Ascoli Piceno

Constructed in a strategic position on a rocky spur on a peak over the Tronto and Castellano Rivers, Ascoli Piceno has a splendid monumental historic center entirely constructed in travertine stone that, with its golden glow, strongly characterizes it. A system of bridges and doors connect it to the surrounding territory, a hilly landscape typical of the Marches, dominated by the Laga and Sibillini Mountains, a few kilometers from the sea.
Founded by the Picenis, it quickly entered into the sphere of influence of the Romans, and thanks to its position on Via Salaria, which connects the Tyrrhenian to the Adriatic Sea, it acquired more strategic and military relevance. Like the majority of Italian cities, it was subject to various dominations. Between the 11th and 13th centuries, it was governed by the bishops-counts, and in that period, the nobility moved from the country to the city, building a large number of fortified house-towers (perhaps 200), which gave a nice, singular appearance to the skyline of the city. Even today you can count around fifty; many were incorporated into later buildings; others were transformed into belltowers.
The city is rich in important monumental buildings, palazzi of civil power and marvelous churches and convents which we will mention below, but its fascination consists mostly in its streets and alleyways, which suddenly open onto piazzas, which are the true urban living areas, onto view overlooking the rivers below among important and magnificent vaulted buildings, sometimes simple and modest but always elegant, harmonious, and well-kept.
The most intense areas of city-life are the two piazzas, Arringo and Popolo. These two piazzas overlook the most important buildings of religious, political, and economic power. 

Piazza dell'Arringo, the largest of the city, is dominated by the Cathedral and bordered on one long side by the majestic Palazzo Vescovile, which is home to the Diocesan Museum and by Palazzo del Comune, in which there is also an important civic Picture Galley that is worth visiting. The Cathedral, built in honor of Sant'Emidio in the 11th-12th centuries, was modified more than once, and the most major artists of Ascoli worked on it; today it has a 15th-century appearance. Don't miss the polyptych by Crivelli and the silver frontal, considered the most important sacred pre-Renaissance work in the Marches; both are located in the Chapel of Ss. Sacramento. Next to the cathedral is the Baptistry, dating back to the 12th century; it is the most Romanesque construction in Ascoli.

Onto Piazza del Popolo overlooks the majestic Palazzo dei Capitani, built in the 12th century and restructured in the 16th century with the Civic Tower rising above, a courtyard with three-arched rows, and an underground archaeological route, offering a new series of levels of pavement from the Roman Era to the Middle Ages; the Church of San Francesco, beautiful Gothic construction that began in the mid-1200's and was completed in the 15th and 16th centuries; to the side of the church is the elegant "Loggia dei Mercanti", while to the left opens the Cloister Maggiore, today used for a public market.
By taking a pleasant stroll through the city you will discover many other elements of interest, buildings of civil character, such as the Twin towers in Piazza Agostino, the majestic Porta Solestà, which leads to a particularly fascinating zone on the Tronto River with the Roman Bridge from the era of Augustus, and the view of medieval houses and towers; the beautiful public Lavatoio with five arches, Cecco Bridge entirely reconstructed after being destroyed by the Germans in World War II, the awesome Malatesta Fortress, today home to the early-Middle Ages Museum, and the Lombardic Palazetto with Herculean Towers.
But the city is still rich in precious religious buildings, such as Santa Maria Intervineas, one of the oldest churches in Ascoli with interesting remains of frescoes dating back to the 13th-14th century, the church of Sts. Vicenzo and Anastasio, a jewel of Romanesque Ascoli, the Convent of the Annunziata, Medieval hospital once convent and today home to the Faculty of Architecture.
The local cuisine would be worth a long discussion, rich and varied foods from the mountains, sea, and plains, accompanied by noble wines.