It was a last-minute decision to head to Macerata, walled Marches hilltown not far from the Adriatic, for opera on an August night – but we weren’t going to miss Puccini’s “Turandot.”
Our B&B find was a last-minute jab of good fortune. “Il Piccolo Frutteto” (“The Little Orchard”) has been open just a few years and has only three bedrooms but they’re spacious, pristinely clean and gracious hosts, Signora Anna Maria and daughter, Simona are warm and welcoming.
[lcaption]Before the opera starts, the modern set design is set up[/lcaption]
[lcaption]Arena Sferisterio, Macerata[/lcaption]
[lcaption]Entrance to Piccolo Frutteto[/lcaption]
[lcaption]Signora Anna Maria and Simona, welcoming hosts[/lcaption]
They served up a tasty breakfast – four types of sweets made by Simona and Anna Maria’s fruits and jams from the trees of her “little orchard”- as we told them about the opera the night before in Macerata’s 19th-century Arena Sferisterio.
[lcaption]What an inviting table the next morning for breakfast![/lcaption]
[lcaption]Pino tries one of Simona’s homemade sweets[/lcaption]
[lcaption]Simona offers me one of her breakfast cakes[/lcaption]
[lcaption]Opera talk as we enjoy breakfast[/lcaption]
[lcaption]Anna Maria’s “going-away” gift to us: a jar of her peach jam[/lcaption]
A sell-out crowd had united in an enthusiastic standing ovation for the singers, orchestra – and the artistic, modern stage set design. The Macerata Opera Festival is an annual summer event and we plan to head there more often as we’re now linked to the Adriatic with a swift new superstrada, cutting down our driving time noticeably.
[lcaption]Massive 15th-c fortification walls of Macerata[/lcaption]
[lcaption]Macerata, the main square[/lcaption]
[lcaption]View of the Marches region countryside from Macerata[/lcaption]
But as the opera ends well past midnight, we’ll still stay overnight in a B&B: and it will always be the Piccolo Frutteto.
See the Arena Sferisterio here
Read about another favorite Marches hilltown, San Ginesio
Read about Tolentino, another Marches gem
Read about our favorite Marches seaside spot
Read about a Marches food festival
Oh how I wish I could have been there with you – how exciting!
It sounds like a fun trip and what a great place to stay. I’ll bet the opera was wonderful.
Yes, a magical night and what an adorable B&B!