Marche: Difference between revisions

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imported>Mahagaja
top: add hatnote
imported>Sivigliano
History: Linked to relevant background on civic nobility under the Papal States (March of Ancona)
 
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{{Other uses}}
{{Other uses}}
{{redirect|The Marches|the border region between England and Wales|Welsh Marches}}
{{redirect|The Marches|the border region between England and Wales|Welsh Marches}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}}
{{Infobox settlement
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- See Template:Infobox settlement for additional fields and descriptions -->
<!-- See Template:Infobox settlement for additional fields and descriptions -->| official_name     = Marche
| official_name           = Marche
| native_name       =  
| native_name             =  
| native_name_lang   = it
| native_name_lang       = it
| other_name         = the Marches
| other_name             = the Marches
| settlement_type   = [[Regions of Italy|Region]]
| settlement_type         = [[Regions of Italy|Region]]
| image_skyline     =  
| image_skyline           =  
| image_alt         =  
| image_alt               =  
| image_caption     =  
| image_caption           =  
| image_flag         = Flag of Marche.svg
| image_flag             = Flag of Marche.svg
| flag_alt           =  
| flag_alt               =  
| image_shield       = Coat of arms of Marche.svg
| image_shield           = Coat of arms of Marche.svg
| shield_size       = 50px
| shield_size             = 50px
| shield_alt         =  
| shield_alt             =  
| image_blank_emblem =  
| image_blank_emblem     =  
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| blank_emblem_size       =  
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| blank_emblem_type       =  
| blank_emblem_alt   =  
| blank_emblem_alt       =  
| nickname           =  
| nickname               =  
| motto             =  
| motto                   =  
| anthem             = {{lang|it|[[Inno delle Marche]]}}<br />{{center| }}
| anthem                 = {{lang|it|[[Inno delle Marche]]}}<br />{{center| }}
| image_map         = Marches in Italy.svg
| image_map               = Marches in Italy.svg
| mapsize           =  
| mapsize                 =  
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| pushpin_map_caption     =  
| coordinates       =  
| coordinates             =  
| coor_pinpoint     =  
| coor_pinpoint           =  
| coordinates_footnotes =  
| coordinates_footnotes   =  
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_type       = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = {{flag|Italy}}
| subdivision_name       = {{flag|Italy}}
| established_title =  
| established_title       =  
| established_date   =  
| established_date       =  
| founder           =  
| founder                 =  
| named_for         =  
| named_for               =  
| seat_type         = Capital
| seat_type               = [[Capital city|Capital]]
| seat               = [[Ancona]]
| seat                   = [[Ancona]]
| government_footnotes =  
| government_footnotes   =  
| government_type   =  
| government_type         =  
| leader_party       = [[Brothers of Italy|FdI]]
| leader_party           = [[Brothers of Italy|FdI]]
| leader_title       = [[President of Marche|President]]
| leader_title           = President
| leader_name       = [[Francesco Acquaroli (politician)|Francesco Acquaroli]]
| leader_name             = [[Francesco Acquaroli (politician)|Francesco Acquaroli]]
| leader_title1     =  
| leader_title1           =  
| leader_name1       =  
| leader_name1           =  
| total_type         =  
| total_type             =  
| unit_pref         =  
| unit_pref               =  
| area_magnitude     =  
| area_magnitude         =  
| area_footnotes     = <ref name="area">{{cite web|url=https://www.istat.it/it/archivio/156224|title=Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011|language=it|publisher=[[Italian National Institute of Statistics|ISTAT]]}}</ref>
| area_footnotes         =  
| area_total_km2     = 9344.49
| area_total_km2         = 9,366
| elevation_footnotes =  
| elevation_footnotes     =  
| elevation_max_m   =  
| elevation_max_m         =  
| elevation_min_m   =  
| elevation_min_m         =  
| population_footnotes = <ref name="population">{{cite web|title=Resident population|url=https://demo.istat.it/app/?i=POS&l=en|publisher=[[Italian National Institute of Statistics|ISTAT]]}}</ref>
| population_footnotes   =  
| population_total   = 1481252
| population_total       = 1541692
| population_as_of   = 2025
| population_as_of       = 2012-10-30
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_demonym = {{Langx|en|Marchesan}}<br/>{{Langx|it|marchigiano|links=no}} (man), {{Lang|it|marchigiana}} (woman)
| population_demonym     = {{Langx|it|Marchigiano}} (man)<br/>{{Langx|it|Marchigiana}} (woman)
| population_note   =  
| population_note         =  
| population_blank1_title =  
| population_blank1_title =  
| population_blank1       =  
| population_blank1 =  
| demographics_type1     =  
| demographics_type1 =  
| demographics1_footnotes =  
| demographics1_footnotes =  
| demographics1_title1   =  
| demographics1_title1 =  
| demographics1_info1     =  
| demographics1_info1 =  
| demographics1_title2   =  
| demographics1_title2 =  
| demographics1_info2     =  
| demographics1_info2 =  
| demographics1_title3   =  
| demographics1_title3 =  
| demographics1_info3     =  
| demographics1_info3 =  
| demographics_type2       = GDP
| demographics_type2 = GDP
| demographics2_footnotes = <ref>{{citation|title=Population on 1 January by age, sex and NUTS 2 region|url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/DEMO_R_D2JAN/default/table?lang=en|website=www.ec.europa.eu}}</ref>
| demographics2_footnotes = <ref>{{citation|title=Population on 1 January by age, sex and NUTS 2 region|url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/DEMO_R_D2JAN/default/table?lang=en|publisher=European Commission}}</ref>
|demographics2_title1     = Total
| demographics2_title1 = Total
|demographics2_info1     = €42.597 billion (2021)
| demographics2_info1 = €42.597&nbsp;billion (2021)
| timezone1               = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| timezone1         = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset1             = +1
| utc_offset1       = +1
| timezone1_DST           = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| timezone1_DST     = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset1_DST         = +2
| utc_offset1_DST   = +2
| postal_code_type       =  
| postal_code_type   =  
| postal_code             =  
| postal_code       =  
| area_code_type         = [[ISO 3166 code]]
| area_code_type     = [[ISO 3166 code]]
| area_code               = IT-57
| area_code         = IT-57
| blank2_name_sec1       = [[Human Development Index|HDI]] (2021)
| blank2_name_sec1   = [[Human Development Index|HDI]] (2021)
| blank2_info_sec1       = 0.903<ref name="GlobalDataLab">{{Cite web|url=https://globaldatalab.org/shdi/shdi/ITA/?levels=1%2B4&interpolation=1&extrapolation=0&nearest_real=0&years=2019|title=Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab|website=hdi.globaldatalab.org|language=en|access-date=2023-03-05}}</ref><br/>{{color|green|very high}} · [[List of Italian regions by Human Development Index|8th of 21]]
| blank2_info_sec1   = 0.903<ref name="GlobalDataLab">{{Cite web|url=https://globaldatalab.org/shdi/shdi/ITA/?levels=1%2B4&interpolation=1&extrapolation=0&nearest_real=0&years=2019|title=Sub-national HDI Area Database Global Data Lab|website=hdi.globaldatalab.org|language=en|access-date=5 March 2023}}</ref><br/>{{color|green|very high}} · [[List of Italian regions by Human Development Index|8th of 21]]
| blank_name_sec2         = [[First-level NUTS of the European Union#Italy|NUTS Region]]
| blank_name_sec2   = [[First-level NUTS of the European Union#Italy|NUTS Region]]
| blank_info_sec2         = ITI
| blank_info_sec2   = ITI
| website                 = [http://www.regione.marche.it/ Regione.Marche.it]
| website           = [http://www.regione.marche.it/ Regione.Marche.it]
| footnotes               =  
| footnotes         =  
}}
}}


