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THE CONERO RIVIERA |
  
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| Monte Conero (572 metres above sea level) is of enormous importance not only from the scenic point of view but also for its flora and fauna. It occupies an area of about 8000 hectares, for the utilization and safeguarding of which a Consortium for the Park was founded not long ago. Places like Portonovo, a bay of acclaimed beauty with the little Romanesque church of Santa Maria (eleventh century), an old watch tower and a Napoleonic fort, can maintain their environmental charm because building speculation has been prevented. So we can enjoy Portonovo, especially when the broom is in bloom, because - with its brilliant palette of colours - it can offer an authentic, "wild" flavour. The same also applies to Monte Conero itself, the top of which can be reached by a network of paths with views that are well worth immortalizing on film. There is also an old Abbey (San Pietro), founded in Romanesque times (eleventh century), then rebuilt in the sixteenth century. Sirolo and Numana are the two pearls of summer tourism; they are quite close to one another, but each has particular features of its own. Sirolo is smaller and more intimate, offering stupendous views of the coast, while Numana is richer form the historical point of view (there is an Antiquarium in which fibulae, vases and craters, etc. are displayed) and it has had more urban development, though the upper part has remained much the same. Tourists come from far and near to enjoy the beauty of the Conero Riviera: when they go away, they take home lasting memories. This land is blessed by nature and by the sun, while cultural affairs have also had a great deal of success: consider for example the summer seasons at the Teatro alle Cave which attract so many visitors. The hotel facilities combine comfort with the family treatment that is typical hereabouts. It is not unheard of for tourists to keep coming back for twenty years. What's more, there is the magnet of the traditional, authentic cuisine. People used to say that the Marches were off the beaten track, but now, thanks to the fast A 14 motorway and the "Raffaello Sanzio" Airport at Falconara which is increasing its passengers every year (over 90,000 in 1991), they have become much easier to reach, whether the tourist wants to visit the Conero or to discover other beaches, like breezy Montemarciano or Falconara itself, once the privileged destination of Roman parties, or to make a closer acquaintance with the cultural heritage of this part of the country.
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