If you’re in Senigallia, you’ll be surprised to find you can get to a lot of very different places within a two-hour radius. Renaissance towns, medieval villages, mountain hamlets and locations rich in unusual stories.
If you want to go a little further, here are some hinterland destinations well worth a detour.
Ascoli Piceno and its travertine piazza
Anyone visiting Ascoli for the first time will be amazed by its Piazza del Popolo.
The reason’s easy to find – it’s one of Italy’s most elegant squares. It’s all built in pale travertine, the stone used over the centuries to construct the city itself, and as the light changes during the day, the stone changes colour with it.
There’s also a curious fact you may not know: Ascoli is nicknamed the city of the hundred towers. In medieval times, noble families built taller and taller towers to show off their power. Quite a number of them still stand, dotted across the old town, today.
However, everyone knows about delicious Olive all’Ascolana, the stuffed olives invented here as a refined way of recycling leftover meat. Don’t miss them – they’re delicious, especially washed down with a glass of red wine.
The Temple of Valadier
Within the Frasassi ravines stands an almost surreal building. It’s the Temple of Valadier, a little neoclassical church constructed inside a natural cave.
Built entirely in pale travertine stone, it’s perfectly geometrical and forms a striking contrast with the rugged rock around it. This elegant little church set into the mountain is a truly breathtaking sight.
It can only be reached by a short uphill walk through woodland, but this makes the experience even more special.
Many people rate this one of the Marche region’s most fascinating places, and it’s certainly one of the most photographed.
Sirolo: the Adriatic coast at its most stunning
The Marche region is generally associated with hills, but along the Conero Riviera the landscape changes completely.
Sirolo is a little town perched on top of white cliffs, with a view of one of the most beautiful parts of the Adriatic Sea. Paths lead down to beaches including the Due Sorelle (Two Sisters), symbol of the Conero Natural Park.
The old town is a great place to linger over a glass of white wine, enjoying the view of the sea from the little square.
Just sit on a wall and wait for the sunset, and you’ll understand why many people consider this corner of the Marche region one of the most spectacular of all.
Recanati and its poetic hills
Recanati is the birthplace of Giacomo Leopardi, one of Italy’s greatest poets, and the old town has many associations with his life.
One of the key sites is the hill where he wrote his famous poem “L’Infinito” [“Infinity”]. The view from here really does seem endless, sweeping from the Marche hills to the sea on the clearest days.
Nearby is Casa Leopardi, where the Leopardi family’s descendants still live, custodians of an amazing library of more than twenty thousand books.
Recanati also offers the Beniamino Gigli Museum, dedicated to the famous operatic tenor born in here in 1890. So in the space of a few blocks this little town combines poetry, music and some of the Marche hinterland’s finest views.
As you’ll have realised, it’s a pity to limit your time to just the beach during a seaside holiday in Senigallia. It’s best not to plan too much in advance, and to see where the road takes you. And, as someone once said, “sometimes the detours are the best part of the trip”.
