Marche was a geometric sans with some idiosyncracies that reveal its Art Deco origins. See for instance the horizontal strokes extending beyond the stems of lowercase a, d, g, h, etc. and uppercase A, B, D and E. Variations of uppercase widths are another distinguishing feature, with wide circular C, G, O and Q contrasting with the other narrow letters and thereby giving a very special rhythm to this typeface. Another Art Deco trait is the rigid and slanted ‘escalator s and S’ (to quote Paul Shaw). Though a modular construction can be seen in most of the letters (especially evident in M and N which follow a lowercase design and repeat the same semicircle at the top of A), some capitals such as B, D, P and R, break away from the norm with their fleeting and flattened curves. A modular construction is also clear in the lowercase, where the bowls of a, b, d, g, p and q repeat the same shape.

Courtesy of Luca Lattuga

In the Xilografia di Verona wood-type catalogue, printed sometime between 1937 and 1940, Marche was available in 5 body sizes, ranging from 3 to 12 lines (approximately 36–145 points). The same wood-type factory also produced an in-line and shaded version, which was marketed under the name Lazio. 

Courtesy of ACSG – Milano

Marche must have been very popular at the time, judging by the large number of typecases that survive in printing museums and letterpress shops that are still active. The design is vaguely reminiscent of Udine, a wood type released by Nebiolo in 1933, which was probably a precursor of Neon, the famous geometric typeface that Giulio da Milano and Alessandro Butti were to design in later years.  

The AM Marche digital revival sticks to the original design – albeit with some minor adjustments. As well as the usual additions to the character set to meet the needs of contemporary users, many of Marche’s small details have been polished to compensate for the extreme roughness of the original design. Note, for instance, the horizontal strokes that extend beyond the stems of the letters, which have been made shorter and uniform in length. Minor optical tweaks have been made, including overshooting and subtle stroke modulation, while the curves of B, D, P and R have been made more sinuous to work better with the geometric rigour of the other letters.