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Colli del Tronto in the Province of Ascoli Piceno

The territory of Colli del Tronto, as is suggested from the name itself, spreads over a succession of hills, shifting its altitude from 34 metres in the valley to 193 metres by Villa Lozzi. The pre-Roman origin of the town was revealed by a Piceno necropolis discovered at the end of the XIXth century, whose finds can be admired today at Ascoli's Archeological Museum. The territory was officially named Colli del Tronto in 1862.

From the main square, Piazza XXV Aprile, ascending an elegant flight of stairs, built in travertine stone, one reaches the Neoclassic St. Felicita Church (chiesa di S. Felicita). Tullio Pericoli, a well-known artist and set designer born at Colli del Tronto, chose this flight of stairs as a background for Act II of Elisir d'Amore, performed at the Scala Theatre in Milan, during the 1998 Season.

At the Vallicella district there is an old Franciscan convent still conserving its cloister dating from the XVIth century with XVIIIth century modifications. The little Church of St. Cristina is a rural building known for the miraculous powers of its adjacent spring.

Colli del Tronto's territory resembles that of nearby Castel di Lama with its landscape of patrician villas, most built during the XIXth century to control the farmers working under the so- called contract of mezzadria.

The local festival, which takes place every year in various localities of the historical town, called Piante, fiori, vimini, bambù, derives from the celebration in honour of the Patron Saint St. Felicita (7th March). It is an exhibition of local farm products, craft works and livestock. Colli was renowned for its production of carts, a necessary tool for the farmers of the past which can be seen nowadays in museums as an interesting reminder of our rural past.

Colli del Tronto is the birthplace of the well-known painter Ferdinando Cicconi (1831-1886), scholar of Tommaso Minardi and Francesco Podesti in Rome.

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