'''Marche''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɑːr|k|eɪ}} {{respell|MAR|kay}};<ref name="AHD">{{Cite American Heritage Dictionary|Marche 2|access-date=6 May 2019}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190506160248/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/Marche "Marche"] (US) and {{Cite dictionary |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/Marche |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229141455/https://www.lexico.com/definition/marche |url-status=dead |archive-date=2020-02-29 |title=Marche |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref> {{IPA|it|ˈmarke|lang|it-Marche.ogg}}), in English sometimes referred to as '''the Marches''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɑr|tʃ|ᵻ|z}} {{respell|MAR|chiz}}) from the Italian name of the region ('''Le Marche'''),<ref name="Fodor's20122">{{cite book|author=Fodor's|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3SYHWfYbsykC&pg=PT1132|title=Fodor's Italy 2012|date=13 March 2012|publisher=Random House Digital, Inc.|isbn=978-0-87637-143-5|page=1132|access-date=24 April 2012}}</ref><ref name="Italy19992">{{cite book|author=Touring Club of Italy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kUwPAAAACAAJ|title=The Marches: A Complete Guide to the Region, Its National Parks, and Over a Hundred of Its Towns, Including Urbino|publisher=Touring Club of Italy|year=1999|isbn=978-88-365-1467-0|pages=front cover|author-link=Touring Club Italiano}}</ref><ref>The Times, page [https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/europe-travel/italy/le-marche-italy-secret-region-guide-f5lkrjbhg] (''...British call it the Marches.'').</ref><ref name="FacarosPauls20072">{{cite book|last1=Facaros|first1=Dana|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RjnhlB7VF5MC|title=Cadogan Guide Tuscany, Umbria & the Marches|last2=Pauls|first2=Michael|date=1 October 2007|publisher=New Holland Publishers|isbn=978-1-86011-359-8|pages=front cover|access-date=24 April 2012}}</ref><ref name="AHD2">{{Cite American Heritage Dictionary|Marche 2|access-date=6 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Marches|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/marches|access-date=10 September 2019|work=[[Collins English Dictionary]]|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]}}</ref> is one of the [[Regions of Italy|twenty regions]] of [[Italy]]. The region is located in the [[Central Italy|central area]] of the country, and has a population of about 1.5 million people, being the thirteenth largest region in the country by number of inhabitants.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Marche |url=https://www.tuttitalia.it/marche/ |access-date=2023-01-18 |website=Tuttitalia.it |language=it}}</ref> The region's capital and largest city is [[Ancona]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Le province delle Marche per popolazione |url=https://www.tuttitalia.it/marche/36-province/popolazione/ |access-date=2023-01-18 |website=Tuttitalia.it |language=it}}</ref>
'''Marche''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɑːr|k|eɪ}} {{respell|MAR|kay}},<ref name="AHD">{{Cite American Heritage Dictionary|Marche 2|access-date=6 May 2019}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190506160248/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/Marche "Marche"] (US) and {{Cite dictionary |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/Marche |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229141455/https://www.lexico.com/definition/marche |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 February 2020 |title=Marche |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref> {{IPA|it|ˈmarke|lang|it-Marche.ogg}}), in English sometimes referred to as '''the Marches''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɑr|tʃ|ᵻ|z}} {{respell|MAR|chiz}}),<ref name="AHD" /><ref name="Fodor's20122">{{cite book|author=Fodor's|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3SYHWfYbsykC&pg=PT1132|title=Fodor's Italy 2012|date=13 March 2012|publisher=Random House Digital, Inc.|isbn=978-0-87637-143-5|page=1132|access-date=24 April 2012}}</ref><ref name="Italy19992">{{cite book|author=Touring Club of Italy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kUwPAAAACAAJ|title=The Marches: A Complete Guide to the Region, Its National Parks, and Over a Hundred of Its Towns, Including Urbino|publisher=Touring Club of Italy|year=1999|isbn=978-88-365-1467-0|pages=front cover|author-link=Touring Club Italiano}}</ref><ref>The Times, page [https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/europe-travel/italy/le-marche-italy-secret-region-guide-f5lkrjbhg] (''...British call it the Marches.'').</ref><ref name="FacarosPauls20072">{{cite book|last1=Facaros|first1=Dana|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RjnhlB7VF5MC|title=Cadogan Guide Tuscany, Umbria & the Marches|last2=Pauls|first2=Michael|date=1 October 2007|publisher=New Holland Publishers|isbn=978-1-86011-359-8|pages=front cover|access-date=24 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Marches|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/marches|access-date=10 September 2019|work=[[Collins English Dictionary]]|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]}}</ref> is one of the [[Regions of Italy|twenty regions]] of [[Italy]]. The region is located in the [[Central Italy|central area]] of the country, and has a population of nearly 1.5 million people, being the thirteenth largest region in the country by number of inhabitants.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Marche |url=https://www.tuttitalia.it/marche/ |access-date=18 January 2023 |website=Tuttitalia.it |language=it}}</ref> The region's capital and largest city is [[Ancona]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Le province delle Marche per popolazione |url=https://www.tuttitalia.it/marche/36-province/popolazione/ |access-date=18 January 2023 |website=Tuttitalia.it |language=it}}</ref>


The Marche region is bordered by [[Emilia-Romagna]] and the republic of [[San Marino]] to the north, [[Tuscany]] and [[Umbria]] to the west, [[Lazio]] to the southwest, [[Abruzzo]] to the south, and the [[Adriatic Sea]] to the east. Except for river valleys and the often very narrow coastal strip, the land is hilly. A railway from [[Bologna]] to [[Brindisi]], built in the 19th century, runs along the coast of the entire territory. Inland, the mountainous nature of the region, even today, allows relatively little travel north and south, except by twisting roads over the passes.  
The Marche region is bordered by [[Emilia-Romagna]] and the republic of [[San Marino]] to the north, [[Tuscany]] and [[Umbria]] to the west, [[Lazio]] to the southwest, [[Abruzzo]] to the south, and the [[Adriatic Sea]] to the east. Except for river valleys and the often very narrow coastal strip, the land is hilly. A railway from [[Bologna]] to [[Brindisi]], built in the 19th century, runs along the coast of the entire territory. Inland, the mountainous nature of the region, even today, allows relatively little travel north and south, except by twisting roads over the passes.


From the Middle ages to the [[Renaissance]] period, many cities of the Marche were important cultural, artistic and commercial centres, the most prominent being [[Ancona]], [[Pesaro]], [[Urbino]], [[Camerino]] and [[Ascoli Piceno]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Storia Marche |url=http://www.comuni-italiani.it/11/storia.html |access-date=2023-01-18 |website=www.comuni-italiani.it}}</ref>
From the Middle ages to the [[Renaissance]] period, many cities of the Marche were important cultural, artistic and commercial centres, the most prominent being [[Ancona]], [[Pesaro]], [[Urbino]], [[Camerino]] and [[Ascoli Piceno]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Storia Marche |url=http://www.comuni-italiani.it/11/storia.html |access-date=18 January 2023 |website=comuni-italiani.it}}</ref>


Urbino, which was a major centre of Renaissance history, was also the birthplace of [[Raphael]], one of the most important painters and architects of that period.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Raphael {{!}} Biography, Artworks, Paintings, Accomplishments, Death, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Raphael-Italian-painter-and-architect |access-date=2023-01-18 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> The Marche region is also the birthplace of [[Gentile da Fabriano]], [[Cyriacus of Ancona]], [[Donato Bramante]], [[Giovanni Battista Pergolesi]], [[Giacomo Leopardi]], [[Gioachino Rossini]] and [[Maria Montessori]].
Urbino, which was a major centre of Renaissance history, was also the birthplace of [[Raphael]], one of the most important painters and architects of that period.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Raphael {{!}} Biography, Artworks, Paintings, Accomplishments, Death, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Raphael-Italian-painter-and-architect |access-date=18 January 2023 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> The Marche region is also the birthplace of [[Gentile da Fabriano]], [[Cyriacus of Ancona]], [[Donato Bramante]], [[Giovanni Battista Pergolesi]], [[Giacomo Leopardi]], [[Gioachino Rossini]] and [[Maria Montessori]].


