Thanks to its rich cultural tradition, the Marche is an area in which ancient crafts are still practiced in artisans’ workshops. And it is in these traditions that the strength of the region’s economic model lies; based on small and medium-sized firms, this has now spread throughout the region.
One of the oldest crafts, the leather dressing, the center of which is in Tolentino, dates back to the Middle Ages and has given rise to a series of leather industries such as the manufacture of shoes and bags in the areas round Macerata and Fermo. A world-famous industry is papermaking in Fabriano, where there is the Museo della Carta e Filigrana – like the old master papermakers, workers here transform rags into handmade paper – and shops sell the refined watermarks.
The tradition of papermaking is also found in Piobbico which, like Fabriano, employs the water of the Potenza river to power its fulling-mills. In Ascoli Piceno, visit the Musei delle Cartiera Papale with a reconstruction of equipment used in the past to grind grains and produce paper. A route featuring images, video, and sound retraces the route followed by the water that, with its driving force, activated the millstones for grinding and the hammers employed in fulling rags to produce paper pulp. In Urbino, visit Graphia, the printing museum.
Another thriving local craft is the manufacture of terracotta wares – from Montottone in the province of Fermo to Fratterosa and in Terre Roveresche (visit its museum) in the province of Pesaro – and the maiolica from Appignano in the province of Macerata to Urbania in the province of Pesaro and Urbino. The latter dates from the Middle Ages and reached its peak in the Renaissance when, as a result of the patronage of the Della Rovere family, in Urbino, Urbania (then known as Castel Durante) and Pesaro, one of the most flourishing Italian industries developed.
The artistic manufacture of metal objects is a craft found all over the region; in the towns and villages, it is easy to come across lamps or the railings of a balcony made by hand. One of the most important areas for metalworking is the province of Ascoli Piceno, especially Force and Comunanza, where the coppersmiths continue an age-old tradition. The Marche also boast a city, Jesi, where there were numerous goldsmiths’ workshops, present also in Fano and Fossombrone. In Offida, near Ascoli, the art of making bobbin lace has been handed down for at least 5 centuries. Each summer an exhibition of lace masterpieces is held and in the Museo del merletto a tombolo there are displays of lace from bridal trousseaus made in the late-19th and early 20th centuries. At the “La Tela” laboratory run in Macerata, textiles are still hand-woven on looms. Near the San Michele Arcangelo Abbey in Lamoli, a hamlet near Borgo Pace, the museum of dyes finds and processes natural dyes from plants, experimenting their effect on textiles.
Also of great renown is the production of furniture, especially in the province of Pesaro and Urbino, while the restoration of antique furniture is widespread, especially in Pollenza, Amandola, Fermo, Corinaldo, and Ostra. Another flourishing industry is the manufacture of musical instruments, most notably the famous accordions of Castelfidardo – with its international museum – guitars in Recanati with the Museo della musica, and violin-making in Ascoli Piceno. In the province of Macerata, especially in Mogliano, rushes, wicker and bamboo articles are manufactured, including baskets, containers of various shapes and sizes, ornaments, and furniture. The province of Fermo, on the other hand, in Montappone and Massa Fermana, is specialized in hat-making, with a museum specific for this product with Montappone. Diffused in the Marche from Fossombrone to Cagli, from Pesaro to Recanati are wooden pipes manufactured by hand. In Acquaviva Picena they produce the so-called paiorole, baskets made of wheat straw, wickerwork and several types of marsh reeds; visit the themed museum hosted at the medieval Rocca. Finally, the ancient craft of stone-dressing should not be forgotten – e.g. the preparation of the travertine used to build the splendid palaces of Ascoli Piceno and that typical of the province of Pesaro and Urbino, from Sant’Ippolito to Cagli.