Ascoli Piceno Travertine City (from San Benedetto del Tronto)

Ascoli Piceno is the elegant capital of the southern Marche, an inland city of pale travertine stone set where the Tronto and Castellano rivers meet, about thirty-five kilometres from the coastal resort of San Benedetto del Tronto. It is reached in around forty minutes by train, costing roughly four to eight euros (4-9 USD) each way, or by the hourly Start bus for about three to four euros (3-4 USD), making it an easy day trip from the southern Marche coast. The heart of the city is the Piazza del Popolo, widely regarded as one of the most beautiful squares in Italy, a long rectangular space paved in gleaming travertine and framed by the Renaissance arcades of the Palazzo dei Capitani del Popolo, the Gothic church of San Francesco, and the historic Caffe Meletti, an Art Nouveau cafe famous for its anisetta liqueur. Ascoli is sometimes called the city of a hundred towers for the medieval tower-houses that still rise above its streets, and the whole compact centre, built almost entirely from local travertine, glows in the sun. Beyond the main square, the Piazza Arringo holds the cathedral with a Carlo Crivelli altarpiece, the baptistery, and the Pinacoteca Civica art gallery in the Palazzo dell'Arengo. A practical one-day plan is to arrive mid-morning, explore the Piazza del Popolo and pause for a coffee or an anisetta at Caffe Meletti, walk the travertine lanes and the tower-houses, visit the cathedral and gallery on Piazza Arringo, and break for a long lunch. Spring and autumn bring the most comfortable weather, while the Quintana, a historic jousting festival in costume, fills the city in July and August. For food, Ascoli is the home of olive all'ascolana, large green olives stuffed with meat, breaded and fried, a speciality known across Italy, alongside fritto misto and the local Rosso Piceno wine. With its luminous stone, magnificent square, and celebrated cuisine, Ascoli Piceno is the most rewarding inland city of the southern Marche.