This thriving and elegant centre is one of the most beguiling towns in this stretch of the Marche and boasts a sophisticated old centre and lively cultural life that should not be missed.

Its most striking feature greets you as you arrive – a belt of massive 14thC walls (above), built on Roman foundations, strengthened with buttresses and impregnable towers, and topped by houses. The main streets of the walled historic centre run along a narrow ridge and there is much to tempt you to explore.

Start in Piazza Federico II which lies at the north-eastern end of the town where the Roman forum of Aesis once lay. Its name recalls the birth here of the fabled Medieval Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick II in a tent on 26 December 1194. Frederick, known as Stupor Mundi for his stirring deeds, endeared himself even more to the city when he later called it his special city, its very name seeming to recall that of Jesus.

The 18thC face of the Duomo, the robust caryatids on the palace to the left of the church and the obelisk in the centre give the square a decidedly Late Baroque tone.