THE FESTIVAL LOCATIONS
The XIII edition of the festival will be hold in two beautiful churches, St. Magdalene's Church and St. Annunziata's Church. Both monuments, located in the historic centre of Pesaro, are deconsecrated and nowadays they host cultural events.
ST. MAGDALENE'S CHURCH
The church was annexed to the now demolished Benedictine monastery which stood on the site of the present piazza del Monte. The church was founded in the 13th. century and consecrated in 1325. In 1553 it became a mausoleum for the Sforza family to lay their family members’ remains when they were removed from the church of san Giovanni Battista.
The church and convent were completely restructured in the 18th. century, giving the structure its present appearance. The design of 1740 for the church was by Luigi Vanvitelli, the famous architect working for the papal State and designer of the Royal Palace of Caserta. The rebuilding of the Maddalena, entrusted by Vanvitelli to his pupil Antonio Rinaldi, was completed in 1745. Following the Unification of Italy ecclesiastical possessions passed to the state, causing a protracted period of abandon during which the works adorning this church were removed, among them the altarpieces by Giannandrea Lazzarini of Pesaro. The church has a notable concave front, the upper section of which is unfinished. Like many other buildings of the same period, this building is of brick contrasting with the white Istrian stone of the portal. The interior is adorned with sculpture and stucco bas relief by Giuseppe Mazza, a Bolognese artist who also did work in the in the church of the Santissima Annunziata in Pesaro.
The architect Celio Francioni was responsible for its restoration in 1995 and the conversion of the church into a space for cultural events, including the return of Lazzarini’s paintings to their original positions. Text based on: Giovanna Patrignani, Pesaro. La Radio storia della Città, Pesaro, Metauro Edizioni, 2008, pp. 90-91