The Sistine Itinerary on the border of the Piceno area

GROTTAMMARE is a seaside resort of the Palm Tree Riviera, boasting a remarkable cultural and historical heritage and 5km of fine sandy beaches. It has been awarded the Blue Flag by the FEE (Foundation for Environmental Education in Europe), three “ Vele Blu “ by Legambiente and is included in the list of “The most beautiful villages in Italy”.
Its pretty traffic-free promenade is backed by some splendid examples of seaside Liberty architecture - grand villas that date back to the turn of the last century. Along with the many palm trees that line the seafront, bright flower beds and well-kept lawns give the place great charm.
The so called Pineta dei Bersaglieri is an area where children can play and have fun. If you wish to relax, you can enjoy sitting on a bench  in Piazza Kursaal, covering an area of about 5000 square meters, paved with travertine stone and decorated with a ground-level fountain, pine and palm trees.
The Medieval historic borgo up above the main resort has fine old buildings and great views out to sea. The most remarkable monuments are: the Church of Sant’Agostino and the attractive Church of Santa Lucia, built in 1597 in memory of the town's most famous son, Pope Sixtus V. In Piazza Peretti stand Teatro dell'Arancio and the Church of San Giovanni Battista, home to the Sistine Museum. Since 2004 the 16th century Tower of the Battle has been converted into a museum, housing an impressive collection of sculptures by Pericles Fazzini, who made the well- known “Resurrection” in Vaticano’s Sala Nervi.

The renovated museum dedicated to Giacomo Pomili houses the artist’s earliest works and further paintings depicting legends , female characters , landscapes, etc. In summer you can stroll along Corso Mazzini, full of street markets, listen to music in Piazza Fazzini or enjoy the big Cabaret at Parco delle Rimembranze. For those who love romantic atmosphere, you can listen to classical music and learn about poetry in the old medieval village. Cinema, art and theater are other forms of entertainment for all seasons.

The most remarkable events taking place in Grottammare are : Cabaret amoremio! - International Humor Festival (August), Liszt Festival (July / August), Juttenizie - gastronomic walk (August / September) and the Living Nativity (December 26 / January 1 and 6). 

Grottammare has also been awarded the Spiga Verde of the FEE (Foundation for Environmental Education in Europe), thanks to the policies adopted for environmental sustainability and for involving citizens in the protection of the environment.

Grottammare is one of the most famous seaside locations on the Palm Riviera and on the whole Marche coastline. Lying by the slopes of Monte Castello, where sits its ancient fortified borough, called “Vecchio Incasato”, Grottammare shows all of its romantic charms: it is the ideal location for a wedding. Its old town centre offers an original scenario to celebrate a civil wedding: here are the Orange Theatre, one of the 73 historical theatres existing in Marche and, on the little square, the ancient loggias. The view offered by this location is beautiful and really suggestive.

Montalto delle Marche rises between the Aso and Tesino valleys. It is situated at 512 meters above sea level in the heart of the Piceno hillside and has a superb all round view of the uncontaminated surrounding Marchigiani hillsides as well as a view of the sea and the snowy tops of the Sibillini mountains. 
Woods, vineyards and hillside olive yards gradually make way to the fruit orchards near the Aso river valley which still today works a XVI century water mill. The central position of Montalto had already been considered in the medieval  by the Benedettini monks from Farfa who chose the convent of Saint Augustine as the seat of the provincial congregation of 15 territories of the Farfense ruling.

In year 1215 Saint Francis of Assisi, according to tradition, chose this territory to spread his teaching and built the convent of “Delle Fratte” in the heart of  a century old wood. The convent is full of frescoes from the Giotto school period.

Felice Peretti studied in this convent and was elected pope in 1585 under the name of Sisto V. He gave Montalto a city title making it head of an autonomous ruling. He also made precious gifts to his hometown, such as the unique reliquary which is housed in the Museo Sistino Vescovile (Bishop's Museum). After the earthquake in the year 2016 it's been wrapped up). Thanks to the many of the privileges granted to his most beloved hometown, as well as some remarkable works of art Montalto delle Marche became a very lively and rich cultural centre and it could take advantage of some privileges until the Unification of Italy.

