Perhaps one of Italy’s lesser-known regions, but certainly the most complete, the Marche region connects the sea, hills, and mountains, intertwining local histories, cultures, and cuisines that vary in every valley, village, and province, just like its dialects. The region, in collaboration with the Local Action Group (GAL) Montefeltro Sviluppo, presented five new itineraries to the public at the Italian Trade Agency in New York to help them discover the area.
The program is entitled “Marche: Custodians of Taste” and includes five itineraries each based on a regional product: oil, wine, beer, truffles, and honey. But the itineraries are not limited to gastronomy: each is a combination of outdoor activities (such as mountain walks, bike rides, and swimming in the sea), tastings of complementary products, and visits to cities of art, from Pesaro to Urbino, from Ancona to Ascoli, all while enjoying a five-star stay. What’s more, direct contact with local communities and artisans makes the experience even more unique and authentic: every story is personal.
“These itineraries completely overturn the concept of tourism,” said Montefeltro GAL President Bruno Capanna. ”Usually, typical products were a corollary to other itineraries dedicated to archaeological and landscape assets. Instead, we invite people to visit, savor and frequent these localities for their gastronomy because the dishes are the fruit of a centuries-old tradition. They are often still original, virgin in terms of tourism, and that is what makes them unique.”
Among the promoters present was Resto del Carlino journalist Giovanni Lani, in New York as chairman of the Urbino Press Award. Created in 2006, the award is the only Italian recognition dedicated to American reporters who, through their work, are interpreters of history every day. “A bit like the city of Urbino was in the Renaissance,” Lani commented, ”It was one of the most dynamic courts, which changed the course of history with its art, mathematics, and medicine.”
