Experience Le Marche, Italy

Casa Ciao Bella is more than just a place to sleep. It is the perfect place for exploring the region Le Marche. Go off the tourist track and away from the rushing crowds. The region has a lot to offer. Beautiful old towns and lovely villages, mountains, beaches, and  unspoilt nature. 

A beautiful area to enjoy the real Italy!

Buon appetito - Food and wine

Le Marche, is right in the middle of Italy with Umbria and Tuscany on the left and the Adriatic sea on the right. 

There are many Italian villages in the area of Casa Ciao Bella to visit. Beautiful places where you can still find traditional ways of life. Stroll around, have lunch, and enjoy the quaint streets, beautiful ‘piazze’, historical buildings, and churches. See, taste, and feel, la dolce vita!

Cantine

In the area you’ll find many ‘cantine’, local vineyards, where you can taste wines and buy them for a very good price. The most famous wines of this region are Passerina, Falerio, Verdicchio, Offida Pecorino and the Rosso Piceno

A few suggestions:

Lè Cana, a winery in the hometown of Casa Ciao Bella. They have a beautiful terrace with a panoramic view. Take a look at their website http://www.lecana.it/

Catina Dianetti, a small winery, loacted close to the villa. Emanuelle and his 70 year old mother run this vineyard with lots of passion. Award winning wines.Their website:  Dianetti Vini – Vignaioli Storici in Val Menocchia

Cantina dei Colli Ripani in Ripatransone. For more info https://colliripani.com/

Ristoranti

Food and wine are an essential part of the Italian lifestyle. They eat late at night and go to the many cozy terraces and bars. Below are three of the favorite restaurants, other favorites will follow soon.

Mamma Rossa (Ortezanno) A pizzeria run by the D’Erasmo family, pizza in the Neapolitan-style, baked in wood ovens.

Azienda Agricola Grifi (Monterubbiano) This is actually a butcher. In their shop you can buy all kinds of meat, a bottel of wine, and some vegetables. In the courtyard there is a 10 meter long BBQ where you can start your BBQ right away.

Osteria Pepe Nero (Cupra Marittima) This lovely restaurant, in the oldtown has a gorgeous terrace with a sea view. Delicious food and wine!

Sagre

Sagre‘ are Italian food festivals hosted by different villages. They are dedicated to a local delicacy, ingredient or agricultural activity of a village and surrounding areas. These festivals you’ll find in villages nearby, from July until September. The most popular Sagra in the village of Carassai is the Sagra della Salsiccia, the local produced sausage. In Campofilone, world famous for its pasta, you can visit the Sagra dei Maccheroncini

If you like you can go to a different Sagra every evening!

Unspoilt nature - Beaches and mountains

Le Marche, the unspoiled region. Located between the Adriatic coast and the Apennine Mountains is a hidden gem that has more to offer than you can imagine. Here you’ll find amazing beaches, spectacular landscapes, wine and olive groves and National Park Monti Sibillini with his fascinating wildlife and incredible views.

Beaches

It’s less than a 15 minute drive to the beach of Cupra Marittima where there are some ‘bagni‘ (beach establishments) where you can rent a sunbed and umbrella. This is a more quiet and relaxing place. 

Grottemmare (20 minutes by car) and Sant Benedetto di Tronto (30 minutes by car) are some of the most popular soft sand beaches in Le Marche. These seaside spots have a tropical feel with their famous palms.

In almost every beach town you can rent a bike to tour along the beach to the next village (there are designated bike lanes).

Grotte di Frasassi

Is a large underground cave complex that is located in a natural park in the Italian municipality of Genga (province of Ancona). The entire cave complex covers a total of about 13 kilometers. See the spectacular Grotta Grande del Vento, Europe’s largest single cavern which is so vast that Milan Cathedral would fit comfortably inside.

There is a 1.5 km route over wide walking paths and spacious stairs. These tours are led by a guide in Italian, French, English or German. There is a route for each level.

Park Monti Sibillini

A national park (70.000 ha), located in the regions of Marche and Umbria.

Monti Sibillini is highly recommended, if you like walking. You can wander for hours through the vast fields and mountainous landscape. The area is perfect for planning your own walk. If you prefer a little more convenience or want to learn something about the area directly, you can also go out with a guide. In the winter you can go skiing.

The landscape consists of mountains, forests and (high) plains (Pian Grande, Pian Piccolo, Pian Perduto).

The villages - La Dolce Vita!

Le Marche, is right in the middle of Italy with Umbria and Tuscany on it’s left and the Adriatic sea on the right. 

There are many Italian villages in the area of Casa Ciao Bella to visit. Beautiful places where you can still find old traditions. Stroll around, have lunch and enjoy the narrow streets, the beautiful ‘piazze’ (squares), the ancient buildings and churches. See, taste and feel La dolce vita!

Ascoli Piceno

Also called ‘city of a hundred towers‘. You will find photogenic ‘piazze‘ (squares), charming medieval streets, beautiful museums, richly decorated churches and surprising fountains.

Enjoy a coffee, visit the Palazzo dei Capitani, admire the antique wash houses and taste a portion of delicious olive ascolane. Ascoli Piceno is the birthplace of the ‘olive all’ascolana‘ (meat-stuffed fried olives).

Fermo

Has a beautiful an old medieval center with beautiful shops and restaurants. During the summer period, the central piazza hosts Fermo’s music festival featuring some of the world’s best artists, as well as many markets.

Also noteworthy are the underground piscine Romane (Roman baths), which have been beautifully preserved

Grottammare

This small town is also known as the pearl of the Adriatic Sea. Grottammare is on the list of “The most beautiful villages in Italy” and offers a beautiful view of the sea. In addition to beautiful white beaches and cozy beach bars, where you can lounge, you can also enjoy some culture in the centro storico.

On the sandy beaches you will find wonderful little restaurants, simple and good. But also hip wine bars.

Loreto

Is near the coast and is one of the world’s most famous pilgrimage sites. It’s a beautiful place with an impressive cathedral from the outside as well as the inside. Whether you have an affinity with the Catholic faith or not it’s worth a visit.

The Basilica della Santa Casa is enclosed by a military fortress. From this fort you have a magnificent view of the basilica, Loreto and the surrounding area.

Macerata

Set amid low-lying green hills, is a charming provincial town with a beautiful preserved hilltop centre and an animated student population, its university is one of Europe’s oldest. You can visit one of the many trendy bars, restaurants and shops.

From Mid-July until Mid-August one of Italy’s foremost musical events takes place, the Macerata Opera Festival.

Montefiore dell’Aso

A charming town in the hills of Piceno, overlooking both the Adriatic sea and the mountains of Monti Sibillini. The centro storico is well preserved with fortified walls and towers dating from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

The small cozy center is nice to walk through and enjoy the beautiful buildings, churches, squares and beautiful inner gardens.