Ascoli Piceno has a privileged location in the Marche region, halfway between the Apennine mountains and the Adriatic Sea, surrounded by rolling hills well-speckled with olive trees.

The town was founded in the fourth century B.C. by a tribe of Picenians an ancient people of the Italian peninsula. Ascoli Piceno is more ancient than Rome.

Walking in the old town one can still admire works of art and monuments dating from different historical periods: the pre-Roman and Roman period, the Medieval and the Renaissance.

The periods in which Ascoli Piceno had its highest urban splendour were the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

Piazza del Popolo, the Palace of Captains, Piazza Arringo (the centre of public life at the time of city states) and the Cathedral (dedicated to S. Emidio da Treviri, patron of the town), that gives onto this square, are wonderful architectural works of art which testify to those historical eras.

Inside the Cathedral there is the polyptyic “Madonna col Bambino”, masterpiece by Carlo Crivelli, a fifteenth century painter from Veneto.

One of the town’s wonders is the Roman Bridge (Ponte Romano) dating from the first century A.D. in the time of Augustus. The bridge is still in use and it is possible to visit its interior in order to observe Roman building techniques. It is a unique and exciting experience.

Museums

The province of Ascoli Piceno has many important, interesting and even strange museums.

You can admire Lombard archaeological finds and Roman mosaics, modern works of art and holy art jewels but also the biggest shell collection in the world.

The Ascoli Piceno picture gallery contains a figurative art collection. In the Marche region, this collection is second only to the one of Urbino, with works by Tiziano, Canaletto, Carlo Crivelli, Guercino and Guido Reni.

Antique

Traders coming from all parts of Italy, meet in Ascoli Piceno the third weekend of each month, on the occasion of the “Antique exhibition”. If you like looking for, and sometimes buying, old objects, it will be amusing for you to browse through the stalls.

Handicraft

In Ascoli Piceno traditions still survive and, walking through the streets of the town, it is easy to find small workshops. here skilled craftsman work wood, iron and stone or weave straw to produce baskets, bags and huts, where they model and paint ceramic objects or make precious and refined lace using the old bobbin lace technique.

Accademia Italiana teachers organise unforgettable encounters with the most skilled craftsmen for you and other students.