Marche · Ascoli Piceno
Ascoli Piceno
The travertine city where the Tronto meets the Castellano, capital of the Piceni and host of the Quintana joust.
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 11 min from Pescara
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 45,571
Known for
TRAVERTINE
The entire centro storico is built from local travertine, polished pale under rain and lit gold at sunset, an inheritance from Roman quarrying.
QUINTANA
Costumed joust between the six sestieri, run twice a year on the first Sunday of July and the first Sunday of August.
OLIVE ASCOLANA
Stuffed and fried green olive of the Ascolana tenera cultivar, the city's culinary signature, made to a DOP protocol since 2005.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J12°
- F14°
- M15°
- A18°
- M23°
- J28°
- J32°
- A31°
- S27°
- O22°
- N16°
- D13°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
The festa: Emidio d'Ascoli, 5 August
Why come
Ascoli Piceno sits at the confluence of the Tronto and the Castellano, the historic capital of the Piceni who held this part of the Marche before Rome. The town is built almost entirely from local travertine, which gives the centro storico its luminous pale surface and its mirror behavior under rain: Piazza del Popolo, paved in polished travertine slabs, is one of the most photographed squares in Italy. In 91 BC the Ascolani killed the Roman delegation in their forum and triggered the Social War; the city was razed and rebuilt by Rome and the present grid still follows the Roman layout.
The Quintana, run in costume in July and August, is a joust between the six sestieri, the city districts, the knight on horseback charging an effigy of an Arab warrior. Anisetta Meletti, the local aniseed liqueur invented in 1907, is poured at the Caffè Meletti on the piazza.
The Sunday letter
Ascoli Piceno is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Ascoli Piceno comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.
Read on
Ascoli Piceno in our articles
The best hill towns in the province of Ascoli Piceno6 towns, Ascoli Piceno among them.
The 7 best towns with a medieval festival in Marche7 towns, Ascoli Piceno among them.
The 8 best hill towns that eat well within 90 minutes of Pescara8 towns, Ascoli Piceno among them.
The best olive oil towns in Marche8 towns, Ascoli Piceno among them.
How to get there
From Ancona / Pescara (AOI), about 1h 32m by car.
Rimini (RMI) is about 2h 36m away.
By car from the centre of Pescara 1h 11m or Ancona 1h 28m.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming by train into Pescara Centrale? Ascoli Piceno is about 1h 9m away by road.
What to see
Piazza del Popolo
Paved in polished travertine slabs and lined by Renaissance porticoes, the Palazzo dei Capitani and the Loggia dei Mercanti, one of the most photographed squares in Italy.
Chiesa di San Francesco
Gothic basilica begun in the thirteenth century, three travertine portals, two bell-towers, the largest Marchigiana example of the Franciscan order's architecture.
Cattedrale di Sant'Emidio
Cathedral on Piazza Arringo, with a fifth-century crypt holding the relics of Sant'Emidio, patron saint invoked against earthquakes.
Quintana
Costumed joust held in July and August, the six sestieri compete in archery and a charge against an Arab effigy, observed across the medieval streets.
Pinacoteca Civica
Civic gallery in the Palazzo dell'Arengo, with works by Carlo Crivelli, Tiziano, Pietro Alemanno and Cola dell'Amatrice.
Le Cento Torri
The hundred towers, mostly absorbed into later buildings, that gave Ascoli its medieval skyline; a dozen still stand and several can be climbed.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Ascoli Piceno fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
We recommend
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Caffè MelettiCaffè
Caffè Meletti has a place on Italy's historic-locali register and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
TetsuGiapponese
Tetsu holds two Gambero Rosso Mappamondi.
Through the year
What happens here
Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.
Ascoliva Festivalfood festival
usually held in August. sagritaly.com
Quintana - Giostra della Quintana in onore di Sant'Emidiohistorical re-enactment
usually held in August. lemarche.it
Living here
- Population 45,571
- A local hubi
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest airport Ancona / Pescara, 1 h 32 min drive
- Regional capital Ancona, 1 h 27 min drive
Common questions
- What is Ascoli Piceno known for?
- Ascoli Piceno is the travertine city at 154 meters where the Tronto meets the Castellano, capital of the Piceni and host of the Quintana joust.
- Where is Ascoli Piceno?
- Ascoli Piceno is a comune in the province of Ascoli Piceno, in Marche.
- What is the nearest airport to Ascoli Piceno?
- Ancona / Pescara (AOI), about 1h 32m by car.
- Can you get to Ascoli Piceno without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Pescara to Ascoli Piceno?
- About 1h 11m by car.
- When is the best time to visit Ascoli Piceno?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
- Is there a sagra or a festival in Ascoli Piceno?
- Yes. Ascoliva Festival and Quintana - Giostra della Quintana in onore di Sant'Emidio. August is when the first of them falls.
- Which other towns are like Ascoli Piceno?
- Alba, Gorizia and Pontedera.
- How many people live in Ascoli Piceno?
- 45,571 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 154 m
- Population: 45,571
- Surface area: 158.02 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Similar
Towns like Ascoli Piceno
Alba
Province: Cuneo
both inland, away from the coast · both over 10,000 people
Gorizia
Province: Gorizia
both inland, away from the coast · both over 10,000 people
Pontedera
Province: Pisa
both inland, away from the coast · both over 10,000 people
Terni
Province: Terni
both inland, away from the coast · both over 10,000 people
Lucca
Province: Lucca
both inland, away from the coast · both over 10,000 people
Trento
Province: Trento
both inland, away from the coast · both over 10,000 people
🫒 Città dell'Olio
More Città dell'Olio towns in Marche
Cingoli
Province: Macerata
The Balcone delle Marche at 631 meters, a hilltop borgo where on clear days the view runs from the Sibillini to the Croatian coast.
Gradara
Province: Pesaro e Urbino
The walled hill borgo at 142 meters above the Adriatic where Dante set the deaths of Paolo and Francesca, with one of Italy's best-preserved castles.
Pesaro
Province: Pesaro e Urbino
The Adriatic port at the mouth of the Foglia, founded as Roman Pisaurum in 184 BC and given to the world by Rossini in 1792.
Ripatransone
Province: Ascoli Piceno
The Belvedere del Piceno at 494 meters, ridgetop borgo with views to the Adriatic and the narrowest alley in Italy at 43 centimeters.
Senigallia
Province: Ancona
Thirteen kilometers of fine sand on the Adriatic, hometown to a chef and a photographer whose names carry beyond the region.