MARCHE

The Marche is one of the Italian regions that has had a strong evolution in the tourism and hospitality sector in past years, both with regard to the quality of the offer and the number of visitors. Italian and foreign tourists have in fact fully discovered all of the attractions in the territory: from the coast to the hill towns from the sites of the spirit to the art, music and cultural events, the rich natural patrimony and the dining specialties.

In this setting rural tourism is also a protagonist with a significant increase and today visitors can even stay in the poderi holdings spread throughout the territory, in the casa padronale manor houses tied to the world of tenant farming and in fully functioning and operational commercial farms.

DON’T MISS THE FESTIVAL

Quintana Day in Ascoli

Quintana day is the culmination of the festival honouring St. Emidio, the patron saint in Ascoli Piceno. According to legend, Emidio was decapitated under the reign of Diocletian. Legend goes that after being decapitated the martyr took his head in his hands and walked towards his burial site where a small church was later built in Renaissance times. To honour the patron saint, throughout Medieval times on August fifth, his liturgical day, a procession and a horse tournament were held, with different competitions of skill including the ring competition: the horsemen would gallop to stick their lance in a silver ring.

THE FESTIVAL OF YESTERDAY AND TODAY.  On July 5 of the festival of St. Emidio, the most exciting event took place with the giostra della Quintana. This game took its name from the road Via Quintana, which was destined to games in the Roman encampment. It took place in the historic centre in Piazza Arringo, where a turning wooden puppet was placed – which was also called the Quintana – holding a stick in its right hand and a shield in the left. The test consisted in galloping towards the puppet, hitting the shield at the centre while managing to avoid the stick, wielded by the Quintana turning around on itself.

Beginning in the fifteen hundreds, the various phases of the game began to disappear one by one until they no longer existed and then a group of citizens brought back the Quintana in 1955, and it is still held the first Sunday in August.

The current day Quintana has lost its surroundings: it is no longer held in the ancient medieval quarter, now it is held in a sports field outside the city. In any case, the imposing historical parade is fascinating with over 1200 persons dressed in costumes from the 1400s and the spectacular games. Teams of horsemen launching themselves against a puppet dressed like a Saracen, still manage to captivate the spectators’ attention. On a religious front, August 5 marks the celebration of a solemn mass in honour of St. Emidio and in the church square they sell branches of basil to be worn on the clothes: legend says that when the sepulchre of the martyr was discovered around the year one thousand, basil was found growing on top of it and since then it has been held as the saint’s sacred plant.

THE WINES IN THE MARCHE

From the point of view of wines, as in other areas of interest, the Marche has a differing physiognomy that varies a great deal from one area to another. The wine production boasts a great variety that range from very well known wines that you have most certainly already enjoyed, to a series of wines produced by farms and local cantinas, which, even though they are less known from a commercial standpoint, are quite worthy of the respect and attention of more discerning visitors.

After visiting Ascoli Piceno and its enchanting Piazza del Popolo, continue along the coast and head up north to Senigallia where you can admire the peaceful sea in the Marche, the extensive vineyards on the coast that continue inland and that give rise to the famous Rosso Piceno. This is a magnificent pleasantly dry red wine which ages well. Along the coast, especially by heading inland a bit, you can find many small cantinas where you can taste magnificent rounded and velvety wines. It will also provide an occasion for admiring towns with a great deal of historical-cultural interest such as Fermo, with Piazza del Popolo, Ripatransone, Grottammare, Cupramarittima and many others in Macerate as well. Once again in Ascoli Piceno in a small area including Offida, Castorano and Acquaviva Picena, they produce Rosso Piceno Superiore, with a higher alcohol content and a delicate red colour. The peaceful landscape that can be enjoyed along the coast running from San Benedetto del Tronto to Ancona, is pleasantly interrupted, near Ancona, by the vision of the splendid Monte Conero mountain which is 572 m. high with a shear drop into the Adriatic Sea giving rise to a coastline that is absolutely enchanting. In this area they produce, though in a small quantity due to the limited farmable area, the famous Rosso Conero, which is a superior table wine.

THE FLAVOURS OF THE MARCHE

The richness of the historical and artistic patrimony of this region, which in past times remained separate with respect to the more populated areas of international tourism, has put it in the spotlight in recent times. The cuisine in the "marca” bordering on the Vatican State, was enriched by the cuisine in nearby regions and it is characterized by a decisive return to ancient local traditions. We must not forget to mention the protectorate of gastronomy in the Marche region, Gioacchino Rossini, whose succulent recipes are still prepared today, naturally accompanied by his immortal music.

APPETIZERS.  One of the most famous appetizers has spread throughout the world olive all’ascolana, this is an especially tender and succulent olive variety produced in a very well defined area surrounding Ascoli Piceno. The olives are pitted and filled with a meat stuffing, then they are breaded and fried in exquisite olive oil from the region and served immediately to savour their fragrant aroma.

FIRST COURSES.  Classic potato gnocchi are topped with duck stew in gnocchi al sugo di papera. The dumplings are tiny (around 2 cm) and the sauce is made from small pieces of duck flavoured with a sauté of olive oil, onion, celery and carrot, complete with the usual addition of wine and tomato and then abundantly topped with grated parmesan cheese. There is no lack of polenta in the Apennine zones.  Polentone is a very dense polenta that is poured onto a wet piece of canvas to cool after cooking. It is then cut in pieces and arranged in layers topped by bacon, sausage and grated pecorino cheese then it is baked briefly in the oven and served steaming hot. Another traditional farm dish was originally created to use leftovers: tagliatelle con i fagioli, a pasta dish topped with sauce made from leftover beans (nothing says you can’t make them especially for the occasion). It is important that the bean is allowed to boil for a long time so that it begins to break up, making the sauce creamier. The name vincisgrassi is retained by most as a dialectal variation of the name of the Austrian general Windisch Graetz, the commander of Napoleon’s army that occupied Ancona in 1799. It is a lasagne dish topped with a sauce, the ingredients of the one above with the addition of chicken giblets, sweet breads and brains.

SECOND COURSES.  One of the major coastal centres, San Benedetto del Tronto proposes brodetto di pesce, a fish soup that is cooked in two phases: the heads, the bones and herbs are used to prepare a fish broth which is then enriched with tomato, squid and calamari. In another pan scorpion fish, monkfish, mullet, red mullet and John Dory are layered in a pan. First the fish broth is poured over the top and then it is finished with mussels and clams and served with pieces of toasted bread.

The second courses are prepared for the most part with courtyard raised animals such as chicken in pollo in potacchio, which is strictly free ranging and cooked in a mixture of olive oil, garlic, onion, hot pepper, parsley, rosemary, wine and tomato sauce. It is common during the harvest time and another common farm favourite is goose or rabbit in porchetta flavoured with olive oil, garlic, wild fennel and baked in the oven. The echoes of the Parisian adventures of the greatest composer in Le Marche are evident in the filetto alla Rossini, a beef filet that has been breaded and braised in oil and butter, covered in marsala wine and baked in the oven on slices of bread and foie gras pate, with a final touch of truffle shavings.

THE DESSERTS.  One of the desserts to try are the scroccafusi, which are balls made from a dough of flour, eggs, mistral liquor, grated lemon and after being dropped in boiling water they are cooked in the oven or fried.