The fascinating city of Fabriano is off the tourist trail in the rarely explored region of La Marche, Italy. If you love handmade paper (Remember? We once used paper to communicate with each other), then you will love this city, famous for its production of paper and for inventing the watermark in the late 1200s.

Tucked between two Apennine Mountain chains and not far from the Adriatic Sea, Fabriano is easily reached by direct train from Rome or by car in about 2.5 hours. In 2013, Fabriano became one of UNESCO’s Creative Cities, under the category of Crafts and Folk Arts, because of its longtime production of handmade paper.