One of the attractions of Le Marche is that it borders the sea, in contrast to more expansive but landlocked Umbria. . It was a hot day here, so we took about a 45 minutes drive from Montefalcone to walk along the seashore.
The Adriatic coast offers at variety of beach resort areas from the pretty isolated to the crowded, both sandy and pebbly. We stopped at two spots within easy reach. The first was at Pedaso, a town that used to be a fishing village (now more fishing industry). Very good fish restaurants and casual eateries here.
No bells and whistles. Just a quiet, locally-oriented place, where we walked along the luongo mare (concrete sea walk). Pedaso has a rather plain beach with rocks and pebbles. People were taking advantange of this very sunny day (high 20’s C; close to 90 F) to swim and sunbathe on their corner of a rock or to lay our their blankets and picnics on the pebbled shoreline. Areas of beach were set aside for renting beach chairs and umbrellas for 7.50 Euros. And small beachfront eating places often accompanied these areas. As I’ve already noted, many comparable things cost more in Italy than they did in Spain, with the costs to rent this beach stuff nearly 50% more. Gas (our car used diesel) costs at least 10 cents more than in France when we arrived, with Spain close to that.
It might have been this particular day, with no wind at all. But the surface of the water was glassy and looked oh so easy to swim in. It was surreal: the quiet and calm of the place, not even the sound of the surf. The rocky break-waters were set parallel to the beach at a distance from shore, so any waves (there were none) would likely break there and leave calmer waters beside the shoreline.This surprised me because in Spain, where we’d last seen the sea, the Mediterranean surf was often more dramatic; but it could also have been the season: just the beginning of springtime when we left. Here in Pedaso, the sea was so calm and the winds were so absent that we could hear the conversation of two swimmers casually pacing their strokes along the break-water rocks. I wished I’d had my sketchbook or camera, but had left both at home, too hot to be bothered.
Our second stop was the more upscale Santo Benedetto. A gorgeous tree and flowered boulevard lines the beach and shoreline. Though relatively crowded, it seems like a well-provisioned and casually-fashionable resort area. The beach looked more crowded with people than it actually was because of all the beach chairs and umbrellas laid out like seats at a theatre. But, on closer look, many chairs were empty. Not for long, I bet.
The beach itself is of sand, a plus, given the many pebbly beaches (harder to walk and lie on) along the Adriatic. And the promenade that continues along its length is lovely with its profusely adorning flowers and trees. How does it compare to the part of the Costa del Sol that we inhabited? To my eye, the housing is certainly more attractive (not high rises), as is the city planning, with more flowers. And, perhaps because there are more local inhabitants here ( Italians), there’s a more genuine Italian feel to city in terms of shopping, long-established restaurants, and residents. But the Mediterranean Sea is memorable, and I wouldn’t want to trade one shore for the other.
Today's Painting
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| Fishtales, painting by Janet Strayer |
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