Acquasanta Terme in the Province of Ascoli Piceno
Acquasanta Terme is found along the Salaria Superiore Road and its centre lies where the Garrafo Torrent flows together with the Tronto River. From the administrative centre, renowned spa station, the landscape changes into wild and silent nature where woods are crossed by old paths whose vestiges bear testimony to a far away past.
Excavations made near Carpineto have revealed graves from the prehistoric age, bearing evidence to settlements in the most remote past. During the Roman period Vicus ad aquas was the stopping station frequently used by the Roman legions travelling along the Salaria, besides already being known for its travertine quarries.
All throughout the 1500's, this territory, marked by thick patches of woodlands, gorges and caves, was a base station and hideout for brigandage. Today, many legends are told about those characters. Two of the most recent examples are the story of a popular local brigand called Sciabone, rebelling against Murat and, in the last century, that of his emulator Giuseppe Piccioni, contrasting the annexation of the Papal State to the Italian Kingdom.
Three Km. east of the administrative centre lies Castel di Luco; a unique fortified construction having a circular plan, dating back to the XIVth-XVth centuries. A patrician residence owned by the Ciucci family, today Castel di Luco is partly destined to house a typical restaurant, whose rooms reproduce the atmosphere of the ancient halls, some of which are still open to the public.
Greatly patronized, even during the Middle Ages, the Acquasanta warm water springs (Terme di Acquasanta) have always offered enormous pleasure and interest. The flow of mineral water gushes out impetuously at approximately 16 mt above the Tronto riverbed and then empties into the river itself. In the modern spa building there is a warm water-pool, dug out of a natural cave; it is fed daily by therapeutical water at a temperature of 38 degrees C..
Running along the Garrafo Torrent, near the main centre, there are caves rich in stalactites and stalagmites of Karst-formation origin, most of them still unexplored. It would be advisable to visit the caves with a guide from the Acquasanta Speleological Association (Associazione Speleologica Acquasantana).
For those keen on trekking, the Maltese Woods (bosco della Maltese) offers ample opportunities. It is particularly fascinating for its lush nature and for its trails that start from Collefrattale and Umito and lead to the apex of Monti della Laga, whose territory has recently been denominated as a National Park (Parco Nazionale).
Acquasanta should not be missed by those enjoying wine and gastronomic tourism. Its typical local products can be tasted during the Festival of the Focarola (pizza-like bread), the Festival of Porcino Mushrooms, but above all at the Autumn Festival, a fair of products from the woods, especially chestnuts.
Moreover the area is rich with typical restaurants where one can taste succulent dishes such as lamb offal, called frettarielle in local slang, vincisgrassi, any kind of pasta flavoured with mushrooms and truffles, 'ngrecciata (soup of broad beans, artichokes and peas) as well as pork and wild boar sausages, sheep milk cheese, sweets and pastries of all sorts and, last but not least, vino cotto, a local sweet wine still prepared in old traditional copper pans.
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