Overlooking the Adriatic Sea, Pesaro is a charming coastal town that has been nicknamed the “City of Bicycles” due to its endless cycling trails. It’s renowned as the birthplace of opera composer Gioachino Rossini and boasts two model-filled motorcycle museums, all on the doorstep of Mount San Bartolo Natural Park.
Things to do in Pesaro
A short walk from Pesaro’s Piazza del Popolo is the birthplace of Gioachino Rossini, one of Italy’s most famous 19th-century opera composers. While exploring its 10 rooms, you can learn about the composer’s life and the worldly events taking place around him, with sheet music, historic artefacts and documents on display. A highlight is the Hall of Mirrors featuring the Pleyel piano once belonging to Rossini.
On the banks of the Foglia River is the Morbidelli Museum, which showcases the legacy of this renowned motorcycle manufacturer. Its exhibits include motorbikes dating from the early 20th century, complete with information about the model and its specifications. Also in Pesaro is the Museo Benelli, where you’ll find vintage Benelli bikes, plus mannequins wearing motorcycle fashions from different eras.
Pesaro serves as a gateway to Mount San Bartolo Natural Park, which encompasses 1,600 hectares of coastal cliffs and pebbly beaches along the Panoramica Adriatica Highway. Hiking trails meander through its oak and hornbeam forests while bicycles can be rented in Pesaro to explore its rural surroundings. Mount San Bartolo Natural Park is home to deer, badgers and porcupines, as well as honey buzzards, peregrine falcons and cormorants.
Getting around Pesaro
Pesaro is around an hour’s drive from Ancona and 45 minutes from Ancona International Airport, which has flights to destinations across Europe. Trains connect to the Pesaro railway station and buses travel throughout the town. The centre of Pesaro can easily be explored on foot.