Recanati is a hilltop town in the Marche region of central Italy, overlooking the Adriatic coast from a ridge above the province of Macerata. It is best known as the birthplace of Giacomo Leopardi (1798–1837), one of the greatest Italian poets, whose brooding verse on mortality, infinity, and the indifference of nature made him a towering figure in European Romanticism. The house where he was born and spent much of his melancholy life is now a museum, with his extraordinary private library of 20,000 volumes preserved in the rooms where he read and wrote by candlelight.
Recanati was also the hometown of Beniamino Gigli, the celebrated tenor who rivalled Caruso in his day, and the town's opera house bears his name. A museum dedicated to Gigli preserves costumes, recordings, and memorabilia from his career.
The old town is pleasant to explore on foot: the Piazza Leopardi at its centre, the Museo Civico Villa Colloredo Mels with works by Lorenzo Lotto, and the panoramic views from the hilltop across the Apennines and toward the Adriatic. Loreto, one of the great pilgrimage sites of Italy, is just a few kilometres away. Recanati is a modest town that takes its literary heritage seriously, and it rewards a half-day visit from anyone following the Marche's back roads.