EXCURSIONS
The schedules of the games will allow the participants to visit the most beautiful places of the tournament area.
Below there are some examples of itineraries that can be visited:
San Benedetto del Tronto
Is one of the main holiday resorts and a nice city in the Adriatic coast of the Marche region in Italy. The city is famous for its nice beaches with white and fine sand. The shallow water is perfect for children and the elderly. The beach is 8 km long. The particular thing of this sea city is the over 7.000 palm trees that gives a touch of tropical charm. Palm trees are everywhere, including the beach, where they grow in the sand. San Benedetto has been awarded with the blue flag, a European eco-label assigned into 21 countries across Europe to cities and towns near the sea. San Benedetto del Tronto has been awarded with the blue flag every year since 1998. The city is the perfect place where to eat fresh fish. Many restaurants specialized in fish dishes can be found. The typical dish of San Benedetto del Tronto is a fish stew called "brodetto" which must be made with 13 species of fish.
Ascoli Piceno
Is a town in Marche region (Italy), capital to the same-named province. Its population, is 51.000 inhabitants. The town lays at the confluence of Tronto River with Castellano Creek and is surrounded on three sides by mountains. Two natural parks are located on the north-western flank (Parco Nazionale dei Monti Sibillini) and on the south (Parco Nazionale dei Monti della Laga). Ascoli is well connected by highway and railway to the Adriatic coast and the city of San Benedetto del Tronto ( 28 Km) and by highway to Rome ( 200 km). Ascoli was founded by an Italic population (Sabini) several centuries before Rome on the important Via Salaria (Salaria Road) which connected Rome with the salt production area on the Adriatic coast. In 91 BC it revolted against Rome together with other cities in central Italy but in 89 BC was conquered and destroyed by Strabone. It acquired anyway the Roman citizenship, following the developments and the eventual fall of the Roman Empire. During the Middle Ages it was conquered by the Lombards in 578, then by the Franks in 789, but ultimately it was the Catholic Church Bishops to gain influence and power inside the city. In 1189 a free republican municipality was established but internal strifes led dramatically to the demise of civic values and freedom, until ambitious lord took over the reins of the city. After two centuries of disorder, the authority of the Pope was reestabilshed in late XVI century. Ascoli followed then almost two centuries of cultural, economic stagnation, turning into a small agricultural centre until the Napoleonic wars. In 1860 it was annexed together with Marche and Umbria in the Kingdom of Italy. The central historical part of the city is built in marmor called "travertino", a grey hued stoned extracted from the surrounding mountains. Its central Renaissance square, Piazza del Popolo or People's square is considered one of the most beautiful in Italy. The cathedral of Sant'Emidio, the Roman Bridge and the Longbards Tower are some of several historic relics of particular interest. The main festivity is in the first Sunday in August. The historical parade with more than 1.500 people dressed in Renaissance costums is held in celebration of Saint Emidio, protector of the city. The parade is followed by a tournament, called Quintana, in which six knights, each one competing for one of the six neighborhoods in the city, run in turn a course and try to hit a puppet figuring an Arab warrior. Strength and ability are necessary for the knight to win the palio or the grand prize. Culinary famous are fried stuffed olives (olive ascolane). Whole area is known for the production of wine and cooked wine, obtained by concentrating the juice by cooking.
Monti Sibillini National Park
This rugged yet beautiful mountain chain of the Monti Sibillini reaches its peak at Mt. Vettore, 2.476 mt. above sea level in the heart of Marche region. It’s a territory of sublime nature, history and ancient culture. The park stretches over 70.000 hectares and is regarded as a 'park for everybody', not least for the wolves, golden eagles, peregrine falcons who live comfortably with hikers, visitors and those still making a living from the mountain. The abbeys, medieval historical centers and open tracts were all once the mythical Kingdom of Sibilla, and something still hangs in the air if you let your imagination wander. "Sibilla" was the mythical queen of an underground paradise of limitless delights accessible only by a mythical cavern near the summit of the Monte Sibilla at 2175 meters. Another myth surrounds nearby Lake Pilato named after the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate and sometimes known as Lago della Sibilla. In 1993 the Monti Sibillini National Park was born to save this unique environment.
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