Marche, Italy: Things to Do, Provinces & Towns — Complete Guide

The name is plural, and not by chance: the Marche are the sum of parallel autonomies, and the vocation to independence of each area is what unites them most. There are 228 comuni in five provinces, nearly all on hills, with one of the highest shares of scattered population in Italy: the landscape of sharecropping, made of small plots and isolated farmhouses, can still be read from any road. The Umbrian-Marchigian Apennines close the region to the west, towards Tuscany and Umbria; to the north lie Emilia-Romagna and the Republic of San Marino, to the south Abruzzo, and to the east two hundred kilometres of Adriatic.

For the density of famous people few regions can compete: Raphael was born here, at Urbino, in 1483, and then Bramante, Rossini, Leopardi, Maria Montessori, Gentile da Fabriano, Matteo Ricci. Urbino, which under Federico da Montefeltro was one of the capitals of the Renaissance, has been a UNESCO site since 1998; Recanati remains the town of Leopardi; and the Conero, above Ancona, is the only stretch of high coast on the central Adriatic.

Not to be missed

The best of Marche

The places worth the trip on their own, picked by our editors.

Courtyard of the Ducal Palace in Urbino featuring Renaissance arcades and Latin inscriptions.

Urbino 🏛 Pesaro and Urbino Raphael's ideal city

Marche

The provinces of Marche

Map and list are connected: hover one to light up the other, click to enter.

1 / 5 Ancona 47 towns Open the guide →

5 provinces

AN Ancona 47 towns → AP Ascoli Piceno 33 towns → FM Fermo 40 towns → MC Macerata 55 towns → PU Pesaro and Urbino 53 towns →

The top 20 places in Marche

Our editors' ranking: the area's most important places, drawn from the individual town guides. See the national rankings →

Spectacular stalagmites and columns reflected in an underground lake inside the Frasassi Caves in Genga.

1 🌋 Nature & views Frasassi Caves 📍 Genga The Abisso Ancona could swallow Milan Cathedral: 200 metres from floor to ceiling.

Facade of the Ducal Palace in Urbino featuring its iconic twin towers in warm light

2 🏰 Castles & palaces Palazzo Ducale e Galleria Nazionale delle Marche 📍 Urbino Federico's studiolo, 3.60 by 3.35 metres of inlay, and Piero della Francesca's Flagellation.

Aerial view of the Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle and turquoise sea in Sirolo.

3 🏖️ Beaches & sea Due Sorelle Beach 📍 Sirolo White gravel between two sea stacks, no bar and no sunbeds: reachable only by boat.

Marche and around, on the map

What's around

Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.

🍝 At the table: Marche

All typical dishes →

🌿 Cheese DOP

Casciotta d'Urbino soft cheese of sheep's and cow's milk, delicate flavour

Sheep's and cow's milk, aged twenty to thirty days: casciotta d'Urbino, Michelangelo's favourite cheese, has been DOP since 1996.

✨ Marche by theme

🏖️ Seaside 3 🏘️ Villages 3 🍷 Food & wine 1 🏛️ UNESCO heritage 1

Tours, tickets and experiences

Marche

Bookable on GetYourGuide

Upcoming events in Marche

Patron saint festival Today 📍 Ostra

Feast of Saint Gaudentius

📅 Every year, on 14 October

On 14 October Ostra celebrates its patron Saint Gaudentius, who gives his name to the "sprevengoli"; since 1670 the feast has been accompanied by the town's fair.

Patron saint festival Today 📍 Peglio

Feast of Saint Fortunatus

📅 Every year, on 14 October

On 14 October Peglio celebrates its patron Saint Fortunatus; with just 735 residents, the territory also preserves several natural caves.

Patron saint festival In 3 days 📍 Tolentino

Feast of Saint Catervus

📅 Every year, on 17 October

On 17 October Tolentino celebrates its patron Saint Catervus; the town hosts the International Museum of Humour in Art, founded in 1970, with its international biennial.

Patron saint festival In 8 days 📍 Trecastelli

Feast of Saint John Paul II

📅 Every year, on 22 October

On 22 October Trecastelli celebrates its patron Saint John Paul II; the town also preserves Palazzo Antonelli Castracani Augusti.

All events in Marche →