The Marche is a region of central Italy between Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio, Emilia-Romagna, the Republic of San Marino and Abruzzo, facing the Adriatic Sea to the east.
Its territory is entirely hilly and mountainous and includes numerous cities of art and ancient villages immersed in the wonderful hilly and maritime landscapes.
The provinces are: Ancona, Ascoli Piceno, Fermo, Pesaro and Urbino.
Urbino with the Palazzo Ducale and the Gradara with the fortress where Paolo and Francesca kissed, as narrated by Dante in the fifth canto of the Inferno, UNESCO site.
Loreto one of the most important pilgrimage sites.
Pesaro with the Rossini Opera Festivall.
Fano with its famous Carnival.
Between the cities of art stand out Ancona , the capital, Ascoli Piceno, Urbino and Pesaro with their abbeys, convents and rock caves; among the seaside resorts the beaches of the Riviera delle Colline, Conero e of the Palms with Gabicce mare, Pesaro, Fano, Civitanova Marche and San Benedetto del Tronto .
For those who love nature, the Marches are home to numerous national and regional parks and WWF oases with the Monti Sibillini and Monti della Laga parks.
Ascoli Piceno with its medieval historic center, Piazza del Popolo and the Palazzo dei Capitani del Popolo.
Ancona with the Cathedral of San Ciriaco.
In the Marche cuisine famous are the meat dishes with pork in porchetta, marinated lamb and truffle -based dishes, such as those of Acqualagna and Sant’Agata Feltria.
Among the first courses, tagliatelle, strozzapreti and the traditional vincisgrassi (baked lasagna).
Among the seafood dishes, the undisputed master of the table is the “brodetto” (whose fundamental ingredient is vinegar, used to give a sour covering to certain “smells” of the fish) which collects more than 14 specialties.
The symbolic dish of the city of Ascoli is the mixed fried โall’ascolanaโ (stuffed olives), cream, courgettes, artichokes and lamb chops while among the desserts we find the donut with aniseed mushrooms.
The most popular Piceno wines are: the white Falerio dei Colli Ascolani , the Rosso Piceno Superiore and the cooked wine .
