Populated since Prehistoric times, in the Neolithic Age, the region was occupied by the Piceni, a pre-Italic population of probable non Indo-European origin that settled to the south of the river Esino, until it was invaded, by the Gallic population, in the IV century B.C..
Having previously been allies of Rome, in 268 B.C. the Romans forced the Piceni into submission, and later, in 207 B.C., this area became the stage for important events in the second Punic War.
In the V Century, the Emperor Augustus ruled this territory, but during the barbaric invasions and the Longobard domination, it was divided into several different properties which were ruled by convents and bishops. Under Frankish rule, the various properties were assigned to the Church state, which promoted the construction of many abbeys. 
During the Middle Ages the region began to assume particular features and to be known as the 'Marche'. The name of Marca (meaning borderland) was used for the first time to designate the bordering areas of the Roman Empire (Marca of Camerino, of Fermo, of Ancona ).
In the XI century Ancona opposed Venice and in 1167, withstood Federico Barbarossa's seige. In 1357 laws were unified throughout the whole territory of the Marche with the Egidian Constitutions, which remained in force until 1816, and in the XV century a lot of seigniories were formed: the Malatesta family in Fano and Pesaro, the Montefeltro and Della Rovere families in Urbino, the Varano family in Camerino and the Chiavelli family in Fabriano.
Between 1443 and 1444, almost the whole of the region became a dominion of Francesco Sforza, but from the second half of the XV century, the region started to subject itself to Church rule. In 1444 Fabriano returned to church property, Jesi followed suit in 1447, Macerata in 1455, Ancona in 1532, Camerino in 1545, Fermo in 1550, Urbino in 1631 and, in this way, the whole region.
On the 19th February 1797, with the Tolentino Treaty, Napoleon earned to the right to occupy Ancona which, together with other lands of the Marche, became part of the Roman Republic. 
After the congress of Vienna, this region returned once again to Church dominion, but actively participated in the revolts of 1831, 1848 and 1859.
Following the Piedmont victory in Castelfidardo in 1860, general consent allowed the region of the Marche to be annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia and, in 1861, to the Kingdom of Italy.
