A traditional Italian craft: lacing is practiced with incredible skill by the women of Offida, a village in Le Marche region. Offida has an ancient origin: it was founded during the stone age by the Pelasgi people coming from Asia. Once they founded the city, a temple was dedicated to the sacred serpent Ophite.Offida probably takes its name from the word “ophis” that means snake both in Greek and Etruscan.
Actually I couldn’t help to find serpentine patterns everywhere from the balconies wrought-iron to the sinuous shapes of the beautiful laces worked by the expert hands of Offida women. 
Just off the beautiful main square we found a lovely shop dedicated to lace with an amazing collection of work of art. The owner showed us how to make lace at the tombolo, the round cushion used to pin down the threads over the pattern.
Following the sacred serpent lead we had lunch at the Ophis restaurant on the Serpente Aureo main street. We tasted the delicious Taccu’ pasta (that comes too in a serpentine shape) and the outstanding Rosso Piceno, a virtually unknown and undervalued local wine.We finally visited the stunning Santa Maria della Rocca. This imposing church offers a magnificent view from what seems a precarious position on a rock, just outside the village. It’s a severe medieval building, magnificent in its lack of frills and ornaments. Santa Maria della Rocca is a very unusual church, there is about it an atmosphere of somber and austere beauty, a sight you don’t want to miss in your Marche travel.
Italian craft: lacing in Offida, Montappone hats and Monte Urnano shoes
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Still today the spirit of the serpent god pervades the town in the name of the main street and the theater: Serpente Aureo or Golden Snake.
