Pesaro is an Adriatic city in the Marche region, best known as the birthplace of Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868), the composer of The Barber of Seville and William Tell. The city takes its connection to Rossini seriously: Casa Rossini, the house where he was born, is a museum, and the Rossini Opera Festival held every August at the Teatro Rossini is one of the most important bel canto festivals in Italy, drawing singers and opera lovers from across Europe.
The city has a pleasant medieval centre around the Piazza del Popolo, with the Ducal Palace — built by the Sforza dynasty in the fifteenth century — as the main architectural landmark. The Musei Civici holds a notable collection of majolica ceramics for which the Marche region is famous, as well as paintings by Giovanni Bellini and other Venetian masters. Walk toward the sea and the city becomes progressively more modern, with a broad sandy beach and the Villino Ruggeri — a gem of Art Nouveau architecture — near the seafront.
Pesaro is a working city rather than a tourist destination, which keeps it authentic and relatively uncrowded. The surrounding countryside — the Metauro valley to the south, the hills above the coast — is attractive cycling and hiking territory. Urbino, the extraordinary Renaissance ducal city, is about 35 kilometres inland.