Giuseppe Sacconi, the architect who designed the monument of Vittorio Emanuele II, located in the centre of Rome, was born in Montalto delle Marche. His studio has been recreated in the Town Picture Gallery.

The Town Hall houses also other two museums: the Museo delle carceri (Prison museum) where you can see at the walls graffiti and drawings by prisoners and where you can listen to their real stories told by a theatre group, and the museum "Water, Earth and Canvas" ( museo "L'Acqua, la Terra, la Tela").

Worth visiting are the hamlets Patrignone, Porchia and Valdaso.

The historic center, the monuments and the museums of the town are partially accessible. For information please write to Toll-free Number Marche Tourism (numeroverde.turismo@regione.marche.it) or contact the phone numbers listed below.

San Benedetto del Tronto  is one of the main holiday resorts of the southern Marche between the Tronto and Tesino rivers, with a touch of tropical charm, thanks to eight thousand palm trees on its wide promenade. San Benedetto boasts a lot of tourist accommodations, ranging from hotels and residences to about a wide range of private apartments giving tourists the opportunity to spend an enjoyable vacation on ”the Palm Tree Riviera”.

SEA TOURIST OFFER: By the sides of the boardwalk there are rich gardens, a pine grove, tennis courts, a skating trail and, at the mouth of the Albula creek where its first section ends,  a building, the Palazzina Azzurra (“Blue Palace”): a historical landmark of the city. South of it the most specifically touristic area begins, where beach resorts follow one another by one side of the road, and hotels and villas by the other. San Benedetto del Tronto beaches are suitable for children also because with their fine sand they can build castles and dig holes; furthermore,  the shallow sea bottom is the best to bathe wearing water wings or using an inflatable. Also worth visiting is the “Giardino Zio Marcello” (Uncle Marcel’s Garden) facing the free beach between resorts No. 36 and 37, an extended green area equipped with toy structures.  The boardwalk is further characterized by no less than 8000 palm trees, of many varieties, a lot of relax areas, playgrounds and “thematic gardens”, the “oases”: a dry and a wet garden, a palm grove, a rose garden, another one dedicated to the Mediterranean brush. The materials used to build the gardens are compatible with the new vocation of the boardwalk, and are meant to make them look like natural areas by the sea, where one can stop to admire the panorama or to get directly to the beach. A comfortable bike track runs along the whole shore for more than 15 km, reaching north up to Cupra Marittima and south to Via del Mare and Porto d’Ascoli. The town is endowed with a tourist port (awarded the Blue Flag in 2018), a fishing port and one of the most important wholesale fish markets in Italy. North of the mouth of the Tronto river there is the Riserva Naturale Sentina (Sentina Natural Park) characterized by the presence of migrant birds and by a sandy tract of the beach in whose hinterland  there are no buildings of any kind.

ATTRACTIONS: San Benedetto del Tronto has always been connected with sea and sea tradition. The Museums of the Sea includes the Maritime civilization Museum, the Amphorae Museum, the Fish Museum and the Truentinum Antiquarium. The Art Gallery of the Sea, opened in April of 2009, is part of the Museums of the Sea. The MAM (the Museum of Art on the Sea) is a permanent outdoor museum, collecting 145 works of art. The older part of the town, with its fourteenth century hexagonal Gualtieri Tower and  red brick houses, sits above the main resort. The most remarkable tourist attractions are: the Sanctuary of the Blessed Sacrament Modonna, the Santa Maria Cathedral of the Marina, the Church of St. Joseph, the Municipal Concordia Theatre, the Lighthouse. The typical dish of San Benedetto del Tronto is the “brodetto alla sambenedettese”, a tasty fish stew, which must be made with different species of fish. The recipe includes the addition of peppers and vinegar. The most significant events taking place in San Benedetto del Tronto are: the antique market "L'antico e le palme", which attracts Italian and foreign antique dealers and collectors; the Festival of Our Lady of the Navy (July); the "Libero Bizzarri Award", one of Italy's most famous documentary film competitions; Anghiò, the International Festival of Blue Fish.

