When it’s raining, your plan for the day suddenly changes. The good news is that, thanks to where you are, any rainy day can become a short journey of discovery to explore the Marche region’s finest museums and castles. Just under or a little more than an hour’s drive away, there are many amazing places you’re sure to adore, rain or shine.
Here are a few ideas for an unplanned detour.
Gradara Castle
If you like things medieval, Gradara Castle is one of the most fascinating places to visit.
Perched on a hilltop on the border between the Marche and Romagna regions, it’s one of Italy’s best-conserved castles. Its crenellated walls, battlements and interiors tell tales of centuries of history, but above all one of the most famous love stories in the whole of literature: that of Paolo and Francesca, mentioned by Dante in his Divine Comedy.
Walking through the castle’s rooms and along its stone corridors is even more atmospheric when it’s raining outside.
Urbino and the Ducal Palace
The Italian Renaissance town of Urbino is about an hour and a half from Senigallia.
At its heart is the Ducal Palace, home of the Montefeltro family and a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture. It contains the National Gallery of the Marche, with incredible works by artists including Piero della Francesca and Raphael.
And if it’s raining outside? No problem! It’s the ideal excuse for exploring Renaissance rooms, frescos and courtyards. Followed by a cocktail in the square.
The Balì Museum at Colli al Metauro
If you like science clearly explained, the Balì Museum at Colli al Metauro, just 15 kilometres from Fano, is a great idea for an excursion. It’s an interactive science museum where almost everything can be touched, experienced and tested. You can take part in physics experiments, observe optical illusions and follow special space and technology pathways.
Here science becomes truly hands-on!
Fabriano Paper and Watermark Museum
Fabriano is home to one of the Marche region’s most unusual museums: the Paper and Watermark Museum.
Fabriano has been world-famous for paper-making since medieval times, and here you can find out how it used to be produced, from artisanal techniques to the watermark that made every sheet unique.
Practical paper-making demonstrations are often organised to show visitors an ancient craft “live”.
The Frasassi Caves
This is one of Europe’s most spectacular karst cave systems. The Frasassi Caves are huge underground caverns with stalactites and stalagmites that look almost too dramatic to be natural.
The temperature inside stays constant at around 14 degrees all year round. The first large cave visitors come to is the Abisso Ancona, a cavern so large that Milan Cathedral could fit into it easily. The specially constructed walkways lead on to incredible limestone formations, pillars, stone waterfalls, calcite draperies and stalactites that have formed drop by drop over thousands of years.
Another curious fact is that these caves were only discovered in 1971, by a Marche group of speleologists. Until then, no-one had imagined that such a vast and spectacular underground system lay beneath the hills in this part of the region.
A visit is always an amazing experience, even if you think you know what to expect.
The best thing about a rainy day is that often it lets you explore places you hadn’t intended to visit. Medieval castles, heritage towns, unusual museums or spectacular caves. The Marche hinterland is full of surprises, and none of them far from the sea.
If you thought rain could spoil a day of your holiday, prepare to think again.
