p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }

The Italian Government Touristic Board [2] has been recognized for the 2nd consecutive year as the first National European touristic board based in North America. Last Monday it hosted a presentation of the territories of Pesaro and Urbino [3] in the Marche region.

The conference was opened by Riccardo Strano [4], director of the board, who introduced the Marche region giving some details about its geographic area, the non-stop flights from the United States to Italy and the statistic trend of American tourists visiting the cities of Ancona, Pesaro and Urbino every year; afterwards he presented the official Italian guide that includes some images of the city of Urbino. The central image of the cover depicts a family in front of a natural landscape: the idea is to educate families in being closer to Italian culture through tourist tours. AARP [5] Magazine says that Marche is one of the 5 must sees in the world. Other newspapers such as The New York Times [6], the Financial Times [7], The Orlando Times [8] talked about the Marche as the second Tuscany.

A video about the historical heritage and the naturalist resources of the Marche was screened. Last year a promotional campaign featuring American actor Dustin Hoffman [9] reciting the “Infinito” poem by Giacomo Leopardi was screened as well.

Marche is the land of composer Giacchino Rossini, painter Raphael Sanzio, poet Giacomo Leopardi, motorbike world champion Valentino Rossi and pianist Giovanni Allevi. The lord of Urbino Federico da Montefeltro, who governed from 1444 to 1482, contributed to the construction of the major Reinassance features of the area.

Alberto Drudi, the president of the Pesaro-Urbino Chamber of Commerce, spoke about the activities of the region, assuring that those who come only for business then want to come back to Marche also for tourism. There are 180 km of coast and driving 60 km you can easily reach the inland. The greenery brings peace of mind. Luciano Pavarotti, who came from another region, chose the hills of Pesaro to spend many years of his life. It is a very peaceful place with a lot of activities, 176,000 companies based there, some of which are very important Italian brands such as Scavolini kitchen [10], the Tod's [11]and Piero Guidi [12] shoes, the cartoon “The Wings” etc. The Marche cuisine has 21 different appetizers and tourists simply feel home. The Marche motto is “Welcome, quality of life and friendship”. “A long-standing friendship, human relations, and good cuisine will always create something positive, in this case also touristic flows to Italy” concluded Drudi.

Pietro Marcolini, Minister of Culture of the Marche, remarked how the region ranked as the first Italian region in terms of percentage of factories and firms and 8th in Europe. It has a high quality of life, being assessed as the region in Italy where one lives better and longer. It hosts different festivals such as the Rossini Opera Festival and the National Cinema Festival of Pesaro. The city of Pesaro is one of the Unesco World Heritage [13] sites. Told to be the second Tuscany, the minister recognizes a common heritage with the Tuscan region, but actually – he says - the cost of life is cheaper. History has left many traces as the archeological discovery of Pergola bronzes testifies. Dante Alighieri wrote part of his ‘Divine Comedy’ there, as well.

On March 27, 2012, the three ‘ideal city pictures’, three paintings with the same theme that are now one in Urbino, one in Boston and one in Berlin will be on view together in an exhibit in Urbino. In the future more campaigns promoting the Marche will be presented in other American cities to reach a larger audience and to look for stronger collaborations with American tourists.