Marche Your Calendars

The summer crowds are smaller in this unexplored province. In autumn they’re non-existent

The main square in Le Marche’s village of Sirolo, drawing by John Donohue

The end of summer (and, sadly, the end of our stay in Le Marche) announced itself with a chilly October sunrise over the gorgeous hilltop Hotel Monteconero. Once a place of religious contemplation, Monteconero is today a resort and spa. Its simple, well-appointed rooms feature stunning views if you want them and blackout shades if you don’t. But when you do finally rouse yourself and find a place at the sumptuous breakfast buffet, you are blown away by the sweep of sea on one side and the rise of Apennine Mountains on the other.

The Hotel Monteconero

It was a particularly difficult morning to get out of bed. The night before we’d been treated to a wine tasting that included no less than eleven different bottles of fresh and aged Verdicchios as well as a small selection of Montepulcianos.

Closing out the tremendously varied flavors, intensities, sweetnesses and saltinesses was the hard-to-find…