Marche historical timeline

Origins

The Piceni held the region from the Iron Age, leaving rich burials and a distinctive art. In the north the Gaulish Senones settled after sacking Rome in 390 BC; the decisive Battle of Sentinum in 295 BC, fought near modern Sassoferrato, broke the alliance of Samnites, Gauls and Etruscans and effectively decided that Rome would rule Italy.

Rome then ran the Via Flaminia through the region to the Adriatic at Fano, and Ancona — founded earlier by Greek exiles from Syracuse — became an important port. Trajan rebuilt its harbour, and the arch raised in his honour still stands on the quay.

Frontier centuries

After Rome, the coast was Byzantine — part of the Pentapolis of five Adriatic cities — while the interior fell to the Lombards. The frontier between them ran through the region for two centuries.

The name comes from the period that followed: the German emperors organised border territories as marches, and the March of Ancona, the March of Fermo and the March of Camerino became, collectively and in the plural, le Marche. All were gradually absorbed into the Papal States, but they never merged into a single principality.

Urbino

The great exception, and the region's contribution to European culture. Under Federico da Montefeltro, duke from 1444, Urbino became one of the most cultivated courts in Europe — a mercenary commander who spent his earnings on a library, a palace and the best artists available. Piero della Francesca, Bramante and the young Raphael, born there in 1483, all belong to that orbit. Baldassare Castiglione set The Book of the Courtier in the palace, and it became the manual of Renaissance manners across the continent.

Papal rule and after

Ancona was an independent maritime republic for a period, trading with the Levant, before papal authority was imposed. The region remained under Rome until 1860, when it was taken by Piedmontese troops and joined the new kingdom.

The 20th century brought industry of an unusual kind: small, specialised, family-scale manufacturing clusters — shoes around Fermo, accordions at Castelfidardo, paper at Fabriano, kitchen appliances near Fabriano and Ancona. That model still defines the regional economy.

What is visible now

Trajan's arch on the Ancona waterfront, the Via Flaminia's alignment, Romanesque abbeys in the valleys, Urbino's palace, and the travertine of Ascoli Piceno.