Local specialties
The Marche: the region you don't expect!
Dear pilgrim friend, when you decide to set out and reach the Marche, you will soon discover why this is the only Italian region with a plural name. There are many reasons, and among them is undoubtedly its extraordinary food and wine and craftsmanship richness, which will accompany and enrich your walking experience. Here you will find a selection – unfortunately not exhaustive! – of the most representative flavors of the territory you will cross.
Food and Wine
The Food
In the inland areas of the Marche, you can enjoy typical first courses such as vincisgrassi, duck gnocchi, cappelletti and passatelli in broth, ravioli, tagliatelle, pappardelle and the unmistakable Campofilone tagliolini, to be paired with traditional sauces.
The Marche land is rich in white and black truffles, particularly in the Gola del Furlo, Cagli, Montefortino, and Amandola.
The cured meats deserve a special mention:
- Ciauscolo, soft and spreadable, typical of the hinterland;
- Carpegna ham, in the northern area;
- Fabriano salami, mazzafegato, liver sausages, and hunter’s salamini, found in many areas.
To accompany the meal, you can taste crescia, cheese pizza, and pan nociato.
When you arrive in Ascoli Piceno, an unmissable ritual awaits you: Ascolana olives and fried cream, even better if part of a generous plate of Ascolana mixed fry.
The Sweets
Among the traditional sweets, you will find ciambellone and tart in many variations. In Camerino, a special nougat is typical, while in other places you may encounter fig lonzino and Easter sweet pizza.
In Offida, try the characteristic funghetti, anise-flavored sweets shaped like small mushrooms.
During the Carnival period, Marche tables are filled with cavallucci, scroccafusi, chiacchiere, sfrappe, and castagnole.
Many of these sweets pair well with traditional drinks such as sour cherry wine, cooked wine, and sapa, a grape must with a long farming history.
The Wines
Along the way, you will cross territories rich in vineyards, especially in the areas of Cupramontana and Offida.
In the early stages, you can taste the Doc Bianchello del Metauro and Colli Pesaresi (white and red).
When you reach Cupramontana, do not miss the renowned Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, Rosso Conero (both Docg), and the fragrant Lacrima di Morro d’Alba.
In San Severino and Camerino, you can taste the Vernaccia di Serrapetrona (sweet and sparkling wine) and the Verdicchio di Matelica (Docg).
In the southernmost stages, between Offida and Ascoli Piceno, you’ll find Pecorino, Passerina, Rosso Piceno (also Superior) and Falerio dei Colli Ascolani.
Craft Beers
Beer lovers will be surprised to discover that the Marche is fertile ground for craft production: today, there are over 70 local breweries.
Here we only indicate those near the cities crossed by the route:
- Fossombrone: La Birra del Brigante – Birrificio Angeloni (Monteporzio)
- Fabriano: Bach Birrificio Agricolo Chiaraluce – Birra Millecento – I Beer
- Gola del Furlo / Cagli / Fonte Avellana: Birra Amarcord (Apecchio) – Birrificio del Catria (Cantiano) – Birra Venere (Apecchio)
- Cingoli: Il Boccale d’Oro
- San Severino Marche: Birrificio Agricolo L’Ultimo Piceno
- Montefortino: Birrificio Le Fate (Comunanza)
- Offida: Birrificio Carnival
- Ascoli Piceno: Birrificio Paoletti – Prima Pietra (Villa Pigna) – Birrificio Babylon (Folignano)
Craftsmanship
Walking in the Marche, you will discover that this land speaks not only through its landscapes but also through the hands of its inhabitants. Marche craftsmanship is a heritage of ancient, patient gestures, repeated for centuries: a silent and concrete way of transforming matter, preserving memory, and telling the soul of a people.
Where hands become a story
In the workshops of Tolentino, the art of leather takes shape; in Fabriano, rags and water become paper, as they did in the Middle Ages; between Urbino, Urbania, and Pesaro, clay transforms into majolica that has adorned homes for centuries.
Along the way, you will encounter the sound of wrought iron, the warm red of copper from Force and Comunanza, the elegance of goldsmith workshops in Jesi and Fossombrone, the delicacy of bobbin lace from Offida, the simplicity of wool carpets from Montefeltro, and the woven wicker and bamboo from Mogliano.
Objects that hold a soul
Every object here comes into being slowly: from the wood shaped by the luthiers of Ascoli to the artistic forms of Castelfidardo’s accordions; from the hats of Montappone to the pipes of Cagli and Recanati; from stone that becomes carved travertine in Ascoli’s workshops.
These are objects that do not shout, do not appear: they tell a story. And they tell the same wisdom that the pilgrim learns on the journey: patience, care, the ability to create something beautiful from what is simple and everyday.
An invitation to wonder
Stop, when you can, in front of an open workshop.
Let the hands of the artisans speak to your heart: they will remind you that every journey — like every work of art — is born one gesture at a time.