Our local village is Sant'Angelo in Pontano which is at the centre of a thriving - and geographically quite extensive - commune.
Ripe San Ginesio is a small (one bar) hilltop village just across the valley. The nearest
bakers and supermarket are in the lower part of the village on the main SS78.
Loro Piceno is the next town to the north along the hilltop road passing Casa dei due Mori, with
a couple of decent restaurants and a totally eccentric butchers.
San Ginesio is a very pretty hilltop town with
quite a history the other side of the valley - try the few
restaurants or just walk around the streets and catch the views.
Macerata - as well as having the poshest shops
in the area Macerata is home to the Spheristerion - where there
is an open-air opera festival every summer.
In the mountains
Sarnano is the nearest ski resort. In the
winter it hums until well past midnight; in the summer expect to
see walkers, cyclists, hill climbing rallies; we’ve even
seen a police motorbike convention.
Sasso Tetto is the nearest accessible
mountain top behind Sarnano; it has a few ski runs, great views
to the coast but it’s nippy even in the summer.
At the beach
Porto San Giorgio has lovely sandy beaches,
and plenty of fish restaurants, both on the beach and in town; it's our favourite seaside town.
It's about 40 minutes drive down to the coast; you can stop
off at the hilltop town of Fermo and have a look around the duomo on the way.
Civitanova is nearer - just at the end of the superstrada; there are plenty of restaurants on the Lungomare Sud
but the beach is a bit stony. The north beach is much nicer, but harder to get to a you have to find your way through town.
Le Marche and Umbria
The Conero is a beautiful mountainous area on
the coast just south of Ancona - it has the best beaches for
miles and some excellent wines.
About 90 minutes drive takes you to the Grotte di
Frasassi – one of the biggest and most spectacular
set of caves in Europe. Visit the museum of papermaking and
watermarks in Fabriano on your way back.
Assisi is a two hour drive over the
mountains, but well worth it for the views over the Umbrian
plain. Be sure to visit St Francis’s tomb in the Duomo.
Perugia and Lake Trasimeno are a little further down the
autostrada.
Rimini and Urbino are within a couple of hours up
the coastal autostrada.
The Northern Marche strongholds of Gradara and San Leo can be
combined with a trip to the mountain-top republic
of San Marino .
Further Afield
We've taken the chance to visit Rome and Venice as stopovers on the way to Le Marche. Rome is around 3 to 4 hours drive across the mountains, and Venice is 5 or 6 hours up the coast. If you are driving down from UK or the Netherlands,
you may want to stop off at one of the Italian lakes north of Milan, such as Lake Maggiore - an easy day's drive from Sant'Angelo
For more information about Le Marche, visit: http://www.le-marche.com/
| Copyright © 2000-2010 Nigel Thomas, preferisco.com.
Last modified Tue 12-Jan-2010.
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