We visited Corinaldo (on this page) in the afternoon of our 20th wedding anniversary, after having language class in the morning. Later in the day, Francesco and Doni came and brought us on a little tour. We first went to a totally adorable little village called Loretello. It is part of the township (commune) of Arcevia, along with many other small villages in the area. The pictures can't do justice to how cute this tiny village, with less than 50 inhabitants, is.
A helpful little sign near where we parked informed us that this "inhabited nucleus" dates back to around the year one thousand. The entire village was basically the castle at one point, which still retains its medieval structure with its walls, towers and access ramp. We were there at sunset in October, the churches (one inside and one outside of the village) were closed, but the sign states that they have artwork by Ercole Ramazzani. Loretello is one of nine walled villages of the Arcevia Municipality.
Francesco and Doni were hoping to sit on the terrace of the bar in Loretello and watch the sunset, but unfortunately the bar was closed for the season.
So instead, we stood and watched the sunset.
The view is lovely, with the rolling hills of Le Marche.
The information sign mentioned the access ramp, which is a cute and tiny as the village.
This building is the entrance from the ramp.
Doni told us that many Dutch people have bought houses in this particular area. While writing this trip report, we discovered some evidence to support that. In the above picture, as well as the one below, the house at the end of the ramp is a vacation rental owned by and targeted towards Dutch people. This next photograph is actually a link to a panorama view. When you enlarge the picture, click on the circular arrow in the middle to see a panorama.
As with most of these little villages, the residents have many plants that make the area even prettier.
The Apennine mountains can be seen in the distance. We believe that is Monte Catria on the left and Monte Acuto on the right. (These mountains will come up again in this trip report.)
On our way out of the village we saw a man on a ladder inside one of the buildings. Doni asked him what he was working on; he replied that he was treating the wood against bugs to preserve it. The man had a syringe and injected the wood with the treatment in many spots. It must have been tedious work!
After leaving Loretello, we visited another of the 9 castles of Arcevia: Nidastore. Although not as cute as Loretello, it was still a pretty little village. An adorable cat was watching us from its vantage point on a wall.
The view was also pretty from Nidastore.
There was also a little park and picnic spot along the outside of the wall.
This street is actually relatively wide, for a small village. It does not have steps, but it does have ridges that help with footing.
After our little tour, the 4 of us went to Fravento Cibo e Vino Ristorante for supper. The website has both Italian and English on it, as did the menu that evening. Paul and Doni both had the home-made sheep's milk cheese ravioli with a nettle cream and tomato. Francesco had a gourmet hamburger. Anne had barley cooked with herbs and an almond, lemon, and chamomile sauce. The meal was very good. Francesco and Doni gave us a lovely and special anniversary.
Updated December 2023