== Toponymy ==
== Etymology ==
The name of the region derives from the plural of the medieval word ''[[wikt:marca#Italian|marca]]'', a [[March (territory)|march or mark]], that is, a border zone, originally referring to a borderland territory of the [[Holy Roman Empire]], such as the [[March of Ancona]] and others pertaining to the ancient region.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Marche, unica regione d'Italia al plurale: ma perché si chiamano così?|url=https://www.anconatoday.it/social/marche-perche-si-chiamano-cosi-plurale.html|access-date=2021-12-13|website=AnconaToday|language=it}}</ref>
The name of the region derives from the plural of the medieval word ''[[wikt:marca#Italian|marca]]'', a [[March (territory)|march or mark]], that is, a border zone, originally referring to a borderland territory of the [[Holy Roman Empire]], such as the [[March of Ancona]] and others pertaining to the ancient region.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Marche, unica regione d'Italia al plurale: ma perché si chiamano così?|url=https://www.anconatoday.it/social/marche-perche-si-chiamano-cosi-plurale.html|access-date=13 December 2021|website=AnconaToday|language=it}}</ref>
 
== History ==
{{see also|List of museums in Marche|Anconine Republic|Duchy of Urbino}}
 
Marche was known in ancient times as the [[Picenum]] territory. The first period of cultural unity of the Marches was in the [[Iron Age]], when the region was almost entirely inhabited by the [[Picentes]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Origine e area di diffusione della civiltà dei piceni |url=https://www.antiqui.it/piceni/origine.htm |access-date=18 January 2023 |website=antiqui.it}}</ref> Many artefacts from their time are exhibited in [[National Archaeological Museum of the Marche Region]] in Ancona. In the fourth century BC, the northern area was occupied by the [[Senones]], a tribe of [[Gaul]]s. The [[Battle of Sentinum]] was fought in Marche in 295 BC; afterwards, the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] founded numerous colonies in the area, connected to Rome by the [[Via Flaminia]] and the [[Via Salaria]]. [[Ascoli Piceno|Ascoli]] was a seat of Italic resistance during the [[Social War (91–87 BC)]].
 
[[File:Anfiteatro Urbs Salvia.jpg|thumb|Roman Amphitheatre in the [[Archaeological Park of Urbs Salvia]]]]
 
Following the fall of the [[Western Roman Empire]], the region was invaded by the [[Goths]]. After the [[Gothic War (6th century)|Gothic War]], it was part of the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] [[Exarchate of Ravenna]] ([[Ancona]], [[Fano]], [[Pesaro]], [[Rimini]], and [[Senigallia]] forming the so-called [[Pentapolis]]). After the fall of the Exarchate, it was briefly in the possession of the [[Lombards]], but was conquered by [[Charlemagne]] in the late eighth century. In the ninth to eleventh centuries, the marches of [[Camerino]], [[March of Fermo|Fermo]] and [[march of Ancona|Ancona]] were created, hence the modern name.
 
Marche was nominally part of the [[Papal States]], but most of the territory was under local lords, while the major cities ruled themselves as free communes. In the twelfth century, the [[Republic of Ancona|commune of Ancona]] resisted both the [[Holy Roman Empire|imperial authority]] of [[Frederick Barbarossa]] and the [[Republic of Venice]], and was a [[maritime republic]] on its own. An attempt to restore Papal suzerainty by [[Gil Álvarez Carrillo de Albornoz|Gil de Albornoz]] in the fourteenth century was short-lived.
 
[[File:Urbino-palazzo e borgo.jpg|thumb|right|The Renaissance town of [[Urbino]]]]
[[File:Ancona - Duomo di San Ciriaco - veduta aerea.jpg|thumb|Cathedral of Ancona]]
During the [[Renaissance]], the region was fought over by rival aristocratic families, such as the [[House of Malatesta|Malatesta]] of Rimini, [[Pesaro]], [[Fano]] and the house of [[Montefeltro]] of [[Urbino]]. The last independent entity, the [[Duchy of Urbino]], was dissolved in 1631, and from then on, Marche was firmly part of the [[Papal States]], where many towns were governed by hereditary urban patriciates (see [[Civic nobility in the Papal States' March of Ancona]]).
 
The Napoleonic period saw the short-lived [[Anconine Republic|Republic of Ancona]], in 1797–98; the merging of the region with the [[Roman Republic (1798-1799)|Roman Republic]] in 1798–99, and with the [[Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)|Kingdom of Italy]] from 1808 to 1813; and the short occupation by [[Joachim Murat]] in 1815. After Napoleon's defeat, Marche returned to Papal rule until 4 November 1860, when it was annexed to the [[unification of Italy|unified Kingdom of Italy]] by a [[plebiscite]].
 
The [[Bombardment of Ancona]] occurred during the [[Adriatic Campaign of World War I|Adriatic campaign]] of World War I. The [[1916 Rimini earthquakes]] damaged or destroyed several buildings in Pesaro, Fano, and its [[hinterlands]].<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |date=7 December 2023 |title=8 dicembre 1916 – Legge speciale per Rimini distrutta dal terremoto |trans-title=8 December 1916 – Special law for Rimini destroyed by the earthquake |url=https://www.chiamamicitta.it/8-dicembre-1916-legge-speciale-per-rimini-distrutta-dal-terremoto/ |access-date=4 January 2024 |website=Chiamami Città |language=it-IT}}</ref><ref name=":53">{{Cite web |date=28 July 2004 |title=Terremoto del 17.05.1916, Alto Adriatico (Rimini) |trans-title=Earthquake of 17 May 1916, High Adriatic (Rimini) |url=https://www.lavalledelmetauro.it/contenuti/opere-specialistiche/scheda/296.html |access-date=4 January 2024 |website=lavalledelmetauro.it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=22 March 2019 |title=Pesaro. Fai, per le Giornate di Primavera monumenti aperti |trans-title=Pesaro, FAI: Monuments open for the Spring Days |url=https://lapiazzarimini.it/2019/pesaro-fai-per-le-giornate-di-primavera-monumenti-aperti/ |access-date=11 January 2024 |website=La Piazza |language=it-IT}}</ref>
 
The [[Battle of Ancona]] occurred during the [[Italian campaign (World War II)|Italian campaign]] of World War II.
 
After the referendum of 2006, seven municipalities of [[Montefeltro]] were detached from the [[Province of Pesaro and Urbino]] to join the [[Province of Rimini]] ([[Emilia-Romagna]]) on 15 August 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.iusetnorma.it/news_normativa/normativa/l-03-08-09n117.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722040247/http://www.iusetnorma.it/news_normativa/normativa/l-03-08-09n117.htm|url-status=dead|title=Article about the legislation|archive-date=22 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{in lang|it}} [http://www.ilrestodelcarlino.it/rimini/cronaca/2010/07/10/355107-valmarecchia_rimane_emilia_romagna.shtml Article] on ''[[il Resto del Carlino]]''</ref> The municipalities are [[Casteldelci]], [[Maiolo]], [[Novafeltria]], [[Pennabilli]], [[San Leo]], [[Sant'Agata Feltria]] and [[Talamello]].
 
