MARCHE

Deep sea and vertical mountains; the shape of hills in the middle. The ingredients for an astonishing travel are all there: the swashing of the sea, the silence of the hills with their farmhouses and old parishes, the routes of faith along the Metauro Valley, healthy thermal waters, the music by Gioacchino Rossini, the poetry by Giacomo Leopardi from Recanati – and the surroundings -, the genius of Raffaello and the huge artistic heritage of towns, spread across the squares and the museums.

The landscape in this region is shaped by the valleys and the hills that descend to the coast and a number of rivers that draw the territory with almost geometric movements and underline the valleys or the natural borders: it is the case of Cesano, that touches the province of Ancona, the county town, with the cathedral of San Ciriaco that represents one of the best Roman monuments in Italy.
The urban plan of Ascoli Piceno is made of monumental streets featured by Baroque, Neo-classical and Renaissance  landmarks crossed by narrow medieval alleys. A set that fore-shadows Piazza del Popolo: it is the town’s sitting- room, a series of palaces, museums and art galleries that contain a number of very interesting works of art.

Pesaro, closed between the San Bartolo Hill, the Ardizio Hill and the sea features  a very old history and one of his most famous children is the musician Gioacchino Rossini. Pesaro and Urbino have become a single province since 1999 but despite the common origins claimed by the Picentes they are two different towns, each with its own history and geographical position: the former is on the sea, the latter is in the hinterland. Historically, Pesaro is the town of the Malatesta and Della Rovere families while Urbino, a duchy governed by the Montefeltro family knew its peak during the Renaissance. The fortresses of the Pesaro and Urbino province represent a historical and architectural heritage of great value whose main Landmark is Urbino, under the aegis of Unesco since 1998. The undisputed star is the Ducal Palace, built by Federico da Montefeltro.

The symbol of Macerata is the Sferisterio, originally built to play a sort of handball, it has become one of the most loved temples of Opera. And after the stave of music, the sound of waves that lap the coast: from Gabicce to San Benedetto del Tronto through Fano – that features one of the most important fishing-boat fleets of the Adriatic sea– and Marotta, featuring many different sets and a number of beautiful beaches in the South surrounded by palm trees reminding the tropical beaches. In fact in the province of Ascoli Piceno there is the “Coast of palm trees”.

The Conero Riviera (Ancona) is amazing, with Sirolo – above the sea –, Portonovo and Numana, followed by Senigallia with its velvet beach, twelve kilometres long while San Benedetto del Tronto is a great theatre of sea life with its famous Fish Museum, also containing old amphorae.
From the sea to the land: you can’t miss the truffles search in Acqualagna, near the gorge of Furlo, in the province of Pesaro Urbino.

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