High in a mountain valley south of Ascoli Piceno you’ll find solitude, cool air, and the relics of a bygone era called le caciare. Round huts built without mortar by stacking stones in a concentric manner to form a beehive shape, the caciare were constructed and used by shepherds for many years as they grazed their flocks in the mountains.
There are said to be one hundred of the unusual shelters scattered about, testimony of the importance of the wool industry in this region, dating back to medieval times.
The conical shape of the caciare are reminiscent of the trulli in Puglia, and may well have been inspired by them since the Wool Route stretched from Abruzzo all the way to the plains of Puglia.
In some of the fields, evidence (..ahem) of sheep still grazing here is abundant, and you may just encounter the animals and their shepherds. The views sweep across three mountain ranges, and the only sounds you’re likely to hear are rustling grasses and the occasional sheep bell. These high pastures are perfect for a tranquil, picturesque picnic … with ready-made thousand year-old rain shelters close by. The view from them isn’t all that bad either . . .
Contributed by Valerie Schneider (see bio), through her company Panorama Italy she is the tour guide and expert of the Le Marche region, writer, avid cappuccino drinker.
