In May, we'll be traveling through Italy for 3 weeks. The last leg of our trip we'll be leaving Siena heading to Le Marche. I'm trying to decide if it makes more sense to drive north all the way to Bologna (and stay there overnight) to travel to Le Marche via the A14, or if it makes better sense to just drive west from Siena directly to Le Marche (via SS73/SS318). I've been told that the driving is considerably more difficult verging on unpleasant (windy and unpaved roads?) on the Strada Statale (vs. A14 which is straight highway?). I'm not sure if this is accurate, and I'm hoping that some folks might be familiar enough with these two options to weigh in on the following:

1) Which route would you choose and why?
2) Is the SS73/318 route a sure bet way to make your passengers car sick? How windy is it? (hair pin turn after turn for 3 1/2 hours?) Is it mountainous or just rolling hills?
3) Does one route allow for better sightseeing (quick stops in small towns) over the other?
I'd guess driving through Umbria is more scenic?

Bologna to Le Marche seems to be 2.5 hours of driving.
Siena to Le Marche seems to be about 3 hours.

Thanks for any insights you can offer.

Where in Le Marche are you heading for? It's a pretty big region.

I haven't driven on SS73/318, but I have driven in Le Marche (destinations around Urbino and Macerata), and they are mostly narrow, windy roads. Not the type to cause carsickness, IMHO, but then we're not prone to that anyway. And on the roads we were on, some rolling hills, some large rolling hills, and then many of the towns are on tall hilltops (i.e. San Leo, Urbino, Macerata)

I think the real decision, other than that it depends on your final destination, is what you want to see. Bologna is wonderful, and I love the city for its food and non-touristy nature. When we went to Le Marche, we started in Bologna, picked up a rental car, spent most of the day viewing the mosaics in Ravenna, then drove to the tiny republic of San Marino for the night. That was fun and on our way anyway - I wouldn't go out of my way to visit, but it worked out well for us. And there are gorgeous views from San Marino and some interesting ruins there. The next day, we drove through San Leo, another beautiful little town, on our way to Urbino. So if you like any of those options, consider this route.

If you take the other route you mentioned, depending on your destination, Gubbio is a city that's worth some time. And Umbria is beautiful. So is Le Marche. You have several very nice options to choose between!

I would certainly avoid A14, which is the least "straight" highway I know - mountainous, narrow, curving, lots of traffic, lots of tunnels, very very unpleasant.
And as far as "unpaved" strade statali, you're aware that we are talking about Italy here, not Cambodia?? There are of course no unpaved major roads anywhere in Italy!

I have an appointment in Morrovalle, but am debating whether to stay near there or to base ourselves elsewhere and just travel there for the day. We are only in Marche for 3 days and then depart Italy from Ancona. Bottom line, I'm not entirely certain where we're staying in Marche.
It seems unavoidable that we'll have a "stop over" night somewhere that's deserving of much longer than the time we'll be able to afford it. I guess we'll take that destination into consideration, too, in addition to the road conditions.

franco: Thanks for the input and for the correction about unpaved roads. Even the rental car companies warn against not covering damage caused on unpaved roads, so I just assumed I hadn't yet come across them in my travels. You're clearly not a fan of the A14 route. Are you familiar with SS73/318 route? Any insights you can offer about the type of driving we'd find there?

redvines, you'll encounter a few hundred meters of unpaved roads when accessing agriturismi on the back of beyond, that's why the rental car companies make that exclusion.
I've certainly driven on SS73, but I don't remember it, so it must have been unremarkable.

Red, I'd love to know your opinion of the road/s across the country, to Ancona. We're planning to drive from Rome to Ancona, then Ancona to Florence, in late November. Any challenges, or helpful hints, please?