Petritoli Town

Petritoli is a thriving small town situated in the newly formed province of Fermano in the south of Le Marche. It is home to some 2500 people who live and/or work in the area. It has a good range of shops, restaurants, cafes, supermarkets and a bank all within easy walking distance of our apartments. The local market is held twice a month on the 9th and the 22nd.

Petritoli is in the south of the region and is a typical small Marchigiana town with steep cobbled streets, houses large and small, palazzos, churches, roof terraces and secret gardens. At the heart of the Borgo Vecchio is the Torre Civica (the bell tower) in the centre of the Piazza Rocca. The entrance to the Centro Storico is through I Tre Archi (The Three Arches) first built sometime in the 14th Century and restored some 400 years later. The town theatre is an amazing place, when first entering the auditorium it is uncannily like stepping into a miniature version of the Albert Hall or Royal Opera House…it does however only seat around 200 and one grande jete on the stage would have you sitting on the lap of the person in the front row! There are of course all the other usual shops, cafes, restaurants and a bank in fact everything one needs for quality everyday existence. 

Petritoli is only 20mins drive from the Adriatic coast with some of the best 'blue flag' beaches in Italy. The Sibillini National Park is some 45mins drive away where walking and hiking are plentiful. Skiing in the high Sibillini is also popular in the winter months. There are many medieval towns to explore throughout Le Marche including, Ascoli Piceno, Urbino, Macerata, Jesi, San Benedetto and Senigallia.

In the Valdaso area alone there are 23 hilltop villages (of which Petritoli is one) each with their own selection of festas and sagras, celebrating local saints and local produce throughout the year, but particularly during the summer months. The two main festivals in Petritoli are the Festa de le Cove on the 12/13th July and the Festa della Madonna on the 16/17th August. Interestingly enough the main feature of the Festa della Madonna is a race for wooden go-karts through the town !  Both of these festivals involve colourful local pageantry, dressing up, laughter and spectacular consumption of local wines and food.  Among the regional wines to be sampled are rosso piceno, verdicchio and the magnificent vino cotto. Exploring further afield into neighbouring Umbria, Tuscany and Abruzzo is also relatively easy from Petritoli.