DISCOVER

Ascoli Piceno Still known to mainly only the Italian cognoscenti, Kim van Woerkomshares the well-kept secret of Ascoli Piceno, an ancient city tucked away among the rolling hills of the southern Marche.

Variously known to Italians as the ‘city of art’ or the ‘city of 100 towers’, Ascoli Piceno has so far somehow escaped the attention of most of the 29 million or so stranierivisiting Italy every year. Its position, at the confluence of the Tronto and Castellano rivers, makes it resemble a moated castle, with its protected position and strong fortifications designed to keep out intruders. During its early history, however, this was not always successful, as Ascoli was unable to protect itself from various violent attacks, particularly by its expansionist neighbour Rome, whose main trading route, the Via Salaria, passed close to the town. Clearly, there was something about Ascoli Piceno that was worth fighting for, its impressive architecture attesting to the importance of the city even then. The exact origins of the city are not known; some date its founding at around the 6th century BC, others at 300 BC, but humans have existed in the area since prehistoric times. Its name could at least in part have been derived from the Italian word for woodpecker (picchio), based on the belief that the city’s first settlers, the Sabini, arrived in the area by following the bird

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June 2006 ITALIA! 25