Italy Country Guide - Marche

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Marche is a beautiful unspoiled region, fast becoming one of the most popular tourist areas of Italy.

Le Marche, or The Marches in English, is mostly an agricultural region and is surprisingly very green. Situated in the centre-north of Italy on the Adriatic coast with an area of 9,694km, 180km of coastline and a population of 1,426,000, it is divided into four provinces. To the west of the Ascoli Piceno and Macerata provinces are the impressive Sibillini mountains, a 40km range which runs down into Umbria. The Sibillinis make up the regions National Park and Nature Reserve. From this mountain range, hills roll eastwards towards the coast. The driving distance between the mountains and the beaches is approximately an hour.

The area is dotted with small towns and quaint villages perched on wooded hil ltops, mostly with historic centres built in local stone. A towns comune (municipality or town council) usually covers quite a large surrounding area divided into districts known as contradas. This area will be mostly agricultuaral or woodland but may contain smaller villages or hamlets known as frazione (for example, Ceresola frazione di Smerillo where Ceresola is a small hamlet in the municipality of Smerillo).

The region is interlaced with white roads (gravel) connecting the many small frazione dotted around the countryside. These gravel roads are ideal for walking, serious trecking, cycling, biking and most are perfectly viable by car. The Sibillini National Park has many footpaths which are mostly signposted for the more adventurous and those who want to get nearer to nature. There are also many routes among the mountains for cycling and mountain biking. The Park offers many other activities such as horse riding, climbing and skiing.

Besides the National Park there are a number of Regional Parks in the Province of Ancona, namely the Parco Regionale della Gola, della Rossa and di Frasassi where you will find the famous caves Grotte di Frasassi. Immediately south of Ancona there is the Parco Regionale del Conero. Monte Conero 572 metres above sea level is at the heart of the park with the most astounding views of the coastline. Steep calcareous cliffs descend steeply into the blue-green Adriatic sea with lots of small coves and beaches.

The Adriatic coast offers a great variety of resorts from the very quiet to the crowded, both sandy and pebbly.

Restaurants, large and small are abundant throughout the Marche region and prices are very reasonable, you will enjoy the local food and excellent wine. The local people must be among the most friendly in Italy.

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