Le Marche Itineraries for Villa holidays in Italy

We have clustered together points of interest in Le Marche that are located in similar locations to provide you with touring itineraries that we think you'd enjoy and are within easy reach of our Le Marche Villa .

Where you are dependent upon shops, museums or galleries being open we would always recommend leaving promptly in the morning or going after 4 in the afternoon. If you wish to go on market day then a morning trip is essential as most markets close at 1pm. All distances below are the time in minutes if you drive from the Villa.

Tolentino & Surrounds (30 mins) Half day

It's best to visit Tolentino in Le Marche on Tuesday as it's market day. Stroll round this ancient town, famous for Saint Nicolas and the Napoleonic Battle and eventual peace treaty in 1815. The town itself has beautiful churches, the basilica with its museum, a wonderful piazza and some great shops. After visiting Tolentino head out about 4km in the direction of Pollenza (East) on the SP77 road, 1km after the La Rancia shopping centre on your right you'll see a sign on your left for Il Pollenza cantina, this is a fantastic winery, where new technologies have been added to centuries of experience, the result is amazing wines including 6 young wines at €1.50 a litre and other fine bottled vintages (the shop is on the diagonally opposite corner of the quadrangle behind the big statue of the horse).
After this, drive a further 300 metres on the left to the Area T outlet shop. All clothing is produced by local producer Tombolini who produce clothes for Romeo Gigli amongst others. Make sure that you walk through menswear (Ground Floor) and take the stairs on your left down to the bargain basement where they have a whole floor of sale items

Lake Fiastra (25mins)

Drive over the top of the mountains and through Bolognola to San Lorenzo al Lago. In the summer light the lake takes on a wonderful aquamarine colour and you can rent pedaloes and canoes, swim and sunbathe on the beach, have lunch at the pizzeria or osteria and then cross the lake via the bridge at San Lorenzo al Lago and park at Fiastra 2km up the hill, walk to the castle and tower on the hill which command amazing views of the length of the lake. There are various signposted walks on the lakes banks.

Urbisaglia & Abbadia Di Fiastra (30 mins)

Stop at the Roman ruins on the main SS78 road, whilst there is much to see including an amphitheatre, theatre, mosaics and buildings on both sides of the road, 80% of the ruins are still to be excavated. Walk up the hill past the theatre to the actual town of Urbisaglia and visit the castle and the museum. Drive a further 5 minutes down the main road towards the sea and you will reach Abbadia di Fiastra, a Cistercian Monastery set in a small national park, there are lovely walks through the grounds, through the monastery, there's a great museum, 2 good ristorante and a pizzeria. If you still have energy after lunch take time to visit Macerata and look round its wonderful churches, theatre, opera house, cathedral, cool piazzas and sophisticated shopping. If you want to incorporate Macerata market you need to go there first on a Wednesday as it is only on in the morning.

Lake San Ruffino (25mins)

After Summer the lake is drained and the area is full of wildlife including egrets and herons. The co-operative down at the lake run something for everybody during peak season, there are massages and therapies, horse riding, a kayaking school, deer park, a picnic area, tourist office, small museum and a lovely osteria. En-route you could stop at Amandola, sampling cakes and drinks at Bar Belli in the fantastic Piazza.

Hells Gorge, Madonna dell Ambro, Amandola (30mins)

This is a beautiful drive. Head South from the Villa (left on the main road) to Amandola, sampling cakes and drinks at Bar Belli in the fantastic Piazza, drive through Amandola down the hill and fork right for Montefortino, before you reach the town you'll see a right turn with signposts for Madonna Dell'Ambro and Gola Dell'Infernaccio (Gorge of Hell). Drive first to Madonna Dell' Ambro, a place of pilgrimage where the virgin Mary appeared, and wander round the monastery, cool your toes in the stream and stop for a coffee or lunch. Drive back to the road you left and down to the gorge (the unmade road may seem a little unnerving at first- but it's in good condition and shouldn't hurt your hire car). Stop at the spring on route to top up your water bottles and park up at the end of the road, (there is a grassy area above for resting or picnicing) walk down hill, past the water cascade and then uphill for about 400m, after that its plain sailing, with 16km of pathway following the river Tenna through dramatic limestone cliffs. If you turn right after about an hour it leads to a hermit who has been constructing a church single handedly there for the last 30+ years

Guided tour of Renaissance Art and Local Wine (25mins)

The tour starts with a walk around Monte San Martino and through the main square with its Renaissance Urbani Palace, you will then visit the Art Gallery housed in the Ricci Palace and the Church of St Martin which is home to three works by the Crivelli Brothers from Venice. The tour ends with a visit to the Papi Family Cellar where the famous "Vino Cotto" is made.

Guided tour of a Le Marche World War 2 camp (25mins)

Visit the camp at Servigliano that held thousands of POWs during WW2. Hear stories including the mass escape following the Italian Armistice and the Italian farmers hiding Allied Servicemen until the liberation of Italy. An article in the UK Daily Telegraph describes the break out and there is even a web site dedicated to the Servigliano POW Camp and its prisoners

Guided tour of San Ruffino Abbey, museum & deer park (25mins)

Experience the spirituality of this ancient place of worship, originally built during the life of St Benedict and rebuilt as a monastery in the 15thC, walk from here along the shore of the lake to the deer park via the museum and its impressive collection of old agricultural implements.

Ascoli Piceno & San Benedetto (45 mins & just over an hour ) Market Wed/Antiques Sat

Wander round beautiful Ascoli, sample drinks at Café Meletti, visit the Cathedral with its lovely crypt, take in the art gallery and do a spot of shopping, or catch a serie B football match. Drive on a further 15 or 20 minutes to the sandy, palm fringed resort of San Benedetto del Tronto with its array of shops, ristorante, bars and night life.

Loreto & the Conero National Park (1 hour)

Visit historic Loreto, its art gallery and the amazing basilica, the gentrified town of Recanati (home to Gigli and Le Marche's most famous writer and poet Giacomo Leopardi) then move on to the Conero National Park, stopping at a few cantinas to sample and purchase some wonderful Rosso Conero wines. Then move on to the picturesque coves of Sirolo or PortoNovo for lunch and swimming and then down to the marina at Numana for more swimming, strolling and a bit of go-karkting or trampolining.