Looking for one more stop in Central/Southern Italy
 

We are on a 3 week trip to Italy. We need to find an interesting town to stop in as we drive south from the Marche Region ( Ascoli Piceno) to Naples. Any suggestions? We will have had all the mountain driving we need by the time we leave here. We will stay there only one night. Thanks.

It is pretty hard to make suggestions without knowing where you have already been and how much you are willing to alter your route -- and what you find "interesting."

I'd take a flyer on Civitella Roveto, which breaks up the drive nicely.

While you are there, you might want to pay a visit to Fillettino, which is just 40 kms away, but up a very twisting road. The residents of Fillettino last year tried to secede from Italy and become their own monarchy. Pretty interesting, plus it is a classic hilltown.

However, I wouldn't want to commit to driving to Fillettino as an overnight stop, because if the day you head out is rainy, Civitella Roveto is the much easier destination.

PS: I don't know if you realize, but there is really no way to get to Naples from Ascoli Piceno without doing mountain driving unless you deliberately pick a longer route that avoids it.

If you are really sick of mountain roads, then you could drive to the area of Foggia, and then cut across to Naples the next day. Not many people think Foggia is interesting -- plus it is a big city which would be a pain to deal with driving a car.

So you might want to pick a little town just before it or after it. I notice on the map that Ascoli Satriano is right on that route, and it has an interesting history. The name alone would be a nice bookend for your Ascoli Piceno stay:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascoli_Satriano

http://www.dauniadafavola.it/comune....%20Satriano#en

If you want to use the main roads then the route via tha A24 and A1 is suggested by Google maps. It is suggested that it takes an extra 5 minutes but it is about 70 km further. This would take you past Tivoli which might interest if you haven't visited before.

How about Arpino - I have never been, but I was doing some research for you and this very very ancient city looked really interesting. It is also conveniently situated very close to the main route to Naples.

There is a hotel in Arpino that looks nice called Hotel Ristorante Il Cavalier d'Arpino, which also has good reviews. Since it has a restaurant you might be interested in booking it on half board basis.

I just want to add that, as another OP suggested, Tivoli (and a visit to the renowned Tivoli Gardens) would make a nice stop. Even Frascati would make a nice stop, if you do not mind deviating just a little bit.

I too suggest Tivoli.

Thank you for the many suggestions, They were very helpful. I will try report back after we make this stop.