While Le Marche is enchanting year-round, those who visit in winter are rewarded with lower prices, amazing seasonal food, and unique opportunities to travel like a local.
You may need a jacket, but the views are still sublime. Morning fog rolls in the valleys and chimney smoke spirals upwards. Leafless trees and thin grapevines enlarge the patchwork landscape. Adriatic influences moderate our weather, making winters here relatively mild. Le Marche’s blue skies don’t fade in the winter and the sun shines brilliantly, albeit for fewer hours.
The holiday season is celebrated in Italy like nowhere else and Le Marche is no exception. Towns usually decorate on 8 December (Immaculate Conception) until 6 January (Epiphany). The piazza often has a Christmas tree and many villages display a nativity scene (presepio) and some even have costumed villagers act out the parts of the nativity. Christmas lights and window displays along the streets and in the piazze add to the festivities.
The weeks leading up to Christmas mean holiday markets, complete with roasted chestnuts, live music, and local food stands. On New Year’s Eve concerts and fireworks are held in the piazze, and on Epiphany, the Befana, an older woman who rides a broom and leaves toys or treats for good children, arrives to great fanfare in the piazza.
Winter also means it’s time to play outside. In the nearby Sibillini Mountains, ski resorts offer downhill and cross-country skiing, and snowboarding. Chalets serving local food and wine provide an atmospheric place to warm up afterwards! The Sibillini National Park also plays host to guided snowshoe hikes, often ending with a dinner at a chalet. Rental equipment is available for all of these events, so you can pack light! Several towns set up an ice rink for iceskating and there’s an excellent sledding hill just off the road in the Sibillini Mountains.
For those who prefer to remain indoors, winter is a fabulous time to participate in a culinary demonstration held in our own kitchen. Find out how mozzarella cheese is made and the many forms it can become – tasting them all! Learn how to stretch your own crust to make a traditional Italian pizza cooked in a wood-burning oven using techniques you can use at your own home with standard equipment. Take a cooking class and discover the secret to quick ravioli (yes, there is such a thing) and find out that tiramisù is actually pretty easy to make!
Speaking of food, Le Marche is famous for its black and white truffles, and winter is an excellent opportunity to go on a truffle hunt with an English-speaking truffle hunter and his dog. Perhaps you’ll get lucky and take home a fresh truffle souvenir!
Winter also means Carnevale! Parties and events are held in many local towns but Ascoli Piceno’s Carnevale is a five-day celebration with costumes, contests, confetti, concerts, dancing, and local food!
The off-season is a great time to visit local wineries. The grapevines might look sparse but the owners usually have more free time for personal tours and tastings. Winemakers often host holiday dinners and winter tasting events.
One of our favorite things to do in Le Marche’s winter is enjoy a hearty meal at a leisurely pace. Restaurants remain open year-round, and with fewer tourists, it’s easy to get a table near the fireplace. Wild boar sauce with pappardelle and chickpea soup are local cold-weather favorites. Pasta with freshly-shaved truffles is sought-after in the winter. Many of our recommended restaurants have delightful warm winter ambiance; we come to Le Marche often in winter.