Jamikins, that place is perfection! I am ready to book for next Sept,,,

Too bad...we are there in July so we will miss each other!!!

The owners are lovely to deal with!!

Redlanseen, friends and I loved southern Le Marche this summer and I want to return to the region to explore the north. We based in Ascoli Piceno--didn't love the coastal areas near Ascoli that much, preferred the hiking, beautiful scenery and towns inland, but I live on a coast so it has to be spectacular for me to be dazzled (like Amalfi Coast, wow!).

We liked Ascoli a lot, it is lively in the summer, which is what I prefer. Loved having aperitivi in the piazza in the evening. People are friendly. I got personally toured around an exhibition of local artists, because I happened to wander in and got to chatting, in my very rudimentary Italian, with one of the artists. Later we all met up for drinks.

I think it is an easy area to explore. bvlenci has excellent ideas; I'd take her advice. And jamikins, isabel, Flame123 and others have posted excellent reports about the area.

Jamikins, yes, I'd have loved to have met you. We enjoyed our trip to Puglia very much and had read your reports.

We're just trying to get our dates set so we can book.

I promise to post a trip report with all our restaurant recommendations :)

Oh good.

It is wonderful that there is so much info here.

Some of the coastal towns in southern Le Marche are very charming, but just inland is an industrial zone, especially in the southern part of the region. As you get into the foothills, there is much more open country, great scenery, and charming hill towns.

One very pretty little walled town right on the coast is Torre di Palme, on a cliff overlooking the Adriatic. I think I mentioned it above.

Bvlenci - can you be more specific about where the industrial zone is?

Thanks!!

<i>Some of the coastal towns in southern Le Marche are very charming, but just inland is an industrial zone, especially in the southern part of the region. As you get into the foothills, there is much more open country, great scenery, and charming hill towns. </i>

Yes, this is what we experienced one day. And our GPS kept redirecting us so we would go through the industrial zone. A bit annoying, as it wasn't very scenic.

We really enjoyed the foothills, the open country inland, the little hill towns. I am a hiker, though, so I gravitate toward those areas anyway. In Teramo (not Le Marche, but near Ascoli) we were in a town with a tiny TI office--must have been Civitella del Tronto. The lady working there let us bikes to ride around the ramparts. Beautiful views.

We did notice that all the non-Italian tourists--and there weren't many--we encountered in this area were Brits. Is Le Marche becoming another Dordogneshire?

Grazie tutti! I probably should have mentioned that I'm a woman travelling alone. After a day of touring, I would like to head back to a place that is somewhat lively (someone mentioned having an aperitivo in Ascoli). Would Sarnano be like that? Would it make more sense to base myself in S.B. del Tronto and make day trips inland and return to the coast in the evenings? I wouldn't mind a travelling companion for the driving portion of my trip!

I've been in Sarnano, but never stayed the night, so I can't say much about nocturnal liveliness. However, it didn't look like that kind of town.

I would imagine that Ascoli Piceno would be much livelier at night. I've been there in the early evening, and at least the beautiful central piazza was pretty lively. Ascoli is a small city, and the provincial capital, so it has commercial and bureaucratic zones, which would be pretty dead at night. In fact, outside the very center of the town, it's not even very attractive. It's not a hill town, so it has a certain amount of urban sprawl.

I've often been in Camerino in the evening, for concerts or receptions, and can assure you that the center is pretty lively, thanks to the university. It's much smaller than Ascoli Piceno, but considerably larger than Sarnano, which is more a village.

Jamikins, when you are to the east of the hills, you begin to see more and more industry. It's hard for me to be specific, but I would say that on the SS 76 you won't see much scenery east of Jesi, and on the SS 77, I think it' pretty industrial east of Corridonia.

Every town of any size has an industrial zone, although many of them are now pretty much deserted. It doesn't make them any prettier. At one time the government was trying to encourage people to stay in the countryside, and there were incentives (or maybe even mandates) for towns to include industrial zones in their urban planning, and incentives to entrepreneurs to build ugly prefab buildings and start some kind of productive activity.

In the hilly areas, the industrial zones are often hidden behind a hill, but there's no escape in the flatlands, and the industry was less likely to fail there, close to the autostrada and the port in Ancona.

When you look for a route from one inland town to another, you are likely to be directed to the autostrada on the coast and then back inland. It's always more scenic, but maybe much slower to take one of the inland north-south roads.

