Located in Central Italy, Le Marche is a relatively undiscovered region of Italy.  With the Adriatic to the East and the Apennine mountains to the west, the area has plenty to offer the traveller looking to experience a different side of Italy.

Culture

Urbino, the region's capital, is a walled city situated on the side of a hill and its historic centre is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.  A beautiful city, with some great examples of renaissance architecture, its highlights include seeing the impressive Ducal Palace - home to Duke Federico da Montefeltro - a propagator of the renaissance movement in the 15th Century.  If renaissance art is your thing, you'll be in heaven here, with a national gallery to explore, as well as the chance to visit Raphael's house - he was born in the city in 1483. There is also a stunning cathedral to visit as well. When you've had your fill of culture, there are some lovely piazza to sit in and enjoy a cappuccino and a good dose of people spotting.

The Roman town of Fano, on the East coast, is a fascinating town to visit for history buffs.  The arch at the gateway to the town was built by Caesar Augustus in 2 AD. Despite being heavily bombed in WWII, the town retains many of it historic highlights including the Palazo Martinozzi, the Cathedral 

Loreto, a pilgrimage destination, lays claim to housing Mary's original home which was brought brick by brick from Bethlehem back in 1294. For those interested in Christian history, it is now housed in the Basillica della Santa Casa.

The hills in Le Marche's countryside are dotted with charming hilltop medieval towns such as San Ginesio and Urbania which are set around lovely town squares-  the perfect place to sit and enjoy a gelato. 

Beaches

Le Marche has 180km of coastline. Admittedly, Italy's beaches haven't always had the best reputation, with concerns about cleanliness and over-crowding. However, the region of Le Marche can lay claim to having the greatest number of blue flag beaches in the country.  That said, they do become very busy from mid July to the 3rd week in August, so you might want to avoid these times if you can.

The beaches are, for the most part, sandy, with resorts in the main towns of Pesaro, Senigallia and San Benadetto.  These resorts tend to have cafes and sun loungers on the beach to rent. You usually have to pay for access to the beach at these resorts, unless you go to a public beach, which can be grottier.  If you have a car, and like a quieter beach, then you could head to the Portonovo area, where you have the choice of resorts and also Mezzavalle beach which is both free and a lot quieter than the resort beaches. You will, however, have to walk about a kilometre through a forest to reach it.

Hiking

If hiking is your thing, then you can't go wrong with Monti Sibillini National Park - part of the Appennine Mountains - on the Le Marche / Umbria border. Meadows full of wild flowers and some astounding peaks and wildlife. There are trails suitable for hikers and mountain bikers alike.  There are several visitor centres in the region, which make a good base for planning your route. The pretty town of Amandola is a good base to explore the park from if you plan to take day hikes and then want a town with a choice of restaurants to return to.

Food & Drink

It would, quite frankly, be very wring to talk about this region of Italy without mentioning food or drink. The cooking traditions in the region have their routes in 'cucina povera' or peasant's cooking.  Living off the land, using locally sourced ingredients. And why not? With the Adriatic sea providing mullet, cuttlefish and squid, Brodetto, 'fish stew' is a favourite local dish. Away from the coast, minced pork and mushrooms are mixed with tomatoes and bechamel sauce to create Vincisgrassi - a regional variation of the traditional Lasagne. Rabbit, veal and game birds are also often found on the menus.  Le Marche is probably most famous for its truffles - which locals grate and sprinkle on top of their dishes.  These delicacies are some of the most sought after in the world and thrive in Le Marche's valleys.  Many of the towns enjoy festivals to celebrate the 'tartufo' - October is a good time to visit the region to go truffle hunting - head to Sant'Angelo in Vado.

The local grape grown in Le Marche is Verdicchio and is one of Italy's most famous whites.  The local reds are not as well known as the whites on a global basis, but don't take that as ani indication of a lack of quality.  Rosso Conero and Rosso Piceno are definitely worth a try while you're there.

For some more ideas of holidays in Italy, check out our collection of Tuscany & Le Marche Holidays