The walls of Jesi are not totally intact around the city, but enough of it remains to get a very good idea of what it must have been like to live in a walled city.
The main square, the Piazza della Repubblica, serves as the meeting place for our group.
These men closely supervise the cleaning of the fountain and its lions from their vantage point on the bench.
We visit the Museo delle Arti Della Stampa, which celebrates the long tradition of printing in the town of Jesi. It contains a variety of printing equipment from very early Gutenberg era to lithograph machines.
Next we did some cooking, mixing together potatoes, flour and egg to create gnocchi. Getting my hands sticky with dough felt great. I took to it immediately and soon came up with a fine big ball of dough from which to cut the gnocchi.
The gnocchi we made turn out to be excellent at lunch, but a large factor was the delicious sauce made by the restaurant chef.
After lunch, I visited the Museum of Federick II. This Holy Roman Emperor was born in Jesi to a 40-year old queen. There was considerable question regarding Frederick’s birth since the mother was at such an advanced age, so the birth took place in a tent in the center of the piazza for all to witness.
The museum goes into quite a bit of detail on Frederick’s considerable escapades, with displays that are meant to appeal to both children and adults.
In the evening we took a drive out into the countryside to visit a winery. It was quite a lovely drive, especially as the sun was beginning to set.
The Moncaro winery produces quite a quantity of Verdicchio wine for wide distribution.
After we were given a very complete and interesting tour of the winery, we had a wine tasting with three of the wines it produces.
Particularly delicious was the combination of the Rose wine with the traditional salume of the area. I never usually eat these meats, but in Italy it seems my taste buds change to accept and sometimes even savor their flavors.