BAC Le Marche - The Adriatic Coast to the Sibylline Mountains 2010

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Piazza Arringo - Basilica, Duomo and Town Hall

This was an official rest day. Ann and I decided to see the sights in Ascoli Piceno. Our first objective was to find the main tourist office and get some maps or guidebooks for the city. Bill wanted to do that too so the three of us left the hotel and walked over to the old part of town. We wandered from piazza to piazza until we found the tourist office in Piazza Arringo in the town hall. Then we set out on our quest.

Our first stop was at the Piazza del Popolo. According to le-marche.com, the "Piazza del Popolo, (is the) traffic-free, travertine-paved main square. This beautifully proportioned outdoor meeting place must be one of the most elegant provincial squares in all Italy. To one side of the square stands the Palazzo del Popolo, a splendid 13thC building guarded over by a monumental statue of Pope Paul III. Look inside to see the arcaded Renaissance courtyard. Closing off one end of the piazza is the great Gothic church of San Francesco, a sober but pleasing building both inside and out".

Ascoli Piceno - Chiesa di S Francesco

While we were at the piazza, an elderly Italian gentleman on his bicycle with his long pants and sports jacket started talking to Bill. He suggested that the map we received from the tourist office was not good enough. He asked us to wait while he peddled off to get us a better one. After a short time he returned with a much better map from his hotel. We thanked him and continued on to the Church of San Francisco at the end of the piazza. We were amazed that a 13th century church had stained glass windows depicted modern history of Ascoli Piceno including one window showing a scene with fascists and prisoners from World War II.

We left the church and strolled down narrow streets until we reached Chiesa di S Pietro Martire (St. Peter Martyr (13th century)). The church contains faded and partially decomposed 17th century frescoes. It also has a 1523 side portal by Cola d'Amatrice.

From there we crossed the Fiume Tronto and visited the Lavatoio and the Chiesa S Emidio Rosso. (Please look at today's slide show to see photos).

Ascoli Piceno

Back across the bridge, we walked along the river in a very old section of town. We eventually worked our way back to the Piazza Popolo and had lunch under an awning at the same trattoria where we had Happy Hour the previous evening.

Ann and I went back to the hotel while Bill concentrated on getting presents for his wife. Ann's cell phone's battery was dead so I tried to charge it with our old charger from home. It did not work. I discovered that I had killed with the 220 current that is normal for Europe. Most modern chargers work with both 110 and 200, but this one was old. So we went over to the Vodafon strore and bought a new inexpensive cell phone. At the same time, we replaced both of our sim cards from go-sim with Italian sim cards that worked normally.

Richard and Julie with our Waiter and the Owner at Ristorante Kursaal

Dinner tonight was at Ristorante Kursaal. This out-of-the-way restaurant had better than average food. The service was fantastic with a young waiter who spoke excellent English. The majority of our group was there. We ate with Tom and Julie and Richard and Carol.