Ascoli’s stunning quintana pageant with its lavish medieval costumes, is an annual street event which turns the city and its people into living history. On a lesser scale, Caldarola’s historic medieval (but still lived-in) castle reveals what day to day life was like in a walled fortress that was the town’s principal means of defence. In Amandola, the charming, tiny and originally roofless La Fenice theatre demonstrates the town’s interest in and commitment to the arts. So do the town’s churches which are home to a treasure trove of religious art. In nearby Monte San Martino, the local church’s Crivelli collection is world famous, and frequently visited by experts in religious artworks.

There are some wonderful places to eat.For example, the Dei Priori restaurant in nearby Monte San Martino is renowned for its melt-in-the-mouth pasta "Angelica" and nettle tagliatelle; Ristorante Farfense at Santa Vittoria in Matenano with the fabulous ravioli stuffed with dried figs and aged pecorino; Mirella's wonderful wild herb cuisine at her agriturismo La Conca. 

The regional food has always been “slow food” before becoming part of the Slow Food movement. The cheese is predominantly pecorino (made from sheep’s milk), the Ascolani olives are large green olives stuffed with minced pork then lightly crumbed and fried, the white and black truffles in the autumn and winter as well as the scorzoni – summer truffles, porcini mushrooms, chestnuts (try the chestnut crepes stuffed with asparagus at Agriturismo Santa Lucia)...the list goes on!!.

Le Marche produces excellent quality wine such as the Rosso Piceno and the Pecorino (yes, a very old grape variety and not just a cheese). Most of the farmers make their own vino cotto, the traditional cooked wine as well as mistra, a type of grappa.  The Meletti family of Ascoli Piceno still make their Anisette, a soft, sweet liquour made from aniseed plants grown on the high plains of Castignano.