MARCHE or LA MARCHE, one of the former provinces of France. It owes its name to its position, it having been in the loth century a march or border district between the duchy of Aquitaine and the domains of the Frankish kings in central France. Sometimes it was called the Marche Limousine, and originally it was a small district cut partly from Limousin and partly from Poitou. Its area was increased during the 13th century, after which, however, it remained unaltered until the time of the Revolution. It was bounded on the north by Berry; on the east by Bourbonnais and Auvergne ; on the south by Limousin ; and on the west by Poitou. It embraced the greater part of the modern department of Creuse, a considerable part of Haute Vienne, and a fragment of Indre. Its area was about 1,900 sq.m. ; its capital was Charroux and later Gueret, and among its other principal towns were Dorat, Bellac and Confolens.
Marche first appears as a 'separate fief about the middle of the oth century when William III., duke of Aquitaine, gave it to one of his vassals named Boso, who took the title of count. In the 12th century it passed to the counts of Limousin, and this house retained it until the death of the childless Count Hugh in 1303, when it was seized by the French king, Philip IV. In 1316 it was made a duchy for Prince Charles, afterwards King Charles IV., and a few years later (1327) it passed into the hands of the family of Bourbon. The family of Armagnac held it from to 1477, when it reverted to the Bourbons, and in 1527 it was seized by Francis I. and became part of the domains of the French crown. It was divided into Haute Marche and Basse Marche, the estates of the former being in existence until the 17th century. From 1470 until the Revolution the province was under the jurisdiction of the parlement of Paris.
See A. Thomas, Les Etats provinciaux de la France centrale (1879). MARCHES, THE (It. Le Marche), a territorial division (region) of Italy, embracing from north to south the provinces of Pesaro and Urbino, Ancona, Macerata, and Ascoli Piceno, with a population of 1,266,473 in 1936, a rise of since 1901. It is bounded by Emilia on the north, the Adriatic on the east, the Abruzzi on the south, and Umbria and Tuscany on the west. The chief rivers, all of which run into the Adriatic east wards and north-eastwards, are the Metauro (anc. Metaurus, q.v.) and the Tronto (anc. Truentus), the latter forming the southern boundary of the Marches for some distance. Except for the river valleys and the coast strip (often very narrow), the general level is more than Soo ft. above the sea. The lower hills are very
largely composed of loose, clayey, unstable earth, while the Ap penines are of limestone. The province of Pesaro and Urbino falls within the boundaries of the ancient Umbria (q.v.), while the territory of the other three belonged to Picenum (q.v.). The rail way from Bologna to Brindisi runs along the coast-line of the entire territory. At Fano there is a branch to Fermignano, on the line from Fabriano to Urbino ; at Falconara, near Ancona it is joined by the main line from Foligno and Rome; at Porto Civi tanova is a branch to Macerata, San Severino and Fabriano (a station on the line from Ancona to Rome and the junction for Urbino) ; at Porto S. Giorgio is a branch to Fermo and Amandola, and, at Porto d'Ascoli, a branch to Ascoli Piceno.
The chief agricultural products in 1927 were: Another important branch of activity is the paper industry, especially at Fabriano. Limestone quarries and sulphur mines, which, with those of Romagna, produced over 6o,000 tons in 1926, supply building stone and sulphur to the regions of central Italy; chalk and petroleum are also found. Ancona is the only really good harbour. Fishing is carried on along the entire coast.
History.—For the early history of the territory of the Marches, see PICENUM. From the Carolingian period onwards the name Marca begins to appear—first the Marca Fermana for the moun tainous part of Picenum, the Marca Camerinese for the district farther north, including a part of Umbria, and the Marca Anconi tana for the former Pentapolis. In 108o the Marca Anconitana was given in investiture to Robert Guiscard by Gregory VII., to whom the countess Matilda ceded the Marches of Camerino and of Fermo. In 1505 we find the emperor Henry IV. investing Werner with the whole territory of the three marches under the name of March of Ancona. It was afterwards once more recov ered by the Church and governed by papal legates. It became part of the kingdom of Italy in 186o. The pictorial art of the Marches from the 13th century onwards has recently become the object of considerable interest.
See L. Serra, Le Gallerie Comunali delle Marche (1926) ; L'Arte nelle Marche (Pesaro, 1927).