Piazza del Popolo Ascoli Piceno - Piazzas of Italy by Ultimate Italy

Piazza del Popolo Ascoli Piceno – Public square of the People Ascoli Piceno

The Renaissance as they say was one of the glorious eras of European civilization. The prominent marks and signs are still evident in its various forms in tangible and intangible forms. The public square in Ascoli Piceno is one such mark, which can be crowned for its superb architectural and historical importance.

A three and a half hour drive from Rome passing San Benedetto del Tronto would lead to the enthralling town of Ascoli Piceno which is the southern Marche’s major center. A town for which it would not be wrong to say that one can venture it in not more than a day with marks of it left in the memory throughout the life. With just a mere population of 60000 the best possible way to venture this wonderful and elegant town is by walk so that one can also equally relish the much preserved authentic culture of the city.

But before you take down a walk with me to one of its marvelous sight – the public square or the Piazza del Popolo let us all know the origin of the name of the city, which is so unique - Ascoli Piceno. Out of various schools of thoughts the prevalent one is that based on the idea of the Latin poet Silio Italic. Silio mentioned the settlement of the Greek population Pelasgi led by their king Aesis along the coast of Adriatic before the neo-eneolithic age. One can take the evidence from the present day Pelasgic hill. Thus the root of the name of the mythical king – as might give us a possible clue for the name Ascoli. As far as the origin of the name Piceno it is believed that during the ritual migration or primavera sacra of the Sabine people and their subsequent appearance in this territory, a woodpecker or picchio or pico the mythical king and son of Saturn guided the voyage. From the word piccio or pico one might trace the origination of the word Piceno. Strabone and Pliny gave this version the younger.

Whatever might be the reason for the naming it, not going into the factual proofs it is certain for one thing, that god definitely has a hand in the creation of this wonderful city.

Now it would be unfair not to talk about the simple and cultured Piceno people who evolved from the amalgamation of diversified provenience and culture, which after ages retained the cultural outlook of Ascoli. In fact before the Roman invasions for expansion they were having the controls over area of the middle Adriatic between the regions of Marches and Abruzzo.

Coming back to our walk to the people’s square let us observe the beauty of this heaven’s creation. Piazza del Popolo is a travertine- paved Main Square of the town, which is traffic free. In entire Italy one can bet on the elegance and the beauty of this provincial square which also happens to be an outdoor meeting place of the tourists and the city folks. This Renaissance courtyard surrounds itself with some magnificent architect, which adds the jewels to the crown. To its one side stands the thirteenth century building guarded over by a statue of Pope Paul III, which could be defined as an excellence of sculpture in its true sense. The great gothic church of San Francesco marks the other end. The main square also witness La Quintana, Ascoli’s jousting tournament on the first Sunday of August. The breath taking and exciting show, which is authenticated by the rider’s of the city’s six district, also exhibit the gala procession of 1400 town people all dressed in fifteenth century attires and performing shows. The other catching points of the city such as Piazza Arringo (other main square) and Palazzo comunale (the town hall) also cast their spells to an outsider specially Palazzo comunale which host the Pinacoteca Civica (Ascoli’s art gallery) displaying the rarest and the precious collections of artifacts. To talk about one let me mention the piviale of Pope Nicholas IV, a thirteenth century artwork of embroidery.

The heart of Ascoli, Piazza del Popolo portraits some of the amazing and piece of art structures of porticoes with columns and arches. In fact these have significance in Ascoli’s history, as it is the direct heir to the Roman forum. Well to talk about the creator of this rectangular wonder the credit goes to the papal governor Raniero de’Ranieri who through public spending arranged the construction all around the porticoes. The Lombard master Pietro da Carona also shares the credit in projection of the square as he was working in Ascoli in that eventful era. The arches in the porticoes are unique with their role of ascertaining the uniformity to the structure and featuring the symmetrical harmony of Renaissance. The three way representation of political time by People’s Captain place, religion by the church of S.Francesco and commercial by Merchant’s lodge coerce one to think the harmony between the intellect, architect and the politics of the lost era. The Piazza del Popolo Ascoli Piceno is beyond all narration of splendid, marvelous and superb artwork preserved in its true form to amaze anyone in this world. It’s a place of serenity and tranquility trapped in the porticoes and arches yet dictating the glory of the past.