environs
- Paterno 6 is set in typical Le Marche countryside - gentle rolling hills with spectacular views of hill-top towns.
- The village of Paterno has a shop and a bar - Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays are cards nights.
The shop and bar in Paterno is run by Iole, and is a handy place to buy the essentials, including delicious pecorino cheese and slabs of chocolate. If the door is closed, just ring the doorbell and she'll appear from her apartment upstairs. On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights the locals (mainly men) gather to play cards. The two most popular card games played locally are Briscola and Scopa, both of which are played with an Italian 40-card deck, featuring batons, coins, cups and swords. Tables of 4 players compete for the glory rather than for money - and the evenings can get increasingly loud as the competition becomes ever more intense.
- The nearest town is Tolentino, 4 kms down the road. It is an important commercial and cultural centre in Le Marche.
- The school bus passes by the house on its route between Tolentino and the nearby medieval town of San Ginesio.
- The provincial capital, Macerata, is 20 minutes away; it hosts an annual outdoor opera festival.
- In around 45 minutes you can be at the nearest ski resort of the Sibillini mountains.
- Adriatic beaches are half an hour away.
- From the capital of Le Marche, Ancona, you can take a ferry to Croatia and Greece.
