Secret Marche: 10 Places That Aren't Urbino or the Frasassi Caves

The Marche is the most underrated Italian region among travelers. Wedged between Tuscany and Puglia, it draws ten times fewer visitors. Yet it has 180 kilometers of coastline, the Sibillini range, a hundred walled villages, and at least three masterpiece cities. Ten places to begin with.

1. The Sibillini Mountains and Castelluccio

The Sibillini range begins in the Marche (northern slope) and ends in Umbria. Lake Pilato, Monte Vettore (2,476 m), the plains of Castelluccio. Trekking, mountain huts, silence.

2. Fermo and its Roman cisterns

Fermo, a provincial capital, has one of the Marche's finest main squares and the Roman Cisterns: an Augustan-era hydraulic system (1st century BC) beneath the piazza, with tunnels in opus reticulatum. A guided tour here is among the most evocative experiences in the Marche.

3. Ascoli Piceno and Piazza del Popolo

Ascoli Piceno is one of the most harmonious piazza-cities in Italy. Piazza del Popolo with its mirror-polished travertine, the Palazzo dei Capitani, the Liberty-style Caffè Meletti. And the Ascoli carnival, one of Italy's oldest. Nearby, villages such as Offida (bobbin lace) and Castignano.

4. The Conero: Portonovo, La Vela, Sirolo

Monte Conero, south of Ancona, is the only rocky promontory on the Marche coast. Portonovo, with its 11th-century Romanesque church of Santa Maria in Portonovo; the Vela beach; Sirolo. White sand, clear Adriatic waters, coves reachable only on foot.

5. The Furlo Gorge

The Furlo Gorge, where the Roman Via Flaminia cuts through a limestone gorge (with a tunnel carved by Vespasian in 76 AD), is one of the most dramatic landscapes in the Marche. Golden eagles, trails, and the artificial lake of the Metauro.

6. The Marche stretch of the Way of Saint Francis

The Cammino di Francesco crosses the Marche toward Assisi, touching San Leo (a fortress between Rimini and Urbino), Pennabilli (Montefeltro), Sant'Angelo in Vado (the Domus del Mito with its Roman mosaics). One of Italy's finest pilgrim routes, still lightly walked.

7. Recanati and the Hill of the Infinite

Recanati is the birthplace of Giacomo Leopardi. The Colle dell'Infinito (where Leopardi composed "L'infinito"), Casa Leopardi with its library, and Piazza del Sabato del Villaggio. A perfect literary afternoon.

8. The inland Piceno: Castignano, Force, Rotella

Castignano with its famous Picene stele (a boustrophedon inscription from the 7th–6th century BC, among the oldest Italic inscriptions), Force with its pentagonal tower, Rotella for its olive oil. Inland Piceno is a world of walled villages with fewer than 1,000 residents. Slow cooking, modest prices.

9. The caves of Monte Nerone

Not just Frasassi. Monte Nerone, in the province of Pesaro, has visitable karst caves (Grotta della Bella Vista, Grotta delle Marmitte). From the ridge, the view reaches all the way to the Adriatic.

10. Fabriano and paper

Fabriano invented paper watermarking (13th century) and still produces paper for banknotes across half the world. The Museum of Paper and Watermark is among the finest in Italy. And the historic center is of rare architectural quality.

How should I plan the trip?

The Marche is long. For a weekend: Ascoli + inland Piceno or Conero + Recanati. A week lets you combine the Sibillini + coast + hinterland. From Rome or Bologna you're in the heart of the Marche in 2 or 3 hours.

See also

Many of the smaller Piceno villages appear in our most beautiful villages in Italy. And the Sibillini trails cross paths with the Franciscan pilgrim routes.