Ecomuseo della Valle dell'Aso

Carassai stands on a ridge separating the Aso and Menocchia valleys, 365 meters above sea level, between the Sibillini Mountains and the Adriatic Sea. Its origins are very ancient, as evidenced by the numerous traces dating back to the Neolithic period in the area. Between the 11th and 12th centuries, the village was known as Asignano (Asinanum), and then took on the name Carnassalis (Carnasciale) between 1200 and 1400, later becoming, through linguistic adaptations, the present Carassai.
The historic village consists of two medieval nuclei: the first, called the Old Castle, probably dates back to feudal times and has undergone various destructions and reconstructions over time; the second is the New Castle, built from the last decades of the 14th century and developed mainly in the 15th century.
Carassai belonged to the Papal State until 1797. Later, it was included in the Delegation of Fermo, District of Fermo, Government of Montefiore until 1817; from 1827 it entered the Delegation of Fermo and Ascoli, District of Montalto, as a podesteria dependent on the Government of Montalto, and finally, from 1831, in the Delegation of Ascoli, while remaining in the District and Government of Montalto.
Even today the town retains important evidence of its past: the ancient walls, the Old Castle, the New Castle and the Romanesque abbey of Sant’Angelo in Piano. Also not to be missed is the Rocca Monte Varmine, dating from the 14th century but with remains from the 9th century, probably of Lombard origin, one of the best-preserved castles in the Marche region, with imposing walls and a 35-meter-high tower featuring Ghibelline battlements, loopholes and plumbholes.