Hidden Gems - The Charming Villages of Le Marche: Montottone

Sometimes getting lost is the only way to truly find yourself. Traveling through the heart of Le Marche, among silent hills fragrant with flowers, I took a secondary road. This is how my true journey began: an unexpected adventure through eleven hidden villages of Le Marche, where history and beauty intertwine at every corner.

In each episode, I will take you to a unique village, revealing the secrets of its ancient streets, amidst breathtaking landscapes and timeless stories.

Come with me: this is Hidden Gems - The Charming Villages of Le Marche.

Today we will get to Montottone.

Even before my body, my journey to Montottone began with my imagination. It was an immediate feeling when they told me about a medieval town nestled in these hills, a prelude to the majestic Sibillini Mountains, like a bright lighthouse in a sea of fields and woods in the most varied shades of green. A city that once made the history of this land, and that today looks as beautiful as it was then.

I couldn't help but feel a stunning fascination for this place when I found out what people call it around here: the village of potters, famous for its precious handmade ceramics, a true excellence waiting to be discovered.

It was all too easy, then, to make the decision, as quick as certain, of visiting this village. And now, here I am, ready to spend a day together with you discovering this small, great jewel of the province of Fermo.

The day is awesome, the sun shines on Le Marche region, warming the green hills surrounding Montottone with brightness. And a light breeze, gently, caresses my face and hair. I thought right away: "Today the weather is perfect for cycling!". Indeed, moving by bicycle is the best way to enjoy all the beauty of places like these, cloaked in history and nature, to be experienced slowly, savoring the pleasure of discovery step by step.

I get on my bike, and as the sunshine increases, my two wheels swiftly slide along the road that will lead me to the heart of the town. To welcome me, there I find immediately the baroque church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, with its pretty flowered courtyard and the small suggestive portico at its entrance. I stop for a while to admire it, perhaps getting the chance to take some photographs, the first of a long series here in Montottone. But now it’s time to move on, the historic centre awaits us!

A little further on, to my left, here’s just a new occasion to stop once again and let my sight be captured for a while. A picturesque red brick balustrade, which draws a hypnotic wavy pattern, a line on the horizon separating the road I’m riding on from the landscape beyond. And what a view!

Here, from this unusual and evocative viewpoint, I abandoned my look for a while to the pleasure of that landscape, tracing with my eyes the profile of every hill, every tree, every meadow and field. And I felt a sensation of lightness, beyond words, feeling in perfect harmony with that bucolic view. How wonderful to be able to get so touched about something so simple! The emotion gives new life to my desire for adventure. It’s time to resume cycling until the end of this road, reaching the heart of Montottone.

A little tired from the ride, but happy, I finally get to Piazza Roma at the doors of the historic centre of Montottone. I get off my bike to continue on foot; however, before venturing into the beauty of these medieval alleys, I take some time for a short break with a coffee and perhaps a typical sweet, such as the delicious anise donuts!

After resting for a while, it’s finally time to head inside the walls. And just like through the pages of a fairytale book, my look gets captivated by the picturesque and surreal aesthetics of the village, perfectly preserved in its ancient and splendid beauty.

The imagination begins traveling fast. It seems to relive the charm of Montottone in its golden age, in a past with a fairytale flavor made of castles, lands, knights and great lords. But perhaps we are forgetting something...but just a glance to my right, in the charming little square in front of the entrance to Piazza Roma, it’s enough to admire two beautiful wall sculptures evoking craftsmanship, the most authentic cultural essence of the town, and remind that the true lords of Montottone are its own great artists!

An artistic flair that here can be discovered step by step, accompanied by the particular sensation of the stone-paved road underfoot. I take a walk along Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, the main street of the historic centre, where I find out in awe that, in the town, art hides even in the most unusual places. In fact, in Montottone all the house numbers of the ancient village are made in handmade painted ceramic plaques, picturing the heraldic animals of the seven districts of this land!

Then I glimpse a tall bell tower at the end of the way, but first I cannot resist the temptation to venture into a small alley on the right, a little uphill. The tranquility embraces me, in a solemn silence, a feeling of mystery mixed with curiosity and charm. And without even realizing it, I find myself in Piazza Castello, the highest point of Montottone, where once stood the fortress of the town. A place with a truly evocative atmosphere, where baroque and neoclassicism meet, respectively, in the double presence of the Church of San Pietro Apostolo and Palazzo Amici.

