Osimo is situated on the hills between the valleys of Aspio and Musone, 18 km from Ancona. It is an ancient town, surrounded by medieval and Roman walls. The historic centre has churches and noble palaces from the seventeeth/eighteenth-centuries. During the Byzantine time it belonged to the maritime Pentapoli and was a very important centre. It became a free town in 1100 and was dominated by the Malatesta and Sforza.

The street plan of the old town still retains its Roman layout; you can admire the sturdy blocks of  Roman walls above Via Fonte Magna (III-II BC) and the water garden Fonte Magna (I century BC). The Palazzo Comunale, or town hall, in main Piazza del Comune houses a dozen headless statues from Roman times; the statues originally stood in the town's forum and were, according to tradition, decapitated during an early occupation of the place.
The Duomo of S. Leopardo, originally built in the 13th century in romanesque-gothic style, boasts a magnificently atmospheric crypt and an outstanding bronze baptismal font from the early 17th century.
In the heart of the old town stands  the Sanctuary of San Giuseppe da Copertino, built in the 13th century, with connected convent and cloister and now an important centre of pilgrimage. San Giuseppe is known as the patron saint of those undergoing exams. Thanks also to his celebrated capacity for levitation, St Joseph of Copertino is also much invoked in the U.S.A as a protector of pilots.
Must see attractions are also the church of S. Marco with a canvas by Guercino, Palazzo Campana and Palazzo Gallo.
A few kilometres south-east of Osimo in the valley of the Musone river, stands the imposing Sanctuary of Campocavallo, a striking piece of early 20th century architecture in Lombard neo-gothic style. It guards a venerated image of the Virgin behind the main altar; in 1892 it was seen to weep by the faithful, a phenomenon reputedly repeated a number of times since then.