Tourist Attractions
Gualdo
The village of Gualdo just 'around the corner' offers basic shopping, banking, etc. The morning market day is on Monday. Gualdo is situated between the mountains and the sea in green and undulating countryside where the most prominent features of the landscape are ancient towns built on top of every hill. This typical town is built of mellow red brick with a central square and at least one beautiful church from which lead steep and narrow streets.
Le Marche Region
Most towns have at least one simple and inexpensive restaurant with good food plus a bar. Sarnano, one of the few towns in Le Marche which have preserved the mediaeval town centre completely, is 10 minutes away and offers most services; pizzeria's, restaurants, hospital supermarket, tennis courts, and health spa - Fonte San Giacomo - which is famous for its spa with thermal baths and local bottled water. Outside the town there is a winter ski resort. The morning market is on Thursday.
Further afield is the capital of the province: Macerata, with its university, churches and delightful shops, and famous for its summer open-air music festival (the opera). Other places within an hour or two include the ancient cathedral city of Ascoli Piceno, the ancient capital of Urbino and the larger towns of Perugia and Assisi. Amandola is a town noted for its antique tradition of ebony furniture and marquetry artistry; Caldarola, with its castles; Serrapetrona, famous for its traditional square, palaces, mansions and summer festivals; Camerino, is a city of antique magnificence.
On the coast there are lovely beaches with excellent swimming. In the mountains there are wonderful walks in the Sibillini National Park and lake Fiastra.
The Roman ruins of the antique town of Urbisaglia are worth visiting along the road to Macerata. They include a magnificent amphitheatre, which, during the summer months, stages a Greco-Roman theatre festival. The Sferisterio can be found there, the second Italian arena after Verona. The works of great artists are put on display every year, drawing attention from all over Europe.
Near the Conero National Park coastline is Recanati, where Giacomo Leopardi was born and only one hour in the car from the house you can find the great beaches of the Adriatic Coast.
Horse riding, mountain biking, paragliding, trekking, etc. are available in the nearby Mount Sibillini National Park.
Ancona airport is one hour by car offering inexpensive flights with Ryanair and car hire situated in the airport terminal.
Eating events or Sagre:
Pretty well every town and village throughout the Marche has some food or wine event during the summer months. Here are just a few of them:
June
- Pianello (near Cagli) - Sagra della Lumaca (snails) - mid-June
- Apiro (near Cingoli) - Sagra del formaggio pecorino (pecorino cheese)
July
- Sefro (near Camerino) - Festa della Pizza - early July
- Matelica - Sagra della Rana (frogs)
- Ostra Vetere (near Corinaldo) - Festa della trota (trout) - earlyJuly
- Montemarciano (near Senigallia) - Sagra del pesce (fish)
- Corinaldo - polenta festival on third Sunday in July to commemorate the time when the town's people successfully resisted a siege thanks to copious supplies of the stuff.
- Sefro (near Camerino) - Festa del Tortellino alla boscaiola (pasta) - late July
- Castelplanio (near Jesi) - Sagra della crescia sul panaro (stuffed flat bread) - last Sunday of July
- Ostra Vetere (near Corinaldo) - Sapori ed Aromi di Casa Nostra - late July - local food, music and a procession of old farm machines
August
- Monte Vidon Combatte (near Fermo) - Sagra delle quaglie (quails) - 1st Sunday
- Sassoferrato - Sagra del Cinghiale (wild boar)
- Cingoli - Sagra di prosciutto e melone
- San Severino Marche - Sagra della ceca (chick peas)
- Staffolo (near Cingoli) - Festa del Verdicchio (verdicchio wine festival)
- Fermo - Sagra delle vongole (shell fish)
- Serra San Quirico (near Fabriano) - Sagra del coniglio in porchetta (roast rabbit with fennel)
- Monteprandone (near San Benedetto del Tronto)- Sagra delle olive fritte (fried stuffed olives)
- Pedaso - Sagra Nazionale delle cozze (mussels)
- Massignano (near Ascoli Piceno) - Sagra delle frittelle (omelettes)
- Vererotta (near Ascoli Piceno) - Sagra della vitella allo spiedo (spit-roast veal)
- Loro Piceno - Sagra del Vin Cotto (a sweet "cooked" wine)
September
- Apiro (near Cingoli) - Sagra della polenta
- Montecassiano - Sagra del pesce (fish)
- Cupramontana - grape festival in the heart of Verdicchio wine country in September.
- Piandimileto (near Urbino) - Mushroom fair
- Lapedona (near Fermo) - Sagra del Vino Cotto (the Marche version of Vin Santo)
- Fermo - Sagra della Polenta
- Arcevia - Sagra dell'uva (grape festival)
October
- Acqualagna (near Cagli) - Fiera nazionale del tartufo (truffle fair) - last weekend in October and first two weekends in November in the town that calls itself the "truffle capital".
- Acquasanta Terme (near Ascoli Piceno) - Festa d'autunno (autumn produce)
- Montemonaco (near Ascoli Piceno) - Sagra della Castagna (chestnut)
- Castelsantengelo sul Nera (near Visso) - Sagra del Marrone Castellano (chestnut)
- Sant'Agata Feltria - White Truffle fair
- Sant'Angelo in Vado (near Urbino) - Mostra del tartufo bianco (white truffle)
November
- Talamello (near San Leo) - Formaggio di Fossa cheese fair
- Acqualagna (near Cagli) - truffle fair- last weekend in October and first three weekends in November in the village that calls itself the "truffle capital".
Fun & Games
- Ascoli Piceno - jousting in Ascoli's main square on the first Sunday of August. The most authentic "medieval" goings-on in the Marche.
- Urbino Festa del Duca - a jamboree in honour of Duke Federico on the third Sunday in August.
- Cagli Palio dell'Oca - medieval games to win a golden goose in mid-August.
- Mondavio Wild Boar Hunt - a medieval chase in the square - very jolly. mid-August.
- Fermignano Palio della Rana - yes, a race with frogs in wheelbarrows - the joint is really jumpin' on the first Sunday after Easter.
Local Markets:
- Markets in Italy normally start early 8:00am and finish at about 1:00pm
- Sunday: Monte Vidon Combatte/Santa Vittoria
- Monday: Gualdo a small market for the locals
- Tuesday: Loro Piceno
- Thursday: Sarnano
- Saturday: Civitanova Marche