Oliveto is just five minutes by car from Mogliano but we like walking there through the fields, when weather permits. The nearest city is Macerata, a university town with a summer opera season in the open air amphitheatre as well as shopping and restaurants. Every hill around us is topped with a medieval town, each with its own customs and different dialect.

Mogliano has four thousand inhabitants, two schools, six bars and three restaurants. The town has a busy calender of events, ranging from the Presepe Vivante (live crib) in January to a week in June when townsfolk dress in eighteenth century costume and the streets are filled with street artists and locally run trattorie serving the excellent food and drink.

Mogliano is three hours from Rome and Bologna, five hours from Venice and Florence and eight hours from Naples and Milan. All major cities can be reached by train from Civitanova Marche, just thirty minutes away. The Adriatic coastline is very busy in the summer, offering safe beaches for small children and a wide range of excellent seafood restaurants.