Gaspare Spontini was born on 4th November 1774 in Maiolati. He had three brothers and a sister, all designed for the clergy. He was taught the rudiments of music by the master Quintiliani from Monte San Vito and by other masters of Jesi, among which Don Nicholas Bonanni. He entered the Conservatory of “Pietà dei Turchini” in Naples while in Rome he composed his first important work Li puntigli delle donne (1796).
Some of his works were later represented in Rome, Florence, Naples and Venice.
In 1803 Spontini moved to Paris where he soon became famous.
La finta filosofa , La petite maison and Milton (1804) had great success and the Empress Josephine gave him the title of "Composer of the Chapel of Her Majesty the Empress and Queen "(1805). La Vestale was devoted to the Empress and was strongly appreciated by the Emperor Luigi Bonaparte as well.
Fernando Cortez was represented in 1809 and a year later Spontini became the Director of “Opéra Italien”.
On 3rd August 1811 he married Celeste Erard (1790-1878), his “sweet wife”. She was the daughter of a famous manufacturer of pianos and other musical instruments. They had no children.
His third major work Olympia (December 1819) was later modified and devoted to Frederick William III of Prussia who nominated the musician "First Kapellmeister and General Superintendent of the music of the King." Agnes of Hohenstaufen (1829)was Spontini’s last work which he modified in 1837 and dedicated to his wife Celeste. He came back to Maiolati in September 1850. He was already ill and died on 24th january 1851. He was buried in the church of San Giovanni inside the old people’s home while his wife Celeste was allowed to take his heart with her in Paris.
By virtue of a decree of the President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano, Castelplanio was granted the title of city on 11 July 2006.
Come here and taste its famous dish: the “Crescia sul Panaro”!
Since the 1950s and 1960s it has been a poor food prepared with a few basic ingredients. It is made of polenta, that is a maize flour cooked in water within a special container, the "callaro", where it was continuously stirred by hand with the aid of a particular ladle, a sort of long wooden cylinder with three or four metal edges on the bottom.
Since those lean years, when people could not afford to waste anything and leave it unused or eat it reluctantly, the left polenta was then reused by mixing it with a bit of wheat flour, kneaded it again (this time by hand) giving shape to the so-called "cresciola." . Then it was put on to the panaro, a metal plate with a long handle, a kind of pan without edges . See if you can find it in our country houses , hanging on the wall or in the fireplace; today it is no longer a working tool, but only an ornament.
Wrapped in a large yellow sheet and holding it in your hands, taste the crescia with vegetables (chard, chicory, wild herbs ...), ham or sausages.
It can be also a sweet crescia when fried and covered with sugar or chocolate cream. It is a delicious dish, not only for children.
Treat yourself to a pleasant “voyage of taste” into the traditional flavors of our cuisine and celebrate with us Castelplanio’s summer festival: “ La crescia sul panaro”. This year (2013) is the 40th edition.
The crescia is now stirred by a far more practical mechanical arm that operates automatically in the container-mixer in ordert to satisfy the hunger of so many visitors from the neighbouring villages and towns of Vallesina and of Ancona and even from other countries.
Castelplanio is one of the last places in the Marche to have put the tradition of the crescia to an excellent level.
The Pro Loco Castelplanio is ready to celebrate the special 40th edition of Crescia sul Panaro Festival with two long weekends (12-14 July and 19 to 21 July). Do not miss it!
Cupramontana, S. Marco, Calapina, Castelbellino, Monteroberto, Maiolati Spontini, Cupramontana
Distance: km 14
Time advised: 75 minutes
Difficulty: easy
Starting from the parking in front of Colonnara winery, take the road for the historic centre.
Just before arriving at Cupramontana, follow the signs indicating the cemetery . In front of the cemetery, take the avenue on the left . Go through San Marco street and turn left until reaching a junction , then turn right and take the white road. The path becomes flat only for a short distance, then it is narrow again and turns on a slight slope. Turn left and right; at the bottom of a steep slope cross the farmland and then right up to a bar. From here proceed along an old house until reaching a white road.
Follow the steep path to the right (Calapina Street), after about 100 metres turn left and follow the main road for about 500 metres until the junction with the big oak tree. Go straight on for about 100 metres and turn left uphill just before the descent. At the junction take the flat road on the right passing through a fence and a wash-tub and climb up to a big villa with a park; straight down until reaching the tarmac road (S.P. Castelli di Jesi).
Follow the left road that leads to Castelbellino. When you join the village, just before the last houses, turn right uphill to Monteroberto (approx. 800 metres). Then right under the castle walls and go straight up to the Provincial Road (S.P.).
At the junction turn to the right arriving at Maiolati Spontini. Go through the village and take the white road on the left. Continue until you come back to the Provincial Road and follow the signs indicating Cupramontana. After about 1,5 km you are again at the point of departure.
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Tel. +39 0731778710
Fax. +39 0731778750
Via Nazario Sauro, 1
60034 Cupramontana (AN)
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