The lure of Le Marche

LE MARCHE is one of those magical places that leaves you feeling slightly peeved you hadn’t visited sooner. Full of lush green countryside it really is as emerald in colour as the friendly and enthusiastic locals claim. It’s enchanting with a totally varied landscape combining every wonderful feature Italy has to offer, the hilly countryside to a long coastline extending along the Adriatic Sea for about 180 km alongside impressive mountainous views. It is characterised by fine medieval towns dotted throughout the area and a drive through the winding roads is rewarded also with spectacular views of sparkling clear water and fine sandy beaches.
Ancona is the regional capital and a natural port, dating way back to the 5th century BC, when it was founded by Greek exiles from Siracusa in Sicily. Together with Pesaro, the birthplace of the composer Gioacchino Rossini, it’s one of the pivotal centres of the coastline, full of life particularly of course in the summer. There are a vast number of medieval wonders to be discovered with a huge amount of fabulous castles including the stunning creation at San Leo as well as treasures to be found in Ascoli Piceno. The lovely city of Urbino is a World Heritage Site noted for its incredible historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture under the watchful eye of its patron Federico III da Montefeltro, the duke of Urbino from the mid- to late-1400s, whom we recognise for his distinctive (and self inflicted) hooked nose from in the portrait painted by Piero della Francesca in 1492.
The region is full of natural beauty and has two national parks, including the beautiful and wild Monti Sibillini and Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga and four regional parks (Monte Conero, Sasso
Simone and Simoncello, Monte San Bartolo, Gola della Rossa and Gola di Frasassi). The Grotte di Frasassi are caves dating back thousands of years and are well worth a visit. With their small lakes, stalactites and gigantic stalagmites, they are among the largest accessible caverns in Europe.
The region’s traditional industries are hugely varied, and include papermaking, shipbuilding, shoe manufacturing, food, furniture, musical instruments and synthesizers and clothing. Among the typical local products are ceramics, terracotta, copper, rugs, wooden pipes, hats, musical instruments such as accordions, toys, leather goods, furniture, gold, paper, straw, wicker and travertine marble.
There are many local delicacies on offer and the cuisine of the region still proudly sticks to its peasant roots, including soft ciauscolo salami, cheese from Talamello matured in caves, prized truffles from Acqualagna, casciotta cheese from Urbino, ham from Carpegna and salami from Fabriano. There’s a vast range of dishes to discover, from passatelli, the best piadina – fabulous snacks of unleavened bread filled with just about anything but, as ever in Italy, simple is best with just a filling of salami or local cheese. Of course, being so close to the sea you can be sure of finding lots and lots of delicious fish to eat.
The region proudly boasts 12 DOC wines, the main regional white is the excellent Verdicchio, and other exceptional whites are the Bianchello del Metauro and the Bianco dei Colli Maceratesi. As for the reds, Rosso Conero and the Rosso Piceno are hard to beat.