Abstract
The general Italian economic crisis triggered with the onset of the Eurozone has revealed several structural weaknesses in the economy of the Marche region. It has also revealed how its industrial system based on the small family business sector is actually less of a break with the region's agricultural heritage than previously assumed. Structural continuities between the region's agricultural heritage and its current mode of small business production may impede action to create new forms of economic organization necessary for succeeding in a rapidly changing world economy. At risk is the noteworthy economic equality that has enhanced the regional quality of life since World War II.