Porto Recanati to Marotta - more rain!

We had a very good breakfast at our B&B Zi Pasquale in Porto Recanati, run by a lovely couple who enjoyed chatting (mainly expressing their puzzlement about Brexit and British politics). We had intended to camp all the time, but we find that the price of accommodation on the coast off-season is so reasonable that there's no point even thinking about putting up a tent in the rain. For an extra €20 or €30 we get a warm, dry room and breakfast too! So far everywhere has been excellent. 

The day was cool and very cloudy, but not actually raining. We needed to get north of Ancona which we knew would be a problem. Cities usually are. Our Rough Guide states that "Ancona is an unlovable city", "the busy port attracts an international fleet of fume-belching trucks", "insalubrious alleyways and derelict lots abound" - we weren't tempted to go through the city! Our cycle route planning app suggested a route bypassing to the west, so we set off that way. At first the roads were very quiet and passed through lovely countryside. We had a good view of the Monastery of Loreto, a site visited by four million pilgrims every year on account of the rather surprising "fact" that it has been constructed over Mary's house from Nazareth where Jesus was brought up.  It was apparently flown here by a bevy of angels.....

Loreto

The onward route was very pretty and quiet, but involved quite a lot of climbing.

As we neared Ancona however the roads grew busier and we passed through some grotty suburbs leading to the final climb to Pinocchio - yes that is true! As we descended we had a good view back to the port of Ancona.

Ancona 

I haven't taken many photos of the bad bits of our route as we are usually rushing along to try to get somewhere nicer. But here is a view of an oil refinery from a busy road just north of Ancona.

It started to rain heavily as we eventually returned to the nice quiet coast path. At first the architecture was very drab (especially in the rain), but as we progressed we passed some lovely villas.

With the arrival of the rain we gave up all thoughts of camping and booked a room with a view in the Hotel Florence at Marotta for £44 (breakfast included).

View from our room

Porto Recanati to Moretta - 70km, 500m climb