Fermo is situated on the slopes of Sabulo Hill (319 above sea level). The city is now divided into two parts: the old town, that has remained almost intact through the centuries, and the new area.

SEASIDE HOLIDAY OFFER:  Fermo features the seaside resorts of Marina Palmense (3 km of beach to the south of Porto San Giorgio)  and Lido di Fermo, Casabianca and Lido San Tommaso (4 km of beach to the north). The beaches at Lido di Fermo and Marina Palmense are both pebbled and sandy; the area is full of camping sites, tourist villages and apartments and equipped with many facilities, like bars, restaurants and nightclubs. The resorts are surrounded by green and lush hills, protecting the coast from the winds. There's a bike path running from Casabianca to the village of San Tommaso.

ATTRACTIONS: The heart of the town is the magnificent Renaissance Piazza del Popolo, formerly Piazza Grande, where there is the sixteenth century Palazzo dei Priori, whose main entrance is topped by  Sansovino's grand statue of the Bishop of Fermo who was to become Pope Sixtus V. Now it is home to the Municipal Art Gallery, boasting valuable paintings of the Venetian and Marche schools and the "Nativity" by Rubens, and the Sala del Mappamondo (Hall of the Globe), taking its name from the world map drawn by the cartographer Moroncelli of Fabriano in 1713; the building also houses the archaeological section "From the Villanovians to Piceni"; further remarkable palaces surrounding the square are: the Palazzo degli Studi, housing the town library "Spezioli" with 400.000 volumes, and the Apostolic Palace, built in 1532 as the residence of the Governors and of the papal legates. Fermo's pride is also the prestigious "Teatro dell'Aquila", a fine example of eighteenth century architecture.  Also worthy of note are the underground piscine romane (roman pools) which comprise thirty magnificently preserved underground chambers built between 41 & 60 BC to conserve and purify the town's water supply, and regarded as the finest example of their kind in Italy. Climbing up Girfalco hill, you reach the 13th century Romanesque-Gothic Cathedral, with its richly decorated interior and fine rose window. You cant' miss: the Church of San Francesco, which houses fragments of frescoes by Giuliano da Rimini; the church of San Domenico, rebuilt in 1233 on the area where once stood the church of St. Thomas of Canterbury; the Church of St. Agostino, decorated with nice frescoes by Giotto's school.
The most famous local products are: caciotta, a top quality cheese made from both ewe and cow's milk; ciauscolo ( soft cured pork) and vin cotto (sweet "cooked" wine). The frustingo is the typical Christmas cake. It is made with dried figs, raisins, almonds, walnuts, cooked wine, flavored with cocoa, coffee, rum, grated orange and lemon peel, candied fruit and spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. The most imnportant event taking place in Fermo is the feast of the Assumption, celebrated on August 15. During the summer period the Piazza del Popolo plays host to Fermo's music festival featuring some of the world's finest performers, as well as outdoor markets.

The Girfalco park is on top of the Sabulo hill. Its characteristic is to unusually culminate in a large "square". Its great location allows visitors to enjoy breathtaking views that include the Mount Conero, the hills, the Adriatic Sea, Moterubbiano, Mount dell'Ascensione, the dawn on a clear day and last but not least the Bebie Alps. The park area is considered the spiritual seat of the soul of the city of Fermo, as here is where the Metropolitan Cathedral in white stone was built and  dedicated to the Assumption. At the centre of the park, a charming fountain dated 1928 celebrates the aqueduct of Tenna. In the eastern side of the park, finally, there is Villa Vinci that since the 16th C. until 1820 housed the monastery of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. The Girfalco also hosts a number of games designed for children as well as swings,  benches and tables. The area is rich in impressive specimens of Pines and Cedars of Lebanon, while the avenue leading to the cathedral is lined with rows of tall Ilex trees pruned in such a way as to result in a kind of high hedge. Next to the monument dedicated to the patron saint San Sabino a typical Italian garden was created, composed, among others, by Palm trees and flower beds of various types.