Towns in Marche were devastated by many powerful earthquakes during the centuries, the last time in 2016 (in [[August 2016 Central Italy earthquake|August]] and in [[October 2016 Central Italy earthquakes|October]]).<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/25/world/europe/italy-earthquake.html Powerful Earthquakes in Italy].</ref> In [[2022 Marche flood|September 2022, Marche was hit by heavy flooding]].<ref>[https://www.ilmessaggero.it/italia/alluvione_marche_morti_feriti_dispersi_cosa_e_successo-6930369.html Alluvione Marche, 8 morti e 4 dispersi: si cerca un bambino, salva la mamma. Dispersa un'altra madre con bimba], ''Il Messaggero''</ref>


== Geography ==
== Geography ==
[[File:Cingoli BalconeDelleMarche.jpg|left|thumb|765px|View of Marche countryside]]
[[File:Cingoli BalconeDelleMarche.jpg|thumb|View of Marche countryside]]
[[File:Sirolo-vista conero.jpg|thumb|left|A view of [[Monte Conero]]]]
[[File:Sirolo-vista conero.jpg|thumb|A view of [[Monte Conero]]]]
Marche extends over an area of {{convert|9366|km2|mi2|sp=}} of the central [[Adriatic]] slope between [[Emilia-Romagna]] to the north, [[Tuscany]] and [[Umbria]] to the west, and [[Lazio]] and [[Abruzzo]] to the south, the entire eastern boundary being formed by the [[Adriatic]]. The [[Umbria]]n [[Enclave and exclave|enclave]] of Monte Ruperto (a subdivision of the [[Comune]] of [[Città di Castello]]) is entirely surrounded by the [[Province of Pesaro and Urbino]], which constitutes the northern part of the region.
Marche extends over an area of {{convert|9366|km2|mi2|sp=}} of the central [[Adriatic]] slope between [[Emilia-Romagna]] to the north, [[Tuscany]] and [[Umbria]] to the west, and [[Lazio]] and [[Abruzzo]] to the south, the entire eastern boundary being formed by the [[Adriatic]]. The [[Umbria]]n [[Enclave and exclave|enclave]] of Monte Ruperto (a subdivision of the [[comune]] of [[Città di Castello]]) is entirely surrounded by the [[Province of Pesaro and Urbino]], which constitutes the northern part of the region.


Most of the region is mountainous or hilly: the [[Apennine Mountains|Apennine]] range runs longitudinally along the region's eastern border and descends through a hilly landscape towards the [[Adriatic]] sea. With the sole exception of [[Monte Vettore]], {{convert|2476|m|ft}} high, the mountains do not exceed {{convert|2400|m|ft}}. The hilly area covers two-thirds of the region and is intersected by wide gullies with numerous short rivers and by alluvial plains perpendicular to the Appennini range. The main mountain range has a few deep river gorges: the best known are those of the [[Furlo]], the Rossa and the [[Frasassi]].
Most of the region is mountainous or hilly: the [[Apennine Mountains|Apennine]] range runs longitudinally along the region's eastern border and descends through a hilly landscape towards the [[Adriatic]] sea. With the sole exception of [[Monte Vettore]], {{convert|2476|m|ft}} high, the mountains do not exceed {{convert|2400|m|ft}}. The hilly area covers two-thirds of the region and is intersected by wide gullies with numerous short rivers and by alluvial plains perpendicular to the Appennini range. The main mountain range has a few deep river gorges: the best known are those of the [[Furlo]], the Rossa and the [[Frasassi]].
Line 135: Line 159:
}}
}}


== History ==
== Demographics ==
{{see also|List of museums in Marche|Anconine Republic|Duchy of Urbino}}
{{Historical populations
|1861 |889490|1871 |935053|1881 |948133|1901 |1062054|1911 |1116399|1921 |1170132|1931 |1208391|1936 |1245040|1951 |1330352|1961 |1321382|1971 |1340444|1981 |1392813|1991 |1409876|2001 |1450731|2011 |1538699|2021|1487150|source=[[National Institute of Statistics (Italy)|ISTAT]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Popolazione residente dei comuni. Censimenti dal 1861 al 1991|trans-title=Resident population of the municipalities. Censuses from 1861 to 1991|url=https://ebiblio.istat.it/digibib/Censimenti%20popolazione/Censimentipopolazioneresidentedal1861/RML0050288Pop_res_cens_1861_1991.pdf|lang=it|publisher=[[National Institute of Statistics (Italy)|ISTAT]]}}</ref><ref name="timeseries">{{cite web |title=Resident population - Time series|url=https://esploradati.istat.it/databrowser/#/en/censpop/dashboards|publisher=[[National Institute of Statistics (Italy)|ISTAT]]}}</ref>|align=right|cols=1}}


Marche was known in ancient times as the [[Picenum]] territory. The first period of cultural unity of the Marches was in the [[Iron Age]], when the region was almost entirely inhabited by the [[Picentes]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Origine e area di diffusione della civiltà dei piceni |url=https://www.antiqui.it/piceni/origine.htm |access-date=2023-01-18 |website=www.antiqui.it}}</ref> Many artefacts from their time are exhibited in [[National Archaeological Museum of the Marche Region]] in Ancona. In the fourth century BC, the northern area was occupied by the [[Senones]], a tribe of [[Gaul]]s. The [[Battle of Sentinum]] was fought in Marche in 295 BC; afterwards, the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] founded numerous colonies in the area, connected to Rome by the [[Via Flaminia]] and the [[Via Salaria]]. [[Ascoli Piceno|Ascoli]] was a seat of Italic resistance during the [[Social War (91–87 BC)]].
As of 2025, the region has a population of 1,481,252, of whom 49.1% are male and 50.9% are female. Minors make up 14.2% of the population, and seniors make up 26.6%, compared to the Italian average of 14.9% and 24.7% respectively.<ref name="population" />


[[File:Anfiteatro_Urbs_Salvia.jpg|thumb|Roman Amphitheatre in the [[Archaeological Park of Urbs Salvia]]]]
The population density is 158.5 inhabitants per square kilometer, below the national figure of 195.1. Among the provinces, it is highest in the province of Ancona at 235.1 per square kilometer, and lowest in the province of Macerata at 108.8.


Following the fall of the [[Western Roman Empire]], the region was invaded by the [[Goths]]. After the [[Gothic War (6th century)|Gothic War]], it was part of the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] [[Exarchate of Ravenna]] ([[Ancona]], [[Fano]], [[Pesaro]], [[Rimini]], and [[Senigallia]] forming the so-called [[Pentapolis]]). After the fall of the Exarchate, it was briefly in the possession of the [[Lombards]], but was conquered by [[Charlemagne]] in the late eighth century. In the ninth to eleventh centuries, the marches of [[Camerino]], [[March of Fermo|Fermo]] and [[march of Ancona|Ancona]] were created, hence the modern name.
=== Migration ===
Between 1952 and 1967 the population of the region decreased by 1.7% as a result of a negative migration balance, well above the national average, with a rate varying between 4.9 and 10.0 per 1,000 inhabitants. In the same period the natural balance of the population was positive, but lower than the national average and insufficient to counterbalance the net emigration. The population continued to decline until 1971, but in 1968 began growing again.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://circa.europa.eu/irc/dsis/regportraits/info/data/en/ite3_pop.htm |title=Eurostat |publisher=Europa (web portal) |access-date=23 April 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721132530/http://circa.europa.eu/irc/dsis/regportraits/info/data/en/ite3_pop.htm |archive-date=21 July 2011 }}</ref>


Marche was nominally part of the [[Papal States]], but most of the territory was under local lords, while the major cities ruled themselves as free communes. In the twelfth century, the [[Republic of Ancona|commune of Ancona]] resisted both the [[Holy Roman Empire|imperial authority]] of [[Frederick Barbarossa]] and the [[Republic of Venice]], and was a [[maritime republic]] on its own. An attempt to restore Papal suzerainty by [[Gil Álvarez Carrillo de Albornoz|Gil de Albornoz]] in the fourteenth century was short-lived.
As of 2024, the foreign-born population is 186,933, equal to 12.6% of the population. The 5 largest foreign nationalities are [[Albanians]] (22,879), [[Romanians]] (21,759), [[Moroccans]] (12,639), [[Ukrainians]] (7,548) and [[Pakistanis]] (7,260).<ref name="foreignborn">{{cite web |title=Resident population by sex, municipality and citizenship |url=https://demo.istat.it/app/?i=RCS&a=&l=en |publisher=[[Italian National Institute of Statistics|ISTAT]]}}</ref>
 
