Marche region of Italy, called the Marches in English, is a little touristed region bordering the Adriatic sea to the east, the Abruzzo region to the south, and Umbria region to the west. Square in shape, its longer sides curve slightly north-east with the huge projection of the peninsula of Mount Conero.

In the west of the Marche region are the Sibillini mountains, forming the Sibillini National Park and Nature Reserve. Urbino and Ascoli Piceno are the larger tourist towns in the Marche.

Inland, the mountainous nature of the region, even today, allows little travel north and south, except by rough roads over the passes.