We are going for a week to the Le Marche area in Italy in September(flying to Anacona)picking up a car and staying at a small hotel in Mogliano - we do not speak a word of Italian (have a small knowledge of French and Spanish), do you think this will cause a problem for us?

Well it would be better if you DID speak Italian but I cannot imagine you having any problems...I speak Spanish and find that a big help in Italy.

Unlike other places in Italy, in Le Marche you don't commonly run into English speakers in restaurants, hotels, etc. However, just to reassure you, I got a flat tire in Le Marche and despite only finding one teenage girl in the vicinity who spoke enough English, we managed the emergency (dealing with several Italians along the way) with no problems. Sign language is universally understood.

Most things that tourists want are pretty obvious: food, the bill, museum tickets, directions. Italians are generally pretty cheery when it comes to dealing with non-Italian speakers, especially in a place that doesn't get many tourists and therefore isn't fed up with us!

Should you have any kind of emergency, Italians will go WAY out of their way to help you, and find someone who speaks English if needed.

So take a book of phrases. Menu decoders are especially helpful and between now and September practice how to asking for things with a "per favore" attached.

If you need to ask for directions, present the person you are asking with a pen and piece of paper so they can draw you a map.

I hope you are planning a visit to Ascoli Piceno!

Enjoy your trip.

Yes.

We had a major problem when the young conductor on our train from Florence to Milan spoke no English and I could offer only French. He resorted to drawing us a diagram indicating how the train would split so we knew where to be to go on to Germany. So yes, it can be a problem; I wouldn't go back to Italy without making a real effort to learn at least basic Italian.

You've got time to learn come basics. The best [sorry folks, here I go again] IMO are the Michel Thomas tapes/CDs - he teaches the basics in a very accessible way that you can adapt to any situation. They, and lots of others, are avaialbe on amazon or e-bay. or try your local library. Anything you learn will enhance your experience.

Hi Rosieuk, you will have six or seven weeks it looks like to learn some basic Italian words and expressions. I would encourage you to do that as the residents in LeMarche do not speak English as you will find in the major cities and heavy visited areas of Italy. Any Italian that you can learn before you leave on your trip will be a plus. Italians are normally very kind and warm. Just knowing the basics will truly add to your enjoyment of this area of beautiful Italy.

Thanks everyone, the general feeling I get from your responses is, that we must learn a few basic phrases before our holiday. It will all be part of the holiday and no doubt we will end up with a few good (hopefully) stories and funny situations to tell on our return!

Any holiday gets more fun the more familiar you are with the local language.

Just go to the Beeb's online course at www.bbc.co.uk/languages/italian/index.shtml

wow--you are going to be in Mogliano? I was just there a few weeks back (we live in Le Marche), and it's definitely small . I agree--learn some key phrases. Le Marche people are quite friendly, and tourists are a novelty so they might try out their English on you, but learning a little yourselves would be a big help.

Where else will you be going in Le Marche? We live in Macerata.

I do not speak Italian but I think it is important that you make an effort to learn a few words or phrases. Also, you can not count on the menu being in English or the waiter translating for you. A good tranlation dictionary is essential. Believe me...it will be most appreciated if you make a small effort.

I think you have all answered my question. We must have a few basic words.

Jackie in Italy you obviously have a great knowledge of the area, I have seen many of your answers on queries regarding Italy. We prefer beautiful scenery (I have a mobility problem so I cannot walk round towns very well)so any suggestions of places to visit would be greatly appreciated. We have a hotel booked for 7 nights in Mogliano, using that as our base.

Good idea flannuk, I have used the bbc beginners language courses for french and spanish so will have "a go" at the Italian one.

Rosieuk,

I'm sure Jackie knows more about Le Marche than I do and hope she will return, but on your car tour, I put in a vote for a drive up to the Piano Grande, one of the most beautiful spots in Europe, and the Golo di Furlo. Neither requires hiking or climbing. The town of Ascoli Piceno is absolutely flat, and its central attraction, the beautiful marble Piazza Populo, with many charming caffes, can be accessed within 200 meters of car parking.

I was talking about the same last night with some British guests... here in le Marche (I live near Urbino) tourists are not many so people don't generally speak much English but on the other side they are generally nice and willing to help so just take your time, relax and mime a lot! (things like "scusi" "grazie" and "per favore" will also help a lot to show that you're trying and they will be even nicer to you!).
Have a very good stay in this beautiful region!

<<Thanks everyone, the general feeling I get from your responses is, that we must learn a few basic phrases before our holiday.>>

Actually, I'd suggest learning much more than "a few basic phrases." I think if you were just going to Florence and/or Venice, basic phrases would be just fine and even if you didn't use them you'd still be fine (though rather rude). But, although I've never been to le Marche, from what I've heard, the language situation may be closer to what it is in some very much less touristy areas that I've visited in the south. Therefore my true advice is to put off this particular trip, if you possibly can, until you can develop some elementary conversation skills, e.g., the ability to ask questions, make simple and appropriate comments in response to others, understand the gist of what is spoken to you if the speaker makes an effort to speak clearly, understand newspaper headlines, etc. But if it's too late to change plans, I think you'll probably manage and have a good time, but yes, not speaking the language of the place where you'll be spending your time will of course be a problem.

