Travelcast Piceno - Audio & Video Guide per la Provincia di Ascoli Piceno

We are now in Via Sotto le Mura, where we can observe part of the ancient walls of the town. Regarding the construction of the defensive elements of Grottammare, we have only fragmentary information. In 1248, by order of Cardinal Ranieri, Vice Regent of the Pope in the Marca of Ancona, the Girone (Circular wall) of Grottammare was reconstructed. Then, once again, it was necessary to reinforce the town in 1527, encircling it with the wall and providing it with gateways and a tower.

Again, due to the attacks that took place, in the second part of the 1600s the Castle, walls and towers were renovated. As we can see, the scarp inclination,  sets the dating of these walls to a period not before the 16th century, with certain later additions, especially in the higher parts. Continuing to walk along this road, we arrive at the Church of Sant’Agostino, built where a small church already had been established. When the Augustinian monks moved here, towards the middle of the 1400s, they enlarged it, building the Convent and modifying the name to the current one of Sant’Agostino. Consecrated in 1530, the church has a characteristic fortified apse, complete with defensive battlements, due most likely to the location of the building, directly towards the sea, Martin Luther was a guest at the Monastery annexed to the church during his voyage toward Rome. The church, still carries the sign of this hospitality: following the excommunication of the Augustinian monk, the bell tower was partially demolished as a punishment. This is what gives it the broken appearance it bears today. The Convent, which is directly positioned against the church, was suppressed by Pope Innocent X in 1653 because it was not able to reach the necessary number of monks. Since 1571 every 10th of July, the feast day of the patron saint of Grottammare, San Paterniano, is celebrated. Right in front of the church, where the road makes a sharp curve upwards, there is the elegant and austere Neoclassical building, Palazzetto Ottaviani. The descent ahead of us is Via Sant’Agostino and if we follow it, it will lead us to the lower part of the town, the so-called “Marina”. Along this road there are several points of interest. The first part of the road is lined with tall pine on the left side. At the end of this tree-lined zone one can clearly see the isolated form of Villa Azzolino, built on a square block topped by a terraced roof.
One of the annexes of the villa is said to have been built upon the remains, dating from the 12th century, of a watchtower. The building has unusually small openings, especially the doors seem to be particularly small. This annex of Villa Azzolino is still called “Li Mazzameriglie” after legendary elves, inhabitants of the park, who at sundown had their fun by frightening the passers-by.
Villa Azzolino, which was built for Cardinal Decio Azzolino, Secretary of State of the Vatican under Pope Clement IX, was built in the 17th century. It is said that a guest here in 1665 was Queen Christina of Sweden, great friend of the Cardinal, and in the 19th century, King William of Westphalia, Napoleon’s brother, enjoyed hospitality. The building is normally attributed to the school of Bernini and more precisely to a Roman architect who was his disciple and collaborator, Mattia de’ Rossi. In front of the villa there is a large olive grove, which has been established as a Public Garden. At the end of Via Sant’Agostino, at the crossing that leads to Ripatransone from the Adriatic Highway, one sees Palazzo Laureati. The large building is the result of an enlargement in 1807 of an initial building that was built for Bishop Bartolomeo Bacher at the end of the 1700s. It then became the property of the Marquis Laureati. In this  villa on the 12th of October 1860, King Vittorio Emanuele II received the Neapolitan Delegation that conferred to him the former Kingdom of Naples and the Crown of Italy.

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