Things to do in Marche

Marche is a plural, from the medieval marche, or border districts. It runs 173 km along the Adriatic. Hills cover 69 per cent of it, mountains 31, and there is no real plain.

Tours in Marche mostly mean hill towns, and the distances decide each day. Ancona, the capital, has about 100,000 people.

Towns and distances

• Gradara. A castle village on the Emilia-Romagna border, 15 km from Pesaro. Tradition sets Dante's Paolo and Francesca in its castle, and some listings cross the border to museums in the Rimini area.
• Urbino. About 35 km inland from Gradara. A Renaissance court town and Raphael's birthplace, on the UNESCO list since 1998.
• Senigallia. A resort 30 km up the coast from Ancona, with 13 km of fine sand.
• Corinaldo. A hill town inland from Senigallia, ringed by 912 m of walls from the 1400s.
• Frasassi. A cave system in an Apennine gorge, 60 km from Ancona by road.

What fills the days

Group days by coach leave the Romagna Riviera around Rimini for Urbino, Gradara and Frasassi. They run as outings of seven to nine hours. Walking tours start in the towns, and Urbino also has a private two-hour version.

Speleologists found the Frasassi chambers in 1971, and visitors have been admitted since 1974. The route is 1.5 km, about 75 minutes. The Ancona Abyss chamber measures 180 by 120 m and could hold Milan Cathedral.

Food fills the rest. A pasta class in the province of Pesaro and Urbino rolls out cappelletti, ravioli or tagliatelle by hand. A cellar tasting in Staffolo pours Verdicchio, Lacrima di Morro d'Alba and Rosso Piceno.

Practical

• Weather. July and August afternoons run 28 to 30C on the coast and about 28C in Urbino. January afternoons sit near 10C by the sea and 7C inland, and the Apennine peaks hold snow.
• Coach days. Urbino and Gradara run on set weekdays, and all leave from bus stops near the Riviera hotels, not the hotel door. A seat costs about what a restaurant dinner does.
• Frasassi. The cave stays at 14C all year, so bring a sweater and shoes with grip.
• Urbino. No train has served it since 1987, so buses run from Pesaro. The historic centre is a limited-traffic zone, and cars park below the walls.
• Getting around. The main railway hugs the coast. Genga-San Vittore Terme, on the Ancona-Rome line, is a 15-minute walk from the Frasassi ticket office. The other hill towns need a bus or a car.