Marche: the earth … close to your heart

16 August 201816 August 2018 / villa le perelle / Leave a comment

Marche Region: an area to discover …

Wonderful nature ….

Uncontaminated air and food…

Marche: the earth close to your heart ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

295 before Christ – SENTINUM – The Battle of Nations

21 July 2018 / villa le perelle / Leave a comment

Historical re-enactment
Every year the last weekend of July in Sentinum, Sassoferrato (Marche, Italy)

The battle of Sentinum was the decisive battle of the Third Samnite War, fought in 295 BC near Sentinum (next to the modern town of Sassoferrato, in the Marche region of Italy), in which the Romans were able to overcome a formidable coalition of Samnites, Etruscans, Umbrians, and Senone Gauls. The Romans won a decisive victory which broke up this coalitions (the Etruscans, Umbrians and Senones pulled out of the war) and paved the way for their winning this war. The Romans were commanded by consuls Publius Decius Mus and Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus.

The two armies arrived at the Plain of Sentinum but waited for two days to battle each other. Finally, unable to control the eagerness of their troops, the Romans attacked. The Gauls stood on the right wing and the Samnites on the left. Quintus Fabius stood on the right and Publius Decius on the left.

Quintus Fabius fought defensively to prolong the battle into a test of endurance and wait for the enemy to flag. Publius Decius fought more aggressively and ordered a cavalry attack, which drove back the Senone cavalry twice. The second time they reached the enemy infantry, but suffered a chariot attack and were scattered and overthrown. The line of Decius’ infantry was broken by the chariots and the Senone foot attacked. Publius Decius decided to devote himself. This term referred to a military commander offering prayers to the gods and launching himself into the enemy lines, effectively sacrificing himself, when his troops were in dire straits. His father had done the same at the Battle of Vesuvius (340 BC).

This act galvanised the Romans left which were also joined by two reserve contingents which Quintus Fabius had called in to help. On the right, Quintus Fabius told the cavalry to outflank the Samnite wing and attack it in the flank and ordered his infantry to push forward. He then called in the other reserves. The Samnites fled past the Senone line. The Senones formed a testudo (tortoise) formation – where the men aligned their shields in a compact formation covered with shields at the front and top. Quintus Fabius ordered 500 Campanian lancers to attack them at the rear. This was to be combined with push by the middle line of one of the legions and an attack by the cavalry. Meanwhile, Quintus Fabius took the Samnite camp by storm and cut off the Senones in the rear. The Senone Gauls were defeated. According to Livy the Romans lost 8,700 men and their enemy 20,000.

Experience of the unknown …

4 July 2018 / villa le perelle / Leave a comment

In our age of interconnectivity, there’s literally nothing new under the sun. The paths to the Great Wall of China, Petra, the Taj Mahal, Angkor Wat and the Pyramids are as well worn as the objects themselves. They seem to disintegrate before our eyes not only because of the elements, but because of the over use of the images in the both the media and our imaginations. It’s almost impossible to explore something new—when it comes to our growingly small seeming plant earth. Le Grotte di Frasassi in Le Marche region of Italy are an exception. They were discovered in l971 by a group of boys whose experience of the center room of the caverns was that of plunging into a kind of ultimate darkness. Initially they had tossed a stone down. Noting that it took 5 seconds to hit bottom, they used Newtonian physics to calculate the depth (or height) of 240 meters. When they lowered themselves on a cable ladder they lost all sense of time and space. Maurizio Montalbini, an Italian sociologist and caver would eventually enter Le Grotte on December 14, 1986 and emerge on July 12, l987, but he had little idea of how much time had passed. The experience of those early spelunkers who discovered Le Grotte di Frasassi has continued to be a source of interest, particularly to NASA scientists dealing with the effects of isolation on astronauts. Tolkein talked of a Middle-earth, but the Frasassi caverns which sit in the middle of an awe inspiring gorge on which you can spot the ant like figures of rock climbers, are a literal embodiment of Tolkein’s terminology. When you enter you are dazzled by a universe of speleothems, rock formations like stalactites and stalagmites that have taken wondrous shape. The Frasassi caverns date from the Pleistocene era, 1,400,000 years ago. The calcite mineral formations take place at the rate of 2 millimeters per year and time has wrought miraculous formations over the centuries. These are identified by names like the Witch’s Castle, Dante Alghieri, the Madonna and the 7 ton Sword of Damocles which hangs threateningly from a ceiling. In our current age of disenchantment, in which everything wants to be explained by science, the Frasassi are a bit of magic that’s the result of nature working in seclusion. Because their discovery is relatively recent, they exude a mystery and innocence that brings us a little closer to the increasingly novel experience of the unknown.

