About us ….

Agriturismo Le Perelle (Le Marche, Italy)

A nice meeting with Marco and Romina, the owners of Agriturismo Le Perelle in Le Marche, Italy. Romina is an Architect, Marco a Financial Consultant and a Naturalistic Guide, Elena is their wonderful daughter.

Dear Marco, can you tell us something about the start of your accommodation ? When did you start ? Did You had any previous experiences in hospitality business ?

In september 2005 we bought our villa and the property, with fields (90.000sqm) and an old ruin. The house was and old holiday villa, but was abandoned for the last 20 years. We took care of the biggest part of the restoration, mainteining the structure of the old villa. In april 2007 we went to live here and we started to think a solution for the old ruin. In 2009 my wife finished the project of the new villa with pool, thought for tourism, in particular a slow tourism. In 2011 the old ruin became a new villa!!!!

Your guests are mostly European ? Mostly Italian ?

90% of our guests are from Northern Europe (Belgium, The Nederlands, England, Germany, Scandinavian area,….), and 10% is from Italy.

What type of guests do you attract ?

People who enjoy the quietness and nature, good food and good wine. Who like to go hiking or just come here to relax and read a book close the pool, or just enjoy the view on our Parks. Mainly people who don’t like mass tourism and searching for undiscovered places.

What do you offer ?

ONE Villa with pool in exclusivity !!!! It’s composed by 2 apartments with 2 bedrooms and a bathroom (4-5 beds each one). Villa is fully equipped: there is a kitchen where guests can prepare their own meals, a wellness area (Jacuzzi and Finnish Sauna, more than a small private gym) and a living room in the mezzanine. There is also a swimming pool with sun loungers. And a big garden with a barbecue place and a volleyball field. People really enjoy the peace and quiet here, and a most common response of our guests is: you can hear the silence!Just in low season, when the pool is closed,we could book single apartments, not in exclusivity.

What is unique about your location? Why would people choose to stay in your neighborhood? What authentic local experiences will guests have access to?

The location of our agriturismo is unique: it is situated in the middle of nature, very close to Umbria region, 3.5km to Sassoferrato (one of “the most beautiful villages of Italy”). The only sounds you will ear here is from nature: birds, deers etc. and sometimes the howling of wolves. Fromout the house there a hikingpaths to walk and you can mountainbike here. In the villages all around there are a lot of beautifull architectural buildings and splendid views. There are also some very old cathedrals, churches and crypts to visit. There are also the Grotte di Frassasi (very beautiful, large caves that are discovered in 1971!)  The Apennine mountains are nearby and the Adriatic coast is also not very far (about 50 km). So guests can do a lot of different things and plan their days like it suits them best.

When is the best time to visit your area?

May and June are very beautifull months because nature is coming to life, there are a lot of different kinds of butterflies and at night you can see the fireflies. At the end of September and in October the forests chance their colours, that is also a beautifull experience. Every season has its own charms

Do You offer arrangements to your guests to visit the area ?

I’m a Naturalistic Guide, my wife an Architect: we are Le Marche history and arts enthusiasts and …… lovers of good wine and food. You can imagine !!!! We like to inform the guest as best as we can.

Any funny stories about running this accommodation ?

Every guest is different, we have made some real friends over the years.

Is there any typical meal guests should try when visiting your region ?

Yes, there are some typical meals specifically in this region of Le Marche, for example crescia, some type of pancake (not sweet) that is prepared on something like a barbecue and we like to eat that with prosciutto, pecorino cheese and some vegetables. In this region truffles are found, so there are a variety of dishes with truffles. At the end of October there is always a festival dedicated to the truffle. Wines from the region are excellent: Verdicchio, Rosso Piceno, Rosso Conero, Lacrima di Morro D’alba are just some of our high quality most famous wines. For ladies (…and for men 😉 ) there is also a very special type of drink that is a sweet red wine with cherries.

Are You planning new services or activities in the next months or years to come?

Yes we have some plans…We will let you know later on..

What’s your favourite holiday destination ?

This kind of business does not leave us much time for holidays, but we like to discover Northern Europe.

What is your favourite part of your job / activity?

The interaction with our guests and making sure that they have a lovely holiday here.

Is it possible to use public transport to come to your accommodation?

Yes, but a car is recommended.

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“Home is where you feel at home and are treated well.” Confucius

En evening in Marche with chef…. not a simple dinner.

A wonderful experience with our friend, chef Roberto Dormicchi @trigliadibosco.

Marche’s typical products with a Marche’s modern chef.

Several starters, Truffles & Fish, handmade pastas, free-range chicken and other traditional cuisine ….. but in a modern version. Not forgetting Verdicchio and Rosso Conero wines: two of our land masterpieces.

A different dinner ….. for different tastes. The right way to be happy !!!!!

GRAZIE ROBERTO, GRAZIE MARCHE !!!!!!

 

Weekend in natura – camminando nel cuore dei Parchi fra Marche ed Umbria

Volete provare l’emozione di un viaggio nei Parchi e fra le Abbazie dell’Anno Mille anche se avete poco tempo e siete sufficientemente esperti o allenati?  Questo è il soggiorno che fa per voi!: la vacanza ideale per famiglie o coppie di amici !!!

Vi aspetta un piacevole cammino nel cuore dei Parchi fra Marche ed Umbria, e un’accoglienza a misura di escursionista nell’Agriturismo Le Perelle, di proprietà e gestito da Marco Giulietti, Guida Ambientale Escursionistica AIGAE, autorizzata dalla Regione Marche.