{| class="wikitable floatright"
[[File:Urbino-palazzo e borgo.jpg|thumb|right|The Renaissance town of [[Urbino]]]]
|+Foreign population by country of birth (2024)<ref name="foreignborn" />
[[File:Ancona - Duomo di San Ciriaco - veduta aerea.jpg|thumb|Cathedral of Ancona]]
!Country of birth
During the [[Renaissance]], the region was fought over by rival aristocratic families, such as the [[House of Malatesta|Malatesta]] of Rimini, [[Pesaro]], [[Fano]] and the house of [[Montefeltro]] of [[Urbino]]. The last independent entity, the [[Duchy of Urbino]], was dissolved in 1631, and from then on, Marche was firmly part of the [[Papal States]] except during the Napoleonic period. This saw the short-lived [[Anconine Republic|Republic of Ancona]], in 1797–98; the merging of the region with the [[Roman Republic (1798-1799)|Roman Republic]] in 1798–99, and with the [[Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)|Kingdom of Italy]] from 1808 to 1813; and the short occupation by [[Joachim Murat]] in 1815. After Napoleon's defeat, Marche returned to Papal rule until 4 November 1860, when it was annexed to the [[unification of Italy|unified Kingdom of Italy]] by a [[plebiscite]].
!Population
 
|-
The [[Bombardment of Ancona]] occurred during the [[Adriatic Campaign of World War I|Adriatic campaign]] of World War I. The [[1916 Rimini earthquakes]] damaged or destroyed several buildings in Pesaro, Fano, and its [[hinterlands]].<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=7 December 2023 |title=8 dicembre 1916 - Legge speciale per Rimini distrutta dal terremoto |trans-title=8 December 1916 – Special law for Rimini destroyed by the earthquake |url=https://www.chiamamicitta.it/8-dicembre-1916-legge-speciale-per-rimini-distrutta-dal-terremoto/ |access-date=4 January 2024 |website=Chiamami Città |language=it-IT}}</ref><ref name=":53">{{Cite web |date=28 July 2004 |title=Terremoto del 17.05.1916, Alto Adriatico (Rimini) |trans-title=Earthquake of 17 May 1916, High Adriatic (Rimini) |url=https://www.lavalledelmetauro.it/contenuti/opere-specialistiche/scheda/296.html |access-date=4 January 2024 |website=www.lavalledelmetauro.it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=22 March 2019 |title=Pesaro. Fai, per le Giornate di Primavera monumenti aperti |trans-title=Pesaro, FAI: Monuments open for the Spring Days |url=https://lapiazzarimini.it/2019/pesaro-fai-per-le-giornate-di-primavera-monumenti-aperti/ |access-date=11 January 2024 |website=La Piazza |language=it-IT}}</ref>
|{{flag|Albania}}
 
|22,879
The [[Battle of Ancona]] occurred during the [[Italian campaign (World War II)|Italian campaign]] of World War II.
|-
 
|{{flag|Romania}}
After the referendum of 2006, 7 municipalities of [[Montefeltro]] were detached from the [[Province of Pesaro and Urbino]] to join the [[Province of Rimini]] ([[Emilia-Romagna]]) on 15 August 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.iusetnorma.it/news_normativa/normativa/l-03-08-09n117.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722040247/http://www.iusetnorma.it/news_normativa/normativa/l-03-08-09n117.htm|url-status=dead|title=Article about the legislation|archive-date=22 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{in lang|it}} [http://www.ilrestodelcarlino.it/rimini/cronaca/2010/07/10/355107-valmarecchia_rimane_emilia_romagna.shtml Article] on ''[[il Resto del Carlino]]''</ref> The municipalities are [[Casteldelci]], [[Maiolo]], [[Novafeltria]], [[Pennabilli]], [[San Leo]], [[Sant'Agata Feltria]] and [[Talamello]].
|21,759
 
|-
Towns in Marche were devastated by many powerful earthquakes during the centuries, the last time in 2016 (in [[August 2016 Central Italy earthquake|August]] and in [[October 2016 Central Italy earthquakes|October]]).<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/25/world/europe/italy-earthquake.html Powerful Earthquakes in Italy].</ref>
|{{flag|Morocco}}
 
|12,639
In [[2022 Marche flood|September 2022, Marche was hit by heavy flooding]].<ref>[https://www.ilmessaggero.it/italia/alluvione_marche_morti_feriti_dispersi_cosa_e_successo-6930369.html Alluvione Marche, 8 morti e 4 dispersi: si cerca un bambino, salva la mamma. Dispersa un'altra madre con bimba], ''Il Messaggero''</ref>
|-
 
|{{flag|Ukraine}}
== Economy ==
|7,548
[[File:Indesit Headquarter.jpg|thumb|right|[[Indesit]] Headquarters in [[Fabriano]], [[Province of Ancona]]. The home appliance sector represents the core of the regional industry]]
|-
Prior to the 1980s, Marche was considered a rather poor region, although economically stable in some sectors, thanks particularly to its agricultural output and to the contribution of traditional crafts.<ref name="europa1">{{cite web|url=http://circa.europa.eu/irc/dsis/regportraits/info/data/en/ite3_eco.htm |title=Eurostat |publisher=Circa.europa.eu |access-date=23 April 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721132505/http://circa.europa.eu/irc/dsis/regportraits/info/data/en/ite3_eco.htm |archive-date=21 July 2011 }}</ref>
|{{flag|Pakistan}}
 
|7,260
Today the contribution of agriculture to the economy of the region is less significant and the gross value generated by this sector remains slightly above the national average. Marche has never suffered from the extremes of fragmented land ownership or 'latifondo'. Greatly diffused in the past, the sharecropping never produced an extreme land fragmentation. The main products are cereals, vegetables, animal products and grapes. Truffle hunting is popular; although it has often led to 'truffle wars' between hunters due to the imposition of quotas. Olives are also produced and managed by various harvesters. In spite of the marine impoverishment, the sea has always furnished a plentiful supply of fish, the main fishing centres being [[Ancona]], [[San Benedetto del Tronto]], [[Fano]] and [[Civitanova Marche]].<ref name="europa1"/>
|-
 
|{{flag|Moldova}}
Since the 1980s, the economy of the region has been radically transformed without, however, repudiating its rural past. Many of the small craft workshops scattered throughout the rural settlements have modernised and become small businesses, some of which have become major brands known all over the world ([[Indesit]], [[Tod's]], Guzzini, Teuco). This evolution led to the emergence of 'specialized' industrial areas, which are still profitable:
|6,807
* footwear and leather goods in a large area straddling the provinces of [[Macerata]] and [[Fermo]];
|-
* furniture in the [[Pesaro]] area in particular;
|{{flag|Bangladesh}}
* household appliances and textile industry in the province of [[Ancona]], in which the main engineering companies are also to be found (including ship building, petrochemicals and paper, as well as consumer durables).
|6,747
* The city of [[Castelfidardo]] remains an important centre for the production of musical instruments, the [[accordion]] in particular.
|-
 
|{{flag|China}}
The [[Gross domestic product]] (GDP) of the region was 43.3 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 2.5% of Italy's economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 28,200 euros or 94% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 96% of the EU average.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/10474907/1-05032020-AP-EN.pdf/81807e19-e4c8-2e53-c98a-933f5bf30f58|title=Regional GDP per capita ranged from 30% to 263% of the EU average in 2018|website=Eurostat}}</ref>
|6,633
 
|-
The unemployment rate stood at '''7.4%''' in 2020.<ref> {{cite web|url=https://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=lfst_r_lfu3rt&lang=en|title=Unemployment NUTS 2 regions Eurostat|language=en}} </ref> Marche is well known for its [[shoemaking]] tradition, with fine and luxurious Italian footwear manufacturing facilities in the region.{{Citation needed|date=March 2019}}
|{{flag|North Macedonia}}
 
