit] History

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An ancient town of Marche, it was known as Fanum Fortunae after a temple of Fortuna located there. Its first mention in history only dates from 49 BCE, 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 the 2 CE Augustus also built an arch (which is still standing) at the entrance to the town.

Fano was destroyed by Vitiges' Ostrogoths in 538 CE and it was rebuilt by the Byzantines, becoming the capital of the maritime Pentapolis ("Five Cities") that included also Rimini, Pesaro, Senigallia and Ancona. In 754 it was donated to the Popes by the Frank 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 famous 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 airplanes due to hit the strategic railway and street bridges crossing the Metauro river, suffering also the destruction of all its bell towers by the Nazi occupation troops when they withdrew.

[edit] Main sights

Fano's main attractions include:

The Roman gate called Arco d'Augusto. The upper storey was destroyed in a siege conducted on the order of Pope Pius II in 1463, although a bas-relief of it was immediately made on an adjacent wall. No remnants of the town's namesake temple have been uncovered, nor of the basilica we are told that Vitruvius built there. Annexed to the arch are the church and the loggia of St. Michael, the former having a noteworthy Renaissance portal.

The Arch of Augustus in Fano.

The Corte Malatestiana, built after 1357 by Galeotto I Malatesta. The 14th century section include a great vaulted hall (probably part of the first residence of the Malatesta in the city) and a small turret. The modern part was built under Pandolfo III in 1413-1423. The current edifice was heavily restored in the 20th century, but original are the 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 (late 15th century). The palace is connected to the Palazzo del Podestà by a modern bridge, probably present also in the original structure.
The Malatesta Castle (Rocca Malatestiana), 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 Malatesta. The now missing mastio was erected in 1452. Here Sigismondo's son, Roberto, was besieged by Papal Troops in 1463 and signed the peacy that ended the Malatesta domination of Fano.
The Cathedral (12th century), which was erected over a pre-existing cathedral destroyed by a fire in 1111. The current façade is from the 1920s restoration, but it similar to the original. The interior has a nave and two aisles.
Palazzo del Podestà or della Ragione (built from 1229 in Romanesque-Gothic style). The interiors are in Neoclassicist style, and houses a museum with archaeological findings, coins, medals, and an art gallery with works by Guido Reni, Domenichino and others.
the church of St. Francis, housing the tombs of Pandolfo III Malatesta (designed by Leon Battista Alberti and his first wife Paola Bianca Malatesta.
the church of Santa Maria Nuova (1521). It has an ancient portal and some works by Raphael and Perugino.
the church of San Paterniano (16th century) with a Renaissance cloister.
the Fountain of Fortune (17th century)

Outside the city, in the place called Bellocchi, is the church of St. Sebastian (16th century), for the construction of which parts of the ancient cathedral were used.