Ascoli Piceno, Marche - Brilliant Town Set in Beautiful Scenery
You will find Ascoli Piceno at the meeting of two rivers the Tronto and the smaller Castellano River surrounded by mountains. It's a short drive inland from San Benedetto Del Tronto and one of the most charming towns in Marche with its people’s square Piazza de Popolo, of which parts were rebuilt in the beginning of the 1900s in the original Roman style. There stands two main buildings, the gothic church of San Francesco and the magnificent Palazzo Del Capitani [captain’s palace]. The floor of the square is covered with travertine, a type of marble giving the impression that you may have just missed a good down pour of rain.
Ascoli Piceno possesses another main feature, the Piazza Arringo where you will find the cathedral dedicated to Saint Emidio. With ample amounts of baroque art it may be a little over the top but magnificent. On the first Sunday in August each year the town holds the festival of Quintana, a medieval spectacle. With more than 1,000 taking part in the parade including jousting competitions and a medieval costume parades. The people's square hold various festivals throughout the summer, and with the acoustics of the square it makes a fantastic evenings entertainment. This is very popular with locals and gets a good turn out of visitors from surrounding areas.
Around the center of Ascoli Piceno there are ample amount of churches, towers, museums and art galleries. Over the river Castellano the Ponte di Cesso Bridge can be seen as a prime example of a Roman bridge building dating back to the republic era.
Around the town can be found numerous cafes/restaurants all with excellent menus and most serve a high-quality plate of food. 10/10 I’m sure eating here in one of these restaurants will not disappoint. After trying several we did choose to dine at one in particular - I won't say which as it would be unfair.
One cafe in particular had art deco styling unchanged since 1907, the cafe Meletti where you can taste Anisette Meletti a liqueur produced by Silvio Meletti. The cafe has also been featured in such films, Alferdo Alfredo and I Delfeni? The region's specialty olives stuffed with meat dipped in breed crumbs and deep fried is a little fast food you can find on sale in the towns squares and restaurants. Ascoli Piceno is one town we would consider retiring to; the people here were very helpful and friendly. Musicians bring feeling and romance to the city's streets and architecture. An invisibly force pulled us towards this … Cello arpeggio
After a few minutes we tracked the cellist to another grand square Piazza Arringo. The musician turned out to be New Yorker Peter Lewy who had taken time out from teaching and performances to visit Italy. The piece that he was playing was not familiar to us, we asked what it was and he told us it was part of his own CD 'NOW and THEN'. Nearly everyone stopped what they were doing to listen. Also for Peter Lewy the opportunity to play in such settings was irresistible. "How could I leave Italy without giving an outside performance?" An honest Italian town unlike any other, that we have found and look forward to revisiting very soon… This is what an Italy vacation is all about.
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One evening while out for a stroll before dinner, across the Piazza de Popolo the sound of a cellist playing came drifting faintly through the noise, it was like a magnet pulling us towards it. With the town’s architectural roman classical style, the cello player added to the soul of this incredible city.