FROM THE PICENI CIVILISATION TO THE ROMAN CONQUEST

The route along the tracks of the Piceni, definitely has to start with a visit to the Archeological Museum of Ascoli Piceno, in which you can admire an exhaustive collection of Piceni items founded in the area of the province. Other important items of this old civilisation can be retraced in the Museums of Fermo, Cupra Marittima, Offida and Ripatransone. Regarding the Roman age, you can start from Ascoli, that was rebuilt and declared a roman colony after the social war of 91 B.C., soon afterwards included in the 5th  region with the reform of emperor Augusto. Other towns worthy of interest in archaeology are: Cupra Marittima, Fermo, Falerone and Monte Rinaldo.

THE GOLD OF THE LONGOBARDS

To improve the knowledge of this ancient people of german origin, you can start from the necropolis of Castel Trosino, founded in 1893 and still one of the biggest high-medieval necropolis discovered in Italy. Then it is possible to admire the amazing funerall equipment exhibited in the Middle Ages Museum of Ascoli, among which you can find jewels, tools, fibulas, bracelets, earrings, and a large number of armaments. To complete this itinerary we suggest a visit to the Archeological Museum of Ascoli Piceno.

THE ANCIENT CRAFTS IN THE RURAL AREA

The coppersmith: a visit to a foundry to see the manufacturing of copper pots and jugs.

The coal maker: the building of a charcoal pile and the management of an active one.

The potter: a visit to the workshop: the design, the glazing, baking and painting. The daily use of art objects.

The pots: from the clay to the pots. The use of the lathe. The figures and decorations. The traditional wood baking. Workshop and visit to the Museum.

The weaver: the different type of materials and their manufacture in order to creating objects of daily use.

The hat maker: the choice of wheat, the reaping and selection. The sewing of plaits and the different shapes of hats. Visit to the Museum.

The miller: visit to the mill. The spoon shovel in the watermills. The working of the mill-stone. The different types of flour and its use.

The laceworker: the bolster and the bobbins. Working techniques, white threads being moved manually around pins creating a variety of models. A visit to the local Museum with a demonstration.

The itinerant workers: from the umbrella sellers to the bakery and the ice-cream sellers. The itinerant jobs in the early XX century. Visit to the Museum.

The shoemaker: shapes, materials and manufacturing. The shoes throught history: from the local economy to The European World trade. Visit to the Museum.

NATURE IN THE PARK
A visit to the Natural History Museum and the Paleontologic Museum in the village of Montefalcone Appennino and to the Fossil and Minerals Museum in the village of Smerillo.