Within the linked fields of population, migration, and ageing, international retirement migration (IRM) has emerged as a strong focus for empirical research. Thus far, the classic studies have been on European North–South IRM, with a specific concentration on iconic regions such as the Costa del Sol, southern France, and Tuscany. But the geography of IRM is constantly changing, as prior destination regions become “saturated” and perhaps too expensive, so that new “frontiers” are opened up. One such frontier is the Italian region of Marche, now seen as a cheaper and more “authentic” region than Tuscany. This paper uses interview narratives from 69 older age British, Dutch, and German people who have relocated, as either permanent settlers or seasonal residents, in the Marche, in order to answer two questions. The questions relate first to the main drivers of IRM at the decision‐making level and, second, to the experiences of living there, including advantages and disadvantages. We find the participants for the most part engaged in active ageing, growing their own produce, and joining in local community life and are appreciative of the beauty of the hilly landscape. However, “full” integration is hampered by language and cultural barriers, whereas the bureaucracy is their main complaint.

Within the general framework of ‘lifestyle migration’, the paper explores three materialities associated with the arrival and settlement of British, German and Dutch later-life migrants in the Italian region of Marche, a relatively new ‘frontier’ region for international retirement migration. The first is about the aesthetics of landscape and the scenic and emotional qualities of the physical and social environment. The second concerns ‘home’, where we examine house types, property location and home-making practices in terms of ‘authenticity’, material objects and the cultivation of land for productive purposes. The paper's third thematic focus is on consumption patterns. Most of the 69 participants interviewed for this study hanker after what they perceive as a simpler, more genuine way of life, in tune with the surrounding mixed-farming agricultural environment and distinct from other regions where tourism has taken hold. Many grow their own produce, including some who have small vineyards and olive groves. They enjoy shopping in local markets, eating out in inexpensive local hostelries, visiting museums and cultural festivals, and exploring the many pretty villages and historic towns of the region. The participants embody later-life migration as ‘active ageing’, but those who are older and/or frailer must consider, often reluctantly, the reality of a less-active and more isolated life in the Italian countryside.

This paper aims at supporting public policies in the location choice of essential services in inner areas. Their provision, which, at present, is completely absent or extremely limited, is reputed to foster the local resilience of settings which have been following a prolonged process of socioeconomic marginalization, leading to the creation of an "inner border region". We contribute to this debate by suggesting the importance of the provision of these services at an appropriate territorial level. By investigating three case studies in the inner areas of the Marche region, we show how and why the location choice of public utilities must concern integrated inter-municipal systems and, equally important, all their sub-municipal settlements. Based on a space-equity approach, we propose a multistep algorithm aimed at achieving a relatively equal access to basic services, combining the need for concentrating their provision in one single municipality and that of their accessibility by local communities. From a public policy perspective, these considerations stress the crucial role an integrated and multilevel governance should have when planning interventions at a local scale, especially within inner areas.

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This contribution aims to investigate the dynamics of Italian agriculture during the crisis of the Thirties, as well as related issues such as the role of some policies deployed to contain the recession and their consequences. To that end, the paper adopts a particular viewpoint based on the belief that Italy presents a large variety of rural environments, the result of its geography and history, and is characterized by different cultivations, features, conduction systems, productivity levels, and market orientations -in other words, diverse modes of production. Partitioning these "rural Italies" allows us to analyze their trends and prevents them from being bundled together in such a way as to compensate and sometimes even nullify each other. Moreover, the Fascist regime introduced active incentive and protectionist (even autarkic) policies to contrast the recession. Split into the plurality of its agrarian contexts, therefore, the country becomes a sort of kaleidoscope, through which it is possible to observe both the relatively wide set of effective changes brought about by the depression and the diverse impact of national policies.