Borgo Santa Maria, Candelara, Case Bruciate, Casteldimezzo, Cattabrighe, Chiusa di Ginestreto, Colombarone, Fiorenzuola di Focara, Ginestreto, Monteciccardo, Novilara, Ponte Valle, Pozzo Alto, Santa Maria dell'Arzilla, Santa Marina Alta, Santa Veneranda, Trebbiantico, TrePonti, Villa Ceccolini, Villa Fastiggi, Villa San Martin
Pesaro was dubbed the "Cycling City" (Città della bicicletta) by the Italian environmentalist association Legambiente in recognition of its extensive network of bicycle paths and promotion of cycling. It is also known as "City of Music" (Città della musica), for it is the birthplace of the composer Gioachino Rossini. In 2015, the Italian government applied for Pesaro to be declared a "Creative City" in UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. In 2017, Pesaro received the European City of Sport award, together with Aosta, Cagliari and Vicenza.
Local industries include fishing, furniture making and tourism. In 2020 it absorbed the former comune of Monteciccardo, now a frazione of Pesaro. Its frazione of Fiorenzuola di Focara is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy").
The city was established as Pisaurum by the Romans in 184 BC as a colony in the territory of the Picentes, the people who lived along the northeast coast during the Iron Age.[bettersourceneeded] In 1737, fourteen ancient votive stones were unearthed in a local farm field, each bearing the inscription of a Roman god; these were written in a pre-Etruscan script, indicating a much earlier occupation of the area than the 184 BC Picentes colony.
A settlement of the Picentes tribe has been found at Novilara. The northern Picentes were invaded in the 4th century BC by the Gallic Senones, earlier by the Etruscans, and when the Romans reached the area the population was an ethnic mixture. The Roman separated and expelled the Gauls from the country.[citation needed]
Under the Roman administration Pesaro, a hub across the Via Flaminia, became an important centre of trading and craftmanship.[citation needed] After the fall of the Western Empire, Pesaro was occupied by the Ostrogoths, and destroyed by Vitigis (539) in the course of the Gothic War. Hastily rebuilt five years later after the Byzantine reconquest, it formed the so-called Pentapolis, part of the Exarchate of Ravenna. After the Lombard and Frankish conquests of that city, Pesaro became part of the Papal States.
During the Renaissance it was ruled successively by the houses of Montefeltro (1285–1445), Sforza (1445–1512) and Della Rovere (1513–1631). Under the last family, who selected it as capital of their duchy, Pesaro saw its most flourishing age, with the construction of numerous public and private palaces, and the erection of a new line of walls (the Mura Roveresche). In 1475, a legendary wedding took place in Pesaro, when Costanzo Sforza and Camilla d'Aragona married.
On 11 September 1860 Piedmontese troops entered the city, and after their win over the Papal States at the Battle of Castelfidardo 8 days later, Pesaro was subsequently annexed to the new Kingdom of Italy along with the entire Marche (and Umbria) regions.
Pesaro was significantly damaged in the 1916 Rimini earthquakes. Its historic centre was abandoned after the 16 August earthquake, leaving 14,000 displaced people crowded into 2,000 tents. Many villages in its hinterland also suffered collapsed buildings.
As of 2026, the population is 95,270, of which 48.4% are males, and 51.6% are females. Minors make up 13.2% of the population, and seniors make up 27.4%.
Immigration
As of 2025, immigrants make up 12.3% of the population. The 5 largest foreign countries of birth are Moldova, Albania, Romania, Ukraine, and Peru.
Ducal Palace (15th century): commissioned by Alessandro Sforza, the façade has a portico with six arcades supported by six heavy pilasters and an upper floor with five windows crowned by coats of arms, festoons and puttoes.
Rocca Costanza (15th century): massive castle built by Costanzo I Sforza; it has a square plan with four cylindrical corner towers and a wide dry moat. Later used as prison.
Mura Roveresche (17th century): "Della Rovere Walls", demolished in the early 20th century), only two gates, Porta del Ponte and Porta Rimini, and a short section remain.
Birthplace of Gioachino Rossini: now a museum dedicated to the composer, located at 34 Via Rossini. It has a museum with manifestos, prints, portraits and his spinet. Also some of his papers are on display at the Biblioteca della Fondazione Rossini housed in the Palazzo Montani Antaldi.
Villino Ruggeri: notable early 20th century art nouveau home, designed by Giuseppe Brega.
Churches and other religious buildings
Pesaro Cathedral (5th-14th centuries): Romanesque-Gothic Basilica built over remains of a late Roman edifice and dedicated to St Terence during the Middle Ages. The façade, in Romanesque-Gothic style, is unfinished: it has a simple ogival portal surmounted by a band of small arches. A recent restoration has brought to light floor mosaics.
The Baroque Sanctuary of Beata Vergine del Carmelo (18th century).
↑A Renaissance Wedding: The Celebrations at Pesaro for the Marriage of Costanzo Sforza & Camilla Marzano D'Aragona (26–30 May 1475): (Studies in Medieval and Early Renaissance Art History). Harvey Miller Publ., 2013, ISBN978-1905375936
↑"Storia del Terremoto a Rimini"[History of the earthquake in Rimini]. RomagnaZone (in Italian). 27 October 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
