Cardeto Park in Ancona, walking through history and nature
High up above the sea there is Cardeto Park, a large area of about 35 hectares close to the centre of the city; it is the largest Ancona urban park and a very precious green reserve. You will find some spots of historical value such as the Diffused Urban Museum, the Jewish Graveyard, the English Graveyard, the St Paul Bastion belonging to the ‘500 century, the Powder Magazine Castelfidardo, the Cardeto Fort, the Old Lighthouse and the ex-barracks Villarey, actually centre of the university of Trade and Economy. All that deepened into a natural environment of particular interest and extraordinary panoramic spots above the high coast, the cliff and the city.
How about that? Does it deserve a trip outside the town, doesn’t it?
Along the tour you can see and visit:
• Cardeto Fortress
• Eighteenth century Lighthouse
• Powder Magazine Castelfidardo
• Jewish Graveyard
• English Graveyard
• The St Paul Bastion or of the Quarter-Deck
• Eighteenth century Handmade Military Unit (depot of the time)
The Nineteenth century Handmade Military Unit. The little depot is a manufactured belonging to the barrack equipment unit, built up for Villarey Fort service, restored on 2005 and prepared for multimedia consultation stations, as info point and incoming for the visit tours to the Jewish Graveyard.
The whole barrack equipment unit was conceived to receive laboratories of the artillery artificers, therefore for the preparation of the explosives powders with integrated destination of the near Castelfidardo Powder Magazine.
As for safety the areas pertaining to the laboratories were protected by clay handmade items called “traversoni” (crosspieces). The little depot – homogenous to the powder magazine as per its construction techniques – probably was a little warehouse for explosive powders store and it is completely embedded into one of the crosspieces.
Castelfidardo Powder Magazine – named “warehouse for test powder” Castelfidardo in honour of the Risorgimento period battle – has been built in order to support military settlement of the near Villarey Barracks during post-unitary period. As the barracks, it has been projected by the group of Savoy Engineer Corps directed by Giuseppe Morando, following the typological patterns of French manuals belonging to military architect Marquee of Vauban.
The main building is composed by a large central hall and two lateral passageways. On the external side of the main body of the building were located the armour-plates and two attachments bodies, placed on a diagonal symmetrical axe characterizing the whole unit. Decorated supporting walls limit outside hollow of the powder magazine, protected for safety by clay handmade items called crosspieces.
As the building lost its peculiar purpose, it was abandoned and some part of the external bodies has fallen down. With the recent restoration, it has been possible to recover paths and some part of the original stone-made decorative apparatus buried beneath the ground. Its current purpose is for multifunctional / theatrical space.
On the top of the Cappuccini hill you can find out fifth century city walls, dividing themselves into two straight lines (curtains) and into the St Paul Bastion. In the inner side of the bastion – whose visit tours have to be booked – there is a system of underground tunnels characterized by large spots with architectonic elements of great historical interest: casemate, passages used for listening, ventiducts, loopholes, embrasures, posterns.
On the same top stands the Ancona Eighteenth century Lighthouse, whose construction was ordered by pope Pio IX in 1860. After the two world wars and because of the earthquakes and of the land flaking, over the years the lighthouse bore many damages and it is for those reasons that after about one century of function, in 1965 has been built the new one far from the oldest only few metres.
Hereunder you can find out several pictures shot at Cardeto Park
Opening Timetable:
October – March from 8.00 up to 17.30 Free Entrance
April – September from 8.30 up to 20.30
Old Lighthouse Visit Tours:
Thanks to the Legambiente volunteers, Lighthouse is open on all Sundays as the following timetable:
October – March from 14.00 up to 17.00 Free Entrance
April – September from 17.00 up to 20.00
The Conerobus shuttle bus service is free of charge for evening shows (service is active on June– July – August).
Departures from Martelli Sq at 19:15 – in front of Trade and Economy University ex Villarey Barracks. [runs’ frequency: 20 mins]. The same service is guaranteed for the return runs. [at the end of the show]
