LE MARCHE

The Le Marche region is on the Adriatic coast of central-eastern Italy, backed by the Apennine mountains. Fine beaches, ancient hillside villages and beautiful scenery abound. Urbino is the main city in the region, in the north, and Ascoli Piceno is the largest town in the south of the region.

The small republic of San Marino is to the north of the region. While in this region find the time to visit the hilltop village of San Leo and its impressive castle.

Slightly to the south, Urbino and its palace will detain you, and nearby Urbania also has an attractive historical town centre.

 

On the coast of Le Marche the towns of Pesaro and the port town of Ancona are the centre of activity although there are other good resorts to be found and many, many beaches. Particularly noteworthy is the town of Fano which features several very impressive examples of Renaissance architecture.

Apart from the beaches the scenic highlight of the coast is the landscape and small towns of the Conero peninsula. The town of Loreto, inland a little to the south of the Conero peninsula, also merits exploration, as does the university town of Macerata, further south again.

Heading inland into Le Marche, the highlights are the many pretty villages that you encounter - many with no particular monument or historically interesting building but each having its own appeal and characteristics. Start your exploration perhaps from Jesi.

Continuing west the scenery of Mount Sibillini awaits (also covered under Umbria in this guide).

As a cave lover I can't fail to mention the cave system at Frasassi - one of the finest cave systems in Europe.