Grottammare
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By Dion Protani
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Latest update: 30 December 2023
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The town of Grottammare is situated within the Province of Ascoli Piceno in Marche and had a population of 15,960 on 1 January 2022. It stands at an elevation of 126 metres above sea level and covers a geographical area of 18 square kilometres.
This is something of a two-in-one town with a pretty hillside village overlooking a smart beach resort. |
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The Two Sides of Grottammare
Facing out on to the azure waters of the Marche region's Adriatic Coast, Grottammare offers two different types of day out: you can either explore the medieval streets around the hill town of Grottammare Alta (Upper Grottammare) or plonk yourself on the sandy beach for a little R&R. The flat, expansive beach is made up of a series of private establishments where you can hire a sun bed and umbrella, interspersed with a smaller number of free areas.
Grottammare Bassa - The Beach Area
The buildings in the lower area of the town behind the beach are fairly modern and conceal a large number of shops, bars and restaurants around wide, tree-lined streets and piazzas. The prettiest building in the area is the Chiesa di San Pio V which boasts an impressive bell tower; just about the tallest edifice in the town. From the church to the beach is a walk of a few hundred metres, interrupted briefly by a small bridge underneath the train tracks that run north to south along the coast.
Grottammare Alta
Using the church as a reference point for a second time, it's possible to make your way up to Grottammare Alta on foot; it's a fairly strenuous climb of 800 metres which takes about 15 minutes. If it's hot and you have a car then it's ok to be lazy and drive up the hill to the car park next to the upper town. As you enter the old town you get some great views down onto the coast before making your way through the narrow streets to Piazza Peretti. This tiny square is perhaps the prettiest part of the town; bursting with character it's always bustling around meal times when you can dine al-fresco.
Some of the houses in the streets around the upper town are painted in bright colours, giving it a cheerful appearance, and as you turn right along one of the lanes beyond the Piazza you find yourself next to a little watchtower called the Torrione Battaglia. The little balcony area here provides some more stunning panoramas of the coastline as well as a restaurant from where you can enjoy the view at leisure. You can then climb a little higher than the upper town to reach what remains of the town's castle: the Castello di Grottammare.
Owing largely to its upper town rather than the beach area, Grottammare is included in the list of Borghi Più Belli d'Italia (Italy's most beautiful villages). For each village in the collection there's a tagline and Grottammare's is La Perla dell'Adriatico, (The Pearl of the Adriatic)
Close to Grottammare
In terms of seaside resorts, Grottammare is just another in a long line of alternatives in either direction with the largest of them being San Benedetto del Tronto. It's Grottammare's hill town that sets it apart from the others however and if you have a car you can find some further hill towns inland. The trio of Ripatransone, Offida and Acquaviva Picena are all beautiful examples but it's not only the towns themselves that tease the eye: the dramatic landscapes around them of rolling hills punctuated with vineyards are quite breathtaking.
Grottammare couldn't be easier to reach by car: it lies on the E55/A14 Autostrada Adriatica which connects the city of Bologna in Emilia Romagna to Taranto in Puglia, mostly hugging the Adriatic Coast. The main provincial town of Ascoli-Piceno is also easy to reach from Grottammare and is itself one of the most beautiful Italian cities with some outstanding architecture around its famous piazzas.
By train you can head south from Grottammare to the port town of Pescara in the Abruzzo region, the hour long journey stopping along the way at a dozen or so seaside towns including the aforementioned San Benedetto. You can use the same train line to head north to Marche's capital city of Ancona, itself an important ferry port from which you can cross to Croatia. Just as with the southbound train to Pescara, the northbound train to Ancona stops at a dozen or so seaside towns including Civitanova Marche and takes just over an hour from Grottammare.
Facing out on to the azure waters of the Marche region's Adriatic Coast, Grottammare offers two different types of day out: you can either explore the medieval streets around the hill town of Grottammare Alta (Upper Grottammare) or plonk yourself on the sandy beach for a little R&R. The flat, expansive beach is made up of a series of private establishments where you can hire a sun bed and umbrella, interspersed with a smaller number of free areas.
Grottammare Bassa - The Beach Area
The buildings in the lower area of the town behind the beach are fairly modern and conceal a large number of shops, bars and restaurants around wide, tree-lined streets and piazzas. The prettiest building in the area is the Chiesa di San Pio V which boasts an impressive bell tower; just about the tallest edifice in the town. From the church to the beach is a walk of a few hundred metres, interrupted briefly by a small bridge underneath the train tracks that run north to south along the coast.
Grottammare Alta
Using the church as a reference point for a second time, it's possible to make your way up to Grottammare Alta on foot; it's a fairly strenuous climb of 800 metres which takes about 15 minutes. If it's hot and you have a car then it's ok to be lazy and drive up the hill to the car park next to the upper town. As you enter the old town you get some great views down onto the coast before making your way through the narrow streets to Piazza Peretti. This tiny square is perhaps the prettiest part of the town; bursting with character it's always bustling around meal times when you can dine al-fresco.
Some of the houses in the streets around the upper town are painted in bright colours, giving it a cheerful appearance, and as you turn right along one of the lanes beyond the Piazza you find yourself next to a little watchtower called the Torrione Battaglia. The little balcony area here provides some more stunning panoramas of the coastline as well as a restaurant from where you can enjoy the view at leisure. You can then climb a little higher than the upper town to reach what remains of the town's castle: the Castello di Grottammare.
Owing largely to its upper town rather than the beach area, Grottammare is included in the list of Borghi Più Belli d'Italia (Italy's most beautiful villages). For each village in the collection there's a tagline and Grottammare's is La Perla dell'Adriatico, (The Pearl of the Adriatic)
Close to Grottammare
In terms of seaside resorts, Grottammare is just another in a long line of alternatives in either direction with the largest of them being San Benedetto del Tronto. It's Grottammare's hill town that sets it apart from the others however and if you have a car you can find some further hill towns inland. The trio of Ripatransone, Offida and Acquaviva Picena are all beautiful examples but it's not only the towns themselves that tease the eye: the dramatic landscapes around them of rolling hills punctuated with vineyards are quite breathtaking.
Grottammare couldn't be easier to reach by car: it lies on the E55/A14 Autostrada Adriatica which connects the city of Bologna in Emilia Romagna to Taranto in Puglia, mostly hugging the Adriatic Coast. The main provincial town of Ascoli-Piceno is also easy to reach from Grottammare and is itself one of the most beautiful Italian cities with some outstanding architecture around its famous piazzas.
By train you can head south from Grottammare to the port town of Pescara in the Abruzzo region, the hour long journey stopping along the way at a dozen or so seaside towns including the aforementioned San Benedetto. You can use the same train line to head north to Marche's capital city of Ancona, itself an important ferry port from which you can cross to Croatia. Just as with the southbound train to Pescara, the northbound train to Ancona stops at a dozen or so seaside towns including Civitanova Marche and takes just over an hour from Grottammare.
Comune di Grottammare
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Province: Ascoli Piceno
Region: Marche Population: 15,925 (source: ISTAT 1 January 2023) Size: 18 km² Elevation: 126 metres Highlights: Grottammare Alta, Piazza Peretti, lower town beach Water quality: Blue Flag Beach 2021 - 2022 Close by: San Benedetto del Tronto, Ripatransone, Moresco Recommended accommodation: Valentino Resort |
One of I Borghi più belli d'Italia (Italy's Most Beautiful Villages)
Listing headline: La Perla dell'Adriatico (The Pearl of the Adriatic)
Listing headline: La Perla dell'Adriatico (The Pearl of the Adriatic)
