The territory

Il Crinale farm holiday, in Castorano, arises in the centre of a wonderful area, the Piceno, which is as varied as the landscapes which compose it are different and the villages which characterize its ridges and valleys are picturesque, from the mountain to the sea.

In fact the Piceno, the southern part of the Marches which borders on Abruzzo, is a territory deeply characterized, from the point of view of the structure and the landscape, by an articulation of many ridges and valleys which influences and distinguishes the life of its inhabitants, from the birth of the villages and the first urbanization downstream and along the coast.

In fact hill ridges go down from the Sibillini Mountains to the Adriatic Sea and at the same time narrow valleys run down from the mountains to the sea, widening out and spreading out progressively, with rivers and torrents.
Coming closer to the coast the hill ridges become terraces overlooking the sea where, since the Middle Ages, unique and precious urban towns stand, for needs of defence and wholesome air, far away from the marshy valleys. In the same way, since the XIth - XIIth century, fortified castles stand on the ridges, located side by side, protected by towers and walls and they try to preserve their independence towards the two powerful cities in conflict: Ascoli and Fermo.

Instead, in the years following the second world war, a new urbanization starts and draws downhill and along the coast the inhabitants of the towns located on the ridges. This new urbanization is due to the expansion of the handmade industry, which comes up by the side of an agriculture based on olive groves, vineyards, fruit, vegetables and, in the inner part of the area, chestnut and beech woods which are full of mushrooms and truffles.

After noticing the structure, the landscape and the history of this territory, we have thought that Il Crinale is the more suitable name for a farm holiday structure which has the purpose to promote a conscious tourism sets out to discover historical and natural treasures of the Piceno through the exploitation of a territory with its own activity. In fact the best way for visiting the Piceno is following its history and life for better appreciating art places, landscapes and traditions, typical products and oenogastronomy.

However it is particularly right to talk about history in a territory like Castorano, in the area of the "Crinale dei Piceni" which winds for about 40 kms, going up the slopes of the hills between the Tesino River Valley and the Tronto River Valley, going across the Rosso Piceno Superiore AC wine way and passing through other wonderful towns such as Acquaviva Picena, Offida and Castignano, which are ancient settlements of the Picenis' population.

The Picenis are an Etruschis' coeval people, settled on these hills between the IXth and the IVth cent. BC: it is testified by many archeological findings found in Acquaviva Picena and Offida and by the stele of Castignano (VIIth - VIth cent. BC), a village characterized by Romanesque architectures, located on a particular gully territory.