Marche

        
The region lies on the eastern side of central Italy, between the Adriatic Sea and the Apennine mountains and it remains unspoiled by the ravages of mass tourism.

Most of Italy’s Adriatic coastline is flat, except of Monte Conero, a high limestone mountain that plunges into the sea and guards a handful of delightful little bathing resorts. The best of these are Portonovo, Sirolo, Porto Recanati and Numana.

Easily accessible from Ancona to the north, it is a semi-wild area known for its scenery and its production of wines.

The Adriatic coast has been a mecca for "sun n' sand" holiday makers for decades; but few venture far from the beaches. Inland, perhaps more so than anywhere else in central Italy, you will find places where time really has stood still.

The Medieval Towns of Urbino and Ascoli Piceno are the highlights of the region, but the rolling hills of the interior contain an abundance of smaller towns and all undiscovered villages.  San Leo, with its dramatic fortress, is one of the best.  Most of the countryside is a pretty mixture of woods and remote hills, rising in the west to the majestic Monti Sibillini. Ancona and the attractive town of Pesaro are the pivotal points of the vast coastline.

Many of the smaller inland towns are well worth visiting and most make a good base for touring. These include Jesi, Recanati, Cagli, Camerino, Macerata, Loreto and Sarnano.

PORTONOVO is the smallest retreat on the Conero Riviera. Gasp at the picture postcard views out to sea as you wind down the dead-end road to this collection of hotels, restaurants, campsites and makeshift beach huts on a narrow strip of beach.

SIROLO is the resort with a spruce medieval centre and a tree-lined, balcony piazza that teeters high above the sea. The best beaches are accessible using a half-hourly bus service that drops down to each of the coves. To escape from the crowds make for one of the many small isolated coves only reachable by boat - regular services in season from Numana, Sirolo and Portonovo. Sirolo also boasts the Conero Golf Club, the region's fine course for golfers.

PORO RECANATI – has been a bathing resort for more than one century. Being situated at the seaside with the marvelous frame of the Monte Conero it offers the tourist the possibility to spend serene and relaxing holidays. The beach promenade, completely closed to the traffic, invites you to take relaxing walks among the typical houses in every minute of the day. Numerous traditional events contribute to render Porto Recanati a city even more pleasant.

NUMANA  is a one of the chief resorts along Sirolo placed on one of the most beautiful parts of the Adriatic coast. From its gardens of Piazza Nova you can see standing out to the north the magnificent limestone headland of Monte Conero, the central area of the park of the same name.
The town is divided in two for the inhabitants: Numana Alta and Numana Bassa.

URBINO - The small hill town of Urbino experienced a great cultural flowering in the 15th century, attracting artists and scholars from all over Italy and beyond, and influencing cultural developments elsewhere in Europe. Owing to its economic and cultural stagnation from the 16th century onwards, it has preserved its Renaissance appearance to a remarkable extent.

ASCOLI PICENO lies at the southern end of Le Marche. This old town is worth at least an overnight stay. The marble paved square is one of the most beautiful in Italy.

SAN LEO - The Comune di San Leo describes their town as “a sharp pinnacle surrounded by overhanging cliffs in a countryside sloping from the Apennines to the sea, with houses clustered between a magnificent fortress and a prominent bell tower”.  San Leo is a real hill top town. It came under control of the Montefeltro family from the 14th century.

THE PARCO NATURALE DEI MONTI SIBILLINI, in the southwest corner, is the region's largest park, spreading over 40 km of mountain peaks and continuing westwards into Umbria. Here you can find impressive mountain scenery, whose peaks are often covered with snow until late spring.

ANCONA is the capital of Le Marche, mostly known as a modern port, not a tourist town, but it also has an appealing historic town on a hill. From the 11th-century Duomo you can enjoy a wonderful sea view. The art gallery, situated in a historic palazzo, contains works by artists including Titian. Ancona is also the home of the region's archeological museum, the Museo Archeologico Nazionale delle Marche, with exhibits including impressive Roman bronze statues. Your holiday options also include the beach; you can take a bus from the railway station to stretches of beach outside town.

PESARO is one of the Adriatic larger sea resorts. It is located on the Adriatic Coast. Pesaro cityscape has a medieval center and became increasingly modern the closer you get to the beach. Behind the promenade and the wall of white stucco hotels is a lively, attractive medieval area.

JESI - this thriving and elegant centre is one of the most beguiling towns in this stretch of the Marche and boasts a sophisticated old centre and lively cultural life that should not be missed.

GROTTE DI FRASASSI, some of the Europe largest caverns gouged out by the River Sentino south west of Jesi.  Of the vast net-work of 11 miles, an area of about 3,281 ft is open to the public.

RECANATI is a remarkably attractive small hill town; Recanati is close to the heart of many Italians as the birthplace of one the country's greatest poets, Giacomo Leopardi. This dignified place, just inland from the Adriatic Sea, is strung out along the crest of a hill.

CAGLI - This courtly little town set against a backdrop of some of the highest peaks in the northern Marches, has welcomed strangers for over two thousand years. Since the days, no less, when ancient Rome made it an important staging post on the Via Flaminia, one of the oldest and most important Roman roads in Europe. Still today it retains its Roman grid plan, all roads leading to a proper central square with a florid fountain, a steely medieval town hall, and huddles of old men deep in gossip.

CAMERINO - Poised on a ridge between two river valleys, this small but impressive hill town on the border between central Marche and Umbria boasts not only a bishop but also a university.

MACERATA is another region’s main centres. It is the provincial capital and the city is marketed on its cultural heritage 'una città da vivere tutto l'anno'. Indeed, the highlight of Macerata is 'The Opera' which takes place throughout July and August at the Teatro Lauro Rossi and the Sferisto Arena. The city is fairly new with no real records of the town before the 12th century. It became almost immediately a university city and grew spectacularly. Independent thought was encouraged and it was in the city that the first insurrection or 'Risorgimento' took place.

LORETO is the spiritual town, a legend says that in 1294 the house of the Virgin Mary miraculously uprooted itself from the Holy Land and was brought by angels to Loreto. Each year several pilgrims visit the Santa Casa and its Basilica.

SARNANO - The bustling spa town of Sarnano lies roughly half way between the two provincial capitals of Macerata and Ascoli Piceno. Its waters are claimed to be beneficial for a whole gamut of complaints, including gout, arthritis and liver complaints. The modern town is overlooked by its quiet, rather austere, medieval borgo, topped by two solid towers, which has been left very much alone by the modern-day development.

GETTING AROUND The A14-E55 provides easy access to the coastline resorts.  Dual-carriageway spurns from the A14-E55 lead to Jesi, Urbino and Ascoli Piceno, but north-south roads in the interior can be slow.  Bus services are generally good, but in the interior can be infrequent.  The railway service along the coast is excellent, with a good service through the heart of the region, though it can be slow.