Ascoli Piceno: My Beloved Town

Every traveler has a place to live, to come back and where he's born. I spent lots of time traveling but at the end every road goes back my lovely hometown. If you travel around Italy for sure you know cities as Rome, Milan and Naples but if you wanna experience the real italian life that's the place for you.

As every part of Italy, you will discover ancient stuff, amazing landscape and least but not the last yummy food and wine as the famous Olive Ascolane (english version) were invented here. It's also famous to be the city of 100 towers, well right now around 30. It was built before Roma so we have this motto here: When Ascoli was Ascoli, Rome was just a field for sheep.

The heart of the city is Piazza del Popolo (People's square) on of the most beautiful square in Italy surrounded by many arch, the famous Palazzo dei Capitani and the church of San Francesco, a romanic-gothic one. People use to walk around here, meeting friends and enjoying a drink in some of the bars in this square. You can't miss a stop at the historical bar Caffè Meletti or if you're a budget traveler sit and take a cheap aperitivo at Bar Centrale.  Palazzo dei Capitani was built on ruins of roman roads and some medieval buildings that you can still visit downstairs.. just a curiosity: looking up from Caffè Meletti to the church san francesco, please stare not the first tower bell but the second one and you will see something let's say weird :). In San Francesco you  can play music with little columns on the entrance in via del Trivio, go and try :). In the same road you can visit Ventidiobasso theater and the cloister of San Francesco as known piazza delle verdure.

Piazza del popolo

From Piazza del Popolo, you can move to Piazza Arringo but on the way if you wanna try a slice of pizza, please have a stop here .  It is another beautiful square where you can visit the Cathedral, Baptistery, Bishop Palace, Town hall with Archeological Museum and art gallery. Come to this place and don't try best  gelato in Ascoli, its a lack in your trip here so relax a bit and admire this square tasting a yummy ice-cream from Yoghi . Main attraction is the Cathedral: it was built on a roman temple and actual one is from century XIV-XV, go inside and have a look at a famous paint Polittico by Crivelli then go downstairs to visit the crypt of Sant' Emidio, our saint. The crypt was the original roman temple and you can see roman ruins and very interesting cemetery full of tombs running below the city, they say for some km.

Piazza Arringo

You still have lots to do and see in Ascoli: just behind a corner of Piazza Arringo you can visit San Gregorio Church built on the walls of an old roman temple. From there you can go up till medieval suburb of Piazzarola where you can visit Sant'Angelo Magno church, are you tired? So keep going up till ex monastery of annunziata now university building and from there you visit Fortezza Pia where you have a wonderful view of all the area. Another way from Piazza Arringo is passing the cathedral and going till a square where you can visit Forte Malatesta and famous Cecco Bridge that legend said it was built just in a night as a wish of Cecco d'Ascoli to the devil...

Forte Malatesta and  Cecco's bridge

Just behind  Forte Malatesta you will see the field of Squarcia where every first sunday of august you can watch the famous medieval knightly tournament called Quintana . In the last years it was added a night edition in the middle of july but Ascoli's inhabitants still consider  august edition the main one. On August 5th we also have our saint's day: Sant' Emidio believed to be earthquake protector and during this day you can watch amazing fireworks just after the end of local bingo. It's very nice to visit the town during this day and take a chance to take part in a dinner in one of the 6 Sestieres where it was supposed to be divided Ascoli in medieval time.

Are you hungry now? As i wrote you you should try fritto misto all'ascolana including olive, cremini and lamb chops, you have many places to go but I suggested as local cuisine to try Trattoria del Pergolato or Trattoria da Middio. If you wanna something local but bit more fancy just very close to Piazza del Popolo have a stop at  Ristorante Piccolo Teatro . After eating here you can see Santa Maria Intervineas Church and followin the road near the church you will reach a square where you have 2 beautiful churches: San Vincenzo and Anastasio and San Pietro Martire.. from there keep walking in another medieval part of the city where you can visit some ceramic shops typical from here and a roman bridge. Just after the bridges you can see old medieval public washhouse where women used to clean their clothes. Coming back take the road named rua delle Stelle but for us it's Rrete li Mierghie :) and very close to it Palazzo dei Longobardi.

Rrete li Mierghie

Well I still have lots to tell you but let's discover by yourself and if I'm in the town I will be glad to show you my city around and discover other beautiful places like Casteltrosino or have a walk in our beautiful mountains too so come and enjoy this little jewel in the central Italy :)))