| Destination of the week: |
| | Ascoli Piceno, Le Marche |
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Ascoli Piceno in Le Marche is one of the most charming towns in this corner of Italy.
The town, which sits astride the River Tronto some 15 miles from the Adriatic coast, is small enough to be explored on foot within a day. Yet large enough – it is southern Marche’s principal
conurbation and has 50,000 inhabitants – to leave a huge impression on all who visit.
Property for sale in Ascoli Piceno, Le Marche
Buying property in Ascoli Piceno, Le Marche and nearby is surprisingly affordable.
In the current February 2009 market, it is possible to buy a 50sq m apartment for €60,000 and a new-build apartment of similar size at about around €70,000. Expect to pay around €80,000-€85,000 for an Ascoli Piceno house or apartment of around 80-85sq m and about €90,000 for a farmhouse to restore.
The town is surrounded by natural beauty, with mountains on three sides. Additionally, to the south lies Laga Mountains national park while on the north-west is the Sybilline Mountains national park.
But Ascoli Piceno also houses several welcoming attractions within the town itself. Undoubtedly the most impressive is the square at the heart of the old town, the Piazza del Popolo.
This lovely piazza – paved with travertine and joyfully devoid of traffic – is one of the most exquisite anywhere in Italy. Adorning one side of it is the 13th century Palazzo del Popolo, which houses an arcaded Renaissance courtyard and features a giant monument of Pope Paul III. Another imposing edifice towering over the piazza is the Gothic San Francesco church.
Ascoli Piceno also boasts a second, smaller but just as attractive, square in Piazza Arringo, a couple of hundred metres away along Via del Duca Cino.
This piazza features the town’s Duomo (cathedral) as well as its Palazzo Comunale (civic hall). Among the artefacts worth seeing in the Duomo is a dazzling polyptych with the Madonna and Saints. The Palazzo Comunale, meanwhile, is home to the town's art gallery. Its most celebrated attraction is an ornately embroidered 13th century cloak once worn by Pope Nicholas IV and which was made in England.
A couple of hundred metres north lies Ascoli Piceno’s main thoroughfare, Corso Giuseppe Mazzini. But the entire old town, nestled on the south bank of the river, is full of beguiling streets to discover, two of the best being Via dei Soderini and Via Solesta. The town’s high medieval walls run along part of the length of the river; the river’s most notable crossing, by the way is the Ponte Nuovo.
And if you are bowled over by historical pageantry – and let’s face it, who isn’t? – then you may find the ideal time to visit Ascoli Piceno is over the first Sunday in August, when the town is taken over by a medieval jousting tournament, La Quintana. The spectacular, with its roots in the 15th century, features a huge parade with townsfolk dressed in medieval costume.
Click here to view our range of property in Ascoli Piceno, Le Marche, and nearby as well as other Le Marche property.
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