Marche

This region of Italy may be  “off the beaten track” for the average tourist visiting Italy, but it is one of the richest regions in cultural assets: 500 historical squares, more than 1,000 monuments, 37 strongholds, 106 castles, 15 fortresses, thousands of churches of which 200 are Romanesque, 96 abbeys, 183 sanctuaries, 77 historical theatres that have been completely restored and that are in use, 315 libraries where ancient books are kept. Rossini is from this region and every August his works are represented at the Rossini Festival in Pesaro. Many artists were born or have worked in this region: Lorenzo Lotto, Gentile da Fabriano, Botticelli, just to name a few…  The natural sights are wonderful too: the Frasassi caves near Ancona are among the largest and most impressive in Europe, the white beaches of the Conero on the Adriatic are reminiscent of the Caribbean. The ancient Greeks founded Ancona at the beginning of the IV century B.C. and introduced viticulture. Varro and Cato wrote about the vineyards on the Adriatic coast and Pliny the Elder used to admire the wines of Ancona. Although the region was ravaged by Phylloxera, as the rest of Italy, between the end of the XIX Century and the beginning of the XX century, the vineyards were rapidly replanted and many of the indigenous varietals survived. French varietals were introduced in mid 1800s  to Civitanova by Paul Hallaire, superintendent of Napoleon the Third, and are still grown at the estate of Boccadigabbia, which was part of the 100 poderi (100 holdings) of the Bonaparte Administration. The vast offer of different wines is perfectly matched by the vast offer of the cuisine and gastronomic products of the Region: Vincisgrassi a regional version of lasagne (named after the Austrian prince Windisch-Graetz who was greatly impressed by this dish when he arrived in Ancona in 1799 to free the city from the Napoleonic troops), the delicious Olive Ascolane (large green olives stuffed with herbs, meat and cheese and fried), Ciauscolo (a soft and spicy salame), the many wonderful fish dishes (the Marche is the third largest fishing region in Italy). Our portfolio offers an overview of the best wines made from the most significative varietals: Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi and Verdicchio di Matelica made with the homonymous varietal, Rosso Piceno and Rosso Conero mainly Montepulciano, Pergola Rosso  made with Vernaccia Rossa di Pergola (an ancient varietal that is actually a clone of Aleatico) and the wines made with the French varietals introduced under Napoleon the Third.