A seafront promenade lined with palm trees and a beach of pristine white sand: classic picture postcards sent from San Benedetto del Tronto, the town from which this itinerary exploring the Marche commences. For centuries San Benedetto's economy has flourished thanks to the town's sea edge location. Since ancient times its fishing port has been one of the most active of the entire Adriatic sea and, from the 1930's onwards, the town has been a favourite summer tourist destination. The historic center, situated in the highest part of San Benedetto del Tronto, is well worth visiting, if only to see the Gualtieri tower and the breathtaking panorama over the sea.
Moving way from the coast, we head in the direction of the fertile lands of Piceno, where a number of excellent wines are produced. The picturesque medieval village of Acquaviva Picena, enclosed within sturdy defence walls, boasts an impressive fortress, built during the renaissance. Whilst strolling along the little lanes of the village, you may well come across a group of Acquaviva Piceno's elderly ladies, busily weaving the wicker baskets of "pajarole" for which the village is famous.
We make our next stop in Ascoli Piceno, city of the hundred towers. Our tour of this surprisingly little known art city starts in the Piazza del Popolo, where to admire the Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo and the splendid Church of San Francesco. To see the Cathedral of San Emidio, we head for Piazza Arringo, square also home to a stunning 13th century baptistery and Palazzo dell'Arrengo, which now houses the town hall and the art museum. Our tour of Ascoli Piceno concludes with a visit of the Church of Saints Vincenzo and Anastasio, initiated during the Romanesque period and completed in the 14th century.
After hours admiring the art and architecture of Ascoli Piceno, its time to indulge in some professional pampering, and for this we head to Acquasanta Terme, famous since Roman times for the therapeutic qualities of its waters. Today, the town's ultra modern thermal center offers a series of spa therapies, ensuring clients are in perfect form before attempting the ascent of the Sibillini Mountains.
Once in Arquata del Tronto, we begin to breathe the air of the mountains and it is from here that excursions through the Monti Sibillini National Park depart. Arquata is famous, above all, for the copy of the Holy Shroud conserved within the walls if its Church of San Francesco. This miraculous cloning of the original, housed in the Cathedral of Turin, has prompted both devotion and scepticism for centuries.
Our journey draws to a close in Visso, known for the production of ciauscolo, a very soft sausage flavoured with garlic and spices, and as the administrative heart of the Monti Sibillini National Park. Considered one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, Visso boasts an enchanting historic center. The ex sacristy of the Church of Sant Agostino has been transformed in museum in which to admire paintings, wooden sculptures and original manuscripts belonging to Giacomo Leopardi, the famous Recanati-born poet of the "Infinito".
