Le Marche Food: Three Dishes Worth the Trip from Bologna

Le Marche is the region directly south of Emilia-Romagna — less than two hours from Bologna by car or train — and it has one of the most underrated food cultures in Italy. While tourists flock to Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast, Le Marche quietly produces some of the best dishes you have never heard of: a lasagne richer than anything in Bologna, fried stuffed olives with a DOP stamp, and a fish soup made with thirteen varieties of seafood.

If you are based in Bologna and looking for a food-focused day trip or overnight that goes beyond the usual Emilia-Romagna circuit, Le Marche delivers. Here are the three dishes to prioritise.

Vincisgrassi: Le Marche’s answer to lasagne

Vincisgrassi looks like lasagne but tastes like something else entirely. The recipe first appeared in Antonio Nebbia’s Il Cuoco Maceratese in 1783, and it is named — reportedly — after the Austrian general Windischgrätz, who ate it enthusiastically after a battle against Napoleon.

Where Bolognese lasagne uses a straightforward ragù, vincisgrassi layers its pasta with a sauce made from pork, veal and chicken, enriched with chicken livers, mushrooms, and — in the best versions — black truffle. The béchamel is generous. The result is denser and more complex than its Emilian cousin.

You will find it on the menu of any traditional restaurant in Macerata, Ancona or Urbino. It is a winter dish by tradition, but most trattorias serve it year-round. Order it as your primo and you may not need a secondo.

Olive all’ascolana: the DOP-certified fried olive

These are not ordinary stuffed olives. Olive all’ascolana received DOP recognition in 2005, and the authentic version uses exclusively oliva ascolana tenera — a large, mild, green olive grown around Ascoli Piceno in southern Le Marche.

The olive is pitted, stuffed with a filling of pork, veal, chicken and vegetables, coated in breadcrumbs, and deep-fried until the outside is golden and crisp while the inside stays soft. The recipe dates to at least the seventeenth century.

They are served as antipasto or aperitivo — typically alongside other fried snacks (fritto misto all’ascolana) including cremini (fried custard squares) and courgette flowers. Every bar and trattoria in Ascoli Piceno serves them. In other Le Marche towns they are common but the quality varies — the best versions use fresh olives, not preserved.

Brodetto all’anconetana: thirteen-fish soup

Every coastal town on the Adriatic has its own brodetto, but the Ancona version is the most celebrated. Brodetto all’anconetana uses a minimum of thirteen varieties of seafood — including mullet, cuttlefish, sole, scorpionfish, mussels and clams — cooked in a tomato and white wine broth with garlic and vinegar.

The recipe is as old as fishing in Ancona. It was originally a fisherman’s dish — whatever the boat brought in that day went into the pot. Today, every chef in the coastal towns of Ancona, Porto Recanati, San Benedetto del Tronto and Fano has a signature version.

Want to taste Emilia-Romagna's finest products?
Our half-day food tour from Bologna or Modena visits a Parmigiano dairy, a balsamic acetaia, and a prosciutto producer — transport included.

Pair it with Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, Le Marche’s best white wine — crisp, mineral, and made for seafood. For more on the region’s wine, see our article on Verdicchio wine and the Frasassi caves.

Getting to Le Marche from Bologna

By car: Ancona is about 2 hours south via the A14 motorway (210 km). Ascoli Piceno is about 2 hours 45 minutes. Macerata and Urbino are slightly further inland but accessible as day trips.

By train: Regional trains from Bologna Centrale reach Ancona in approximately 1 hour 40 minutes to 2 hours. From Ancona, local connections serve the coast and inland towns.

If you want to combine Le Marche food with coastal hiking, the Conero Natural Park is just south of Ancona — Mediterranean trails, white beaches and Rosso Conero wine, all in one day.

Emilia Delizia organises food tours and cooking classes in Le Marche focusing on vincisgrassi, brodetto and olive ascolane. Get in touch if your group would like a tailored itinerary.