Marche, plural, originally from le marche de Ancona, referring to the March of Ancona, is one of the 20 Regions of Italy.

It is located in the Central area of the country, bordering Emilia-Romagna and the Republic of San Marino to the north, Tuscany to the north-west, Umbria to the west, Abruzzo and Lazio to the south and the Adriatic Sea to the east.   Except for river valleys and the often very narrow coastal strip, the land is hilly. In the nineteenth century, a railway from Bologna to Brindisi linked the Marche along the coastline of the entire territory.  Inland, the mountainous nature of the region, even today, allows little communication north and south, except by rough roads over the passes.

The Marche were known in ancient times as the Picenum territory.  The coastal area was occupied by the Senones, a tribe of Gauls.   They were conquered by the Romans after the Battle of Sentinum in 295 BC. The Romans founded numerous colonies in the areas, connecting them to Rome by the Via Flaminia and the Via Salaria.  Ascoli was a seat of Italic resistance during the Social War (91–88 BC).

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the region was invaded by the Goths. After the Gothic War, it was part of the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna (Ancona, Fano, Pesaro, Rimini, and Senigallia forming the so-called Pentapolis).  After the fall of the Exarchate it was briefly in the possesion of the Lombards, but was conquered by Charlemagne in the late eighth century.  In the ninth to eleventh centuries the marches of Camerino, Fermo and Ancona were created, whence the modern name.
 

The Marche were nominally part of the Papal States...The Papal States, State(s) of the Church or Pontifical States (in Italian Stato Ecclesiastico, Stato della Chiesa, Stati della Chiesa or Stati Pontificii) were one of the major historical states of Italy before the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia (after which the Papal States, in less territorially extensive form, continued to exist until 1870).   The Papal States comprised those territories over which the Pope was the ruler in a civil as well as a spiritual sense before 1870. This governing power is commonly called the temporal power of the Pope, as opposed to his ecclesiastical primacy.

The plural Papal States is usually preferred; the singular Papal State (equally correct since it was not a mere personal union) is rather used (normally with lower-case letters) for the modern State of Vatican City, an enclave within Italy's national capital, Rome.    Vatican City was founded in 1929, again allowing the Holy See the practical benefits of territorial sovereignty.

Even though Marche was part of the Papal States, but most of the territory was under local lords, while the major cities ruled themselves as free communes.   In the twelfth century, the commune of Ancona resisted both the imperial authority of Frederick Barbarossa and the Republic of Venice, and was a maritime republic on its own.  An attempt to restore Papal suzerainty by Gil de Albornoz in the fourteenth century was short-lived.

During the Renaissance, the region was fought over by rival aristocratic families, such as the Malatesta of Rimini, Pesaro, Fano and the house of Montefeltro of Urbino.  The last independent entity, the Duchy of Urbino, was dissolved in 1631, and from then on, the Marche were firmly part of the Papal States except during the Napoleonic period, which saw the short lived Republic of Ancona created in 1797, the merging of the region with the Roman Republic and the Kingdom of Italy from 1808 to 1813, and then a short occupation by Joachim Murat. After Napoleon's defeat, the Marche returned to Papal rule until November 4, 1860, when it was annexed to the unified Kingdom of Italy by a plebiscite.

Battista Sforza, Duchess of Urbino, daughter of Alessandro Sforza,

 second wife to Federico da Montefeltro.   Portraits by Piero della Francesca.

What to see. 

The unspoiled hinterland of Marche offers visitors a chance of discovering, a calm and a patriarchal atmosphere where the rural traditions are still alive in the quiet of gently rolling hills, small villages and medieval towns perched on high and overlooking valleys.

In Marche for centuries history was made by princes and warlike popes who erected castles, fortresses, abbeys, monasteries, palaces and monuments, still well maintained, that enrich the region across its entire expanse.

In the province of Ancona is the Frasassi Gorge Regional Park through which a river cuts its bed producing a complex system of underground caves, considered among the most interesting in the world : the Frasassi Caves.     It takes about an hour to walk along the silent path through the caves and every step in this fairy and lost world is marked by wonderful small lakes, stalactites and giant stalagmites the biggest of which is 240 high.

