Conservatorio Statale di Musica "Gioachino Rossini"

By 2010 it had an enrollment of approximately 850 students studying for higher diplomas in singing, instrumental performance, composition, musicology, choral conducting, jazz or electronic music.

Amongst its past Directors are the composers Carlo Pedrotti, Pietro Mascagni, Riccardo Zandonai and Franco Alfano.

Mascagni's annual salary was 12,000 lire, more than twice that of the much older Parma Conservatory, and was supplemented with a lavish rent-free apartment in the Palazzo Olivieri–Machirelli.

He was opposed to the methods used in many Italian conservatories at the time which taught music largely by rote memorization or as he put it, "like a catechism.

"[6] In 1905, Amilcare Zanella, a pianist and composer of instrumental music was appointed as Mascagni's successor, a post he was to hold for the next 35 years.

The conservatory produced or participated in a number of opera productions during the 20th century, including Il barbiere di Siviglia (1916), La gazza ladra (1941), Le Comte Ory (1942) and later Orfeo ed Euridice, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, Il Signor Bruschino, Francesca da Rimini, and Dido and Aeneas.

[11] The conservatory offers bachelor and master diplomas in singing, instrumental performance, composition, musicology, choral conducting, jazz and electronic music.

The neo-classical palazzo with its monumental central staircase was built in 1794 for Annibale Olivieri, a member of a noble Pesarese family.

It was designed by Gianandrea Lazzarini, who also painted the frescos adorning several of the ceremonial rooms, now often used for chamber music concerts.

[13][14] The building was acquired by the city of Pesaro in 1884, initially to house the Biblioteca Oliveriana and its collections, and gradually adapted by 1892 for use as a music conservatory, including an extension to accommodate an 800-seat concert hall, now known as the Sala Pedrotti.

Rectangular in shape with a raised stage, stalls and two tiers of balconies, the Sala Pedrotti is one of the few "shoebox" concert halls in Italy and is known for its good acoustics.

In addition to the concert hall, teaching rooms, and offices, the palazzo houses the conservatory's collection of antique and exotic musical instruments and its library.

[16] The "Tempietto Rossiniano" (Little Temple to Rossini) on the piano nobile of the building has a ceiling decorated with Neo-Pompeian scenes of Ancient Rome.