Anyone who has travelled to the Mediterranean knows that the Italians need no excuse to celebrate. Le Marche has more than its fair share of festivals, particularly throughout summer and autumn, and should you seek them out, or happen upon them accidentally, you cannot resist being swept up in the party atmosphere. No matter what is being celebrated, the people of Le Marche do it with gusto, revelries often continuing deep into the night.

The festivals are varied, ranging from the bizarre to the beautiful. If you are in Femignano in April, you might catch the Golden Frog Race, in which frogs in wheelbarrows are raced through the old town. Or should you find yourself in Camerino in May for the Corsa alla Spada, you can spend two days caught up in a 15th century sword-fighting contest, complete with fashions of the day.

In particular, the region’s people like to give thanks for the abundance of fine foods they produce. The most important for the region is the White Truffle festival, which runs from late October to late November, but towns have celebrations of local specialities throughout the year. If wine is what you wish to savour, then the time to go is late July and August, when you can sit in the cellars and spend a slow summer afternoon sampling the local wares.

Le Marche, with its impressive artistic and musical history, is home to the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, as well as a number of other important musical events – a particular favourite is the atmospheric Jazz by the Sea in Fano, which fills the evening with dancing.

There are also regular antique fairs, where you can spend a morning poking through bric a brac laid out for your perusal. Grottamare’s Attic in the Street always has a particularly eclectic mix of things to take your fancy every second Sunday of the month.

So whether its biscuits, beans, chestnuts, snails, music or mayhem that’s being feted, don’t miss out on the party – you will be welcomed with open arms.