Places to visit
Places to visit
Ascoli Piceno (city with the hundred towers)
Ascoli Piceno is the capital of the province of the same name in the south of Le Marche. Ascoli Piceno is one of the most beautiful cities in Italy. The old city is surrounded by old city walls. There are beautiful streets and squares with richly decorated buildings. It is a fairly large city with 60,000 inhabitants. In the Middle Ages, Ascoli counted 200 towers, at the time the means par excellence for displaying your prosperity.
Piazza del Popolo is the heart of the city and can be mentioned in the same breath as other beautiful squares in Italy. Here the Ascolans come together in the evening to stroll. The square is dominated in the middle by the Palazzo dei Capitani de Popolo. The San Francesco cathedral is on the right. To the left of the Loggia dei Mercanti portal, a covered passageway where market merchants used to display their wares. Now you can find elderly Ascolan men here who go through the day together and enjoy the spectacle on the street.
Piazza Arringo, the 2nd large square, is almost as impressive as Piazza del Popolo and is flanked by the Duomo - the cathedral - and the town hall. In the Duomo you will find the colorful "Madonna and Saints" by Carlo Crivelli.
Caffè Meletti, the most famous café in the city, is located on the beautiful Piazza del Popolo. Beautiful on the inside because of the Jugendstil decor, beautiful on the outside because you can see the entire Piazza del Popolo from the terrace. Once at Meletti you should actually enjoy a glass of Anisetta. The famous liqueur made from wild star anise was the secret and the recipe for success of Silvio Meletti.
Olive ascolane are the delicacy of Ascoli Piceno, the capital of the Marche region. They are large green olives filled with a mixture of meat and cheese, which are then fried in a dough jacket. They are best when they are hot. The ultimate snack this region of Le Marche.
San Benedetto del Tronto
San Benedetto del Tronto is a large seaside resort on the Adriatic Sea. The long beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in Italy. San Benedetto del Tronto is called the "Riviera delle Palme" because of its many palm trees and palm tree species that grow to the beach.
San Benedetto del Tronto consists of two parts. Namely the Torre dei Gualttieri which is characterized by the remains of an old fortification. The other part is located by the sea and consists of elongated wide sandy beaches, houses and palazas from the Victorian era (examples of Liberty architecture), facilities for tourism and sport and not forgetting the center (Viale Secondo) with many shops.
The tough character and courage of the sailors made the city one of Italy's most important fishing ports and one of Italy's most prosperous fish markets. The sailors traded to unknown coasts, from Africa to Greenland. San Benedetto remains closely linked to its fishing traditions and still lives from the activities associated with the sea. The gastronomic expression of old sailors is the famous "brodetto alla San Benedettese" a local fish soup that must be ordered in advance due to its difficult preparation.
In 1936 the village of Porto d'Ascoli was added to San Benedetto del Tronto. Here you will find a 2 km long promenade with botanical gardens, renovated in 2007. It has 10 different types of gardens with 1000 plant and flower species, fountains, lakes, water games, etc. Totally worth it!
Grottammare
You will find Grottammare Alta against a rock face dense with olive trees, vineyards and fragrant plants. Grottammare Alta, already mentioned in the 8th century, was known for its St. Martin church with its simple facade but with a flowery decoration on the inside. Pope Alexander III lived there in the abbey, which was built on the foundations of an ancient pagan temple. Grottammare and the sea have always been closely linked. For centuries the sea was of the utmost importance for the city. From 1700 onwards, the port experienced an ever-increasing development in trade and industry. Today Grottammare is best known for its 5 km long sandy beaches. The beautiful promenade is embellished by grandiose art-deco villas from the last century.
Offida
This town is one of the small jewels of southern Le Marche. The old center with its unusual triangular Piazza, stands on a rock bulge and is separated from the modern part. This place has an old-fashioned look. Offida is very nice to visit on Thursdays when the city is in full swing due to the market. The church of Santa Maria della Rocca is a Romanesque-Gothic church and is one of the most important examples of the ecclesiastical art of Piceno. The church stands out for its impressive rigor, further emphasized by its location; looking out over the city and the hills that surround it. Bobbins (lavorazione del tombolo): Handmade lace - pizzo a mano - is one of Offida's most common crafts. You can still see the lace-up women sitting in the doorposts of the old village streets (Tombolo).