Frasassi caves

Urbino is famous throughout the world for being the birthplace of Raffaello and for the inestimable masterpieces housed in the National Gallery, within the Ducal Palace considered as one of the best example of Renaissance architecture in Italy.   Urbino was the peak of its glory when Duke Federico II (1422/1482) gathered the greatest artists and writers of the time to his court.

Urbino is also the most ancient university town in Italy going back to 1200.

Tour 1

-  A route to help you explore the far northern corner of Italy's Marche region, lands once ruled over by Urbino's Montefeltro family.   The tour should take around a day and starts from Urbino, perhaps Italy's most alluring renaissance town.  It takes in the impregnable fortress at San Leo and wanders through the wild mountain scenery of Monte Carpegna.  There is also the chance of a detour out of Italy to the Republic of San Marino.  Roads are winding and slow but the rewards are worth it - don't rush it.  

Start at Urbino heading north-west for Sassocorvaro where you should pause to admire the castle in the centre of the village.   It was built for the powerful local Ubaldini family by the celebrated renaissance military architect Francesco di Giorgio Martini.   If it is open don't miss a tour inside.   Now head west to Macerata Feltria.   Stop here to look around the medieval part of the small town with the imposing ruins of its walls or drop into the thermal baths.

A short detour from here on the way to San Leo will take you to the welcoming spa town of Montegrimano set in yet more splendid hill country.

San Leo

Now head north-west to arrive at San Leo, one of the Marche's not to be missed sights.  From here you could make a detour out of the Marche - and Italy - to visit the tiny Republic of San Marino but you might be shocked to see the mass tourism machine in all its awful glory.  San Marino seems only to exist to sell its stamps and souvenirs to day trippers from nearby Rimini.

Better perhaps to stay in the Marche and head south-west for Pennabilli on the flanks of Monte Carpegna.   An appealing old town with plenty of activity in the summer.   Makes a great base for exploring the surrounding mountains. 

Now climb up to the village of Carpegna to admire the views and try the prosciutto crudo, or raw cured ham for which the place is famous - stronger and less insipid than the Parma ham which one finds outside Italy.   From here head south-east for Urbania before returning to Urbino.

Tour 2

- the central Marche, packed with incident from the birthplace of Italy's greatest Romantic poet to one of the world's most important shrines to the Virgin Mary.   This is a route to dawdle along; you might prefer to try it in sections.   As well as the famous shrine at Loreto there are also a pair of lesser known holy places and some outstanding ancient hill towns in idyllic settings.  

Camerino

Ricanati

Recanati was founded around 1150 CE from three pre-existing castles. In 1290 it proclaimed itself an independent republic and in the 15^th century was famous for its international fair.
In the March 1798 it was conquered by Napoleon Bonaparte.

The city of Recanati had a fairly large Jewish population for hundreds of years.   Among the scholars produced by the city were Rabbi Menachem Recanati (1223-1290 CE) author of the Kabbalistic work The reasons of the Mitzvot.  

Continuing on towards the blue Adriatic, you will soon see the great domed basilica of Loreto, second only to Lourdes as a shrine to the Madonna.    You can now either drop down to the coast for a fish lunch or head north-west to visit "accordion city" - Castelfidardo

Basilica di Loreto

St Joseph of Copertino

Although it is now a rather long cross country drive (but through pleasing countryside), it is worth heading south-west to the imposing hill town of Cingoli, was built on the summit of mount “Cingulum” from which it received its name.   Due to its elevated position and views across the marche countryside it has also been named the “Balcone delle Marche” (Balcony of Le Marche) for its breathtaking views.

From the panoramic terraces of the medieval walls, it is possible to see across the whole of Le Marche towards the Adriatic coastline and Mont Conero where the locals enjoy spending the summer on the multitude of beaches.

On a clear day, it is also possible to see the mountains of Croatia on the far side of the Adriatic. The climate is very hard in the winter but the summer season favours a welcomed cool breeze from the mountains, making it very appealing to tourists.