#24 / Between green and cobalt-blue

Have you been missing our imaginary walks? I have, which is why I’ve decided to take a few more trips.  Here I am again for a Fall version of #awalkwithMarco!

I want to show you the places where I live and work, the places where ideas, colors, materials, come into being, ... where MarcoMoreo shoes take shape.  

For now though, let’s potter around the region of Le Marche, one of the major shoemaking areas in Italy: as you know, our production headquarters, Montecòsaro, is in this very region. So let’s open this chapter of our imaginary tour right here, where MarcoMoreo shoes take their first steps. Literally!

And, as it is September, the month of the grape harvest, I’m dedicating this leg of the trip to the excellent wine you can drink around here. In any case, together with design and fashion, it is a famous Made in Italy product (yes I know, there’s more to Italy than shoes…) ;)

Ready? Let’s go! I’m getting in the car (some distances are best covered on four wheels) and heading north: first of all I’m taking you up Mount Conero and then to Jesi, two destinations that play a major role in the production of wine in this region.

Mount Cónero (I’ve added an accent to make things a lot easier) is a verdant (and beautiful) promontory which breaks up the long sandy coastline of the Adriatic. It gives its name to "Rosso Conero" an excellent red wine that is fruity and original. This is thanks to the limestone soils on which the vines (Montepulciano and Sangiovese varieties) grow and also the influence of the fresh (and salty) sea breezes.  

Before I stop to buy a few bottles, I stretch my legs on the path that takes me to the Passo del Lupo viewpoint: WOW! This virtually flat walk, high up on the promontory, is a feast of colors for my eyes (the green of the forest, the cobalt-blue of the sea) and fragrances (the vegetation here is truly luxuriant). I am accompanied by the small sounds of nature: the swishing of fronds, the humming of insects and also a myriad of birds – Mount Conero is one of the best places for birdwatching. So yet again, my rendezvous with contemplation is assured. ;)

So assured in fact, that this is how the day is spent, with my head tilted back, looking to spot a peregrine falcon. It’s late now though, we had better stop off in Portonovo for a bite to eat. I am torn between the delights of the sea and the land – the cuisine of Le Marche is excellent and highly varied. Fancy some fish? I recommend the moscioli, molluscs that are similar to mussels, typically found on these rocks and collected by skin divers. This should be accompanied by a typical white wine such as Verdicchio di Jesi. Do you prefer meat? In that case go for the regional dish of broiled suckling pig, washed down, obviously, with a Rosso Conero.

By now it’s really getting late: I’ll take you to Jesi (and for another good glass of Verdicchio) next time;)  

Stay tuned, ciao!

Marco