Polenta in the Marche: a journey through traditions, flavours and landscapes

Slowly cooked in the traditional copper cauldron, stirred with a long wooden paddle and served piping hot on the spianatora, polenta has been at the heart of domestic life in the Marche for centuries. Once the daily staple of the humblest families, it was so emblematic that in Rome the people of the Marche were nicknamed marchescià magna pulenda (the polenta-eaters from the Marche). Even today, it remains a star of home kitchens, village festivals and generous shared meals.
Made with stone– ground cornmeal, water and salt, it was enriched with whatever the pantry could provide: a drizzle of oil, a sausage ragù, cheese, wild herbs or even sapa. What was once considered a poor man’s dish is now embraced by modern chefs alike.
True to the Marche spirit of “nothing goes to waste”, leftover polenta gives life to other traditional recipes. Rolled out and cut into diamond shapes, it becomes cresc’tajat, a rustic homemade pasta perfect with both simple and more robust sauces. Mixed and cooked on a griddle, it turns into cresce di polenta, small rustic flatbreads to enjoy with cold cuts, cheese or vegetables. These are dishes that still today tell the story of the ingenuity and wholesome simplicity of the cuisine of the past.

In the northern Marche, among the woodlands of Montefeltro and the rolling hills dotted with medieval villages, polenta takes on the aromas of the undergrowth and becomes the perfect partner for truffles.
In autumn, in Acqualagna and Sant’Angelo in Vado, you can enjoy it in many forms: fried, gratinated, served on crostini or in small terrines. During the truffle fair season (October and November), it is served firm, sliced, and finished with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and delicate shavings of prized white truffle, or with freshly sautéed porcini mushrooms.
In Urbania and Mercatello sul Metauro, you’ll often find polenta alla carbonara di bosco, a generous dish that combines sausage, cream and black truffle.
And in many Montefeltro villages, polenta even becomes a kind of street food: grilled or fried, it’s served alongside local charcuterie and typical cheeses such as Talamello pecorino di fossa.

Along the Conero coast, polenta takes on the flavours of the sea. In Portonovo and Numana it is often served with stewed cuttlefish or with moscioli— the famous wild mussels of the Conero— cooked in a tomato sauce scented with parsley. Here, the polenta is soft and velvety, perfect for enhancing the briny taste of the Adriatic. Locals call it polenta al sugo di pesce (polenta with fish sauce), and every family has its own version. In Senigallia and Sirolo you'll find it even creamier, almost fluffy, paired with cuttlefish or with stoccafisso all’anconetana (Ancona-style stockfish): a successful encounter between farming traditions and seafaring knowledge. Tasting it by the sea, perhaps after a walk along the Conero’s rocky shoreline, means letting yourself be wrapped in an aroma where salt spray and tomato blend together— especially if enjoyed with a glass of Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi.
Venturing inland, among the hilltop villages of the Ancona area, polenta takes on new nuances. In Arcevia, you’ll find a version many consider “the best of all”, made with ottofile cornmeal, an ancient local variety stone-ground to preserve its rich flavour. Soft yet robust, it pairs beautifully with meat or mushroom sauces.
A few kilometres away, in Corinaldo, polenta is woven into the history of the village and its famous Pozzo della Polenta (Polenta Well). Legend has it that a farmer once dropped a sack of flour into the well, giving rise to an improvised and rather unusual “well-polenta”— an episode re-enacted every year during the Contesa del Pozzo della Polenta, when the town transforms into an evocative medieval setting of parades, banquets and steaming cauldrons.
In the Vallesina, you can still find polenta coi grasselli, enriched with small crispy pieces rendered from pork fat: an intense, rustic flavour that’s perfect for the cold winter evenings.

In the heart of the Marche, the province of Macerata preserves some of the richest and most full-bodied interpretations of polenta. In the mountain areas around Sarnano, Visso and Camerino, polenta is made thick and golden, served with pork, wild boar or hare ragù scented with juniper, or with mushroom sauces gathered from the woods of the Sibillini Mountains.
In the countryside around San Ginesio and Caldarola, the old rural custom still survives of turning the polenta out directly onto a large wooden board, from which everyone helps themselves with their own fork: an age-old gesture that speaks of conviviality and of long communal meals from days gone by.
In these Apennine areas you'll also find polenta alla norcina in one of its most distinctive versions: sausage, black truffle and mountain herbs that tell the story of the culinary encounter between the Marche and Umbria.

The polenta of the Fermo area expresses a simpler soul, yet one that is equally satisfying— rooted in humble gestures and flavours that evoke rural life. In the local agriturismi it is often served with seasonal vegetables or with regional cheeses such as Caciotta dei Monti Sibillini, an unfussy pairing that tastes of home and genuine tradition.
Between Servigliano and Montegiorgio, you’ll come across the typical polenta con sugo finto: a sauce without meat, yet rich in onion, celery, carrot and basil. A “poor” but wholesome preparation, ideal for those who enjoy delicate flavours and country cooking in its most straightforward form.
As you approach the first slopes of the Sibillini Mountains, in the trattorias of Amandola and Montefortino, polenta takes on a bolder character. Here it meets the hearty mountain sauces of hare, duck or game, served on large wooden boards and often accompanied by a glass of Rosso Piceno Superiore— the perfect wine to enhance its intensity.

In the southern Marche, polenta takes on an even richer and more flavourful character. In Ascoli Piceno and in the villages scattered along its valleys, you’ll find polenta alla picena, dressed with hearty sauces made from a mix of pork, veal and chicken, enriched with aromatic herbs and a hint of chilli.
In Offida, homeland of Pecorino wine, polenta becomes a celebratory dish: enjoyed with stockfish or with sausage and wild fennel, combinations that speak of the area’s deep-rooted culinary traditions. In the countryside around Castignano, the old custom survives of cooking it in wood-fired hearths and serving it on large wooden boards, to be shared among friends and family.
Climbing towards the mountain areas, between Comunanza and Montegallo, you can taste polenta incatenata, a firmer, more substantial version, sliced and baked au gratin with melted cheese and minced meat: a warm, comforting dish, perfect for the cold winter days.