The capital of the province of the same name in the Marche region, the town of Macerata boasts a University, among the oldest in the world, founded in 1290. One of the city’s most representative monuments is Ireneo Aleandri’s Arena Sferisterio , a splendid example of neoclassical architecture that hosts a prestigious opera season every summer, the Macerata Opera Festival. In the heart of the city stands the 18th-century Palazzo Buonaccorsi , now home to collections of ancient and modern art and the Carriage Museum. The Sala dell’Eneide is the sumptuous, 18th-century gallery, a place of representation in Palazzo Buonaccorsi. Other notable buildings in the historic center include: the Palazzo Comunale, with its neoclassical facade on which was placed, in 1952, the image of Our Lady of Mercy with the inscription Civitas Mariae; the Loggia dei Mercanti, a small Renaissance jewel commissioned by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese; the Palazzo della Prefettura, an austere brick building, the former residence of the papal legates, characterized by a marble portal from 1509; the Church of St. Paul, built between1623 and 1655, with a rough, terracotta facade, officiated until 1810 by the Barnabites and then ceded in 1830 by the papal government to the municipality; the Civic Tower, 64 meters high, on the base of which is a reconstruction of the ‘automata astronomical clock built in 1569. Also worth visiting in Macerata are: the 18th-century Lauro Rossi Theater; Palazzo Ricci, which houses a collection of 20th-century Italian art. Included in the urban area of the city is the ancient neighborhood of Villa Ficana consisting of earthen buildings, recently recovered and now home to the Ecomuseum. The typical Macerata dish is vincisgrassi, a kind of baked lasagna. The ingredients of the original recipe are: prosciutto, truffle, parmesan cheese and a sauce made of milk and flour (béchamel), with which the layers of egg pasta are topped.