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Marche Voyager Marche Places | Sarnano

Sarnano

itinerary 6

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*See this page for information on earthquake damage in 2016 in this area.

The bustling spa town of Sarnano lies roughly half way between the two provincial capitals of Macerata and Ascoli Piceno. Its waters are claimed to be beneficial for a whole gamut of complaints, including gout, arthritis and liver complaints.

The modern town is overlooked by its quiet, rather austere, medieval borgo, topped by two solid towers, which has been left very much alone by the modern-day development. A steep, winding street leads up to a beguiling little square, Piazza Alta, flanked by the church of Santa Maria Assunta and the town's medieval municipal buildings - Palazzo del Popolo with its finely decorated gothic-romanesque portal, the Torre Civica, the Palazzo dei Priori and the Palazzetto del Podestà.

The more recent Palazzo Municipale, half way down in via Leopardi, houses a small art gallery which includes a Madonna and Child with two angels by Vittore Crivelli, younger brother of the more celebrated Carlo.

The town has several hotels which provide a convenient base camp for exploring the Sibillini Mountains. A good wide road winds up from Piazza della Libertà, in the modern part of the town, through beech wood coppices and limestone crags until, after about twelve kilometres, it reaches Sasso Tetto, one of the Marche's small ski resorts, and reasonably well equipped with ski lifts and accommodation.

 



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