|6,122
===Tourism===
|-
The region continues to draw tourists, whose increasing numbers have been attracted by the rich and broadly distributed heritage of history and monuments, as well as by the traditional seaside resorts.<ref name="europa1"/> Marche has many small and picturesque villages, 31 of them have been selected by {{lang|it|[[I Borghi più belli d'Italia]]}} ({{langx|en|The most beautiful Villages of Italy}}),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://borghipiubelliditalia.it/marche/|title=Marche|date=9 January 2017 |access-date=1 August 2023|language=it}}</ref> a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.repubblica.it/viaggi/2023/01/16/news/borghi_piu_belli_italia_14_nuovi_2023-383794441/|title=Borghi più belli d'Italia. Le 14 novità 2023, dal Trentino alla Calabria|date=16 January 2023 |access-date=28 July 2023|language=it}}</ref> that was founded on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities.<ref>{{Cite web |url = http://borghipiubelliditalia.it/ |title = I Borghi più belli d'Italia, la guida online ai piccoli centri dell'Italia nascosta|access-date=3 May 2018|language=it}}</ref>
|{{flag|Argentina}}
 
|5,871
== Demographics ==
|-
{{Historical populations
|{{flag|Switzerland}}
|type    =
|5,436
|footnote = Source: [[Istituto Nazionale di Statistica|ISTAT]]
|-
|1861 |909000
|{{flag|Tunisia}}
|1871 |958000
|4,485
|1881 |972000
|-
|1901 |1089000
|{{flag|India}}
|1911 |1145000
|4,348
|1921 |1201000
|-
|1931 |1240000
|{{flag|Germany}}
|1936 |1278000
|4,179
|1951 |1330352|1961 |1321382|1971 |1340444|1981 |1392813|1991 |1409876|2001 |1450731|2011 |1538699|2021|1487150}}
|-
The population density in the region is below the national average. In 2008, it was {{convert|161.5|PD/km2}}, compared to the national figure of {{convert|198.8|PD/km2|abbr=on}}. It is highest in the province of Ancona ({{convert|244.6|PD/km2|abbr=on|disp=or}} inhabitants per km<sup>2</sup>), and lowest in the province of Macerata ({{convert|116.1|PD/km2|abbr=on|disp=or}}). Between 1952 and 1967 the population of the region decreased by 1.7% as a result of a negative migration balance, well above the national average, with a rate varying between 4.9 and 10.0 per 1,000 inhabitants. The Average fund of this region is worth about a few million or maybe higher. In the same period the natural balance of the population was positive, but lower than the national average and insufficient to counterbalance the net emigration. The population continued to decline until 1971, but in 1968 began growing again.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://circa.europa.eu/irc/dsis/regportraits/info/data/en/ite3_pop.htm |title=Eurostat |publisher=Circa.europa.eu |access-date=23 April 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721132530/http://circa.europa.eu/irc/dsis/regportraits/info/data/en/ite3_pop.htm |archive-date=21 July 2011 }}</ref> In 2008, the [[Istituto Nazionale di Statistica|Italian national institute of statistics]] (ISTAT) estimated that 115,299 foreign-born immigrants live in Marche, 7.4% of the total regional population.
|{{flag|Poland}}
|4,011
|}


== Government and politics ==
== Government and politics ==
{{Main|Politics of Marche}}
{{Main|Politics of Marche}}
Marche forms, along with Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany and Umbria, the Italian "[[Red belt (Italy)|Red Quadrilateral]]", a strongly left-wing area. In the [[2014 European Parliament election in Italy|2014 European elections]], the people of Marche gave 45% of their votes to [[Matteo Renzi]]'s [[Democratic Party (Italy)|Democratic Party]].
Marche forms, along with Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany and Umbria, the Italian "[[Red belt (Italy)|Red Quadrilateral]]", a strongly left-wing area. In the [[2014 European Parliament election in Italy|2014 European elections]], the people of Marche gave 45% of their votes to [[Matteo Renzi]]'s [[Democratic Party (Italy)|Democratic Party]].


As of the [[2020 Marche regional election]] Marche is governed by the [[Centre-right coalition (Italy)|centre-right coalition]].
As of the [[2020 Marche regional election]] Marche is governed by the [[Centre-right coalition (Italy)|centre-right coalition]].


== Administrative divisions ==
=== Administrative divisions ===
The region is divided into five [[Provinces of Italy|provinces]]: [[Province of Ancona|Ancona]], [[Province of Ascoli Piceno|Ascoli Piceno]], [[Province of Fermo|Fermo]], [[Province of Macerata|Macerata]], [[Province of Pesaro e Urbino|Pesaro e Urbino]].
The region is divided into five [[Provinces of Italy|provinces]]: [[Province of Ancona|Ancona]], [[Province of Ascoli Piceno|Ascoli Piceno]], [[Province of Fermo|Fermo]], [[Province of Macerata|Macerata]], [[Province of Pesaro e Urbino|Pesaro e Urbino]].
{{Image label begin|image=Marches Provinces Blank.png|width=220|float=none}}
{{Image label begin|image=Marches Provinces Blank.png|width=220|float=none}}
Line 211: Line 240:
{| class="wikitable centered"
{| class="wikitable centered"
|-
|-
! style="background:#ccf;"|Province
! style="background:#ccf;" |Province
! style="background:#ccf;"|Abbreviation
! style="background:#ccf;" |Code
! style="background:#ccf;"|Area (km<sup>2</sup>)
! style="background:#ccf;" |Population
! style="background:#ccf;"|Population
(2025)<ref name="population" />
! style="background:#ccf;"|Density (inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>)
! style="background:#ccf;" |Area (km<sup>2</sup>)<ref name="area" />
! style="background:#ccf;" |Density
(inh./km<sup>2</sup>)
|-
|-
| [[Province of Ancona]]
| [[Province of Ancona]]
| AN
| AN
| 1,940
| 461,645
| 474,630
| 1,963.22
| 244.6
| 235.1
|-
|-
| [[Province of Ascoli Piceno]]
| [[Province of Ascoli Piceno]]
| AP
| AP
| 1,228
| 200,400
| 212,846
| 1,228.27
| 186.2
| 163.2
|-
|-
| [[Province of Fermo]]
| [[Province of Fermo]]
| FM
| FM
| 859
| 167,100
| 177,578
| 862.77
| 206,6
| 193.7
|-
|-
| [[Province of Macerata]]
| [[Province of Macerata]]
| MC
| MC
| 2,774
| 302,309
| 321,973
| 2,779.34
| 116.1
| 108.8
|-
|-
| [[Province of Pesaro and Urbino]]
| [[Province of Pesaro and Urbino]]
| PU
| PU
| 2,564
| 349,798
| 364,896
| 2510.89
| 141.9
| 139.3
|}
|}
== Economy ==
[[File:Indesit Headquarter.jpg|thumb|right|[[Indesit]] Headquarters in [[Fabriano]], [[Province of Ancona]]. The home appliance sector represents the core of the regional industry]]
Prior to the 1980s, Marche was considered a rather poor region, although economically stable in some sectors, thanks particularly to its agricultural output and to the contribution of traditional crafts.<ref name="europa1">{{cite web|url=http://circa.europa.eu/irc/dsis/regportraits/info/data/en/ite3_eco.htm |title=Eurostat |publisher=Europa (web portal) |access-date=23 April 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721132505/http://circa.europa.eu/irc/dsis/regportraits/info/data/en/ite3_eco.htm |archive-date=21 July 2011 }}</ref>
Today the contribution of agriculture to the economy of the region is less significant and the gross value generated by this sector remains slightly above the national average. Marche has never suffered from the extremes of fragmented land ownership or 'latifondo'. Greatly diffused in the past, the sharecropping never produced an extreme land fragmentation. The main products are cereals, vegetables, animal products and grapes. Truffle hunting is popular; although it has often led to 'truffle wars' between hunters due to the imposition of quotas. Olives are also produced and managed by various harvesters. In spite of the marine impoverishment, the sea has always furnished a plentiful supply of fish, the main fishing centres being [[Ancona]], [[San Benedetto del Tronto]], [[Fano]] and [[Civitanova Marche]].<ref name="europa1" />
Since the 1980s, the economy of the region has been radically transformed without, however, repudiating its rural past. Many of the small craft workshops scattered throughout the rural settlements have modernised and become small businesses, some of which have become major brands known all over the world ([[Indesit]], [[Tod's]], Guzzini, Teuco). This evolution led to the emergence of 'specialized' industrial areas, which are still profitable:
* footwear and leather goods in a large area straddling the provinces of [[Macerata]] and [[Fermo]];
* furniture in the [[Pesaro]] area in particular;
* household appliances and textile industry in the province of [[Ancona]], in which the main engineering companies are also to be found (including ship building, petrochemicals and paper, as well as consumer durables).
* The city of [[Castelfidardo]] remains an important centre for the production of musical instruments, the [[accordion]] in particular.
The gross domestic product (GDP) of the region was 43.3&nbsp;billion euros in 2018, accounting for 2.5% of Italy's economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 28,200 euros or 94% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 96% of the EU average.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/10474907/1-05032020-AP-EN.pdf/81807e19-e4c8-2e53-c98a-933f5bf30f58|title=Regional GDP per capita ranged from 30% to 263% of the EU average in 2018|website=Eurostat}}</ref>
The unemployment rate stood at 7.4% in 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=lfst_r_lfu3rt&lang=en|title=Unemployment NUTS 2 regions Eurostat|language=en}}</ref> Marche is well known for its [[shoemaking]] tradition, with fine and luxurious Italian footwear manufacturing facilities in the region.{{Citation needed|date=March 2019}}
=== Tourism ===
The region continues to draw tourists, whose increasing numbers have been attracted by the rich and broadly distributed heritage of history and monuments, as well as by the traditional seaside resorts.<ref name="europa1" /> Marche has many small and picturesque villages, 31 of them have been selected by {{lang|it|[[I Borghi più belli d'Italia]]}} ({{langx|en|The most beautiful Villages of Italy}}),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://borghipiubelliditalia.it/marche/|title=Marche|date=9 January 2017 |access-date=1 August 2023|language=it}}</ref> a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.repubblica.it/viaggi/2023/01/16/news/borghi_piu_belli_italia_14_nuovi_2023-383794441/|title=Borghi più belli d'Italia. Le 14 novità 2023, dal Trentino alla Calabria|date=16 January 2023 |access-date=28 July 2023|language=it}}</ref> that was founded on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities.<ref>{{Cite web |url = http://borghipiubelliditalia.it/ |title = I Borghi più belli d'Italia, la guida online ai piccoli centri dell'Italia nascosta|access-date=3 May 2018|language=it}}</ref>
=== Transport ===
The region is served by [[Marche Airport]] which provides direct routes to other parts of Italy and Europe. Other airports such as [[Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport]], [[Florence Airport]], [[Perugia San Francesco d'Assisi – Umbria International Airport]], and [[Rimini Fellini Airport]] are also used by air travellers from the region.


