Macerata

Macerata mächārä´tä [key], town (1991 pop. 43,040), capital of Macerata prov., in the Marche, central Italy. It is an agricultural and light industrial center. Macerata was ruled by the papacy from the mid-15th cent. to 1797. It retains its medieval walls and has a university that was founded in 1290.