A detailed field survey, including structural and biostratigraphic analyses, has been integrated with sub-surface (seismic lines and well logs) data in order to reconstruct the stratigraphy, structure and tectonic evolution of the Colbordolo-Pesaro sector of the northern Apennines foothill zone (Marche region). The lithostratigraphic characters of the Miocene succession show a striking variability across three major (NW-SE elongated) structural ridges mapped within the study area. Major structures consist of faulted anticlines bounded by thrust ramps and backlimb backthrusts, separated by broader, open synclines, both involving a Mesozoic-Paleogene, mainly carbonate succession. The construction of a balanced and restored cross-section suggests that the complex shallow structures represent a geometrical requirement to the accommodation of the deep deformation.