Piazza del Popolo, Ascoli Piceno

Piazza del Popolo is the monumental heart of Ascoli Piceno, a city in the southern Marche built almost entirely from the pale local travertine that gives its centre a luminous unity found in few other Italian towns. The square itself is paved end to end in polished travertine slabs, laid mostly in the 16th century, that take on a mirror-like sheen after rain. On its long western side runs an elegant Renaissance portico, while the eastern end is closed by the Gothic church of San Francesco, begun in 1258, with its slender flank and rose windows. Dominating the northern side is the Palazzo dei Capitani del Popolo, a fortified civic palace that was the seat of the city captains from around 1400 to 1564; its Renaissance portal carries a statue of Pope Paul III. At the square's edge stands the Caffè Meletti, an Art Nouveau coffee house that opened in 1907 and remains famous for its anisetta liqueur, once enjoyed by visiting writers and statesmen. The piazza comes alive each evening with the local passeggiata and is the stage for the Quintana, a costumed medieval jousting tournament held in July and August that fills the square and surrounding streets with processions in Renaissance dress. The square is free and open at all hours, and a leisurely visit takes around an hour, longer with a stop at the café. Ascoli's compact travertine centre, with its many medieval towers, rewards exploration on foot beyond the square.