sandralist

(but she's not very famous)

bvlenci

For pottery, I recommend that you visit Fratterosa and the surrounding area. The traditional style of this area is very different from the Deruta-style pottery of most of central Italy. I prefer this more simple style. The vessels were traditionally glazed on the inside, with just an irregular splash of glaze on the outside. Now they're more likely to be uniformly glazed. The color of the glaze is a deep, many-layered eggplant purple. Here is the link to one of the better artisans.

http://www.ascompesaro.it/main/apps/...zi-fratte-rosa

The paper museum in Fabriano has tours in English, but you might want to call ahead to be sure of getting one.

http://www.museodellacarta.com/default.asp

Don't miss the "filigrana exhibit", which shows watermarks raised to an art form. One family has passed this art down for generations. The last time we were there, with my granddaughter, the tour skipped that part of the museum, which was too bad. If that happens, go there on your own.

annhig

if someone can determine why may screen name is nochblad I will send them a 5 litre canister of Tuscan EVOO.>>

nochblad - your screen name always reminds me of a character from a children's cartoon series by the wonderful Oliver Postgate, called Noggin the Nog. He had a wicked uncle, who was called Nogbad the Bad:

http://www.smallfilms.co.uk/noggin/nogbad.htm

our kids grew up liking this too and when she had a dog of her own, our dD named her "Nukka" after Noggin's bride, Nukka of the Nukes.

Somehow I don't think that this is the answer.

Leely2

Great info on this thread, thanks to the contributors for so generously sharing what they know and also to yorkshire for asking these questions.

nochblad

sandralist and annhig - not garlic but gaelic is closer to the mark.

bvlenci

I just remembered, if you like traditional arts, you really should stop in Offida, which has a very active lacemaking tradition. There's a museum of lace, where you can usually see someone creating a piece of lace. It's called "a tombolo" lace, referring to the padded roll on which the lace is worked. If you do an image search for "Offida pizzi a tombolo" you'll see many examples. Offida also has a beautiful theatre, which you can visit, and an interesting Italian Gothic church, Santa Maria della Rocca, built on the edge of a cliff in the 14th century. In the crypt, you can see the remains of an even earlier church.

For seafood, Senigallia has many choices. There are two restaurants that have two Michelin stars apiece, and both specialize in seafood. Uliassi is my favorite of the two, but Madonnina dei Pescatori is not far behind. Another excellent (and less expensive) restaurant, Raggiazzurro, also specializes in seafood.

A very typical seafood dish in Le Marche is brodetto, a sort of fish stew made with many kinds of fish and crustaceans. One of the best I've ever had was in Porto Recanati, at Il Diavolo del Brodetto. It's a tiny restaurant and not very imposing, but the fish are absolutely fresh. If they don't find the right kind of fish at the local market, they won't serve brodetto. When we reserved our tables, we told them we wanted brodetto, but they said they couldn't guarantee it, because the sea had been stormy.

Two other cities that vie for the best brodetto are Fano and Ancona. The last brodetto I had in Fano was a disappointment, though, and I've never had it in Ancona, so I can't make any recommendations based on recent experience. Porto Recanati is a good distance from where we live, but not far from Ancona. We went there specifically for the brodetto, on the advice of a friend, and the drive was worth it.

bvlenci

I can't find any Ienco who was a Miss Italia, but I found an Ernesto Ienco, who was a murder victim. He's not related to us; anyway, with the hard "c", the name surely has a different etymology.

bvlenci

If you think about it, Ienco sounds like a derogatory name for an American.

isabel

You asked for trip reports so here's mine from last summer - the last few days were in Le Marche so you'll need to scroll down at least three quarters of the way to get to the Le Marche part.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...nd-castles.cfm

Highlights for us were Mondavio and Corinaldo. We also enjoyed Gradara which some people find over renovated but I though was certainly worthwhile if in the area. We really loved San Marino and especially the day trip we did from there to San Leo.


