Pesaro [key], city (1991 pop. 88,713), capital of Pesaro e Urbino prov., in the Marche region, central Italy, on the Adriatic Sea at the mouth of the Foglia River. It is an agricultural and industrial center and a seaside resort. Manufactures include musical instruments, motorcylces, refined sulfur, and ceramics. A Roman colony, Pesaro was later one of the cities of the Pentapolis (5th–11th cent.). The house of Malatesta gained power there in the 13th cent.; it was succeeded by the Sforza (15th–16th cent.) and by the dukes of Urbino (16th–17th cent.) In 1631 the city passed directly under the Holy See. Of note in Pesaro are the ducal palace (15th cent.); the municipal museum containing paintings and a fine collection of ceramics; the Rocca Constanza, a fortress of the Sforza; and the Villa Imperiale, which has 16th-century frescoes. The city was the birthplace (1794) of the composer Rossini and has a conservatory of music.
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