Leaving Fermo
The landscape is the real natural strength of the entire Fermo area. Clinging to Girfalco Hill, whose park is home to centuries-old trees and is one of the most beautiful panoramic terraces along the coastline of the Marche, Fermo’s natural backdrop is the Adriatic Sea, which is only eight kilometres from the town centre, and the evocative scenery of a gently-rolling landscape that stretches as far as the slopes of the “azure mountains” lauded by Leopardi, the Sibylline Mountains. Descending to the coast, the area offers clean waters and well-equipped beaches – such as Lido di Fermo, Casabianca and Marina Palmense – where it is possible to go sailing, windsurfing and kitesurfing. with its agritourism farms and facilities for sports activities (trekking, mountain biking and horse riding), the inland area is the natural gateway to the nearby Sibylline Mountains Park.
Given the particular local production structure in the field of fashion, based on small- and medium-sized enterprises, specific itineraries are possible for tourists interested in the factory outlets of top designers, whose pieces, shoes, accessories and clothing, are recognised and popular throughout the world, and craft traditions,
Torre di Palme – One of the most beautiful villages in Italy, it offers incomparable urban views. The narrow streets frame views of the sea and surrounding hills, and the beautiful mediaeval churches provide an ancient and charming atmosphere.
Torre Di Palme Archaeological Museum – Inaugurated in 2019, it exhibits important finds from Picene tombs discovered during the 2016 excavations in the Cugnolo district.
Church of St Agostino (Torre di Palme) – This church houses a Madonna with Child and Saints, a late 15th-century polyptych by Vittore Crivelli and a work by Vincenzo Pagani.
Church of St Maria a Mare (Torre di Palme) – A 12th-century church with traces of 14th-century frescoes and a splendid ceiling, decorated in 1911, dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
Cugnolo Forest and Lovers’ Grotto – Walking through enchanting Cugnolo Forest, one of the few examples of Mediterranean maquis on the Adriatic, leads to Lovers’ Grotto, which narrates the sad tale of two unfortunate fiancés.
Capodarco – A small, but charming hamlet, a veritable balcony over the sea. A climate oasis thanks to its healthy air and natural environment.
Church of St Maria (Capodarco) – This church, built around 1905, houses a Madonna and Child by Vittore Crivelli. The church is also home to the parish museum that houses testimonies of the life of the local community, vestments and sacred objects, tabernacles and ex-votos.
Servigliano, Peace Park and the Museum of Memory – Servigliano House of Memory was founded in 2001 and houses the eponymous association which seeks to safeguard the memory of historical events that took place in the former Servigliano prison camp.
La Cuma Archaeological Area in Monterinaldo – Surrounded by nature, this has been a place of worship since the Roman era. It stands on a terrace occupied by the remains of a temple and a monumental portico. The area was only rediscovered in the mid-20th century.
Porto San Giorgio Maritime Civilisation Shipyards – A unique place to discover the sounds of the sea and thanks to an immersive facility, the story of Fortunale, the frightful storm of 30 March 1935.
Montappone Hat Museum – A unique museum that tells the story of the hat as an object of art, manufacture and creativity and at the same time, traces the history of local customs and craftsmanship.
Roman Theatre of Falerone – Although much of its decoration has been looted, it remains the best-preserved monument dating from Roman times in the Marche region. The stage, which is over thirty-three metres long and just under five metres deep, continues to host important theatre seasons.
Vittore Crivelli Civic Art Gallery in Sant’Elpidio a Mare – The museum’s rich collection of works of art includes three panels by the Venetian maestro, Vittore Crivelli, the polyptych of the Coronation of the Virgin, the triptych of the Visitation of St Elizabeth and the small panel depicting the Praying Franciscan Friar.
Sant’Elpidio a Mare Footwear Museum – Thousands of shoes, tools and models to narrate transformations in the history of footwear, together with the “know-how” of an area that, over time, has been strongly characterised by the footwear sector.
Sant’Elpidio a Mare Gerosolimitana Tower – Also known as the Tower of the Knights of Malta it is 28-metres tall, at the highest point of the city, in the municipal square next to Collegiate Church of Sant’Elpidio Abate.
Alex Langer River Park – On Lungo Tenna Provincial Road, in the Monte Urano area, there is a park, which is 1,000 metres long and 100 metres wide, with a lush and typical river vegetation, offers a unique and special natural experience. The park is named after Alexander Langer, an Italian writer, journalist, pacifist, environmentalist, translator and lecturer who died in 1995.
Santa Vittoria in Matenano and Cappellone Farfense – A delightful village that stands on an ancient medieval track, surrounded by characteristic brick buildings.
Crivelli Polyptych of Monte San Martino – This is a tempera and gold on panel painting (285×227 cm) by Carlo and Vittore Crivelli, dating from around 1477-1480 and preserved in the Church of St Martino Vescovo in Monte San Martino, in the province of Macerata.
Belmonte Piceno, Archaeological Museum – The museum reconstructs the history of one of the richest Piceno centres (6th century BC) in the Marche region through some of the most significant finds discovered in the numerous tombs of the ancient necropolis.
Osvaldo Licini House Museum and Study Centre in Monte Vidon Corrado – Monte Vidon Corrado celebrates its most illustrious citizen, the great artist who won the 1958 Venice Biennial, through his birth home which still boasts many signs of his art that made the dwelling, as Licini himself said, a “laboratory of experimental art”.
Massa Fermana, Art Gallery – This is a small, but significant collection housed in a small room in the 19th-century Town Hall. Among the works preserved, it is worth mentioning the splendid polyptych by Carlo Crivelli (1468) and the Madonna with Child and Angels, a tempera on panel, by his brother Vittore.
Montefalcone Appennino – Eighteenth-century Palazzo Felici, with its adjoining garden, houses the Civic Museum of Fossils and Minerals, which showcases the geological characteristics of the territory, and Alamanno Museum, which houses a polyptych of the Madonna and Child with Saints painted by Austrian Pietro Alemanno in the second half of the 15th century.
Monterubbiano, San Francesco Cultural Hub – A multi-purpose facility that includes an auditorium, a historical-archaeological museum, a library, an exhibition hall, an environmental education centre and a botanical garden. It also offers the possibility to visit the ancient 12th-century convent building.
Montelparo, Ancient Trades Museum – The museum includes some sacred objects and furnishings as well as the Ancient Itinerant Trades collection with a large section dedicated to trades that required the use of bicycles.
Fortunato Duranti Art Gallery (Montefortino) – The exhibition is spread over nine rooms and brings together paintings, sculptures, applied arts and drawings, for a total of about 180 works, which have earned the Art Gallery the name of the small Louvre of the Sybillines.
Arnoldo Anibaldi House Museum, Monte Urano – A very lavish house museum that, through his work, gives visitors an unexpected flavour of the personal history of Arnoldo Anibaldi, a multifaceted and talented artist who passed away in 2016.