Have you ever heard of “The Tibet of the Marches”?
Elcito is one of the highest villages in the entire region, which is why they call it that. It reaches 821 meters above sea level and looks like a very small cluster of houses with an exotic-sounding name.
The place name seems to derive from “elk” or “holm oak,” and indeed, visiting the area this is a plant found in the area. But what’s near the village we’ll come back to later….
Some have dubbed it a “castle above the clouds,” and some have more simply noted the tranquility felt when visiting it. Because Elcito-if experienced on a weekday and not on a particular holiday-is almost uninhabited. Very few people inhabit it throughout the year, fewer than 20, but one only has to reach this small hamlet of San Severino Marche to quickly realize that nothing more is needed to appreciate it than all that is already there.
Getting to the destination is not super easy, the road is quite winding, but every little effort is worth it to reach the summit and look all around at the panorama that in every season changes and offers different scenery.
Walking through the few alleys of Elcito one willingly remains in silence listening to the sounds of nature and, looking at every detail, with a little imagination one can go back in time and imagine how life might have flowed in this what was a typical country village. Hanging on the stone houses are some photographs of those who once spent their lives in Elcito, attending school and returning home each night to where they were born and raised.
If you are lucky you can still meet a few locals today who, sitting on the bench at the entrance to the village at the end of a long climb, welcome those who arrive and share the beauty of what this small village in the province of Macerata was and what it represents today.
Near there, nature is at its best. Just visit the beech forest of Canfaito, a centuries-old beech forest that can be easily reached from the village within the Mount San Vicino Regional Nature Reserve, which is particularly impressive in autumn.
Also not to be missed in the vicinity are some curious and unusual places such as Braccano, about 12 kilometers away-small hamlet of Matelica, land of Verdicchio wine-also called the town of murals [possible experiences – in Braccano in addition to tours of the village, art workshops could also be organized for adults and children, related to the works made on the houses in the village] for the artistic designs made on some of the houses in the village and Cerreto d’Esi, in the province of Ancona about 22 kilometers away.
Going down the valley, not to be missed is San Severino Marche, its square, among the most beautiful in the Marche, the Pinacoteca, a treasure trove of works of art, and the oldest part of town.
Discover the Travu Experience to discover Elcito, you can find it here