== References ==
== References ==
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== External links ==
== External links ==
* {{commons-inline}}
* {{commons-inline}}
* {{wikivoyage-inline|Marche}}
* {{wikivoyage inline|Marche}}
* {{official|https://www.regione.marche.it/}}
* {{official website|https://www.regione.marche.it/}}


{{Marche}}
{{Marche}}

Latest revision as of 14:44, 27 December 2025

Template:Short description Script error: No such module "other uses". Script error: No such module "redirect hatnote". Template:Use dmy dates Script error: No such module "Settlement short description".Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters".Expression error: Unexpected < operator.

Marche (Template:IPAc-en Script error: No such module "Respell".,[1][2] Script error: No such module "IPA".), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches (Template:IPAc-en Script error: No such module "Respell".),[1][3][4][5][6][7] is one of the twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the central area of the country, and has a population of nearly 1.5 million people, being the thirteenth largest region in the country by number of inhabitants.[8] The region's capital and largest city is Ancona.[9]

The Marche region is bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the north, Tuscany and Umbria to the west, Lazio to the southwest, Abruzzo to the south, and the Adriatic Sea to the east. Except for river valleys and the often very narrow coastal strip, the land is hilly. A railway from Bologna to Brindisi, built in the 19th century, runs along the coast of the entire territory. Inland, the mountainous nature of the region, even today, allows relatively little travel north and south, except by twisting roads over the passes.

From the Middle ages to the Renaissance period, many cities of the Marche were important cultural, artistic and commercial centres, the most prominent being Ancona, Pesaro, Urbino, Camerino and Ascoli Piceno.[10]

Urbino, which was a major centre of Renaissance history, was also the birthplace of Raphael, one of the most important painters and architects of that period.[11] The Marche region is also the birthplace of Gentile da Fabriano, Cyriacus of Ancona, Donato Bramante, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Giacomo Leopardi, Gioachino Rossini and Maria Montessori.

Etymology

The name of the region derives from the plural of the medieval word marca, a march or mark, that is, a border zone, originally referring to a borderland territory of the Holy Roman Empire, such as the March of Ancona and others pertaining to the ancient region.[12]

History

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Marche was known in ancient times as the Picenum territory. The first period of cultural unity of the Marches was in the Iron Age, when the region was almost entirely inhabited by the Picentes.[13] Many artefacts from their time are exhibited in National Archaeological Museum of the Marche Region in Ancona. In the fourth century BC, the northern area was occupied by the Senones, a tribe of Gauls. The Battle of Sentinum was fought in Marche in 295 BC; afterwards, the Romans founded numerous colonies in the area, connected to Rome by the Via Flaminia and the Via Salaria. Ascoli was a seat of Italic resistance during the Social War (91–87 BC).

File:Anfiteatro Urbs Salvia.jpg
Roman Amphitheatre in the Archaeological Park of Urbs Salvia

Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the region was invaded by the Goths. After the Gothic War, it was part of the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna (Ancona, Fano, Pesaro, Rimini, and Senigallia forming the so-called Pentapolis). After the fall of the Exarchate, it was briefly in the possession of the Lombards, but was conquered by Charlemagne in the late eighth century. In the ninth to eleventh centuries, the marches of Camerino, Fermo and Ancona were created, hence the modern name.

Marche was nominally part of the Papal States, but most of the territory was under local lords, while the major cities ruled themselves as free communes. In the twelfth century, the commune of Ancona resisted both the imperial authority of Frederick Barbarossa and the Republic of Venice, and was a maritime republic on its own. An attempt to restore Papal suzerainty by Gil de Albornoz in the fourteenth century was short-lived.

File:Urbino-palazzo e borgo.jpg
The Renaissance town of Urbino
File:Ancona - Duomo di San Ciriaco - veduta aerea.jpg
Cathedral of Ancona

During the Renaissance, the region was fought over by rival aristocratic families, such as the Malatesta of Rimini, Pesaro, Fano and the house of Montefeltro of Urbino. The last independent entity, the Duchy of Urbino, was dissolved in 1631, and from then on, Marche was firmly part of the Papal States, where many towns were governed by hereditary urban patriciates (see Civic nobility in the Papal States' March of Ancona).

The Napoleonic period saw the short-lived Republic of Ancona, in 1797–98; the merging of the region with the Roman Republic in 1798–99, and with the Kingdom of Italy from 1808 to 1813; and the short occupation by Joachim Murat in 1815. After Napoleon's defeat, Marche returned to Papal rule until 4 November 1860, when it was annexed to the unified Kingdom of Italy by a plebiscite.

