With acknowledgements to The Sunday Times travel section 15.09.2013
The Sunday Times reports that the French have found their favourite village. What’s your favourite hill town in Le Marche? Here is a check-list freely adapted from The Sunday Times.
All photos by Edward Fennell except the one of the book, which is by me.
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Petrucci’s “Paolina”on display in Mondavio
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Historic archive
https://alysb.wordpress.com/2013/09/13/ancient-documents-and-secret-passages-in-corinaldo/
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Annual rievocazione – i.e pageant in mediaeval, Roman, C16 costume or what you will. Fireworks essential.
Corinaldo‘s rievocazione – Pozzo della Polenta. Note the sbandieratore or flag-waver.
- Annual music festival (inc. jazz)
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Free entertainment most nights in August
Summer Jamboree – the Hottest Rockin’ Holiday on Earth!
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A Rocca or fortress and/or ancient city walls
Walls of Ostra Vetere
- Shops within the walls
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Lovely surroundings
View of Corinaldo
- Famous person and/or saint born there
- Restaurant within the walls
- Caffè-bar within the walls
- Theatre
Cagli Theatre
The Sunday Times checklist also included places that foreigners are not going to visit, and people whom foreigners are not going to talk to, but which make the village quaint and amusing. I thought it was a bit patronising, but I couldn’t resist a few items of my own:
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Bar Sport, where women don’t go, unless they work nearby, but foreign women will be treated politely by the attractive barmaid. A sideways look at Italian – or maybe Marchigiani – bars and caffes
- Bocciodromo , the equivalent of the Sunday Times pétanque pitch
- Annual briscola (card game) tournament
- Smartly dressed, small, very old ladies sitting on plastic chairs on the pavement
- Cats (of course you can talk to them)
- Annual church trip to Medjugorje/prize draw on saint’s day
And if you think I’ve skewed this so that Corinaldo will win, you are quite right!
Nominate your favourite hill-town by commenting below.
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Hill towns of Le Marche, Italy 
my favorite town is sarnano.
reasons
wonderfully preserved centro active in and out, old and new parts of the town great street lighting, so it does not appear dead growing population and great services restos inside the walls not overrun with tourists….an active town with all services museums great activities…bike racing/car racing/festas
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Sounds great, David, specially the active centro storico – this is the challenge for all hill-towns, to keep the centre alive.
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