Jesi
The nearest city to , Jesi is a thriving and elegant centre and is one of the most beguiling towns in this stretch of the Marche. It 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 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 endeared himself even more to the city when he later called it his special city, its very name seeming to recall that of Jesus.