Autumn Getaway Imagine starting your day by stepping onto your terrazza or into your private garden with a fresh steaming cappuccino. Maybe the warm autumn sun is glistening on the reds and golds of the woodlands, or perhaps the morning mists are still hugging the valley floors and the ancient hill top towns seem to float on the clouds like fairy tale castles. The first falls of snow may be settling on the peaks of the Sibline mountains in the distance. |
|
10 tempting reasons to visit this autumn • visit the local markets and sample the season’s best truffles, chestnuts, meats and cheeses • discover ancient hill top towns and beautiful uncrowded cities. • visit the mountain towns in the beautiful Sibillini range |
Autumn is certainly an enchanting time in Le Marche and with good connections it is the ideal place to enjoy a short, or long getaway.
|
 |
Food rightly sits centre stage in Italian life and no more so than in Marche, based on fresh local ingredients. Autumn is the time when truffles are hunted in the Sibline mountains, walnuts are ripe to eat off the trees, chestnuts are roasted. The grapes are harvested and there is great excitement to try this years wine. Will it be better than last year’s, and more importantly, better than your neighbours? |
Why Casal dei Fichi this autumn? • luxury 1 / 2 bedroom apartments, central heating, log fires and no supplements |
But, most of all, Autumn is the season when the olives are harvested. Marche is a patchwork of fields, woodlands, vineyards and olive groves, many just a few acres for family use. Olives are still harvested using the traditional methods, whilst many people have 4x4 trucks, battered Fiat Pandas and immaculate Fiat 500s are still used to transport the crop to the local press. Here the oil is cold pressed using traditional grinding stones, though the ox has been replaced by electric motors. |
Unlike wine olive oil does not mature and always tastes at its best the moment it leaves the press, when the olives have been picked locally that day the oil is of a quality that is difficult to better. Most producers would be offended if you didn’t taste a drop of their oil, the taste, combined with the heady aroma of the press is unforgettable.
There is so much to do in this beautiful area, ancient hill top towns to be explored with secret gems of churches and art or discover the beautiful and lively cities of Ascoli Piceno, Macerata and Fermo. The rolling countryside makes for challenging but rewarding cycling and a range of walking from gentle countryside to full days in the Sibillini mountains. Shop in the traditional markets, boutique shops, or a wide range of designer outlets. The regions vineyards are deservedly becoming better known, visit one and try the Rosso Conero, Rosso Piceno or white Verdicchio.
|
|
The restaurants are always charming friendly and serve excellent reasonably priced food. The coastal towns specialise in fish and sea-food specialities whilst in the mountains the food is more substantial polenta and lentil based - a delicious treat of staunchly Italian food which you may not find in your local trattoria.
Of course you may well want to return to Casal dei Fichi enjoy the stunning views in the late afternoon light, use the fully equipped kitchen to prepare the produce you have just bought, or picked from our garden and sit down in front of a log fire with a glass of that wine you tasted earlier.
Find out more about Casal dei Fichi.
Interested in our all inclusive Gourmet breaks?
For more information, or to make a booking enquiry please contact us.