“Italy in a region” is a famous motto for us in Le Marche, but is it just ads-language or can it be really trusted? The second option, of course, and I will explain you that in a moment.
To begin with, let’s focus on Italy. Let’s play a little game, if you close your eyes and think about Italy, what do you see? I bet you see clean sea water, breathtaking views on hills and mountains, little historic centres, delicious food, sunny day and many, many traditions. Did I guess right?
Well, you can find all these peculiar Italian aspects in Le Marche. It is not very common to have a mountain plunging into the sea, or a unique example of natural caves, in one region. However Le Marche do have a plural identity, and that is perhaps the reason why it is the only plural named region in Italy.
The first to point out these unique characteristics was Guido Piovene, a writer who in the 50s wrote a reportage entitled “Viaggio in Italia” [Travel in Italy]. He understands perfectly that “[..] le Marche are not like Tuscany, nor Romagna, nor Abruzzo and not even Umbria”. They are not like the other regions, because they are all regions together!
Despite its uniqueness, our region is not very famous. Far from being popular, Le Marche and its inhabitants are often addressed as “too much hidden” or even joked about. So, here’s our goal: we wish to create a real, honest and unusual image of Le Marche, to make our readership know them better, and perhaps to encourage them not to forget the only Italian region in plural!
Still prefer some proof? Ok, here we are with some figures:
Slightly more than 9,000 Km² in size.
69% hills and 31% mountains.
The coastline is about 170km long.
12 protected nature parks.
Slightly more than 1.5 million inhabitants.
239 municipalities and 234 museums.
A hundred historical theaters
Have I not convinced you yet? Check these videos from Marche Tourism, you could not believe your eyes.
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