The
Marches region is in central southeast
Italy. This region is surrounded by the Emilia Romagna,
Umbria, Toscana, Lazio and Abruzzo
regions as well as the Adriatic Sea. The lowlands
are at the sea (with some cliffs of course) and the rest of the
region is hilly and mountainous. The main towns are Ancona, Pesaro
and Urbino. The towns in the Marches region are ancient and relatively
undiscovered….. and while I love the beaches here, in this
region I prefer the inland hill towns. The landscape is very beautiful
and each hill town is crowned with a castle or a fortress. There’s
art, music, castles, nature pursuits and religious stops to be
made in the Marches. There’s something fascinating in every
town. The food of the area is simple and delicious (I say that
about all of the regions — there just is not a bad meal in
Italy). Here you’ll find meat, fish, game, grains, olives,
fruit, truffles, vegetables, lavender….fabulous cheeses like
Casciotta d’Urbino and wines like Bianchello del Metauro,
Esino, Vernaccia di Serrapetrona and Verdicchio di Matelica. Something
I particularly liked (to snack on) when I toured here were the
olives all’ascolana (stuffed and fried)…..the peaches
(in season) are a wonderful refresher….and this is another
area where you can get truffles (who knew?)……
