Ascoli Piceno is a beautiful city which is well known for an odd little snack food called Olivas Ascolanas. These little treats are fried olives stuffed with ground meat, spices, and cheese. They are sold all over the town in shops and on the street.
I must admit that most of my memories of this area have nothing to do with the cities. We were invited to stay with a family in their large country house halfway between Ascoli and the sea. Finding the house was complicated the first night. It was dark and the house was a little down the hill, so we couldn't see any lights on. We finally figured out which house was theirs, and settled down for the night.
The next day we met the family. There was the young woman who accepted our request and her mother - who were both originally from Argentina - and there was the mother's husband, an old Italian sailor. We were able to speak Spanish with the mother and daughter, and the husband's knowledge of Spanish combined with our knowledge of Italian made us mutually intelligible.
The house was situated on a decent chunk of land covered in olive and fruit trees. They told us about how they take their olives to a local community press and make their own olive oil each year. They also made delicious fig jam. They even sent us off with a jar. Because of them, fig jam is now officially my favorite.
One of the days we were out driving around, we had a fatal incident that put our car in the shop. This was very stressful for us. Getting back to the house became complicated - we had to take a bus and then walk many kilometers. Having this family to go home to was a great comfort. We ate meals together, and it felt like home.
