Urbino, Pesaro, Fabriano: Cycling in Marche Unesco Heritage

There are many places to visit by bicycle in the Marche region, and also many good reasons for seeking them out. Let us start then with the Unesco World Heritage Sites: the historic centre of Urbino, an example of Renaissance architecture and art, has been a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1988; its Ducal Palace is the emblem of Federico da Montefeltro’s dream, who gathered here themain exponents of the culture and art of the time. And it was in Urbino that Raffaellol Sanzio was born and worked, whose works can be seen in the city and
its surroundings.

Pesaro – Italian Capital of Culture 2024 – has been a Unesco Creative City of Music since 2017, while Fabriano was proclaimed Unesco Creative City in 2013 for the traditional art of papermaking that has characterised it since the Middle Ages.
If you want some bike reasons, here they are.

Urbino

There is a permanent cycling route ‘Pedalling in the Land of the Duke’ of almost 450 kilometres between the Marche and Umbria regions, which runs from the Adriatic Sea to the Apennine mountains. The route runs counterclockwise and can start either from Senigallia, Pesaro, Urbino or Gubbio. Predominantly hilly, but
never reaching altitudes above 800 metres, it lends itself to being covered with any type of bicycle, from ‘racing’ bikes to e-bikes.

Pesaro

Instead of rails, bicycle lanes, kilometres at the disposal of bicycles in a manner similar to that of the metro with its various routes (hence Bicipolitana, the first in Italy). Starting from the cosy old town, on the Ponte Vecchio bridge, it is a moment to reach the famous Baia Flaminia at the lower end of the San Bartolo protected
area.  The Cardinali section is a bicycle and pedestrian route of almost 6 kilometres and between 2.5 and 3 metres wide, with benches, water fountains and an educational and refreshment area.

Fabriano

Cycling along the Sentino between Fabriano – Frasassi and Sassoferrato, about 55 kilometres from Poggio S. Romualdo. The roads are on the valley floor, particularly suggestive in the Frasassi Gorge section. The stages: Poggio S. Romualdo – Precicchie – Castelletta (the roads of the professional cyclist Michele
Scarponi, who died tragically) – Frasassi – Genga – Sassoferrato – Colledellanoce – Cabernardi (the mining village of Cantarino is worth a visit, you can go trekking on the miners’ paths or visit the historic sulphur mine) – Rotondo.