Marche
Sun, mountains, grottos, lakes, sea and beaches. Wood cladded slopes, farmland, medieval towns and villages. Skiing, horse riding, climbing, cycling, rambling and hang gliding. Art, architecture, museums castles and forts. Art, good food and wine. All to be found in one fascinating region.
Location
The Marche (plural, originally from le marche de Ancona, referring to the March of Ancona) are one of the 20 Regions of Italy.
They are 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.
Geography
0% Lowland – 31% Mountain - 69% Hill
Marche extend over an area of 9,694 km2 of the central Adriatic slope between Emilia-Romagna to the north, Tuscany and Umbria to the west, and Lazio and Abruzzo to the south, the entire eastern boundary being formed by the Adriatic. Most of the region is mountainous or hilly, the main features being the Apennine chain along the internal boundary and an extensive system of hills descending towards the Adriatic. With the sole exception of Monte Vettore, 2,476 m high, the mountains do not exceed 2,000 m. The hilly area covers two-thirds of the region and is interrupted by wide gullies with numerous – albeit short – rivers and by alluvial plains perpendicular to the principal chain. The longitudinally oriented mountain chains contain deep river gorges, the best known being those of the Furlo, the Rossa and the Frasassi.
The coastal area is 173 km long and is flat and straight except for the hilly area between Gabicce and Pesaro in the north, and the eastern slopes of Monte Conero near Ancona.
Climate
The first snow falls on the highest peaks of the Sibillini Mountains between mid-October and the end of the month. At least some snow will be visible on the mountains from this time until the end of May and some years well into June. The photo on the right was taken on 2nd Nov. 2004 and shows snow down to a level of around 1000 metres a.s.l. You can see the town of Comunanza in the foreground. (You may click on photos to enlarge).
A sirocco in November and December can cause a layer of cloud due to the mixing of warm and cold air. This layer can occur at very low levels sometimes enveloping villages in a dense mist known as ‘nebbia’. It is not unusual to see hilltop villages in the sunshine, apparently on islands in a sea of clouds.
Snow can fall at any time during the winter, gradually falling at lower altitudes as the winter progresses. The snow is usually quite pleasant with a much drier atmosphere than in the British Isles. The winter sun is higher in the sky and you can feel the warmth from it even if the air temperature is quite cold. The snow is usually of short duration – usually four or five days.
It seems to melt away from underneath leaving the top clean and white right to the very end, we never get ‘slush’. Although snow chains or special tyres are obligatory in mountain areas during winter, in my experience roads between towns and villages are cleared quite quickly, often before people have to leave for work in the morning. Very little salt or grit is used, the snow is cleared by bulldozer and an hour of sunshine soon melts away any bits remaining.
Spring weather is quite unpredictable, especially April with days of warm sunshine, often with temperatures in the 20′s (C°) and days quite cool with rain or drizzle. Night temperatures can be still be quite cold and heating is still required in your home or lodging after sunset. From a gardeners point of view, spring arrives about a month earlier than in Great Britain. Tender plants such as tomatoes, sweet peppers and half hardy bedding plants can be planted out in early May.
Summers are hot and dry, after a few light showers in May there is very little rain until late September. Some years after very hot weather from mid July to mid August, thunderstorms may occur. These are often quite spectacular with lightening all over the sky. They can be accompanied with a heavy downpour but often occur without rain. A sirocco in summer can lift tons of fine sand from the Sahara high into the atmosphere. When these moist winds reach the Apennines in Italy they are forced upwards, cool rapidly and can precipitate a light rain. As this dries, you can find a fine covering of sand which shows up especially on your car.
Any bad weather at this time of year is usually short lived. Holiday makers (vacationers) from northern Europe will require light skin protection in the form of sun cream or oil in April, May and September as u.v. levels can be quite high. This protection should be increased in June, July and August. Don’t let an occasional dull day deceive you at this time of the year, you can still be badly burned especially near the sea.
Autumn is quite beautiful, still plenty of good weather about. The woods colour up well with bright yellows , orange, red and russet brown. Le Marche sunsets can also be quite spectacular at this time of the year.
Major Cities
What to Do…
Cuisine
On the coast of Marche, fresh fish and seafood are produced. In the inland regions wild and domestic pigs are used for sausages and hams. The hams are not thinly sliced, but cut into bite-sized chunks when served. Suckling pig, chicken and fish are often stuffed in this region before being roasted or placed on the spit.
Typical Dishes:
- Brodetto di San Benedetto del Tronto – fish stew, San Benedetto del Tronto-style
- Passatelli all’urbinate – spinach and meat dumplings
- Olive all’ascolana – fried olives stuffed with pork, beef, chicken livers, tomato paste and Parmesan cheese in Ascoli Piceno.
Unique ham and sausage specialties
- Ciauscolo – made from the belly and shoulder of pig with half its weight in pork fat and seasoned with salt, pepper, orange peel and fennel. It is stuffed into an intestine casing, dried in a smoking chamber and cured for three weeks.
- Coppa – coppa in this region refers to a boiling sausage made from pig’s head, bacon, orange peel, nutmeg and sometimes pinenuts or almonds. It is meant to be eaten within a month of preparation
- Salame lardellato – made with lean pork shoulder, or leg meat, along with diced bacon, salt, pepper, and whole peppercorns. It is cased in hog’s intestines, dried for one-and-a-half days and then placed in a warm room for 3-4 days, two days in a cold room and then two months in a ventilated storage room
- Prosciutto de Montefeltro – made from free-range black pigs, this is a smoked Prosciutto washed with vinegar and ground black pepper
- Salame de Montefeltro – made from the leg and loin meat of the black pig, this sausage is highly seasoned with peppercorns and hung to dry
- Salame de Fabriano – similar to salame lardellato except that it is made solely from leg of pork with pepper and salt
- Fegatino – a liver sausage with pork belly and shoulder, where the liver replaces the fat of other sausages
- Soppressata de Fabriano – finely emulsified pork flavored with bacon, salt and pepper, the sausage is smoked and then aged
- Mazzafegato da Fabriano – mortadella made from fat and lean pork with liver and lung added to the fine-grained emulsification. It is seasoned with salt and pepper, stuffed into casings and smoked. This sausage is often served at festivals.
Drinks
Useful Travel Links
Local Government
The Politics of Marche
The Marche form, along with Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany and Umbria, the Italian “Red Quadrilateral”, a strongly left-wing area. In the April 2006 elections, the people of the Marche gave 55% of their votes to Romano Prodi.
The region is divided into five provinces (the official data for the fifth province (Fermo), instituted in 2009, will be available only with the 2011 census, here its figures are still included in those of the province of Ascoli Piceno):
| Province | Area (km²) | Population | Density (inh./km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Province of Ancona | 1,940 | 474,630 | 244.6 |
| Province of Ascoli Piceno | 2,087 | 388,621 | 186.2 |
| Province of Macerata | 2,774 | 321,973 | 116.1 |
| Province of Pesaro and Urbino | 2,892 | 380,695 | 131.6 |
