Our Visit: My wife and I are seasoned travelers and love to explore new, scenic areas where you can get the feel of authentic old Italy, without the mobs of tourists you see in Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast regions. The region called “Le Marche” in Eastern Italy is one lovely example of the “real Italy.” We went last Spring, and loved it! We chose mid-May to travel first to Naples (an outrageously interesting city) and then rented a car and drove about five hours across “the leg of Italy “ to reach the Eastern province of Le Marche. There we stayed in a nice small, affordable (60EU!) hotel near the city of Ancona. The countryside in Marche is gorgeous, with rolling hills and fertile valleys. There are quite a few small towns and hamlets to explore.

 

Our first destination was the “Castello del Pellegrino”—an impressive 11th century private Castello owned by our old friends Luisa and Federico Marchini. The castle overlooks miles of green open countryside and historic villas. Castello del Pellegrino is under renovation and will soon be a chic country hotel. It is located in The Tiny village of Vaccarile near the small town of Ostra in the middle of an organic farm.

 

There you will experience warm sunshine, peaceful views and excellent traditional Italian cuisine. Luisa is a successful fashion designer and is a charming, curious person with tremendous style and a well-developed sense of humor. She speaks English, French, Italian (naturally). Her career has taken her to the top of the design rooms at Todd’s, Armani, Esprit, Dolce&Gabbana and Federico is a retired Journalist and wonderful raconteur, so be prepared to be greeted with low-key kindness, smart conversation and good style when you visit. Their estate is currently also the source of an array of organic compounds that are contained within their line of health-oriented lotions and soaps. My wife Victoria loves the lotions that are made here! Be sure to try some of these products… (www.castellodelpellegrino.com)

 

Day trips around the region include some wonderful smaller historic towns. These towns are unspoiled by too much tourism. They feature winding streets with cobble stones and old churches and museums, great food, small cafés and interesting shopping! The region is famous for hearty, delicious food. We had a wonderful huge lunch (homemade tagliatelle with rabbit sauce) which is apparently the specialty of the Marche…(go have some at the Trattoria Il Cantuccio in the town of Pergola.

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We also highly recommend a visit to the amazing Museum of the Gilded Bronzes and of the City of Pergola (Museo dei Bronzi Dorati e della Città di Pergola), located in the Pergola within the Pesaro and Urbino province of Italy's Marche region. The museum was custom-built to house the Gilded Bronzes from Cartoceto di Pergola, which represent the only surviving Roman gilt bronze real size equestrian group in the world. The hill town of Urbino is magnificent and has a medieval appeal. Don’t miss a visit to their Medieval Cathedral for the art alone in Urbino and the Palazzo Ducale. Across the narrow street is a good place for a traditional cappuccino or espresso. Later we drove from the pre-Apennini mountains in an hour to the seaside town of Senigallia, for a classic Adriatic fish dinner with Verdicchio wine at “Vino and Cibo”. There we also visited the Foro Annonario and the Rocca Roveresca and its lively historical center.

 

We’ll be back for much longer next time. Tom and Victoria