Macerata

Macerata is a city in Marche Region in Italy. It is known for being the place where the Jesuit priest Matteo Ricci was born.

Get in
Macerata is most easily accessible using Italy's efficient trains. Whether you are arriving from the north, most likely through Bologna, or from Rome, you are going to have to transfer from the faster, larger trains to smaller, regional ones. Information about train fares and timetables are easily found online. Tourists to Macerata can also arrive by car. This might be a more desirable option if you are staying outside of the old city walls, or have a limited amount of time in the city, and want to see many sites in that short time.

Get around
Macerata has a bus system that will take visitors to harder to reach places outside of the walls in the newer parts of the city. However, the most efficient, and in many ways more pleasant, way of seeing the city is to walk. Macerata is an old Medieval town with the center of the city high on a hill. The old part of town is completely walled in, with the newer parts of town lying outside of the walls. Walking the old part of the city is easy in one day, but there are many alleys and side streets to get lost in, which you should allow yourself to do. Macerata is not very easily accessible for those with disabilities, as there are a lot of stairs in the old part of town.

See
You have probably never heard of Macerata because it doesn't have the kinds of attractions that draw visitors to the city. Macerata is alluring to the tourist who wants to experience life at an Italian's pace. It is a small, laid back city with very little tourist activity. Every summer in Macerata, many Italians and some tourists flock to Macerata for the Sferisterio Opera Festival, which is widely renowned in the region.