MARCHE… NOT JUST PAPER – FABRIANO, PIORACO AND ASCOLI PICENO

Arrive in Fabriano, guided tour of the medieval old town with the Church of San Filippo, the loggia of San Francesco, the Oratory of Charity where are preserved the frescoes of Filippo Bellini depicting the seven works of Mercy, the Crypt of San Romualdo, the Church of S. Onofrio or Scala Santa, the Teatro Gentile, the main fountain called “Sturinalto”, the Palazzo del Podestà (the oldest Gothic civil building in the Marche region) and the Cathedral dedicated to San Venanzio. Hotel accommodation for dinner and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel, visit the famous Paper and Watermark Museum where you can learn about all the steps of the handmade paper processing. The Museum is housed in the former convent of the Dominicans, and represents over seven hundred years of local paper tradition. Inside is housed a faithful reproduction of the medieval fulling machine for the handmade paper manufacturing process and a very important collection of ancient and modern watermarks; it is also possible to watch the demonstration of the handmade paper processing with the “mastri cartai”. Free lunch. Transfer to the Frasassi Caves a spectacular underground world defined by a sequence of salt, tunnels and small crystallized lakes. Not far away is the Abbey of San Vittore alle Chiuse, one of the most important Romanesque churches in Marche, a place of worship surrounded by greenery where architecture and environment come together in total harmony conveying a sense of deep peace and tranquility and the temple of Valadier, one of the most beautiful rock-cut churches in Italy. Transfer to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel, transfer to Pioraco, city of water and paper. This small village, nestled between rocky walls is pampered by water that flows everywhere! One of these places is the path “li Vurgacci”, where the waters of the of the Potenza River create a magic series of waterfalls, whirlpools, pits and ravines. There is also a series of rock-cut sculptures created by Antonio Ciccarelli similar to the monsters of Bomarzo. Walking through the alleys of the center you will be enchanted by the Marmone Bridge, a small Roman bridge of the I sec. a.c. There are also places of spirituality and tradition as the sanctuary of the Madonna della Grotta, the San Vittorino cave set in the mountain, and the Museum of the Paper and Watermark that houses inside the Exhibition of the Watermark, inaugurated on May 1, 1984, which consists on a collection of artistic watermarks, watermarked cards (mostly belonging to the period between sec. XIV. and XIX) which testify the long evolution of the papermaking from the origins to our days. Free Lunch. Departure to Ascoli. Free time. Transfer to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel, visit of Ascoli Piceno whose historic center is considered one of the most beautiful in Italy because of its artistic and architectural richness. Also known as “the city of a hundred towers” for the countless noble and bell towers, finds in Piazza del Popolo its fulcrum. The renaissance square is literally framed by a loggia with 59 arches, buildings with porticoes and battlements. The flooring is in travertine slabs that, with the rain, assume a suggestive mirror effect. The most important buildings overlook the square: the Palace of the Capitani del Popolo, built in XII century and currently town hall, the historic Art Nouveau Caffè Meletti and the Church of San Francesco, leant against the Loggia dei Mercanti, an elegant construction of 1513. Another elegant urban space is Piazza Arringo, the oldest of Ascoli, where we can find interesting buildings such as the Baptistery of San Giovanni, the Cathedral of Sant’Emidio, the Episcopal Palace, the Arengo Palace, headquarters of the Pinacoteca Civica and some municipal offices. On the opposite side of the Piazza Arringo is recognizable the 17th-century facade of Palazzo Panichi, home of the State Archaeological Museum. Free lunch. Visit to the Museums of the Cartiera Papale. The Museum houses the reconstructions of the machines that were used in the past for the grain milling and for papermaking. Thanks to an itinerary of images, videos and sounds you can retrace the water path, which, through a system of tanks and locks operated with its driving force the millstones for milling and then the hammers intended for the fulling of rags for the production of paper pulp. The ancient and evocative rooms of the Macine and the Paper Museum allow to learn and explore the phases of the work. End of services.