Two days in Le Marche, the first stop in our journey to Sicily. This region has many ingredients I look for when I travel: food and wine, small villages and culture.
My holidays as a child
In this region my parents took my sister and me to spend some summer holidays in a row when we were young. I haven’t many memories if not the ones we were told by my parents.
When a place is too close, we feel it not “exotic” enough to visit it or we tend to think we’ll have plenty of occasions to visit it. And so we tend to push back.
I spent two days in Le Marche in name of culture, wine tasting and breathtaking landscapes. Are you ready to leave?
At first glance this region reminds me of Tuscany for the golden hills of threshed wheat, lines of cypresses and bushes, fields of sunflowers ripening in the sun, hay bales drying in the sun and beautiful streets twisted around amazing villages and towns.
in name of food, wine and culture
This will be a taste of our two-day trip to Marche but I promise we’ll be back soon to tell you more about it!
Our first stop is Recanati, a town we connect with its most famous inhabitant: Giacomo Leopardi.
Strolling around this village is wonderful and everything revolves around the world-famous author.
welcome to Recanati
I know it seems quite obvious but believe me, you won’t be disappointed by the visit! It’s grand! You will be welcomed by a passionate staff, who will lead you along the rooms where Leopardi spent his childhood.
When you decide to visit “Giacomo Leopardi House” you can choose among different sections: we chose “Where I lived as a child” and “the museum”. Unfortunately “The Library” was not open, but it’s a good reason to come back!!
“Where I lived as a CHild”
It’s a section of the museum, that allows you to visit the most intimate places of the Leopardi House, that part that Monaldo Leopardi, Giacomo’s father, reserved for the games and the rest of his children.
The piano nobile is composed of frescoed rooms, where you can admire many precious objects used by the poet in his young age.
I really appreciate being welcomed by a person from the staff who was there to explain the stories behind the objects exposed and ready to answer your questions to enrich your visit.
I loved to see where Giacomo spent his time playing with his siblings and it was impressive to be able to see the ink spots on his bedside table.
Unfortunately we couldn’t visit the hill where Leopardi was inspired when he wrote “The Infinite” by Giacomo Leopardi. It was inaugurated in 2019 and it has been the first FAI monument in Le Marche and it’s a very unusual good. The FAI defines it “ a guided tour inside a poem, The Infinite”.
Don’t miss out the walk that runs along the good of the FAI to admire the beautiful sight from there. It’s a taste of what the poem might have seen from inside the hill.
In Jesi we followed the footsteps of Frederick II, but this town needs a post of its own!
You can’t spend two days in le Marche
without a good glass of wine!
You cannot say you spent two days in Le Marche if you don’t taste a good glass of wine!
The second stop takes us to discover the beautiful Winery Lucchetti in Morro d’Alba, I was suggested by a colleague of mine that lives here.
The winery Lucchetti is a really nice family business, at the third generation of wine makers. We arrive at 11.30 a.m. we didn’t call in advance to arrange the visit but Luca welcomes us warmly and gives us all the attention and passion to tell us about their wines.
But let’s start from the beginning!
From Armando, the grandfather, to today
Armando, the grandfather, planted the vineyard 40 years ago, the same that still produces a top quality wine.
At this point I’m already conquered, my grandpa was one of the founders of the Gualtieri Wine Cooperative, and this makes me feel at home!
What wines would you like to taste?
Cantina Lucchetti produces typical wines of the region, i.e. Verdicchio, Lacrima di Morro d’Alba, Passito di Lacrima and Visciole Wine.
The names of the wines tell us about the family and the farm. Guardengo, it’s the name of the stream that licks the wineyard. VIttoria, Maria Sole and Siria are the daughters of Mr. Mario, the owner of the business.
how to get a top quality wine
What really surprised me about the production of the wines is the fact that the grapes are selected one-by-one during the harvest, to grant a top quality product.
Tradition cannot forget technique, also from this point of view the Winery Lucchetti is cutting-edge.
The aging of the wine doesn’t happen in wood barrels that might change and influence the taste of the wine but in concrete barrels. These barrels are coated with a varnish. Thanks to this technique the wine doesn’t suffer thermal shock and remains motionless.
This technique isn’t new but it is coming back in vogue.
If you are longing to taste one of these wines, from the online shop the winery sends to private citizens. The winery has a very good sales channel in the USA.
