Ascoli Piceno province | Château Monty

Ascoli Piceno is the most southerly of the five provinces in the Le Marche region of Italy. The province is bordered by the mid-central Adriatic coast to the east, the province of Macerata to the north, and it faces the regions of Umbria and Abruzzo to the south. The province takes its name from its capital city.

History | The first settlers of the province were located on the banks of River Tronto by a tribe called the the Piceni. It later became part of the Roman Empire, and by 268BC became known as Asculum Picenum. From 91-88 BCE the Piceni revolted against the Romans and attempted to re-claim the land, but Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo besieged and sacked the city. The town of Ascoli Piceno managed to revive, but after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, it was conquered many times. In 545 King Totila of the Ostrogoths invaded the town. Ascoli Piceno was then under strong control from the church and was made free in 1185, but the bishop declared it under his control in 1212.

Terroir | Burton Anderson (1990, p173) describes the hills in the province of Ascoli Piceno as being ‘between the Adriatic and the Sibillini range of the Apennines, with the Marche’s highest peak of Monte Vettore lying at 2,746 metres’ [9,010 feet] and comprising ‘stark, stately, sandy-clay slopes.’

Wine regions–DOC | Falerio dei Colli Ascolani DOC. | Rosso Piceno DOC. | Rosso Piceno DOC Superiore. | Terre di Offida DOC.

Wine regions–DOCG | Offida DOCG. | Vernaccia di Serrapetrona DOCG.

Bibliography

Burton Anderson, The Wine Atlas of Italy, Mitchell Beazley, 1990 p171-179.