The municipality of Montedinove, located on the slopes of Mount Ascensione, between the Aso and Tesino river valleys, a charming landscape that draws the eye from the mountain to the sea, offers a view not only of the Sibillini Range, but on a clear day also of Gran Sasso and the Adriatic coast as far as the Mount Conero promontory.

It was probably built by refugees from Ascoli during the Lombard invasion of 578, but it is rich in archaeological sites (excavations have unearthed twenty Picene tombs dating from the seventh century BC).

The historical centre preserves the remains of the Medieval walls and develops around Piazza Novana, with its elegant Palazzo Comunale and clock tower, a symbol of civic power; the church of Santa Maria dè Cellis, built by Farfa in the thirteenth century and divided in two in the fourteenth century; the church of San Lorenzo, by the Ticino architect Pietro Maggi. Also in the square there is a very interesting Romanesque-Gothic portal, now walled and originally the entrance to the church of Santa Maria de Cellis.

The portal was built in 1368 and is characterized by the use of three different materials – travertine, sandstone and terracotta – and a symbolic decoration (a cross with  hooked ends surmounted by a sphere with two five-pointed daisies) that has raised many doubts for its interpretation.

Outside the town we find the shrine of San Tommaso Becket di Canterbury, built over an existing chapel dedicated to Saint Thomas and owned by the Farfa community of Santa Maria dè Cellis.

Lastly, the Montedinove district is known for its pink apples, the Mela Rosa dei Monti Sibillini, which has earned its own Slow Food presidium for the protection and promotion of this typical product of great health, culinary and traditional value. Every 1–2 November the entertaining Sibillini in rosa festival is dedicated to this apple. Not to be missed!