Tracy Bulla

Touring the Marche Part 2

First stop, Castelfidardo. We met various town and trade officials in the Town Hall and were entertained by an accordion player. Castelfidardo, incidentally, is world-famous for the production of accordions. Next, we took a tour of the Accordion Museum. 

Then we visited several craft workshops, including a fascinating demonstration of paper making by Cartiera Artigiana in Fabriano. 

Back on the bus and off to Camerino and the Rocca Varano Museum (a center for artists and craftsman) where we watched goldsmiths engraving on a gold sheet to create antique-style coins.

The next morning, we walked from our hotel in Ancona over to La Congrega, which specializes in textile restoration and also has a small museum on site. 

La Congrega gives antique textile remnants new life as pillows, curtains, table cloths and more by pairing with new natural materials like linen, hemp and cotton, bridging the gap between ancient and modern craftsmanship.

Then we took a short stroll over to Librare and learned about antique book restoration and art bookbinding.

Librare makes modern “books” that function as art and gorgeous handmade papers with traditional marble and swirl patterns.

After a simple lunch (that means only three courses!), we traveled by bus to beautiful Urbania and visited the various ceramic and majolica workshops that the area is renowned for and

ended our tour at the stunning Ducal Palace. 

Most artisans work off traditional motifs and patterns, often updating with color or the form of the object.

The next morning we headed off to sunny Offida where the most famous local art is the Merletto a Tombolo, or the pillow-lace – so called because the local women stand outside their doorways creating the exquisite lace on a roll-shaped pillow (the tombolo). 

We strolled through the village to the Romanesque-Gothic Church of St. Maria della Rocca, built in 1330 on the site of a Benedictine church. 

After a lovely lunch al fresco in a centuries-old monastery, we hopped back on the bus to our final destination, the seaside town of San Benedetto Del Tronto, where we observed more goldsmiths, ceramicists and jewelers exhibiting the artisan excellence of the Marche region.

For more information, go to www.ice.gov.it/italia/ancona

Posted by Tracy Bulla on December 15, 2009 | Comments (0)