The Surrounding Area

• Close to the historic hilltop towns of Penna San Giovanni, Monte San Martino, Sant' Angelo in Potano, Sarnano and Amandola and their wide selection of restaurants.
• Great walking, trekking, horseriding and other outdoor activities in the Sibillini National Park some 35 minutes away.
• Seaside resort of Porto San Georgio with it fabulous seafood restaurants and great beach with safe swimming about 45 minutes away.
• The backdrop to the west is the Sibillini mountains where in the summer you can visit the National Park and swim in the Lago di Fiastra.  In the nearby town of Fiastra at the east of the lake you can lunch in one of the restaurants after horse riding or having taken a quad bike trip high up into the mountains.  In winter this is the perfect area for skiing.

 

The Marches is a wonderful region in central Italy and it is not only by chance that it is otherwise known as "Italy in one region", where miles and miles of beaches and mountains exist together in perfect harmony, where one can still take in an atmosphere of dense tradition and culture and where it is possible to experience the most unique tastes in the world. 

Ideally situated with the Sibillini mountains on one side and the Adriatic sea on the other one has the best of both worlds, skiing during the winter months, the beach and mountain lakes during the summer and the breathtaking countryside in between. Cultural treasures abound, hidden in the medieval hilltop towns, a maze of narrow streets, wide piazzas, high stone walls and majestic towers. Le Marche's picturesque villages are full of ancient Churches, Abbeys and Monasteries, all beautifully preserved over the years. Its sunny hills, marked by rows of vines and olive groves overlooking green valleys, induces a sense of peace and tranquillity, so much so that you will not want your holiday to end.

The nearby village of Piloti

Sarnano is a town very close to the house and it provides a wonderful summer retreat for Italians and tourists alike with its spa baths, still used to this day to treat medical ailments. It also provides a base to the many skiers that come to the National Park's pistes in the winter months.

The Parco Naturale dei Monti Sibillini - http://www.sibillini.net/ - is the region's largest park, spreading over 40 km of mountain peaks, which are often covered with snow until the late spring, and continuing westwards into Umbria. The mountains take their name from a legend that one of the sibyls hid here in a cave on Monte Sibilla known as Grotta delle Fate (Cave of the Furies) when she was chased out of the underworld.

The Park boasts some of the highest mountains in the Apennines, with Monte Vettore the highest in the park at 2,476m (8,124 ft) and many others including Sibilla and Priora (both well over 2,000m), which dominate the skyline for miles around.

Wildlife abounds, with a stable wolf population, deer, plenty of wild boar (often on the menu), porcupines, hares, eagles, falcons and hawks all present in the park.

 

There is wonderful walking, with footpaths marked and described on maps available in information centres in all the towns and villages in the park. There are also peaks with a truly alpine character, like Monte Bove, whose formidable north face offers climbing for mountaineers.

Also close by is Amandola, a town of 4,000 inhabitants with a beautifully porticoed main square. There you can sit outside one of the bars and enjoy an aperitivo before walking up to the town's highest point to take in the stunning views of Monte Sibillini and Vettore.

In the provincial capital of Macerata in Late July early August each year is the Opera Festival in the unique open air Arena Sferisterio. At only 30 minutes away it is hard to resist – see http://www.maceratagallery.it/macerata.html

The southern Marche  town of Ascoli Piceno has a magnificent and very elegant main square, the Piazza del Popolo, in which stands the Palazzo del Popolo, a splendid 13thC building outside of which is a large statue of Pope Paul III and inside is an arcaded Renaissance courtyard.  At one end of the piazza is the Gothic church of San Francesco. 
The other main square, Piazza Arringo, has the Duomo, or cathedral in which is the colourful polyptych (painted panels that are hinged together) of the Madonna and Saints by Carlo Crivelli, and the Palazzo Comunale, or town hall in which is the Pinacoteca Civica, Ascoli's art gallery. 
http://www.comune.ascolipiceno.it/sito_inglese/index.htm

Arena Sferisterio

The Holy House of Loreto (or Santa Casa di Loreto) is housed inside a large basilica which was built around the small shrine.  It is one of the most revered Marian shrines in the world, believed to be the very home in which the Virgin Mary lived, conceived and raised the young Jesus and the sacred site attracts as many as 4 million Catholic pilgrims and visitors each year.   Catholic tradition is that the Holy House inside the Basilica was in 1291, miraculously moved by angels from Nazareth first to Croatia then to Recanti in Italy only to be shortly thereafter moved for a third time to its present location in Loreto. 

In 1910, Our Lady of Loreto became the patron saint of pilots, because of the tradition of the house's flight from Nazareth. On September 8, the traditional birthdate of the Virgin Mary, pilots gather at the shrine to pray and participate in a colorful procession.

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/loreto-holy-house.htm

Ascoli Piceno

The spectacular Frasassi Caves are to be found at Genga between Assisi and Ancona and are about 55 miles from the house but well worth the trip - see http://www.frasassi.com  or http://www.le-marche.com/Marche/html/frasassi.htm

Loreto

When there you could visit Jesi, a beautiful town with impressive 14th Century walls - see http://www.le-marche.com/Marche/html/jesi.htm