Americans In Umbria: January in Asocli Piceno

January is the perfect time to travel in Italy, as long as there is no rain or fog. On sunny days it is almost impossible to sit quietly home. The urge to explore comes over us, and off we go.

The first place on our agenda was Ascoli Piceno. We went there with our guests after January 6th to explore the sales. I love to shop in this city. First the city is absolutely gorgeous, second they have the nicest sales people, and finally they have great clothes, all within walking distance, with no car needed. Driving to Ascoli Piceno from Umbertide we pass the wildest looking territory. It is hard to believe that there will be a town in the mountains, much less one as stunning as this.

Saldi is the word for "sales" in Italian. January is the month. The sales start on January 6th and continue til the end of the month. Everything in Italy, by edict, is on sale! This is when I buy my winter coat, sweaters, etc. I try to contain myself during the rest of the year.

In case you think all I do is eat and shop (not too far from the truth), we also did some sight seeing with our friends. We discovered the reopened crypt in the town Basilica that we hadn't visited before. It is stunningly beautiful.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Emygdius

I am not Catholic, so theses saint stories fascinate me. Anyway, this is the crypt of Saint Emygdius.
There are restored mosaics on the ceiling, travertine marble on the floors and elegant columns throughout.

The actual crypt of the saint is also down here, but I am not too much into the relics and dead saint bones thing. I think the protestant strain of the family knocked that out of me. It just seems creepy and weird, but this place was bright, and comforting. I could have stayed down here for a while, but the Stoic One was pushing on.

The piazza in this town is one of the most beautiful in all of Italy, in my opinion. I love it. The decorations for Christmas was out these shooting stars coming from the tower. Very dramatic.