The municipality rose in the XII century because of the need to defend the inhabitants of the raids of the inhabitants of Osimo. Federico II allowed the town to build a port (Porto Recanati). Having joined the Bishop's throne of this town to that of Loreto in 1592, the importance of the town rapidly decreased, until the birth of the poet.

Leopardi is dedicated a town trail to discover the places the poet preferred, true "muses" of his poetry. The town square, which inspired the pages of the "Sabato del Villaggio" (Town's Saturday), where the Leopardi palace rises, the birth home of the poet; nearby there is the National Centre of Leopardian Studies, where you can observe some very rare copies of the works of the great poet.

Other leopardian memories are to be found in the Municipal Palace and the Bertucci Library. At the foot of the walls there is the game arena where Leopardi composed the ode "Ad un vincitor nel gioco del pallone" (To a winner in the game of football). It is impossible not to stop under the bell tower of the Church of S. Agostino, the famous tower of the solitary thrush.

A must-see is the oratory of the Noble, where the young poet discussed religion and where he started to formulate his "universalistic" poetry. Not distant we find the church of Santa Maria di Monte Morello where he was baptised, and the house of Silvia, cui to whom he dedicated the very famous ode.

Finally we cannot leave Recanati without visiting the «Colle dell'Infinito» (Mount of the Infinite), thus named after the verses of Leopardi ad where the first verse of the famous poem is printed «Sempre caro mi fu quest'ermo colle» (Always dear was to me this solitary hill).

March.2002