Only 25km from Italy's Adriatic Riviera, Ascoli Piceno is a lovely undiscovered city famous for architectural treasures.

Ascoli Piceno's heyday was in the Middle Ages and the reminders are everywhere: the 13th-century Palazzo dei Capitani del Popolo (with a 16th-century façade) in the magnificent Piazza del Popolo; the tall, medieval fortress towers around Via Soderini; the church of San Francesco (13th century) and the Duomo (12th-century). The art gallery contains a clutch of great works by Titian, Guido Reni, and Van Dyck.

Ascoli Piceno's medieval streets provide a magnificent backdrop to the Quintana, a medieval-style jousting tournament. Upwards of 1,000 participants, dressed in historical costumes, parade through the town as a prelude to a tournament in which horseback riders run full pelt and try to spear a figure known as the Saracen, a reminder of medieval hostilities between Christians and Turks.

A busy weekly market is an added attraction, as is the Quintana jousting contest in August conducted according to 14th-century rules.

Easily accessible from Ascoli Piceno is San Benedetto del Tronto, known as the "Riviera delle Palme" for it's 5,000 palm trees along it's promenade. With 6km of sandy white beach and clean shallow water it's a good place to spend those hot summer days.