The summer of 2020 makes us rediscover holidays and do you travel in Italy. Here is a tour in the Marche, between art and nature
The morning light settles on a bucolic Italian garden and in front of a delicious breakfast the gaze is lost in the infinite spaces of the great poet of Recanati. The verses de infinity by Giacomo Leopardi, those recited by Dustin Hoffman in the spot a few years ago for the Marche region, are the first emotion that is felt in the charm of Palazzo Dalla Casapiccola (palazzodallacasapiccola.it), a seventeenth-century dwelling in the heart of the Marche region.
The suites, each with its own stylistic code, are the perfect refuge for a long weekend discovering the birthplace of the greatest nineteenth century poet. It is no wonder that by 2020 the Marches are the only Italian destination among the ten places not to be missed in the world of Lonely Planet's "Top Regions - Best in Travel" ranking. The celebrations for the 500th anniversary of Raphael's death, under the direction of the city of Urbino, are the perfect opportunity to start discovering a territory that offers a trip to a real Italy, still outside the circuits of mass tourism, with its art treasures, good food, the poetry of pristine landscapes, slow rhythms.
IS Recanati is a concentrate of Marche beauty. From Palazzo Dalla Casapiccola via Antici is Arianna's thread that leads to the discovery of Recanati: first stop the information office (infinitorecanati.it), and with a map of the village in hand (and all the news of the case), a little further on tick on the pitch of the Saturday of the village where it stands Leopardi house, which has reopened with a new extraordinary itinerary "Ove abitai fanciullo" (visitable only by reservation, giacomoleopardi.it), among the poet's rooms fresh from restoration. A journey through the Palazzo's reception rooms, the gallery with the art collections, the garden that inspired the memorable verses of the The memories, the sitting room where the Leopardi brothers spent peaceful hours, Giacomo's private room, from whose window the poet observed the beloved moon and the vague stars of the Bear. "After two hundred years our family opens spaces that, until today, were for our exclusive use and, above all, the series of environments that have long been the" forbidden desire "of every enthusiast of Giacomo Leopardi, the Brecce, or his apartments, "explains Countess Olimpia Leopardi.
The Recanatese tour continues among the many postcard views and places of enchanting beauty, such as the Colle dell'Infinito park, in 2018 redeveloped with a botanical regeneration project and new lighting created in collaboration with Oscar-winning scenographer Dante Ferretti, inspired by the poetics of the moon. The heart of Recanati, the theatrical Giacomo Leopardi square, with its cafes, is the place to linger, while the poet's statue seems to peer at passers-by from above. Emotions for the eyes are still unmissable masterpieces by Lorenzo Lotto, like the Polyptych of San Domenico, in Villa Colloredo Mels (villacolloredomels.it). While the emotions for the palate pass by gourmand stops where the robust flavors of the Marche reign, such as in the butcher-shop "Poesia a tavola" (poesiaatavola.it), between vincisgrassi (the oven-baked pasta from the Marche as it once was), and unforgettable roasts with delicious vegetables at km 0, to be accompanied with the local organic wines Conti degli Azzoni (degliazzoni.it): gourmet souvenirs for friends and relatives.
Happy shopping also in the unmissable stores of the brands in the area (from Guzzini, in the center of Recanati, with deals also on the latest collections, from the Tod's group store, in Casette D'Ete, Sant'Elpidio a Mare, about half an hour of car). But the surprises of this wonderful corner of Marche don't end here. About twenty minutes from Recanati, crossing one countryside designed by romantic sunflower fields, opens the spectacle of the sea of Sirolo, a medieval village in the middle of the Conero park (rivieradelconero.info), renamed the "pearl of the Adriatic" for its very blue Blue Flag sea, with beaches jewel (super instagramable), like those of San Michele or of the Two Sisters, suspended between the green of the rocks that smell of Mediterranean scrub and the blue of the crystal clear waters.
Opening, piazza Leopardi in Recanati (photo by Florinda Cordella)
