At Portonovo, a Romanesque church looks out to sea as it has for a thousand years
Santa Maria di Portonovo stands between Conero and the Adriatic: a simple building telling the story of monks, seclusion and medieval architecture.
Archive of Marche stories
Page 2 of 4. Articles and insights to read before setting off.
Frederick II in Jesi: his birth and the tradition of the tent in the square
The future emperor was born in Jesi on 26 December 1194. The famous account of a public birth should be distinguished from the historical fact and read as tradition.
A battle at Castelfidardo accelerated the creation of a united Italy
In September 1860, Piedmontese troops defeated the papal army: a decisive day in the Marche’s annexation to the Kingdom of Sardinia.
Why Is Our Lady of Loreto the Patron Saint of Aviators?
The answer lies in the legend of the Holy House's flight and a devotion that became intertwined with the birth of modern aviation in the twentieth century.
Frasassi, 1971: when the mountain revealed a hidden world
A discovery, a mountain and the slow work of water. The story of the caves of Genga, before you descend to visit them.
In Numana, a Picene woman was buried like an Adriatic queen
Numana's necropolises yielded extraordinary grave goods revealing the power of Picene elites and their Mediterranean contacts.
From Macerata to Imperial China: the extraordinary story of Matteo Ricci
A Jesuit, mathematician and cartographer, Matteo Ricci built one of the first great cultural bridges between Europe and China.
At Tolentino, Napoleon imposed a harsh peace on the Papal States
In 1797, the Treaty of Tolentino reshaped the political, territorial and economic balance between revolutionary France and the Pope.
Urbs Salvia is a Roman town that never entirely disappeared
A theatre, amphitheatre, walls and monumental structures still emerge in the Urbisaglia valley, revealing the scale of the ancient city.
For centuries, Camerino was a small capital hidden in the Apennines
The Da Varano ruled the area for more than three centuries, building fortresses, palaces and a court that attracted artists and culture.
In Pioraco, water powered papermaking wheels for centuries
Amid gorges, rivers and workshops, this small village near Macerata developed a lasting manufacturing identity around paper-making.
From Recanati to the Great Theatres: Beniamino Gigli Became a World-Famous Voice
Before global recordings and streaming, a tenor from Le Marche brought Recanati's name to theatres and records around the world.
Why is Cingoli called the Balcony of Le Marche?
From a terrace on the walls, the view stretches across hills and the Apennines and, on clear days, reaches the Adriatic.
Around San Severino, a scattered medieval landscape survives among towers and castles
The San Severino area is dotted with fortifications and hilltop settlements that reveal centuries of control over valleys and inland routes.
La Rancia Changed from a Fortified Farm into the Da Varano’s Military Stronghold
The castle just outside Tolentino did not begin simply as a fortress: its story starts with rural buildings transformed in the 14th century.
Servigliano was rebuilt almost from scratch as an ideal eighteenth-century town
A landslide made the old settlement unsafe: in the eighteenth century, the village was relocated and redesigned with a rational, almost geometric layout.
A monumental Roman sanctuary emerges among the hills of Monte Rinaldo
Columns, arcades and sacred remains emerge in open countryside: one of the Fermano's most scenic archaeological sites.
Torre di Palme's Lovers' Cave tells the story of a love that ended in tragedy
Antonio and Laurina hid in the Cugnolo woodland to avoid being separated during the colonial wars. The local story ends tragically.
In Campofilone, Exceptionally Fine Pasta Became a European Identity
Maccheroncini di Campofilone PGI turn a household tradition into a protected product that carries the village's name across Europe.
Santa Vittoria in Matenano preserves the Marche legacy of the monks of Farfa
In the Middle Ages, the Lazio abbey of Farfa controlled a vast network of territories in the Marche as well: Santa Vittoria preserves a strong memory of this.
How the Fermo area ended up making shoes for half the world
From family workshops to industrial districts and major brands, shoemaking has become one of the most recognisable economic stories of the modern Marche.
Amandola Is a Gateway to the Sibillini Shaped by Mountains, Markets and Legends
This village in the Fermano faces the Sibilla mountains and preserves a history linked to Apennine trade and Sibillini culture.
In Falerone, a Roman theatre still lives on amid the countryside
Falerio Picenus was a fully fledged Roman city. Its theatre, still visible in the rural landscape, is its most spectacular surviving testimony.
In Castel Trosino, a Lombard burial ground changed the history of Italian archaeology
Weapons, jewellery and rich grave goods found near Ascoli revealed a Lombard presence far more complex than had been imagined.