Le Marche Local Information
Like all Italians, the Marchigiani take food and wine very seriously.
Smart restaurants serving freshly-caught fish can be found on the coast, but inland you are more likely to come across small family businesses producing the same hearty peasant food that they have done for generations. Indeed, you may pass your lunch, still hopping about, on your way to the front door. Beware – meals can go on for hours and you should never fill up on the first three courses – there's always more to come. A real blow-out will only cost €15-20 each including wine.
To whet your appetite, we recommend the Bar Futura in Comunanza for cheap, cheerful food which never disappoints, and wine by the jugful. It's perfect for children, particularly since they serve a “maxi pizza” which usually is the subject of a dare for the unwary
Even nearer - the Agriturismo Marulla does meals at weekends, and weekdays during summer. It is only 10 minutes walk away. Don't eat beforehand - you'll leave the table groaning. Stefano, the proprietor, does speak a bit of English and is very proud of his local produce. Beware if he offers you “mistra” at the end of the meal – it's the local hooch and not to be trifled with.
For walkers, the Sibillini Mountains (the local part of the Appennine range) hold fantastic opportunities, for instance:
§ The Piano Grande high in the mountains with the tiny village of Castelluccio on a lump of rock in the middle. It is covered with wildflowers in spring and produces lentils which are famous throughout the world. It is also a hang glider's paradise.
§ The “Gola d'Infernaccio” (Hell's Gorge) which looks like something out of Lord of the Rings (according to my son) and from which a path leads upwards to a hermitage built by hand over 30 years by Padre Pietro who lives there still.
§ For those with a taste for religious kitsch in a gorgeous setting, go to the Madonna dell'Ambro – a holy site where a mute shepherdess had visions centuries ago and still draws pilgrims in the summer
§ Or our own local village of Montefalcone Appennino, perched high on a limestone outcrop, with views of the mountains and the sea, and pine-scented walks in the woods behind
Le Marche is the other side of the Appennine Mountains to Tuscany and Umbria and stretches down to the Adriatic sea. Its landscape varies dramatically between rugged mountains, foothills with a village on every hilltop, and plains full of Roman remains leading to beaches full of bright umbrellas and seafood restaurants.
For those interested in recent history, thousands of Allied POWs walked the length of the Apennines after escaping from detention camps during the Italian Armistice (see Eric Newby's “Love and War in the Apennines”)
For those interested in art and culture – Le Marche is full of undiscovered treasures in churches and other buildings almost completely devoid of tourist hordes (see the new Blue Guide to “The Marche and San Marino” by Ellen Grady)
For shoppers, Le Marche produces most of the shoes sold in Italy and there are many outlet shops on the coast. See "Useful Links" for more info
For that vital “mall experience” there is La Citta delle Stelle near Ascoli Piceno