Castel di Luco is perched on a rocky outcrop in the territory of Acquasanta Terme, a short distance from Ascoli. Surrounded by the quiet of the Piceno woods, the manor has rooms and suites furnished with antique furniture, terracotta floors and travertine walls. Inside the complex there is a 70-seat restaurant, obtained from some frescoed rooms, where you can taste, by reservation, the specialties of local gastronomy.
Castel di Luco History
The unique architecture of Castel di Luco, which, seen from above, is inscribed in a perfect circle, over the centuries has given rise to numerous suppositions about its remote origins. Among the most curious hypotheses, the one that considers it an ancient seat of the Order of the Templars, which in the circle saw an esoteric and mysterious form; or the theory - supported by the wealth of thermal establishments in the area - that I imagine erected on a source of sulphurous water. Or again - and it is the most credible hypothesis - it is thought that it arose in the center of a sacred wood (Iucus, in Latin, from which Luco), and precisely above a travertine altar destined to pagan ceremonies.
Returning to history, the earliest records of the existence of the castle date back to the 11th century, but most of its history is linked to the family of Ciucci, lords of Luco from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century: Maria, last heir of the properties , he married Giuseppe Amici, the ancestor of Laura and Francesco Amici, the young castellani. The manor is open for visits by reservation, but offers much more to those who want to steal all the secrets. The beautiful rooms decorated with paintings from the eighteenth century are open every night for romantic candlelit dinners, which really have a different, unusual taste, thanks to the kind welcome of the owners. To dominate at the table are mainly local gastronomic traditions: among the specialties, the lamb in truffle sauce and the inevitable olives all'ascolana. The desserts trolley varies according to the seasons, proposing homemade cakes and sweets, such as aniseed biscuits and cooked wine. And then, if you ask for hospitality as in the past were the pilgrims, you will be accompanied in the houses carved into the rock at the foot of the castle, fascinating fifteenth-century rooms furnished in rustic style.