Ascoli Piceno is a city of remarkable medieval beauty located in the Marche region. Considered among the most monumental in Italy, this city stands out for its architecture and unique historical heritage. Characterized by towers and bell towers, the historic center is embellished by the warm golden color of travertine, a material that covers most of its streets. The location of the town is particularly suggestive, as it is surrounded on three sides by the waters of the Tronto and Castellano rivers, which converge at this point. The history of Ascoli Piceno embraces different eras, from the ancient times of the Romans to the period of Frederick II and beyond.
The ancient city nestles in the picturesque hills of the Marche region. The construction on tufa gives the city its unique charm and the medieval city center is considered one of the most beautiful in Italy.
Ascoli Piceno is a beautiful medieval city in the Marches, considered among the most monumental in Italy. Dotted with towers and bell towers and wrapped in the warm golden color of travertine, which covers almost the entire historic center, the town is surrounded on three sides by the water of the Tronto and Castellano rivers, which flow together here.Piazza del PopoloHistory
The history, in this part of the Marches, concerns above all the Middle Ages and Ascoli Piceno, it preserves traces of it in the beautiful architectures.
Ancient capital of the Piceni, conquered by the Romans with the whole region in 286 BC. C., the city was long dominated by barbarians, by the Franks, by Federico II and by Francesco Sforza who established a cruel dictatorship until 1482. It is said that Alaric, King of the Visigoths, fascinated by its beauty and aware of its strategic importance, did not want to raze it to the ground, as he did for the other cities. Together with Fermo it was until 1860 the capital of the Marches.
The historic center of Ascoli Piceno is full of civil and religious buildings from the Middle Ages.
Magnificent Piazza del Popolo overlooked by some of the most important places including Palazzo dei Capitani del Popolo (13th century), the historic Caffè Meletti, the church of San Francesco (13th-16th century) and the Loggia dei Mercanti.
Also worth seeing is Piazza Arringo, the oldest in Ascoli, where the baptistery of San Giovanni, the cathedral of Sant'Emidio - the city's cathedral, dedicated to the patron saint - the Bishop's palace and the Arengo palace, seat of the art gallery are located civic.
Finally, the churches of Saints Vincenzo and Anastasio (11th-14th centuries), with the facade divided into squares, and that of Sant'Emidio alle Grotte (18th century) are characteristic.
Ascoli Piceno is a city to be experienced, strolling in its medieval heart where the most beautiful Renaissance squares of the Marche open and in the streets that still respect the layout of the ancient Roman roads.
Absolutely unmissable, then, an aperitif under the arcades, in cafes and pastry shops, thus tasting the irresistible stuffed olives, a masterpiece of Ascoli gastronomy.
Those who go to Ascoli Piceno on the first Sunday of August can attend the famous Quintana jousting tournament: a long parade in fifteenth-century costume of the inhabitants of the districts into which the city is divided.
Translated by Google •
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