The Bombardment of Ancona occurred during the Adriatic campaign of World War I. The 1916 Rimini earthquakes damaged or destroyed several buildings in Pesaro, Fano, and its hinterlands.[14][15][16]

The Battle of Ancona occurred during the Italian campaign of World War II.

After the referendum of 2006, seven municipalities of Montefeltro were detached from the Province of Pesaro and Urbino to join the Province of Rimini (Emilia-Romagna) on 15 August 2009.[17][18] The municipalities are Casteldelci, Maiolo, Novafeltria, Pennabilli, San Leo, Sant'Agata Feltria and Talamello.

Towns in Marche were devastated by many powerful earthquakes during the centuries, the last time in 2016 (in August and in October).[19] In September 2022, Marche was hit by heavy flooding.[20]

Geography

File:Cingoli BalconeDelleMarche.jpg
View of Marche countryside
File:Sirolo-vista conero.jpg
A view of Monte Conero

Marche extends over an area of Script error: No such module "convert". of the central Adriatic slope between Emilia-Romagna to the north, Tuscany and Umbria to the west, and Lazio and Abruzzo to the south, the entire eastern boundary being formed by the Adriatic. The Umbrian enclave of Monte Ruperto (a subdivision of the comune of Città di Castello) is entirely surrounded by the Province of Pesaro and Urbino, which constitutes the northern part of the region.

Most of the region is mountainous or hilly: the Apennine range runs longitudinally along the region's eastern border and descends through a hilly landscape towards the Adriatic sea. With the sole exception of Monte Vettore, Script error: No such module "convert". high, the mountains do not exceed Script error: No such module "convert".. The hilly area covers two-thirds of the region and is intersected by wide gullies with numerous short rivers and by alluvial plains perpendicular to the Appennini range. The main mountain range has a few deep river gorges: the best known are those of the Furlo, the Rossa and the Frasassi.

The coastline is Script error: No such module "convert". long and is relatively flat and straight except for the hilly area between Gabicce and Pesaro in the north, and the eastern slopes of Monte Conero near Ancona.

Climate is temperate. Inland, in the mountainous areas, is more continental with cold and often snowy winters; by the sea is more mediterranean. Precipitation varies from Script error: No such module "convert". per year inland and Script error: No such module "convert". per year on the Adriatic coast.

A region with an annular drainage pattern possibly corresponding to a mud diapir or astrobleme exists near Sant'Angelo in Pontano.[21]

As of 2023, according to the report on land consumption of the Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Marche and Liguria hold the Italian record for coastal overbuilding.[22][23]

Mountains

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Demographics

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As of 2025, the region has a population of 1,481,252, of whom 49.1% are male and 50.9% are female. Minors make up 14.2% of the population, and seniors make up 26.6%, compared to the Italian average of 14.9% and 24.7% respectively.[24]

The population density is 158.5 inhabitants per square kilometer, below the national figure of 195.1. Among the provinces, it is highest in the province of Ancona at 235.1 per square kilometer, and lowest in the province of Macerata at 108.8.

Migration

Between 1952 and 1967 the population of the region decreased by 1.7% as a result of a negative migration balance, well above the national average, with a rate varying between 4.9 and 10.0 per 1,000 inhabitants. In the same period the natural balance of the population was positive, but lower than the national average and insufficient to counterbalance the net emigration. The population continued to decline until 1971, but in 1968 began growing again.[25]

As of 2024, the foreign-born population is 186,933, equal to 12.6% of the population. The 5 largest foreign nationalities are Albanians (22,879), Romanians (21,759), Moroccans (12,639), Ukrainians (7,548) and Pakistanis (7,260).[26]

Foreign population by country of birth (2024)[26]
Country of birth Population
File:Flag of Albania.svg Albania 22,879
File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania 21,759
File:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco 12,639
File:Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine 7,548
File:Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan 7,260
File:Flag of Moldova.svg Moldova 6,807
File:Flag of Bangladesh.svg Bangladesh 6,747
File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 6,633
Template:Country data North Macedonia 6,122
File:Flag of Argentina.svg Argentina 5,871
File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 5,436
File:Flag of Tunisia.svg Tunisia 4,485
File:Flag of India.svg India 4,348
File:Flag of Germany.svg Germany 4,179
File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland 4,011

Government and politics

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Marche forms, along with Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany and Umbria, the Italian "Red Quadrilateral", a strongly left-wing area. In the 2014 European elections, the people of Marche gave 45% of their votes to Matteo Renzi's Democratic Party.

As of the 2020 Marche regional election Marche is governed by the centre-right coalition.

Administrative divisions

The region is divided into five provinces: Ancona, Ascoli Piceno, Fermo, Macerata, Pesaro e Urbino.

Province Code Population

(2025)[24]

Area (km2)[27] Density

(inh./km2)

Province of Ancona AN 461,645 1,963.22 235.1
Province of Ascoli Piceno AP 200,400 1,228.27 163.2
Province of Fermo FM 167,100 862.77 193.7
Province of Macerata MC 302,309 2,779.34 108.8
Province of Pesaro and Urbino PU 349,798 2510.89 139.3

Economy

File:Indesit Headquarter.jpg
Indesit Headquarters in Fabriano, Province of Ancona. The home appliance sector represents the core of the regional industry

Prior to the 1980s, Marche was considered a rather poor region, although economically stable in some sectors, thanks particularly to its agricultural output and to the contribution of traditional crafts.[28]

Today the contribution of agriculture to the economy of the region is less significant and the gross value generated by this sector remains slightly above the national average. Marche has never suffered from the extremes of fragmented land ownership or 'latifondo'. Greatly diffused in the past, the sharecropping never produced an extreme land fragmentation. The main products are cereals, vegetables, animal products and grapes. Truffle hunting is popular; although it has often led to 'truffle wars' between hunters due to the imposition of quotas. Olives are also produced and managed by various harvesters. In spite of the marine impoverishment, the sea has always furnished a plentiful supply of fish, the main fishing centres being Ancona, San Benedetto del Tronto, Fano and Civitanova Marche.[28]

Since the 1980s, the economy of the region has been radically transformed without, however, repudiating its rural past. Many of the small craft workshops scattered throughout the rural settlements have modernised and become small businesses, some of which have become major brands known all over the world (Indesit, Tod's, Guzzini, Teuco). This evolution led to the emergence of 'specialized' industrial areas, which are still profitable:

  • footwear and leather goods in a large area straddling the provinces of Macerata and Fermo;
  • furniture in the Pesaro area in particular;
  • household appliances and textile industry in the province of Ancona, in which the main engineering companies are also to be found (including ship building, petrochemicals and paper, as well as consumer durables).
  • The city of Castelfidardo remains an important centre for the production of musical instruments, the accordion in particular.

The gross domestic product (GDP) of the region was 43.3 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 2.5% of Italy's economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 28,200 euros or 94% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 96% of the EU average.[29]

The unemployment rate stood at 7.4% in 2020.[30] Marche is well known for its shoemaking tradition, with fine and luxurious Italian footwear manufacturing facilities in the region.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Tourism

The region continues to draw tourists, whose increasing numbers have been attracted by the rich and broadly distributed heritage of history and monuments, as well as by the traditional seaside resorts.[28] Marche has many small and picturesque villages, 31 of them have been selected by Script error: No such module "Lang". (Template:Langx),[31] a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest,[32] that was founded on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities.[33]

Transport

The region is served by Marche Airport which provides direct routes to other parts of Italy and Europe. Other airports such as Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport, Florence Airport, Perugia San Francesco d'Assisi – Umbria International Airport, and Rimini Fellini Airport are also used by air travellers from the region.

References

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  2. "Marche" (US) and Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  5. The Times, page [1] (...British call it the Marches.).
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  18. Template:In lang Article on il Resto del Carlino
  19. Powerful Earthquakes in Italy.
  20. Alluvione Marche, 8 morti e 4 dispersi: si cerca un bambino, salva la mamma. Dispersa un'altra madre con bimba, Il Messaggero
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External links

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