Even if I’m currently living away from Italy, I never forget my origin and my roots. Although my new urban life really fascinates me, I always feel deeply connected to my region: Le Marche.
During our stop at the B&B Vento di Rose in Monterubbiano, I met the Duarte’s, a couple of guests from Texas, who visit Le Marche every year. Exchanging my travel and life experiences with Neil and Terry was such a great emotion.
Neil and Terry Duarte: they’re totally in love with Le Marche!
Getting to know how much they love the Marche and the people they’ve met here over the years…I must admit I started feeling homesick and the desire to come back to my town was tempting.
The Marche region
My conversation with this extraordinary couple, who have found in the Marche their destination for a perfect holiday, began with an appreciation from Terry:
“When we discovered Le Marche in 2012, we knew that we would be returning often since there is so much beauty to see and and so much to do. We always arrive with a list of places to visit and things to do, but we never make it through the list because we find other things to see or do that we didn’t even know about. Emidio {owner of the B&B Vento di Rose} is an excellent guide! I think he knows everyone in southern Marche and can arrange visits to wineries, pasta factories, pottery makers; all of which are tucked away in the beautiful countryside or in small towns. Riding along the back roads is always an adventure.”
So let’s get started and find out more about their feelings for Le Marche…
1) What do you do for a living today?
We are both retired and live near Austin, Texas in the USA.
2) When did you first become interested in Italy?
Before we retired, we had made several visits to various parts of Italy including the “standard” American tourist visit to Rome and Tuscany. We loved the scenery, the food, the wine and most of all the people. We decided that we wanted to explore the real Italy and see the countryside, not just the cities. As a result we began to visit various regions including Piedmont, Veneto, Friuli and Umbria.
3) Why did you visit Marche?
During our research about the various areas of Italy, we noted that there were a number of references to the beauty and culture of Marche. We also had a friend who had visited Marche several times and spoke very highly about the region. As a result we decided to plan a visit and see for ourselves what Marche was.
4) When was your initial visit?
Our first visit was in 2012. We stayed in an agritursimo in the northern part of Marche near Gallo, then drove to B&B Terra Mossa outside of Poggio San Marcello and finished at Agritursimo Vento di Rose outside of Monterubbiano.
The beautiful “B&B Vento di Rose” outside Monterubbiano owned by Emidio and Emanuela
5) What did you think of Marche?
The first thing that impressed us was the beauty of the region. We came in the spring and everything was so green and alive.
Le Marche’s landscape: full of vibrant and stunning colors all over the year
Next we noted the excellent food. If we wanted seafood, the Adriatic Coast was close and inland you found delicious meat dishes. Complementing these were the superb Marche wines, both red and white.
Wine: one of the many excellent resources of Le Marche
6) Since you have returned every year since 2012, what is the most important reason for your returns?
The countryside, food and wine are all excellent, but we return for the people. In most of the other parts of Italy that we have visited, the people have been very friendly, but in Marche we really felt at home.
Terry is making some delicious homemade Tagliatelle following the traditional recipe from Le Marche
As a hobby I write about Italian wines on http://www.wineloverspage.com/ and since our first visit to Marche our reception at various wineries has been most enjoyable. We now consider these people to be our good friends.
Neil and Emidio, owner of the B&B Vento di Rose in Monterubbiano
7) What would you tell other visitors considering Marche as a destination?
If you want an enjoyable holiday in Italy you should consider Marche where you are not overrun by busloads of tourists, where the people are both friendly and helpful, and the food and wine reasonable and excellent.
Le Marche is one of our favorite places and we can’t wait to return over and over again!
Thanks Neil and Terry, for sharing your experience with Discovermarche!
Discovermarche 
Reblogged this on Discovermarche and commented:
Today I’d like to reblog the interview to Neil and Terry Duarte, a beautiful couple from Texas who can’t wait to visit Le Marche region every year.
“Discover!”
Such a beautiful destination and wonderful testimonial. I want to go too! 🙂
Thanks Debra. Terry and Neil are really a great couple and fantastic testimonials for Le Marche.
If you come and visit here, I promise you’ll be the next!:-)