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COTTAGESGARDENS.COM | JANUARY 2016

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W hen someone hears I have a home in Italy, the first question is always the same: “Is it in Tuscany?” While Tuscany is indeed legendary, my home is in Le Marche (pronounced Lay MAR-kay), a region with wonderful foods and wines, walled medieval cities, rolling farmland and a long coastline. Its central location—east of Umbria, between mountains and coast—makes it easy to arrive by train to Ancona’s large central station, with car rental offices across the street and the Rafaello Sanzio Airport in nearby Falconara. Italy’s excellent train system allows for travel between many of the region’s beautiful cities, and for a longer adventure, Ancona’s port provides ferry service to Trieste, Croatia, Albania, Greece and beyond.

I was lucky to be there last November during olive oil season, and even though I spent two days picking from the trees in my little village of Coldigioco, I didn’t have enough for the 250-kilo minimum to get pressed at Oleificio Rosini (oliorosini.it), an olive-oil grower and press in San Paolo di Jesi. Founded in 1982 by the late Benito Rosini, the business is now run by his wife and daughter. It was in full swing when my husband and I arrived for an olive-oil tasting. Local farmers, who bring their olives to Rosini for pressing, were unloading truckloads of the harvest. Oil is processed the traditional way using huge stone wheels or by a newer method where olives pass through an auger that releases the oil.

Nadia Rosini laid out several different olive oils that she and her mother produce, along with bread and small cups. We learned about the different types of olives in the region—more than 20 in Le Marche alone—and their

characteristics, which depend on sun, rain and soil, olive size and type of tree. In other words, olive oil has a terroir just as complex and varied as the wines of the region. After pouring in a small amount of oil, we placed a hand over the top and swirled the oil for 30 seconds to slightly warm it up. Then we gave it a sniff, then a sip, before sucking the oil in through our teeth. She asked us to observe how the oil tasted on each area of our tongues. We nibbled a small amount of bread between oils to cleanse our palates.

Nadia gives tastings all year long, including a version that’s paired with food. This is a wonderful experience if you’re traveling through this part of Italy, which also happens to be Le Marche’s Verdicchio wine region.

—Annette Rose-Shapiro

The Lure of Le Marche

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40 ctc&g cottagesgardens.com january 2016

Liquid Gold The press at Oleificio Rosini (above) yields fragrant olive oil from local farms. Centuries-old olive trees (top) grow in the fields of Le Marche. Rooms With A View Santa Maria del Gallo (right) provides a peaceful mountain retreat with magnificent views.

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� One of Italy’s highlights is its legendary cuisine. Restaurants along Le Marche’s popular coastline feature the freshest possible seafood. Accommodations range from B&Bs to large hotels. But for an experience like no other, it’s hard to top the magic of the Hotel Fortino Napoleonico in Portnovo (hotelfortino.it), just south of Ancona, where the sheer cliffs of Monte Cornero drop steeply into the sea. Rooms and suites are furnished with antiques, and several boast fireplaces, sitting rooms and private terraces. Chef Paolo Antinori serves regional seafood specialties in the restaurant, which has an award-winning cellar.

� Going inland toward the mountains, near my tiny village of Coldigioco, an agriturismo (a restaurant that also has rooms, usually located on the owner’s farmland) beckons the traveler who wants to enjoy life in the country. Santa Maria del Gallo (santamariadelgallo.it), housed in a former 12th-century monastery, is on a five-acre estate surrounded by fields of sunflowers. Owners Lilli and Mimmo Gallo have five beautifully furnished suites, each with its own kitchen.

� Visit the highest point in the region at the Hotel Tetto delle Marche in Cingoli (hoteltettodellemarche.it) and try the tasting menu of Chef Franca Piccinini in its Ristorante dei Conti. For a more intimate retreat, check into Alberto-Ristorante La Pineta, also in Cingoli. This small hotel’s restaurant offers many daily specials and pizza at night (lapinetacingoli.it).

FOOD & LODGING