dollster15

Hi All

Hope some Italy experts can help me!

We are trying to decide whether to base ourselves for our three week Italy trip in Spoleto the whole time and do day trips to Le Marche (Ascoli Piceno and Macerata areas) or to do two weeks in Spoleto and then a week in Le Marche.

It's just if we stay three weeks in Spoleto we have got a really good (cheap!) price on the house we are renting..., plus we are travelling with two small children so easier to stay in one spot.

I'm not exactly sure how long it takes to travel from Spoleto to Ascoli Piceno - I keep reading about tunnels that make the trip quick, but can't find exact details.

Just want to know if taking day trips to Marche is a totally crazy idea or not...any thoughts???

bobthenavigator

The drive time seems to be close to 2 hours---too far for my taste but maybe not yours. It really is a personal decision.

Jean

I agree with Bob, but I think Ascoli Piceno is less drive time. The scenery is beautiful but will the kiddies go crazy sitting in the car so long?

There was a recent trip report (or maybe just a long discussion) about driving around/near Monti Sibilini from a base in Umbria. I'll see if I can find it.

Jean

Perhaps these threads will be helpful:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...llo-please.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-in-umbria.cfm

annhig

Hi, dollster,

i can't help with your immediate questions, but I found this website which might help with drives and other things you can do at Spoleto:

http://www.bellaumbria.net/en/itinerary/

goldenautumn

I've driven between Spoleto and Ascoli Piceno, and the road is generally slow going. It's possible I made it longer by taking a secondary road near the river, but it's not like zipping around central Umbria.

One of things you should bear in mind is the rhythm of the Italian day, which often makes "daytrips" to small towns something of bust, and in particular if the drive time is long-ish. Unless you get up at the crack of town and skip breakfast Italian style, by the time you reach Ascoili Piceno, just about everything will be closing up for the 3-4 hour midday break. For a town like Ascoli Piceno, whose chief glory is not merely the picturesque qualitites of its beautiful central piazza but the way in is so well used by town residents, it is a pity to be there when it is "empty." Likewise, the town is THE shoemaker of Italy, and even if you are only interested from a sociological standpoint, it is a pity to be there when all the stores are closed.

When I want to see a lot in Italy, I take road trips for just this reason: I want to pull into town at 4pm and stay until the next day's lunch., then leave and head someplace else only an hour or two away. That may not work for you, especially if you are traveling with kids, but the midday closure is something to keep in mind as you think about day trips. Remember it can sometimes make sense to go in the afternoon, not the morning.

So personally, I can really see the point of relocating to Le Marche after your 2 weeks in Spoleto.

That said, maybe you also don't realize how many towns and sights of interest you would be zipping by to get to the destinations you mentioned. For instance, the lovely town of Visso is half the distance to Macerata, and Norcia is also about half the distance to Ascoli Piceno. From Spoleto you can also go south into Lazio to a historic town like Leonessa.

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/...essa/home.html

There is also rafting in the area, and waterfalls (that are actually mechanically turned on every day at a fixed hour.)

If you don't already own the Cadogan guides for Umbria and Lazio and Le Marche, I recommend you invest in them. They really are exhaustive when it comes to the variety of sights in a region, so you don't end up imagining there are 7 "highlights" in Umbria and otherwise you need to be moving on.

Another good website in addition to Bella Umbria is the Marche Voyager website, but it really helps to have a detailed guidebook, not just use the web.

goldenautumn

PS: If the price on the house in Spoleto is sufficiently cheap, perhaps you can splurge on an overnight in a b&b with your kids in Ascoli Piceno.

If you are going between June and September, you could take a drive up to the Piano Grande (via Visso) and have a picnic up there, and then drop down and stay the night in Ascoli Piceno. If it is very warm, the next day you might go for a swim and lunch in San Benedetto del Tronto.

You can break up the drive back to Spoleto with a stop in Norcia around 4-5pm, which is full of treats to take home for a no-cook supper.