Have you made up your mind about your destination? The best accommodation deals are being booked fast, don’t let anyone keep ahead!

I want to find a house NOW!

There is something about Ascoli which enchants, traps and makes you fall in love with it.


Everything started when they gave me the opportunity to go on Erasmus. I accepted immediately without knowing the place, country or city I would end up in. It was one of the best decisions of my life.

I am going to talk to you about my experience and about the place I went to.

I chose Italy as my preferred destination as it did not require a language and it has been one of my dreams since I was a child to travel around the country. I was allocated to the small town of ASCOLI PICENO in the Eastern region of MARCHE. I immediately started to research the place and look for pictures of it; my first impressions were that it looked nice but quite small and run down.

In order to arrive there you have to catch a flight to Rome (Fiumicino airport) and from there take a 4 hour bus journey which will take you to Ascoli.

When I arrived with some friends, it was only 5pm yet it seemed like the middle of the night as the place was a ghost town. I thought that these would be the longest 3 months of my life. Indeed, at the start it was tricky as we could not find places to go out and party, the streets were empty by 7pm and by 4pm it began to grow dark. I focused on carrying out my internship, getting to know the town and learning Italian. Everything changed one day when me and my friends stumbled into a small and shabby pub called EL PRINCIPE. The waiters and their friends were really nice, on thursdays they had a karaoke night and through that we started to meet a lot of people, Erasmus students as well as Italians. That was the moment when I started to enjoy my Erasmus.

The best features of the beautiful town include the square PIAZZA DEL POPOLO (where they carry out all the local festivals) as well as a beautiful town hall and church.

Source

There are a wide range of places where you can eat very well. On the same Street as El Principe is RISTORANTE VITTORIA which if you want to eat pasta, meat or fish is the best (although not cheapest) option. If you want pizza, RISTORANTE DA BRUNO is brilliant and also makes a lot of other dishes at affordable prices.

There are good bus links and as Ascoli is a small town you can go everywhere by foot. Although just as good an option is to buy a bicycle for €30 and when you go home you can return it and reclaim €25 or if you prefer you can rent one out for €3 a day. If you want to travel to other cities you can get the train (TRENITALIA) with tickets being two-for-one on Saturdays if you buy in advance.

A half an hour bus journey can take you to the snowy mountains of (SAN BENEDETTO DEL TRONTO) which is also where all the clubs are. There is also a shopping centre as well as a beautiful river where you can swim. The architecture university is on top of a viewpoint which you can access either by bus or by walking up a path with more than 300 steps.

Ultimately Ascoli is a town which little by little charms and entraps you so much so that you end up loving it. When I returned back from my Erasmus, I decided to drive there alone to work.

Accommodation isn’t cheap and quite difficult to find but not impossible. I found mine through an Erasmus friend who had lived there the year before. Given the fact that there are loads of students, the easiest option is to choose a shared bedroom.

In general the people are lovely and they always try and help you if they can. There are lots of opportunities to do Tandem classes in Spanish as there are a lot of people learning the language there.

It was a pleasure to share with you my experiences and I hope it helps you. Good luck to anyone who decides to embark on this adventure because it truly is worth it.


Photo gallery



Content available in other languages

Share your Erasmus Experience in Ascoli Piceno!

If you know Ascoli Piceno as native, traveler or as exchange student... share your opinion on Ascoli Piceno! Rate different characteristics and share your experience.

Add experience →

Comments (0 comments)


Share your Erasmus experience!

Add experience →


Don’t have an account? Sign up.

Wait a moment, please

Run hamsters! Run!