Potenza Picena stands on a hill 237 meters above sea level. It is characterized by its sweet and picturesque landscapes sloping towards the Adriatic, where the seaside resort of Porto Potenza Picena is located.
The Municipality, enriched by the two rural villages of San Girio and Montecanepino, has more than 16,000 inhabitants. During the communal age, it was called Monte Santo, due to the presence of 27 churches within the historic center, but after the Unification of Italy (1862), the adjective 'Picena' was added to the name 'Potenza', to ideologically connect with the local protohistoric people of the Piceni, recovering from the nearby ancient Roman city of Potentia. The oldest known record concerning the city dates back to 947 AD and testifies to the existence of the parish church of Santo Stefano, demolished in 1796 and corresponding to today's Piazza Matteotti, the town's main square.
The Municipal Palace, probably dating back to 1199, was rebuilt between 1745 and 1750 according to the design of the Ticino architect Pietro Bernasconi, collaborator of Luigi Vanvitelli. In the Sala della Giunta, paintings such as Madonna with Child between Saints Martino and Rocco (1584) by Simone de Magistris, "Allegory of Peace" (18th century) by Corrado Giaquinto, and Sant'Emidio (1770) by Benedetto Biancolini are on display. In the years 1856-1862, the theater was built, now named after the musician Bruno Mugellini, designed by Giuseppe Brandoni. In Piazza Matteotti, the crenellated Palazzo del Podestà, the Civic Tower, and the palaces of some of the most important families in the city such as Buonaccorsi, Marefoschi, Carradori, and Mazzagalli are arranged in a radial pattern.
On the northern side stands the Pincio, that is considered as one of the region's most scenic viewpoints.
A few kilometers from Porto Potenza Picena, towards Montecanepino, is Villa Buonaccorsi, dating back to the sixteenth century, renovated between 1745 and 1750 by the architect Pietro Bernasconi, following the School of Luigi Vanvitelli. The true gem of the villa is the beautiful Italian-style eighteenth-century garden, divided into five terraces, connected by a large central staircase and protected by a dense grove. Rare plants, fountains, water features, niches, obelisks depicting human subjects, and grotesque and mythological representations of the Venetian School can be admired here.
Download the list of accommodation facilities
NATURAL VILLAGE RESORT - [CIN:IT043043B24TCE8KNL|]
Address: Potenza Picena, Strada Statale 16 Adriatica - Km 331 48, snc
E-mail: reservation@natural-village.it
Phone: 0733881161
Website: https://www.natural-village.it
LA CIPOLLA D'ORO - [CIN:IT043043B9M3KS9P3B|]
Address: Potenza Picena, contrada san girio 33
E-mail: info@cipolladoro.it
Phone: 0733676424
Website: https://www.cipolladoro.it
ANTICO ULIVETO - [CIN:IT043043B5J3U6XZLK|]
Address: Potenza Picena, Contrada Palazzo Rosso 1
E-mail: booking@anticouliveto.com
Phone: 0733880752
Website: https://www.anticouliveto.com
CASALE TORRENOVA - [CIN:IT043043B4T4CTXKUF|]
Address: Potenza Picena, c.da San Girio 38
E-mail: info@casaletorrenova.it
Phone: 3356913986
Website: https://www.casaletorrenova.it