Here's my photos from the trip http://www.pbase.com/annforcier/san_..._and_le_marche

sandralist

I managed to find the past Miss Italia with the last name of Ienco on Google but she was the winner of a contest held for Italian ex-pats -- one of the many young forced to leave Italy for work elsewhere. Her last name is Genovese -- which may be another reason I missed the second "i" in your name. She is certainly pretty.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_6RY0-_jEjz...yA/s1600/1.jpg

sandralist

A whole list of Ienco from Facebook, starting with Marco

https://www.facebook.com/public/Marco-Ienco

(will stop Yorkshire)

ekscrunchy

ttt

yorkshire

I am glad this post will inform people about Le Marche, and I will keep it on my list for future travels, so by all means carry on! Alas, I won't be making it there this year, as we just scored an incredible fare to Bari that we could not pass up (HALF the price to Ancona). A return to Puglia and Basilicata is in the works. Once I do some planning I'll be back in a new post to run my itinerary by for input.

Redlandsneen

Buon giorno tutti! I am in the early stages of planning a week's driving tour around Le Marche in May 2017 and have found this forum very helpful, thank you. I plan to train from Firenze to Ancona and pick up and return my car there. Although I'm interested in the coastal towns of Senigallia (1 night) in the north and S. Benedetto del Tronto as my southernmost destination, I am mostly interested in exploring the towns in the Appennine foothills and the Sarnano/Amandola area to enjoy the Sibillini range. Cagli has been recommended as a good base to explore a number of interesting towns. Would someone be able to recommend a second base in the southern part of my loop and perhaps the best route to take, preferably using secondary roads. I am particularly interested in Ascoli Piceno. Grazie mille!

jamikins

Redlanseen, I have 4 trip reports on Le Marche if you click on my screen name.

You can also see our pics here
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pug_gi...57634528008046

We haven't been to southern Le Marche yet, but are going in July 2017 and staying outside of Marcerata.

Hope this helps!

jubilada

jamikins, would you mind saying where you are planning to stay if you know?

jamikins

Hi there, we have a room reserved here

https://www.casaldeifichi.com

Looking forward to a week exploring a new part of Le Marche!

bvlenci

Sarnano itself wouldn't be a bad base. If you'd like a somewhat larger town, with more cultural opportunities, I can recommend Camerino, about 45 minutes northwest of Sarnano by car. Camerino was an important town in the middle ages, one of the seats of the Duchy of Spoleto. It's also home to an ancient university. It's in the foothills of the Sibillines, and there some very pretty drives you can take around there, as well as opportunities for hiking or horseback riding in the upper Potenza valley, just below the hill on which Camerino is located. There are also some very attractive towns and villages near Camerino. Just to mention a few, I like San Severino Marche, Pioraco, Matelica, and Fabriano.

We have a summer home near Camerino, and the upper Potenza valley is one of my favorite spots on earth. There are some very good restaurants in Camerino and vicinity.

I know less about lodging, since we have our own, but I do know a few. One is an agriturismo called La Castagna, in Fiuminata. It's in an attractive spot, and has a pool and restaurant. We used to eat often at the restaurant, but there are better options in the area now. It doesn't seem to have a web presence at the moment, but I would expect the daily rate to be under €100.

A much more luxurious option is the Borgo Lanciano, a hotel/restaurant/spa complex in the town of Castelraimondo. It's across the road from the Lanciano Castle, in what were once the servants' quarters and service buildings of the castle. The site is gorgeous. We've eaten at the restaurant, which was excellent, and I've gone for massages at the spa.

My favorite restaurant in the area is Pappafò, which also has rooms. It's officially called a "country house", which is a category of agriturismo without the farm, as far as I can tell. This establishment is on a hill outside Camerino, with breathtaking views in every direction.

Macerata is a nice small city, but it's much nearer the coast, and wouldn't have the mountain scenery you'd find further west.

Ascoli Piceno is certainly worth a visit, but, given your interests, I think you'd be happier staying in a smaller town or city. You could easily visit Ascoli Piceno as a day trip from eS. Benedetto del Tronto (or even Camerino), or you could stop there en route to San Benedetto from wherever you decide to stay.

By the way, since you'll be in the area, I highly recommend a hike at the Gola dell'Infernaccio. I won't attempt to describe it, but here are some photos I've taken there on various visits.

https://get.google.com/albumarchive/...vdVrChM_-JBMzN

I hope this album can be seen. Google has killed Picasa web albums, which had a very straighforward method of sharing.

bvlenci

I should mention that the Borgo Lanciano is a popular venue for weddings, and I might not want to stay there on a weekend in wedding season.

jamikins

Bvlenci you are a wealth of amazing information on Le Marche!! Thank you so much for always posting great ideas and suggestions!!!