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.
Archive of Marche stories
Page 1 of 4. Articles and insights to read before setting off.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Part of Rome's history was decided on the Metauro
In 207 BC, Hasdrubal Barca's army was defeated in Le Marche: a decisive battle of the Second Punic War that changed the peninsula's destiny.
Paolo and Francesca in Gradara: how much truth lies behind Italy’s most famous love story?
Dante immortalised Paolo and Francesca. Gradara turned them into a myth. But the historical evidence is subtler and more interesting than the legend.
Federico da Montefeltro's studiolo: a room containing an entire Renaissance
Perspective marquetry, books, instruments, weapons and optical illusions: a small room in Urbino’s Palazzo Ducale reveals the Renaissance idea of a ruler.
Mondavio's fortress looks like a war machine carved in stone
Francesco di Giorgio Martini designed a fortress with striking forms. Today, the village also preserves reconstructions of his military machines.
At Furlo, the Romans carved a road through the mountain
Along the Via Flaminia, in the Gola del Furlo, a Roman tunnel shows the radical ambition of ancient road engineering.
One of the Renaissance's most surprising villas lies hidden on San Bartolo
Villa Imperiale originated with the Sforza family and became a pleasure residence of the Della Rovere, with terraces, gardens and painted cycles.
Carpegna ham carries a whole mountain in its name
In Montefeltro, Prosciutto di Carpegna PDO combines ageing, climate and place in one of inland Pesaro’s most recognisable products.
Pesaro's Teatro Rossini began inside the old ducal stables
Before becoming the theatre associated with Rossini, the site was linked to the Della Rovere stables. Its history spans almost four centuries.
Ancient Pisaurum lives on beneath modern Pesaro
The Roman colony founded along the Adriatic left traces beneath the city centre: mosaics, houses and an urban history spanning more than two thousand years.
Ancona was founded by Greeks: its name means elbow
Greek settlers from Syracuse recognised the shape of an elbow in the headland: the city’s name comes from Ἀγκών, Ankon.
The Arco di Traiano Was Not a Gate: It Was a Monument Greeting the Sea
One of Ancona’s Roman landmarks celebrates the emperor who expanded the harbour. Even today, it seems designed for those arriving from the Adriatic.
The Mole Vanvitelliana Began as a Quarantine Island
Before becoming a cultural venue, Vanvitelli's pentagon isolated potentially infected people and goods to protect Ancona from epidemics.