Stories & curiosities of the Marche

    Le Marche has more stories than people tell

    Piceni, legends, villages, remarkable people, crafts, records, oddities and modern stories: an archive for discovering Le Marche through what often never makes the guidebooks.

    77 stories in the archive · Page 1 of 7

    Enrico Mattei: from the Marche to the oil challenge
    Stories from the Territory

    Enrico Mattei: from the Marche to the oil challenge

    From Acqualagna to Matelica, from a tannery to the founding of Eni: the story of the man from the Marche who changed Italian energy policy, and places that preserve his memory.

    4 minRead
    Monte Pietralata: the Furlo mountain and Mussolini’s profile
    Stories from the Territory

    Monte Pietralata: the Furlo mountain and Mussolini’s profile

    On the rocks of Furlo, an intervention in 1936 turned the landscape into propaganda. The story of the profile, its partial destruction and the mountain that preserves its traces.

    3 minRead
    The Tempietto del Valadier: a tiny building inside a mountain
    Unusual Stories

    The Tempietto del Valadier: a tiny building inside a mountain

    In the Frasassi Gorge, an octagonal temple brings together carved travertine and the natural rock of the cave.

    2 minRead
    A discreet entrance in Fermo hides the Teatro dell’Aquila
    Unusual Stories

    A discreet entrance in Fermo hides the Teatro dell’Aquila

    Behind an understated facade lies one of Le Marche’s great historic theatres: a surprise to seek out in Fermo’s old town.

    2 minRead
    In Macerata, the square’s clock also tells the story of the sky
    Curiosities & records

    In Macerata, the square’s clock also tells the story of the sky

    The Civic Tower holds a dial that invites you to look beyond the hours: astronomy and automata meet in the heart of the city.

    2 minRead
    Why did European knights climb the Sibillini in search of a prophetess?
    Myths & Legends

    Why did European knights climb the Sibillini in search of a prophetess?

    The Apennine Sibyl turned a mountain cave into one of the most enigmatic places in the medieval European imagination.

    2 minRead
    For centuries, Lago di Pilato was accused of attracting magicians and necromancers
    Mysteries & legends

    For centuries, Lago di Pilato was accused of attracting magicians and necromancers

    The small glacial lake below Vettore is surrounded by legends about Pilate, magical books and forbidden rituals. History and myth must be kept separate.

    2 minRead
    Why are there so many historic theatres in the Marche?
    Cultural records

    Why are there so many historic theatres in the Marche?

    From provincial capitals to small villages, communities in nineteenth-century Le Marche built a remarkably dense theatre network.

    2 minRead
    Entire Roman cities lie beneath the fields of the Marche
    Archaeology

    Entire Roman cities lie beneath the fields of the Marche

    Sentinum, Suasa, Potentia, Urbs Salvia, Falerio: many major ancient settlements never became modern cities and now re-emerge as archaeological landscapes.

    2 minRead
    Le Marche has been rebuilt many times after earthquakes
    Local history

    Le Marche has been rebuilt many times after earthquakes

    From the Apennines to hill towns, earthquakes have left their mark on the region’s urban planning, architecture and collective memory.

    2 minRead
    Invisible Highways for Flocks Once Crossed the Marche Mountains
    Ancestral traditions

    Invisible Highways for Flocks Once Crossed the Marche Mountains

    Transhumance connected pastures, valleys and distant territories. Many Apennine trails still bear traces of that pastoral world.

    2 minRead
    Marche looked far beyond its shores: stories of ancient ports
    Geographical curiosities

    Marche looked far beyond its shores: stories of ancient ports

    From Picene Numana to Roman Ancona, objects and monuments reveal an Adriatic of contacts, exchange and power.

    2 minRead