Touristic Information

• Postcards
• How to get there
• Phones
• A walking tour
• Pagliarole
• Food and wines
• Ancient Weapons Museum

If pure air, incomparable landscapes and signs of the historical past is what you are looking for, then you should go up to Acquaviva Picena (365 metres above sea-level), a pretty hilly village, at about 6 km. from S.Benedetto del Tronto.

The town, built around a Medieval fortress, which was the residence of the powerful family of the dukes of Acquaviva, has kept its ancient and majestic beauty. Time seems to have halted on the narrow and winding streets of the old town centre and on the ramps and butresses built to defend the town.

Every corner, every stone speaks of a distant time; they belong to the popular recolletions of the past.

Many are the monuments of proven historical and artistic interest: the Church of S.Rocco (XIII century), the Porta Gotica, the Tower of "dell'Orologio", the Town-Hall with its precious frescos, the Parish Church (XVIII century), the Church of S.Lorenzo degli Agostiniani with some paintings from the Crivelli and his school, and up on a hill, the Church of S.Francesco with the convent. It is a popular belief that the church was founded by S.Francesco da Assisi himself.

How to get there

A walking tour

To reach Piazza S.Nicoḷ, you can enter the town either from Porta Bora,(north) parking the car in Boreale street or from Porta da Sole (north), parking in Leopardi Street. The Square is dominated by the Parish Church and dell'Orologio Tower.

Walking along Marziale street you come in view of many ancient, elegant palaces and of the house where Celso Ulpiani,a wellknown botanist, was born. Proceeding along the street you get to S.Rocco street at the end of which stands the romanesque S.Rocco Church, the most attended church in Acquaviva.

Along the same street there is also the Town-Hall which houses in its wonderful rooms the Palio room with many objects documenting the Palio of the Duke and its history and the standards dedicated to its main protagonist, the beautiful Forastiera.

From S.Rocco street you enter Piazza dei Forte from where you can admire the imposing structure of the fortress.

At this point you can't miss to visit the interior of the fortress, where every visitor is caught in an atmosphere of magic and amazement.

Then, walking towards the public gardens you arrive in Vicolo Trabucco: a very peculiar and romantic spot with a pleasent view on the Abruzzi mountains and the Marches Apennines, the S.Francesco and San Lorenzo degli Agostiniani Churches.

Going down the stairs you'll find yourself in Leopardi street, the main street, from where you can admire the famous Porta Gotica.

A visit is due to the Cooperative Store of the Acquaviva hills for the sale of wine. It owes its fame to the delicious wine there produced, such as the Rosso Piceno, the Rosso Piceno Superiore and the Bianco Falerio dei Colli Ascolani.

Remarkable is also the friendliness of the people from Acquaviva. The tourist office (ph.0735-764005) offers a free service of guided tours to groups but also to families.

Phones

Pagliarole

In Acquaviva is still alive the ancient tradition of making baskets with straw, the so called pagliarole.

Mostly in Summer is quite common to see the old women of the town sitting outside their doors skillingly weaving the straw, using only a sharp point and a bucket full of water.

The process is long and complicate, also because it requires various stages of work made in advance for the preparation of the materials: straw, willow and reeds.

The pagliarole, which are of various shapes, can serve for different uses: for keeping fruit, knitted works, clothes or simply to be hanged on the walls as ornaments.

Food and wines

Acquaviva cooking has the real taste of the past and the genuinity of the ingredients is its own peculiarity.

To try some of the traditional meals of the region, you just need to stop in one of the many restaurants in the town centre or in the country.

The meals are usually based on simple and natural ingredients like locally-made ham, loin, salami, livers with eggs, pecorino cheese, pappardelle in duckling sauce, felt, browned chicken, rabbit in the ncip-nciap style, meat-filled olives, mutton on the spit. Typical desserts are the "spumini", almond tarts, and the well-known pesche (pastries filled with chocolate and dipped into the alchermes liqueur) whose fragrance comes out from every baker's shop.

Regione Marche

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