Nella prima e nella seconda giornata potrete scegliere tra diversi itinerari e diverse attività, come un facile e bellissimo tour alla scoperta dei panorami di Frasassi, nel Parco Regionale Gola della Rossa – Frasassi, sede delle famose Grotte di Frasassi, o se preferite un cammino più spirituale potrete inoltrarvi alla scoperta di Eremi, Abbazie e Monasteri dell’Anno Mille, ad esempio verso il Monastero di Fonte Avellana.

IDEA PER UN ITINERARIO

• Giorno 1: Arrivo a Sassoferrato, uno dei “Borghi più Belli d’Italia” – Benvenuto all’agriturismo Le Perelle – Eventuali visite o escursione pomeridiana
• Giorno 2: Scelta tra vari cammini e/o tour delle Abbazie Millenarie
• Giorno 3: Scelta tra vari cammini e/o Visita alle Grotte di Frasassi o del Monte Cucco

Alcuni consigli della nostra Guida:

• Raccoglietevi in silenzio nell’Abbazia di Santa Croce, la meravigliosa chiesa romanica del mistero;
• Ammirate il tramonto sui panorami di Frasassi sorseggiando un bicchiere di Verdicchio o Rosso Piceno;
• Rilassatevi nella Jacuzzi dell’agriturismo e pianificate le vostre prossime escursioni con le numerose guide informative disponibili
• Visitate le bellissime grotte (nei Parchi Gola della Rossa-Frasassi e Monte Cucco), abbinando una cena scegliendo fra gusti moderni o gusti della tradizione.

SANTA CROCE – SASSOFERRATO

Pernottamento con prima colazione in agriturismo
Le Perelle Agriturismo – Sassoferrato è una splendida villa con piscina, ma è anche un “rifugio” per escursionisti, un luogo di pace e di condivisione nelle colline prospicenti l’Appennino centrale umbro-marchigiano. La villa è dedicata ad ogni tipo di turismo lento: d’estate alle famiglie che desiderano un’oasi incontaminata per il loro riposo; nelle altre stagioni anche a chi vuole scoprire le bellezze di un territorio fuori dai percorsi turistici tradizionali, che offre tantissime alternative agli amanti della natura (escursionisti, climbers, speleologi, bikers,….), ma anche meravigliose e inattese esperienze culturali fra Eremi, Abbazie, Monasteri dell’Anno Mille, Rocche, Castelli, Musei e città d’arte. Sassoferrato è uno dei “Borghi più Belli d’Italia” e si trova a 70 km da Ancona, 70 km da Perugia. http://www.leperelle.com

La quota è di 65,00€/persona (minimo 3 persone) e comprende
. Due pernottamenti in appartamento con due camere doppie, con prima colazione
. 1 uso Jacuzzi e Sauna
• Drink di benvenuto

La quota non comprende
. viaggio per raggiungere le località di arrivo e partenza
• i pranzi e le cene.
• le visite e gli ingressi – le mance
• gli extra di carattere personale
• tutto quanto non specificato sotto la voce “la quota comprende.

Saremo a vostra completa disposizione per aiutarvi con
Escursioni con Guida Naturalistica – Offerte su notti supplementari – Convenzioni con ristoranti nella zona – Briefing e spiegazione delle escursioni – Descrizioni dettagliate del percorso e mappe cartacee – Itinerario dettagliato su App

HIKING in Frasassi … Next Sunday

ESCURSIONE A VALLE SCAPPPUCCIA CON PARTENZA DAL CASTELLO DI GENGA.

Un percorso suggestivo perchè accompagnato da un panorama agreste, variegato e colorato. Il cammino che avrà inizio dal Sentiero del Papa ci condurrà a Valle Scappuccia, dichiarata riserva naturale del Comune di Genga e attestata area floristica protetta della regione Marche. La riserva custodisce un ambiente primitivo, ancora intatto nelle sue espressioni floristiche e negli esemplari della fauna in libertà protetta.

>>> DETTAGLI ESCURSIONE:
DURATA: 3 ORE E MEZZA
LUNGHEZZA: 8KM
DISLIVELLO: 250 mt
DIFFICOLTA’ : E
COSTO ESCURSIONE: 8 euro
RITROVO ORE 17:00 PRESSO PIAZZA S. CLEMENTE DI Genga.

DOPO L’ESCURSIONE SARA’ POSSIBILE, PER CHI LO DESIDERA, CENARE CON PRODOTTI TIPICI LOCALI PRESSO LA Taverna Infra Saxa a COSTO CONVENZIONATO (10 euro compresa acqua / vini e birre esclusi).

➜ PRENOTAZIONI (*OBBLIGATORIA tramite tel o email):
Comunicare nome e cognome-data di nascita-cod.fiscale per attivare l’assicurazione personale compresa nella tariffa dell’escursione.
✎ hiking@happennines.it
☎ +39 0732956257

L’escursione organizzata da @happennines – Hiking Apennines sarà condotta da Marco Giulietti, Guida Naturalistica ed Escursionistica autorizzata dalla Regione Marche e associato Aigae, Associazione Italiana Guide Ambientali ed Escursionistiche. #walkinmarche

Marche: the earth … close to your heart

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

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 …

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

Francis Levy

Writer

Flying between Le Marche and Umbria

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

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

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