Page 379 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Italy

LE M ARCHE  377

89 BC. The gridiron plan of
Roman Asculum Picenum is
visible in the streets today, but it
is the town’s medieval heritage
that attracts most visitors.
The enchanting Piazza del
Popolo is dominated by the
13th-century Palazzo dei
Capitani del Popolo, whose
façade was designed by Cola
dell’Amatrice, and the church
of San Francesco, a large and
faintly austere Gothic ensemble
built between 1262 and 1549.
Via del Trivio leads north to a
medieval district overlooking the
River Tronto. Along Via Cairoli lies
the 13th-century church of San
The beach at the village of Sirolo on the Conero Peninsula Pietro Martire. Opposite is the
church of Santi Vincenzo e
E Pinacoteca Comunale F q Loreto Anastasio (11th century), with
Podesti e Galleria d’Arte Moderna an ancient crypt built over a
Via Pizzecolli 17. Tel 071 222 50 41. Ancona. * 11,000. V @ n Via spring said to cure leprosy.
Open Tue–Sat daily (Sun pm). Solari 3 (071 97 02 76). ( Fri. Around Piazza dell’Arringo
Closed public hols. & 7 Legend has it that in 1294 is the 12th-century Duomo,
E Museo Archeologico the house of the Virgin spoiled by a Baroque overlay.
Nazionale delle Marche Mary (Santa Casa) Its Cappella del
Via Ferretti 1. Tel 071 20 26 02. Open miraculously Sacramento contains
8:30am–7pm Tue–Sun. Closed uprooted itself from a polyptych by the
1 Jan, 1 May, 15 Aug, 25 Dec. & 7 the Holy Land and 15th-century artist
was brought by Carlo Crivelli. The
angels to a laurel Pinacoteca Civica
0 Conero Peninsula grove (loreto) south has more works by
of Ancona. Each year Crivelli and by Guido
Ancona. V g Ancona. @ from several million Santa Casa in Loreto Reni, Titian and
Ancona to Sirolo or Numana. n Via
della Loggia 50, Ancona (071 35 89 91). pilgrims visit the Santa Alemanno. The Museo
∑ parcodelconero.eu Casa in Loreto and its Basilica. Archeologico contains Roman,
Begun in 1468, the latter was Piceni and Lombard artifacts.
The beautiful cliff-edged Conero designed and built in part by
Peninsula is the only natural Renaissance architects Bramante, E Pinacoteca Civica
feature to disturb the almost Sansovino and Giuliano da Palazzo Comunale, Piazza Arringo.
unbroken line of beaches along Sangallo. Its paintings include Tel 0736 29 82 13. Open Tue–Sun.
the coast of Le Marche. Easily works by Luca Signorelli. & 7
accessible from Ancona to the The Museo-Pinacoteca has E Museo Archeologico
north, it is a semi-wild area 16th-century paintings by Palazzo Panighi, Piazza Arringo.
known for its scenery, its wines Lorenzo Lotto. Tel 0736 25 35 62. Open Tue–Sun.
(notably Rosso del Conero) and Closed 1 Jan, 1 May, 25 Dec. & 7
for a collection of coves, R Basilica and Santa Casa
beaches and little resorts. Piazza Santuario. Tel 071 97 01 04.
The best of these resorts is Open daily. 7
Portonovo, above whose E Museo-Pinacoteca
beach stands Santa Maria Palazzo Apostolico. Tel 071 974 71 98.
di Portonovo, a pretty Open Apr–Oct: Tue–Sun; Nov–Mar:
11th-century Romanesque Fri–Sun. &
church mentioned by Dante in
Canto XXI of Paradiso. Sirolo and
Numana are busier and more w Ascoli Piceno
commercialized, but you can * 54,000. @ n Palazzo Comunale,
escape the crowds by hiking the Piazza Arringo (0736 25 30 45).
flower-swathed slopes of Monte ( Wed & Sat.
Conero, which stands at 572 m
(1,877 ft), or by taking a boat trip This alluring town takes its name
to the smaller beaches beyond from the Piceni, a tribe eventually
the resorts. conquered by the Romans in The medieval town of Ascoli Piceno

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