Here is a brief description of the monuments of interest in Senigallia by means of which the town tells us about its history and its people.
There are many historic and artistic places to see and absorb the very atmosphere of bygone ages.

Tourist port
Two wharves prolong the estuary of the River Misa and provide 300 moorings, of which 30 for boats in transit. At the entrance to the port, welcoming sailors on their return, is Gianni Guerra’s “Penelope”"Penelope.

Ducal Palace
The fountain of the Ducal Palace was commissioned by Francesco Maria Della Rovere to mark the completion of the first aqueduct of the modern era. It was carried out by the Venetian, Stefano di Tommaso, and inaugurated in 1602. The fountain, in Veronese pink marble, is decorated with four ducks in bronze.
The Ducal Palace, opposite the castle, was built by Guibaldo Della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, in the latter part of the XVI century. The ducal coat of arms can be seen on the ceiling of the first floor, the decoration of which is attributed to Taddeo Zuccari,, a famous painter from the Marche. Numerous changes have been made to the original façade which now has a beautiful portal in white stone.


Castle
The Della Rovere Castle, designed by the military architect Baccio Pontelli, is the most ancient monument in Senigallia. It was commissioned by Giovanni Della Rovere and built in 1480 between the town and the sea on the remains of a Roman tower and a smaller castle dating from 1355. Erected by order of Cardinal Albornoz, the elegance of this latter structure can still be admired today, including the marble door and window cornices and the wonderful spiral staircase. Some of the halls in the castle now house various exhibitions.


Palazzo Baviera
Palazzo Baviera is a late medieval construction. The courtyard with its motifs and proportions similar to those of a cloister, emanates an atmosphere conducive to meditation.
At the centre of this internal courtyard there is a well with the Baviera coat of arms on four sides.
The cloister-like structure creates complex variations of light and shade.
Different architectural styles, from Romanesque to the Medieval and the first and second Renaissance periods, are in evidence in the Palazzo Baviera. In the first-floor Brandani rooms visitors can admire the five ceilings decorated with heroes, gods, allegories and ancient battles.


Foro Annonario
Piazza del Duca leads into the nearby square where the Foro Annonario is to be found. It is a large construction in neoclassical style surrounded by a portico with thirty Doric columns in brick, twenty-four of which make up the two surrounding semicircles with the other six in the centre. On the upper floor of the Foro Annonario are the rooms newly assigned to the “Antonelliano” Municipal Library. Founded in 1767 with books left to the town by Cardinal Antonelli, it now contains over 50,000 volumes.
The neoclassical building was carried out between 1830 and 1831 by the Senigallia architect Pietro Ghinelli. Over the years, the complex has retained its original function of fruit, vegetable and fish market in the “choreographic” setting under the porticoes stretching out along the banks of the River Misa.


The Ercolani porticoes
These 126 arches resting on square pillars seem to follow the gentle curve of the River Misa before it flows out into the sea. They were built by Cardinal Ercolani with blocks of white Istrian stone, in a period when trade in Senigallia was booming. They were intended to replace the old town walls with shops destined to house the merchants at the “Maddalena Fair”.
Along the two banks of the town canal the trading of grains, wood, spices and crafted articles was carried on. In the years of its greatest splendour the fair attracted as many as 500 ships and 50 thousand foreigners from Eastern countries, northern and central Italy as well as central Europe.
In confirmation of its fame Carlo Goldoni set one of his musical comedies called “La Fiera di Sinigallia” in the town.

Town Hall
The Town Hall was built between 1611 and 1613 on one side of Piazza Roma, the social focus of the town and also site of the Neptune Fountain, commonly called the “armless man in the square”. The bearded god with a crown encircling his mass of wavy hair, his forehead lined with thought as he looks down towards the left, evidently showing the sirens the way to go in the vastness of the sea with his missing arm. The other arm, also missing, was probably holding a trident to his side. It is said that the Turks deliberately committed the outrage of breaking off his arms and trident, as well as the end of his nose and the points of his crown.
The Council Hall, in eighteenth century style, is adorned
with several works of art: three paintings by Torregiani and one by Santini, stucchi , paintings on the ceiling and medallions over the four doors. The hall is entirely surrounded by a gallery and has a centrally placed crystal chandelier, originally from the Fenix Theatre, and a bust of Pope Urban VIII over the main doorway. The busts of Cardinal Testaferrata, Pope Pius IX, King Vittorio Emanuele II and Count Marchetti are in four niches in the side walls. Paintings in the Mayor’s anteroom are: the Madonna and Child, Jove and Juno and a memorial tablet and portrait in honour of Angelo Maierini who “dedicated his life to the study of law”. In the Mayor’s office there are precious paintings in frames of wood and gilded stucco: a Nativity Scene of the Flemish school, a St. Girolamo reputed to be by Lo Spagnoletto, a copy of Raffaello’s “Madonna taking a walk”, “an old man drinking”, and a panel depicting an “ Old Man’s Head”. A Silver Mallet bearing the town coat of arms on the top, is also part of the collection.


Chiesa della Croce
Work on this baroque church began in 1576. On the high altar there is the “Bearing of Christ to the Sepulchre” by Barocci with laterally, the Nativity and Epiphany by Giovanni Anastasi .
It is the headquarters of the Confraternity of the Cross and Sacrament instituted by unanimous vote in 1818 and patronized by Pope Pius IX.
Over the main door, in the choir, is the organ built by the well-known Venetian Gaetani Callido.

Santa Maria delle Grazie
The church is three kilometres from Senigallia, on a green hill overlooking the sea. It was built in fulfilment of a vow made by Giovanni Della Rovere, lord of Senigallia, and his wife Giovanna di Montefeltro who were desirous of an heir.
The marble portal in baroque style was later built by Vittoria Della Rovere wife of Ferdinando II Medici, and, for this reason, the coat of arms high on the wall bears the Della Rovere emblem together with that of the Medici.

Inside there are two cloisters – the smaller of which is unfinished. At the centre of the larger one there is a well bearing the Della Rovere coat of arms. There is a portico all around supported by slim, elegant columns and above there are the small windows belonging to the monastic cells. Along the portico wall it was once possible to read episodes from the life of St. Francis, but now they have almost completely disappeared. Inside the church, on the right, there is a statue of St. Pasquale and a large painting of St. Francis receiving the stigmata on Mount Verna. On the left there are various paintings of the saints and up behind the high altar is a “ Madonna and the Saints” painted by Il Perugino in 1490.
In the vestry there is an interesting fifteenth century wash-basin on which, together with the Della Rovere coat of arms, is inscribed the motto “ Lavamini et mundi estote” (Wash yourself and be purified).
The convent houses the Museum of Share-cropping History, with a vast assortment of documents and farming implements which makes this Centre one of the most interesting of its kind and well worth seeing.

Until 1917, the Convent of the Graces used to contain the “Madonna of Senigallia” a masterpiece by Piero della Francesca. After being almost forgotten for centuries in the Convent of the Graces, this painting was taken to Senigallia Town Hall, where it remained until 16th November 1916.
Then, fearing it would be damaged during bombing raids, it was entrusted to the Urbino picture gallery.