THE AREA

{photo taken at a performance of nomadic shepherds' music on top of Forca di Presta}

The Sibillini Mountains form part of the Central Apennines and run north to south like a 'spine' between Umbria on the west, and Le Marche on the east. We are located on the Marche side, which is notably unspoilt.

airports

Ancona and Pescara airports are a one-and-a-half hour's drive away. The Rome airport is a three-hour drive away.

sea and ski

Forty-five minutes away are several types of beaches - there are nature beaches, secluded/quiet beaches with lovely beach clubs and a number of crowded, fashionable beaches where the shopping is good, with a huge choice of restaurants and entertainment. Evening events start late and often carry on the whole night until 5am. The fish restaurants are of a high standard and many are positioned right on the water's edge.

Downhill skiing can be found in Sarnano, a twenty-minute drive away with three ski resorts for fun family skiing. More downhill skiing is to be had outside of Ascoli. Cross-country skis can be rented at the Rifugio of Monte Amandola nearby and one can finish the day with a rustic meal by the fireside in this peaceful mountain location.

culture

The province of Fermo in which we are located has more theatres per capita than any other part of Europe. Each tiny gem-like hill town has an ancient and beautiful theatre with a range of events throughout the year. Amandola, our nearest town, has a Belle Epoch theatre and offers some outstanding classical music and operatic (lyrical) singing festivals.

{Amandola's theatre "La Fenice." Photo by courtesy of Mattia Marinangeli}

This is the land of festivals, all year round and of all types. Amandola has many festivals, ranging from those for younger age groups such as the Notte Bianca, when shops and bars stay open the whole night, to those that are ageless, such as the Festa del Gelato, the festival in celebration of truffles called Diamanti a Tavola, or even the philosophy festival Filosofest, which draws both audience and speakers from all over Italy. All surrounding hamlets and towns have many more similar festas!

{on the left, photo of Amandola's traditional festival "Le Cannestrelle"; on the right, reknowned intellectual Moni Ovadia speaks at Amandola's Filosofest}

Amandola and nearby Sarnano have all the services one would find in a small city, as well as an excellent hospital. Both have libraries (with some books in English) and Amandola offers the illustrious Café Belli, which makes its own ice creams and pastries. As well as offering great value for money, this is an attractive venue to enjoy aperativi in a lively town. Both towns have dedicated wine bars and many restaurants to choose from.

{Amandola. On the left, photo by courtesy of the Cantina Vai e Vieni; on the right photo of Amandola's piazza at night, by courtesy of marchedelgrillo.it}

All of the hill towns have museums, and nearby are four archaeological sites, one of which is the most famous in central Italy and is a twenty minute drive away.  Another site nearby, in Monte Rinaldo, boasts the only pre-Hellenistic temple in the area, and happens to also be a beautifully unspoilt village with a good museum and lovely wine bars and restaurants. Nearby is also the village of San Genesio, which has been voted "the most beautiful town in Italy" twice.

Half an hour away, on a beautiful road passing through historic towns in the park with castles and interesting places to eat, is the small city of Tolentino where the most important frescos of Central Italy are to be found. The impressive pilgrimage cathedral of S. Niccolo has an entire room frescoed by Giotto's teacher, the Maestro of Tolentino – some of which is believed to be painted by Giotto himself.

Another famous pilgrimage site is Loreto, like a miniature St. Peters set amongst vineyards, and of course there is also Assisi nearby, which can make a beautiful day trip.

The capital city of an entire province, Ascoli Piceno, is a mere 45 minutes away and has lately been receiving more international publicity seeing as it is often considered the second most beautiful Rennaissance city after Florence. Ascoli offers a hypnotically beautiful (and non-touristic) experience, and a wealth of cultural and gastronomic opportunities.

{Piazza del Popolo, Ascoli Piceno. Photo by courtesy of Mattia Marinangeli}

Nearby is also Macerata with its famous Roman open-air opera house, the Sferisterium. To find out more about its opera season, click here. Throughout the winter excellent opera is to found in Jesi and Fermo.

One can also take a day trip to Perugia to stroll down the last Etruscan streets in Italy, walk through the underground city or visit in time for the internationally famous Eurochocolate Festival.

Some of the largest caves in Europe are an hour away and open for tours all year round.

At only a ten-minute drive there is a riding stable and there is also a hand-gliding centre half an hour away.

The area is famous throughout Europe for the quality of hiking it offers. To see more of the beautiful mountains that crown the area, click here.

Amandola

truffles & wines

This is the only place in the world where one can eat truffles fresh all year round! There are over eight kinds of truffles which are found wild and some (the more valuable) are cultivated here. Wild truffles can be purchased in Amandola at the shop "Amando-la-Tipicità".  Place your order a day or two in advance and the owner will hunt specially for your menu.

It is claimed the Marche region was the first place for truffle cultivation in Italy, beginning in 1932, and then blossoming in the 1950s and 1960s due to Mannozzi Torini, a regional inspector belonging to the Corpo Forestrale dello Stato. Whatever the history, the Central Apennines now represent the hub - or heartland - of truffle culture and truffle cultivation, specializing in the black truffle, otherwise known as the Tuber melanosporum.  We recommend trying the truffle cheeses and wild boar salami with truffles that can be found in this area.

Internationally acclaimed vineyards are within a half hour drive from us – like Velenosi outside of Ascoli, or Dezi and Umani Ronchi even closer to home.  At the same time the entire region offers wines that are 'undiscovered' outside of Italy and represent exceptional value for the highest quality product.  Look out for the DOCG Offida Rosso for example, to pair with your feast of black truffles.

{Black and white truffles surrounded by chestnuts, another traditional product of the area. Photo by courtesy of sibilliniweb.it}

Amandola