Visit 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. The region is often referred to as the Marches of Italy by english speaking nations.
The important renaissance town of Urbino is the main city in the region - and the greatest highlight in the north, while Ascoli Piceno is the largest town in the south of the region.
The small independent republic of San Marino is to the north of the region - crowded but very popular for the citadel atop the hill and for the novelty value.
Slightly to the south, Urbino and its Ducal Palace will detain you (and impress you), while nearby Urbania a little way to the south-west of Urbino 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 busiest centres of activity although there are also several good resorts to be found and many, many beaches - the coastal resorts attract a great many visitors to this part of Italy. and also a little way inland you can visit Recanati, best known for the famous Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi. Further south along the coast in the Marches region and a little way inland is the hill town of Fermo,
Castle at Recanati
Particularly noteworthy is the town of Fano (on the coast south of Pesaro) 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 and Monte Conero. 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. Be sure to visit the classified beautiful village of Cingoli and also nearby San Severino and the town and basilica at Tolentino. The town of Camerino and the fortresses in the surrounding region are also recommended.
Continuing west the scenery of Mount Sibillini awaits, with the impressive snow-capped mountains also being popular for hiking and skiing holidays (also covered under Umbria in this guide).
Ascoli Piceno cloisters
As a cave lover I can't fail to mention the cave system at Frasassi - one of the finest cave systems in Europe, and also one of the largest - remarkably this Marche cave system was only discovered in the 1970's.
Most Beautiful Villages - Marche
The following Italian towns and villages in Marche are listed among the 'most beautiful villages in Italy'
- Cingoli
- Corinaldo
- Esanatoglia
- Gradara
- Grottammare
- Matelica
- Montecassiano
- Montefabbri
- Montefiore dell'Aso
- Montelupone
- Moresco
- Offida
- San Ginesio
- Sarnano
- Treia
- Visso
Orange Flag Tourism towns in the Marches
The following Italian towns and villages in Marche are listed among the 'Orange flag towns in Italy'(a national tourist award)
- Acquaviva Piceno
- Corinaldo
- Genga
- Gradara
- Mercatello on Metauro
- Mondavio
- Montecassiano
- Montelupone
- Monterubbiano
- Ostra
- Pievebovigliana
- Ripatransone
- San Gines
- Sarnano
- Urbisaglia