Falconara Marittima is a seaside resort on the Adriatic coast, in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, located north of

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

, in the

Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...

region,

province of Ancona The province of Ancona () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Marche region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Ancona, and the province borders the Adriatic Sea. The city of Ancona is also the capital of Marche. To the north, the province ...

History

Falconara developed around a castle. In the second half of the 16th century it was bought by the noble family of Bourbon del Monte. In the 19th century they were still present as owners. The Castle of Falconara, together with those of Rocca Priora and of Castelferretti, represented a defence system around Ancona, which controlled the territory and demanded bridge toll for crossing over the river Esino and had many other functions.

Demographics

, 90.94% of the population was Italian. The largest immigrant group came from Albania and Romania 4.75%, followed by North Africa 1.17%.

Sights

Falconara Marittima's main attraction is a long sandy beach where during the summer people practice sports such as

beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two to four players each on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side o ...

, beach tennis and

beach soccer Beach soccer, also known as beach football, sand football or sand soccer, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand between two teams of five players each. Association football has long been played informally on ...

. Falconara has a zoo. Every year on 15 August, the

Ferragosto ''Ferragosto'' is a public holiday celebrated on 15 August in all of Italy. It originates from ''Feriae Augusti'', the festival of Augustus, Emperor Augustus, who made 1 August a day of rest after weeks of hard work on the agricultural sector. ...

holiday a fireworks display takes place. The Frecce Tricolori show took place in the sky of Falconara Marittima in the summer of 2007 and 2009 The Cormorano park on the north side of town has hosted numerous cultural events, including concerts of Francesco De Gregori, Goran Bregovic and Piero Pelù. Among its religious sites is the church of Santa Maria della Misericordia with 15th-century frescoes.

Climate

Winters can be quite cold due to the bora, an icy wind that blows along the coast, however snow is rare. The last recorded heavy snowfall occurred in February 2012, then again in February 2018 From April to June the climate is warm and pleasant, with moderate humidity. July and August can be very hot, with high temperatures usually above . In 2003 Falconara experienced twin tornados along the coast.

Transportation

Ancona Airport is located in Falconara Marittima. Falconara beach is about from the airport. The Falconara-Orte main line is one of the few transversal lines on the Italian Railway Network; the Adriatic line also passes through Falconara railway station. Falconara Airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces between 1 April and 1 September 1945 as a military airfield.

Sport

The local volleyball team ''Pallavolo Falconara'' won the

CEV Cup The CEV Cup is the second tier official competition for men's Volleyball clubs of Europe. The competition takes place every year. Until 2000, it was the CEV Cup Winners' Cup. In 2000 it was renamed to CEV Top Teams Cup and in 2007 to CEV Cup. T ...

in 1986 and reached play-off semifinal of Italian Volleyball League two times in the eighties. Notable former volleyball players of the club include

Ferdinando De Giorgi Ferdinando De Giorgi (born 10 October 1961) is an Italian professional volleyball coach and former player, a participant in the Olympic Games Seoul 1988, three–time World Champion (1990, 1994, 1998), and the 1989 European Champion. He serve ...

, Daniel Castellani, Tom Sorensen, Raimonds Vilde, Jan Kvalheim,

Andrea Anastasi Andrea Anastasi (born 8 October 1960) is an Italian professional volleyball coach and former player. He was a member of the Italy national team from 1981 to 1991, and during his career won the 1990 World Champion title. Career As a player Ana ...

, Leondino Giombini, Pasquale Gravina, Valerio Vermiglio and Samuele Papi.

References

{{authority control Seaside resorts in Italy