Marche Travel Guide

Less than 10.000 sq. km., four provinces (Pesaro-Urbino, Ancona, Macerata, Ascoli Piceno), 246 municipalities each one with its own original configuration, the Marches (the only Italian region with a plural name) is truly a beautiful territory or, as politicians and economists say, one big town. It is a town where it is possible to find everything: a coast delimitating the territory lengthwise with characteristic variations of landscape, in some places composed of wide and sandy beaches, in others of rocks sheer to the sea. The plain is gentle with a varied choice of cultivations which seem to be arranged depending an their colours and many little towns testify mens active presence.

Mountains are not so high and are characterized by "dotted" human settlements. The rivers flow as if they were combing the territory, following a geometrie shape and some caves have a great geological interest. There are also many steep cliffs and one single precious lake called Pilato. This is the geographie frame. Its picture has been painted by the history and the different civilizations and their magnificence: castles, abbeys, churches, museums, buildings, squares, villas and monuments which make the Marches an intensely rich region. There are no empty spaces, everywhere there is a building to admire, a painting to appreciate, a curious event to notice. The richness of the region is constituted by the concentration of natural resources (a varied Flora, a typical fauna, one of the most impressive Italian landscapes), of architectonic remains, historical testimonies and extraordinary cultural resources.