Excellence in the Marche – Wines, fried olives and surprises

Arrival by self-organised transport in the late afternoon at your 4* Officina del Sole hotel, located in the charming hills of the Marche near Fermo. This elegant country estate is the perfect place to start discovering local food and wine, as they produce excellent wine and oil. Dinner at leisure, overnight stay.

After breakfast at the hotel, you will have free time where we recommend to shopping enthusiasts a visit to the Tod's outlet, which has its headquarters here.
In the late morning, autonomous transfer to reach a high-level CELLAR near Offida. In this enchanted place, on a PANORAMIC TERRACE (in good weather), you will enjoy a lunch based on local products, together with a tasting of the estate's wines, with a visit to the cellars. The red grapes grown here are Sangiovese and Montepulciano (to produce Rosso Piceno), while the white ones are Passerina and Pecorino, for the homonymous delicious wines.
After lunch and wine tasting you will have some free time where we recommend either visiting OFFIDA, a precious agricultural village with a stupendous Romanesque church and a millenary tradition of lace weaving, or TORRE DI PALME, a delightful village situated on a spur with a panoramic view of the Marche coastline. Another alternative could be a visit to RIPATRANSONE, a picturesque hilltop village where you will find the narrowest alleyway in Italy.
In the late afternoon you will discover a CANTINA near the Adriatic coast. You will visit the estate while tasting two wines (from Rosso Piceno to Marche IGT Rosso, Pecorino or Passerina), together with a plate of local products. Return to the hotel, dinner at leisure.

After breakfast at the hotel, autonomous transfer near Ancona to unveil a typical culinary product of the CONERO RIVIERA, the 'Paccasasso', a wild sea fennel that has become a local delicacy in the last 10 years. Field visit with a producer and brief harvesting experience. Here you will enjoy a light lunch of paccasassi varieties with wine and beer in the shade of the olive trees - the best way to enjoy the flavours of the Marche!
Afterwards, free visit to the village of Sirolo, overlooking the Conero Riviera, and wine tasting in a winery near Loreto where you will discover the Marche region through its Verdicchio dei castelli di Jesi, its Rosso Conero and its Rosso Piceno. Return to the hotel and free dinner.

Breakfast at the hotel and check out, self-organised transfer to ASCOLI PICENO, THE PEARL OF MARCHE. Two main centres reflect ancient and modern Ascoli: Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Arringo, respectively. The former was the site of the ancient forum, the residence of the Captains of the People and a lively commercial centre, while the latter was once the political heart of the city, with its Cathedral and Bishop's Palace. Your PRIVATE GUIDE will not only reveal all the historical treasures and secrets of this beautiful city, but will also help you discover its 'queen' of street food: the OLIVE ALL'ASCOLANA. These typical large local olives are stuffed with minced meat and then fried - a pure pleasure for the palate. At lunch in a restaurant selected for you, with a set menu excluding drinks, we will make sure you enjoy them.
After lunch, return to your home towns.