watercolor by Hallie Cohen

{This was originally posted to The Screaming Pope, Francis Levy’s blog of rants and reactions to contemporary politics, art and culture}

Follow Francis Levy on Twitter: www.twitter.com/philoctates

Flying between Le Marche and Umbria

25 June 201825 June 2018 / villa le perelle / Leave a comment

At the border between Le Marche and the near region Umbria it will be quite impossibile to stay within Le Marche’s geographical limits!

Mountains between Le Marche and Umbria are quite famous within the paragliding and the hang glider’s lovers.
There are some exceptional spots from where you can literally fly and discover the area from above and there are a lot of schools and experts that can assure you a unique and wonderful experience.

One of these places is the Monte Cucco, one of the most known “fly sites” in Europe that hosted the Hang Gliding world championship. Here there are the right winds that create the perfect environment for hang gliding and paragliding. The Monte Cucco is a mountain lying just between Le Marche and Umbria and from here you can fly for long distances and for a long time!

The amazing thing is that you don’t need to be a “pilot”. Of course you can bring your own gear and fly all by yourself (in that case you’ll need to have a pilot’s license and to be authorized), otherwise you can book a flight with an expert pilot and fly in pair, leaving all the work to the others and simply enjoying this thrilling experience!
You can choose between paragliding and the hang glider and prepare yourself. There are a lot of schools, such as Monte Cucco in volo or Volo libero Monte Cucco.

Salamis and … environs

27 May 201827 May 2018 / villa le perelle / Leave a comment

One can not overlook the local pork cold cuts that are traditional in these zones and represent a local typical product. A typical tasting consists of a platter with a splay of locally made salamis and cheeses accompanied by a basket of ‘Crescia’ (a type of locally made focaccia) and a glass of Rosso Piceno or, why not, an organic Verdicchio superiore. You cannot miss a tasting of the renowned ‘Salame di Fabriano’ (Fabriano salami), one of the Slow Food approved products of the Marche region. Another must is the mountain Prosciutto, and Pecorino and Ricotta accompanied by honey or marmalade. Meat lovers must try the Fabriano bred lamb and the Marchigian beef which is one of the more esteemed bovine breeds in Italy, sanctioned by the brands “5R” and “PGI-Central Apennine White beef”.

Norcineria e dintorni

Non potrete dire di aver assaggiato qualcosa di tipico, se non avrete degustato un tagliere di salumi e formaggi del territorio accompagnato da un cestino di crescia e da un bicchiere di Rosso Piceno o, perchè no, di Verdicchio superiore biologico. Non fatevi mancare il Salame di Fabriano, uno dei sei presidi slow food nelle Marche, né un gustoso prosciutto di montagna, né un buon pecorino o un assaggio di ricotta da degustare magari con mieli o marmellate. E per gli appassionati della carne, da provare l’agnello di razza fabrianese, e la marchigiana, una delle più pregiate razze bovine italiane, tutelata con i marchi “5R” e “IGP-Vitellone bianco dell’Appennino Centrale”.

The Sentino valley: through rocks, gorges and caves

18 May 201818 May 2018 / villa le perelle / Leave a comment

Towns and castles widespread in the natural greenery that reveals itself above and below the earth, along rocky gorges and fairy-tale caves like Frasassi, green hills and valleys rich with history, ruins of the past like the archaelogical park of Sentinum.

Borghi e castelli disseminati nel verde di una natura che si svela sopra e sotto la terra, lungo gole rocciose e grotte fiabesche come quelle di Frasassi, colline verdeggianti e val-late ricche di storia e vestigia del passato come il parco archeologico di Sassoferrato.

SENTINUM, ROMAN CITY

TAKE YOUR TIME, CHOOSE THE APENNINES

12 May 201818 May 2018 / villa le perelle / Leave a comment

A whole area with uncommon historical, artistic, socio-economic and geographic identities, united by the Umbria-Marche Apennines, and by the great heritage of parishes, abbeys and monasteries. Destination for people who love active tourism in nature, the discovering of unusual routes along paths of the history, art and faith, and for people who appreciate the authenticity and pleasures of good food.

Bon voyage!