Ascoli Piceno

Ascoli Piceno is a town and comune in the Marche region, Italy. The town lies at the confluence of the Tronto River and the Castellano Creek and is surrounded on three sides by mountains.

Two natural parks border the town, one on the north-western flank (Parco Nazionale dei Monti Sibillini) and the other on the south (Parco Nazionale dei Monti della Laga). Ascoli has good rail connections to the Adriatic coast and the city of San Benedetto del Tronto, by highway to Porto d'Ascoli and by the Italian National Road 4 Salaria to Rome.

The central historical part of the city is built in marble called travertino, a grey-hued stone extracted from the surrounding mountains. Its central Renaissance square, Piazza del Popolo ("Square of the People") is considered one of the most beautiful in Italy. According to traditional accounts, Ascoli Piceno was home to more than two hundred towers in the Middle Ages: today some fifty can still be seen.