I decide to walk around to the opposite side of this square, getting through a small maze of alleys and then down, descending along a staircase that takes me back to the lower level. And there it is, the tall bell tower again, that stands out in the landscape of the village, like a star ready to indicate the right path for those visiting Montottone for the first time. That’s the bell tower of the Church of Santa Maria Ausiliatrice, a small renaissance gem full of emotions, a place holding so much history, so much faith - even a monumental underground cistern! - but above all, so much art.

And speaking of art, creative flair is perhaps the most authentic side of Montottone and its culture, a true identity stamp that finds its top expression in craftsmanship. After all, we’re in the village of potters, the town where entire generations of ceramic artisans, for centuries, have created little and big masterpieces with their own hands, appreciated throughout Europe and even overseas!

With the desire to be amazed once again by this wonderful land, alley after alley I keep exploring the ancient hamlet, searching for the most hidden and picturesque artisan studios. Like children in a toy shop, I feel so ecstatic by all the shapes and colors, by the unmistakable smells of beautiful things made by hand, faithfully following traditions. I would like to touch everything, to experience first-hand the sensations that each object can convey. But I desist from this temptation, feeling like some rogues in fairy tales, ready to steal some treasure from a dragon's lair!

And they are real treasures, indeed. Here in Montottone, every piece of craftsmanship, every single piece of ceramic - whether it’s a pot, a plate, a cup or a home decoration - has its own aura, and tells its own story. A story made of raw materials from the fertile nature of the territory; a story of skilled hands that collected and worked them until they transformed into works of art; a story of people who gave life to the useful without giving up on beauty.

Yes, beauty: a concept that fits perfectly with Montottone, a magical place to visit with the sensation of living a daydream, in an atmosphere evoking to the present the sounds, the scents and the visions of a remote era.

But there’s another factor that I have been told it truly fits this village: the goodness of food! So, what better way to end my day trip, than sitting at a table and savoring the unique and genuine taste of the local cuisine?

You know, it’s often the smallest and most hidden villages that make you eat the best. Traveling through the villages in the hinterland of Le Marche, I have tasted together with you delicacies of all kinds, such as vincisgrassi and fried olives and meat. But here in Montottone I look for something exceptional, with an unmistakable flavor, something to feel the most authentic essence of this territory.

For example, some excellent tagliatelle - of course of the same quality as the famous maccheroncini di Campofilone! - with a delicious condiment based on black porcini mushrooms. That’s a real treat for the taste, and a very pleasant scent that brings to mind the atmosphere of the woods of the Sibillini Mountains, where little by little, bite after bite, I rediscover the delicious simplicity of the cuisine from Marche region.

And to celebrate this splendid trip to Montottone, we certainly cannot miss a fresh and intense toast with an excellent Offida Bianco DOCG, one of the most prestigious local wines!

So much deliciousness can only refresh both body and spirit, after a wonderful day spent in a location like this. But now, still fascinated by this town and its impressive historical beauty, literally carved into the rock, it’s eventually time to say hello to Montottone.

I get back on my bike, but before taking the road back home I decide to venture a bit into the surroundings, through dirt roads and country paths. Tranquility reigns at this time of the afternoon, with the feeble sun, slowly but surely next to its setting beyond the horizon, that makes the bike ride in the greenery truly pleasant. Listening to the rustling of the breeze in the vegetation, and the faint chirping of some bird, hidden somewhere around me, slowly I leave behind my back even the last houses.

I can’t help but smile, when once again I glimpse that tall bell tower from afar. Like a lovely gesture of greeting it emerges from the historic centre of the town, reminding me that we’ll meet again soon, Montottone!

It’s evening by now, and even if I just returned to my place, my thoughts still bring me back within the magical walls of Montottone, where time seems to have stopped by for real.

A place which gave me electrifying emotions in its ancient simple beauty, a place where I left a piece of my heart, daydreaming about stories and people of the past, that today still dwell through those picturesque medieval alleys.

It’s time for me to hit the road again. I’m wondering where the roads will lead me. To another village, another story, another hidden gem of Le Marche.