Ripatransone
Ripatransone, a lovely, beautifully restored and authentic village, lies at an altitude of 495 m and 12 km from the coast. It seems like a small town, but the area that belongs to this municipality is huge, the largest municipality in the province. It offers more than fantastic views over the sea, the hills and the Monte Sibillini, or 360 degrees around. The center is medieval and there are many remains of ancient fortifications. The history officially begins in 1205 when it was the first free town in the Italian countryside. There are sagras (dance parties) and weekly markets throughout the year. Furthermore, the village is known for the narrowest street in Italy.
Montalto delle Marche
Montalto is one of the typical Italian rural towns where everything just closes in the afternoons, where young and old talk to each other on and around the square until late in the evening and where you can play table football at the bar or place a card. Montalto has an important regional function because there is a primary school, a first year in secondary education (lasts 3 years) and a high school.
The town with around 2500 inhabitants is 512 meters above sea level. Many foundations of old buildings in the city date from the 4th century AD. However, it took until 1585 for Pope Sixtus to grant city rights to Montalto on the 5th. In 1816, Montalto became the most important city in the province including the cities of Amandola, Offida, Ripatransone and San Benedetto del Tronto.
Montalto has a small but beautiful historic center where you can stroll through the many narrow alleys.
Porto san Giorgio
What used to be an old fishing port is now a pleasant seaside resort with a small work and marina. The boulevard full of palm trees has beautiful villas, many in Liberty style.
The streets of Porto San Giorgio, characterized by its rectangular and parallel street pattern, which meanders between the SS16 road and the sea, have nice (expensive) shops and in the summer it is pleasantly busy. Many concerts are given to keep you entertained.
To the south of Porto San Giorgio lies Pedaso on Le Marche's mussel bay. Here delicious mussels are grown on concrete piles that are just outside the narrow gravel beach.
Fermo
Fermo is one of the most attractive cities in the hills of southern Le Marche. It has a collection of architectural looks that make a visit worthwhile. The fort that once dominated the city was destroyed in 1445 during a popular uprising against the ruling Sforza family. It is now the place where city parks offer a magnificent view over the vastness of Le Marche.
The Romanesque-Gothic Cathedral from the 13th century, richly decorated on the inside, now stands on an open ground. The city center is slightly below the level of the cathedral. The main government buildings are around the large beautiful square, Piazza del Popolo. The statue of the Bishop of Fermo, the later Pope Sixtus the 5th, made by Sansovino in 1590, stands in front of the main entrance of the Palazzo Comunale. It contains the art collection of the city whose most famous work is an early Rubens; the Nativity.
It is also worthwhile to visit the underground water cellars. They consist of around thirty very well-kept rooms, built in 41 and 61 BC, to store and purify the drinking water required for the city. It is considered the most beautiful example in this field in all of Italy.
From the sea, which is only 6.5 km from Fermo, the city looks like a large boat that sails towards the magical Sibillini Mountains, the Blue Mountains, which inspired the poet Giacomo Leopardi. The cathedral is located on the Girfalco. This huge cathedral, named after the Maria-ten-Hemel inclusion, was built in 1227 by the master builder Giorgio da Como. The front is built with Istrian stones and has a beautiful rosette window from 1348 and also a gothic niche with the statue of the Virgin Mary. In the sacristy there is a painting exhibition where the most important works of art of the city can be seen; the Adoration of the Shepherds by Rubens and the Stories of St. Lucia by Jacobello del Fiore.
Macerata
Macerata, one of the pearls of le Marche. Located 20 km inland, this elegant city full of chic palazzos and baroque churches is a small provincial town, world-famous for its annual open-air opera performances. The opera festival, which is being held in the open air in July and August, has been followed internationally. It is set in the Teatro Sferisto, a colossal-built, elliptical arena in the Neoclassical style, which was created entirely in 1820 with private means. After Verona it is the most famous open-air theater. Macerata has one of the oldest Italian Universities (1290), located in the heart of the city, the Piazza della Libertà, which also houses the 15th century Torre Civica and another beautiful theater. The most beautiful buildings are along Corso Matteotti, the road that starts in the square near the colonnade. The Corso della Republica takes you to Piazza Vittorio square and to the Civic gallery and museum. Many works of painters from Umbria and Le Marche are hanging here. The work "Mother and Child" by Carlo Crivelli is best known.