The geography of Le Marche is largely characterized by a series of ridges and valleys running from the Apennines to the Adriatic, and the inland north-south roads have a lot of ups and downs.

Thanks so much for the detailed response! That's so helpful!

Nochblad -- Your name is a riff on a whisky distillery that in southwest Scotland, Bladnoch. Thanks for the Gaelic clue.

jamikins, our trip is taking shape and we have been in touch with the guys at Casal dei Fischi.
Thank you so much.
Looking forward to their fresh eggs and produce.

Buona sera. I have sketched out a proposed itinerary and invite comments on its practicality, driving routes etc.
Day 1 - Arrive Ancona, pick up car approximately 1pm; drive to Sarnano (1.5-2 hr) (3 nights)
** Explore Amandola and surrounds
Day 2 - Day trip to Ascoli Piceno (1.0 hr) and San Benedetto del Tronto (another .5 hr); return to Sarnano (where to have dinner?)
Day 3 - Monte San Martino and surrounds (other suggestions?)
Day 4 - Drive Sarnano to Cagli (3 nights)
** Explore Gola de Furlo
Day 5 - Day trip to San Leo (definitely) / San Marino (maybe)
Day 6 - Day trip to Urbino/Urbania
Day 7 - Drive Cagli to Senigallia (1 night)
Drop off car Ancona; train to Ravenna.
Are the driving times realistic? I think there are some toll roads - approximately how much in tolls?
Thanks in advance! Grazie mille!

I'm not sure that it's worth going to San Benedetto del Tronto, unless you want to walk on the beach or something. It's a basic summer resort town, with little else of interest. You might want to go a little further north to Torre di Palme, a lovely little walled town on a cliff overlooking the sea. Of course, that wouldn't be a good substitute if you really wanted the beach experience.

Offida is another nice little town near Ascoli Piceno. I described it above, in my posting of February 4th.

Cagli is a bit far west for the things you want to visit while you're there. The drives you contemplate are not terribly long, but they're often on very twisting mountain roads. Urbino would be a little more central for your interests.

San Leo is a real treat. You could easily spend half a day, or even more there. If you want to see some really beautiful scenery, it would be worth getting off the most direct route to pass through the park of Sasso Simone e Simoncello. The small Strada Provinciale 84 heading west from Carpegna is very scenic. Then you could head north to Pennabilli, and San Leo is not terribly far from there. Pennabilli is worth a stop, for its dramatic location on two cliffs (Penna and Billi). Both Pennabilli and San Leo were part of Le Marche until recently, but they seceded and joined Emilia Romagna.

In Caarpegna, there is a family workshop, the Antica Stamperia, that makes printed fabric using hand-carved wooden stamps that have been in the family for generations. The dye is an all-natural family recipe made with rust and walnuts and some other things, if I remember correctly. It's colorfast and can even be bleached. I bought some aprons, tea towels, and potholders as gifts for my family, and can assure you that they wash well.

http://www.anticastamperiacarpegna.it/

In San Leo, we had a very good lunch at the Osteria la Corte di Berengario II. They had tablecloths from the Antica Stamperia.

We spent several days in the area, staying at the B&B A Casa di Urbi. It's very hard to find, but Google Navigatore will get you there. It's a very basic B&B, with simple furnishings. There are only two guest rooms, and they share a bath, but we were the only guests when we were there. It's right in the park, with a meadow full of flowers (in April, when we were there, at least) outside our window. The breakfast was something to write home about, as my mother used to say.

http://www.acasadiurbi.it/

We're planning to go back there, I hope in autumn to see some autumn foliage, but if not, in the spring. It's right in the middle of the park, so we had to go to Carpegna for dinner.

We liked Offida a lot, and spnt an afternoon there. Enjoyed wandering around, seeing the lace making, the churches, the piazza. There was a big wedding so we sat in the piazza and watched all the activity related to that while we were there. Many people hung out on their balconies or pulled up chairs at their windows to do the same. Like this guy:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHFPkIgD...by=pixeltrixel

Hi all! Tagging all this great info as we will be in the area next spring.

Thanks everyone for your comments. I am adjusting my itinerary accordingly. I am putting out there if anyone wants to join me for part of the driving journey, my dates are 13-20 May.