OSIMO (part II): We're riding on the escalator of life

IN GUIDEBOOKS, OSIMO IS SAID to be a city of art, history, and tradition.

Not to be skeptical but this sounds like every town in Le Marche.

To me, what stands out in Osimo is how technology is incorporated into the city's life.

Walking around we immediately find an escalator.

“Weird, an escalator – where does it go?” I question.

“Is it free?” asks Ann.

It is a reasonable question since even tap water at a restaurant has a price in Europe.

“It’s definitely free,” Philly says and I agree as I watch the townspeople of Osimo get on without depositing any Euro.

We hop on and take a short ride to the bottom of the hill, down the side of the city walls. Right in front of us is another unusual sight for these small Le Marche towns. A funicular!

“What is that?” Ann says out loud to no one in particular.

“I don’t know the name,” I answer, “But I’ve been on one before in Pittsburgh. Let’s go.”

Hesitantly, we approach the funicular doors, which open beckoning us to enter.

“Are you sure this is free?” Ann doubts and looks at us.

But Berit has already made up her mind that we’re going to take the plunge. She coerces us to get on with her and we ride to the bottom.

“How are we going to get back up?” Philly questions.

“The same way we got down,” I say but not totally trusting myself.

We thought something magical might await us at the end of our ride but instead we find a parking lot. We walk around a little and take pictures in front of a relief map of Osimo that’s mounted on the wall.

Deciding to go back to the center of town, we easily figure out that the funicular will take us back up and we ascend.

In the narrow streets of Osimo, we hear American music coming from above. This is a strange experience because the apartments in this medieval city look so old but pop music explodes out its windows.

Ann listens carefully and sings along, “Shake it like a Polaroid picture.”

And we do.

After a fun afternoon in this town we get ready to meet back in the piazza. Berit and Philly get ahead of Ann and I and they quickly disappear. We later find out that they had stepped into a candy store and found quite a treat.

It turns out that Osmio is one of the few places that we have found a delicious chewy fruit candy called Dietorelle.

There are many other attractions in Osimo like the City Hall, the Diocese Museum, the Cathedral of Saint Leopard and the Dance and Ballet festival.

But if I had to tell you the top three things to do in Osimo, it would be to check out the high-tech vertical public transportation, take pictures of the view and indulge in some sweet, chewy Dietorelle.

- Caitlyn Slivinski