Region: Excellent location in the beautiful region of Le Marche

The town of Ascoli Piceno is the southern Marche’s major centre. It has a beautiful main square called the Piazza del Popolo, which is well worth a visit, as is the old quarter of the town, which stretches from the banks of the Tronto River to the town’s main street, Corso Mazzini. One of the town’s main events is La Quintana a medieval jousting tournament that takes place in the main square on the first Sunday of August every year.

Macerata is a bustling provincial capital known for its world famous open-air opera festival. The festival or Stagione Lirica as it is known in Italy attracts international operatic names to the superb 7000-seater Sferisterio Arena and runs between 15 July and 15 August.

Cupra Marittima is the nearest beach from Casa Vitale. It has a sandy beach and rarely gets overcrowded. Grottammare is the neighbouring resort and boasts 5km of fine sandy beach. San Benedetto del Tronto is one of the main beach resorts of the southern Marche. It has over 7,000 palm trees on its wide promenade as well as 8km sandy beach.
Other smaller resorts along the coast include Civitanova Marche which is also a vibrant fishing port.

Amenities

• Zafferano, a local caterer can come to the property and cook (72 hours notice)

• High speed train links (San Benedetto)

• Rome accessible by daily luxury coach from Cupra Marittima (3hrs)

• Region renouned for excellent restaurants nearby.

• Tennis courts and windsurfing at Cupra Marittima.

• Mountain walking

• Golf course (under construction)

• Good nightlife for young people on the coast

Also worth a mention is the dramatic coastline of the Conero Riviera lying just south of Ancona where the cliffs abruptly meet the sea. Portonovo is a traditional little fishing resort with colourful Victorian-style bathing huts and some excellent beachfront fish restaurants. Slightly further down the coast is the town of Sirolo where there are breathtaking views of the Adriatic coastline and Numana which has one of the best stretches of sandy beach in the Marche region.

The impressive Monti Sibillini range rise in the lower south-west of Le Marche and reach into Umbria. The mountains are dotted with caves and lined with walking trails and also offer more sporting activities such as horse riding, hang-gliding and mountain biking as well as reasonable skiing in winter.

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