I disagree with cmt about putting off the trip. The first time I came to Italy, I came directly to Le Marche and spoke limited Italian (my friends spoke close to none), and it was fine. We got by, and we were living in Macerata as students. While cmt is right that, in Le Marche, less English is spoken, I know plenty of Italians who speak English here. Yes, Mogliano IS a small town, but I think, in tourist situations in general (buying a sandwich, picking out a gelato, paying for a meal), only basic Italian is needed. Anyway, I would come despite the language barrier: but, as others have already mentioned, learn the basics before coming.

Regarding places to visit and things to see, I agree with nessundorma about Ascoli, the Piano Grande (where Castelluccio is, right?), and Gola di Furlo are wonderful places to go, and the last two mentioned have great scenery.

If you haven't already, check out these trip reports:
Vera's trip report:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34821560

and buongiorno's trip report:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34821560

About more places to see: Other flat towns worth visiting include Visso, which you would probably pass on the way to the Piano Grande. It is now considered one of the 'borghi piu belli d'Italia' (prettiest small towns in Italy) a title given to tiny towns that have kept the traditional look about them (ie few phone lines and construction crews). ( by the way, this is kind of weird for Visso, which looks like it's going through constant construction, but it is a cute little town with a small river running through it and a charming little piazza, and you eat well there!). It's also a good place to start a tour of the Valnerina. The Valnerina goes through Le Marche and Umbria, and it is a beautiful little river canyon area that can be driven through easily.

Also, if you go to the Urbino area, try to head to Urbania, another flat town with a very nice Palazzo Ducale, similar to the one in Urbino. It's very cute and famous for its ceramics.

Some beach towns that are flat double as medieval villages: Fano being one. It's a nice town to visit, for beach and culture. Are you planning on visiting the beach while you are there? Numana is also cute for beach-walking, as well as Portonovo.

My favorite scenery though, besides perhaps the Piano Grande, is driving the torturous road from Macerata to Sarnano, then Amandola, and then up the steep steep hill to the tiny town of Montefalcone. This area is dotted with graceful and charming hill towns, but Montelupone takes the cake, in my opinion. It's so small, but the view from its lookout point is spectacular, taking in all of the mountains around. there's the best little restaurant there too--this you might need Italian for--where a delightful signora prepares all of the dishes herself, as if she were feeding her own family. It's a slow food place, but I don't remember the name. Anyway, if carsickness isn't too much of a problem (I get pretty car sick, but the drive up is worth it, and the little town is adorable), I would suggest this. try to go on a clear day !

Finally, Cingoli is another nice lookout town, called 'the balcony of Le marche' and rightly so--from there you can see all of the little hill towns as well as the sea. It's a great little town to visit too (although definitely a hill town), and my friends own perhaps Cingoli's one and only local craft store--a glass store called Coltorti (their last name) www.coltorti.com. (If you go, tell them you know Jackie!) Outside of Cingoli, there is a really nice lake (Lago di Cingoli), that is worth visiting--and the drive there from Cingoli is short and nice.

hope that helps for now! I will try to think of other views that I like here in Le Marche!

oops, i mistakenly wrote 'montelupone' when speaking about montefalcone. all of these rhyming animal mountains . anyway, monteFALCONE is the town that i would reccomend. (although montelupone is nice as well, but not on this particular road). oh, the name of that restaurant i mentioned before is Antica Locanda Mercuri (the name of the owner is Quintilia, I think).

Oh, and, just in case you thought i didn't like my own town, macerata: it's a great town to visit too. it isn't very easy to get around though, but there are elevators up to the city center, so that helps a bit. depending on when you come in september, the summer festivities might still be going on.

People travel to places far more "remote" than Le Marche without knowing anything of the language beyond the basics and common courtesies. Off the top of my head, I know people who've travelled independently to Laos, Yemen, Romania, and Madagascar and managed. I can muddle by in two languages other than English, but neither of them helped me in Russia or Hungary (or, for that matter, in small towns in the northern Netherlands or eastern Germany, where English is less widely spoken than in the big centers).

The idea that you have to really know a language to travel somewhere is pretty limiting, unless you want to keep visiting the same country over and over. By all means, learn the basics and carry a dictionary. And just be willing to be creative and tolerate some frustration when trying to communicate. I'd go and have a good time if I were you.

Did Marco Polo speak Chinese?

Did somebody say Rosieuk shouldn't go? I must have missed that.

I think most people who go to Asian countries who don't speak an Asiatic language bump up against limitations if they venture beyond the areas set up to cater to foreign tourists. Since Le Marche is only intermittently set up to cater to people who don't speak Italian, it would be silly not to share that knowledge with someone who asked who was planning to go there, as well as recommendations for ways to reduce the limitations.