URBANE URBINO
Our Top 10 guide to Le Marche’s Renaissance jewel
The typical line trotted out about Le Marche – the fertile region between the Adriatic and the Apennines, between forested Abruzzo and foodie-heaven Emilia-Romagna – is that it’s “Tuscany without the crowds”.
As a rule for the region, neither part of this assessment is accurate. The rolling hills of Le Marche’s central region are certainly redolent of its westerly neighbour, but Le Marche is much more rustic, and its population centres much smaller (the region has less than half the population of Tuscany).
And as for the crowds… Hordes of Italians come here in the summer, though they are usually confined to the coast. But where the assessment does work is with the northern city of Urbino. This UNESCO World Heritage city is a Renaissance treasure, much like Florence or Siena – though it is markedly less crowded than either. Here you’ll find luminous works of art, interesting history, and wonderful restaurants.
