Mezzavalle Beach has a long, wonderfully wild sandy coastline, reached by descending a steep coastal path, while the Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle is only accessible by boat, sitting at the foot of steep, jagged cliffs. Portonovo is no less beautiful: a wild, stony bay that is home to the 11th-century Santa Maria di Portonovo, a Benedictine church built entirely of white stone, which provides a striking contrast to the surrounding bottle-green vegetation and deep blue hues. of the sea.
As well as the beach, the windswept coastline is ideal for water sports including sailing, windsurfing and kitesurfing, while numerous scenic hiking, mountain biking and horse riding trails crisscross the park. For fabulous views of the coast, head to the lookout point at Sirolo, a charming medieval cliff-top town amid pine forests and scrub – one of the coast's highlights.
The best piece: For an informal meal or a drink with a view, head to the Hôtel Emilia Belvedere – in the early evening, locals flock here to have an aperitif while watching the sunset.
How to do: Emma Villas (0800 404 7753; emmavillas.com) owns several properties in Marche, including Casa Sant'Elia, a restored farmhouse for up to 10 people set in an estate with olive grove, small vineyard and fruit trees in the province of Ancona. A week's self-catering stay at Casa Sant'Elia, which has a swimming pool, costs from £3,275.
How to get there: Ryanair offers flights to Ancona from £55.98 return.
5. Explore the wilderness
For many Italians, the Maremma conjures up images of horses galloping across vast plains, slowing to a gentle trot to cross streams and coastal marshes before disappearing among pine-forested hills. Located south of Tuscany and stretching to neighboring Lazio, Maremma offers some of the wildest landscapes in Italy.
Local cattle herders and horsemen known as butteri have lived here since time immemorial and herd livestock. Even today, herds of Maremma cows graze in the wild, living among pine forests and large meadows. It was an inhospitable marsh, rife with malaria, before the land was drained in the first half of the last century. As a result, the inland hills and coastal strip offer pristine landscapes, with much of Maremma falling under the Parco Regionale della Maremma, where lush terrain covered in Mediterranean shrubs slopes towards the sea.
