Marche · Pesaro e Urbino
Gabicce Mare
The northernmost Marche seaside on the Adriatic, where the Riviera Romagnola meets the cliffs of the Parco del San Bartolo at the Romagna border.
Known for
RIVIERA ROMAGNOLA
Northernmost Marche seaside, culturally part of the Riviera Romagnola continuum running up to Cervia, with a Bandiera Blu beach.
PARCO DEL SAN BARTOLO
1,600 hectares of cliff and ridge between Gabicce and Pesaro, established 1994, the only high coast of the central Adriatic.
GABICCE MONTE
Hilltop frazione above the beach with the wide view over both coasts, the Cattolica strip north and the San Bartolo cliffs south.
When to visit
Best · May–Sep
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Why come
Gabicce Mare sits on the Adriatic at the northernmost point of the Marche, sixteen kilometers north of Pesaro and bordering Cattolica in Emilia-Romagna's province of Rimini. Historically and culturally it functions as the southern end of the Riviera Romagnola, the long sand strip that runs up to Cervia. South of the beach, the cliffs of Monte San Bartolo rise abruptly, the only stretch of high coast between Trieste and the Conero.
The Parco Naturale del Monte San Bartolo, established in 1994, covers 1,600 hectares of cliff and ridge between Gabicce and Pesaro, with fossil fish embedded in the rock and a Renaissance villa system above the sea. Sixteenth-century maps put the Romagna border further south than today, including the upper hamlet of Fiorenzuola di Focara. The archaeological record on the headland runs from the Neolithic at Monte Castellaro through the Roman site of Colombarone on the Via Flaminia and the lost Greek-origin port at Vallugola.
The Sunday letter
We haven’t written Gabicce Mare’s letter yet.
One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.
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What to see
Spiaggia di Gabicce Mare
Sand beach holding the Bandiera Blu, the southernmost extension of the Riviera Romagnola strip and the family beach end of the upper Marche coast.
Parco Naturale del Monte San Bartolo
Regional natural park established 1994, 1,600 hectares of cliffs, ridge and Renaissance villas between Gabicce and Pesaro, the only high coast in the central Adriatic.
Gabicce Monte
Hilltop frazione above the seaside town with views over the Adriatic, the Cattolica beach to the north and the San Bartolo cliffs to the south.
Vallugola e Colombarone
Lost Greek-origin port site and the archaeological remains of a late-Roman villa on the Via Flaminia, both inside the San Bartolo park.
Fiorenzuola di Focara
Cliff-top medieval village inside the San Bartolo park, mentioned by Dante in Inferno V, marking the historic Romagna-Marche border.
The slow-trip planner
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We recommend
Where to eat and stay
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to — a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Dalla GiocondaRistorante
Dalla Gioconda carries three Gambero Rosso forks (90/100), plus a place in L'Espresso's Top 300.
PosillipoRistorante
One Gambero Rosso fork (76/100) for Posillipo, and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Living here
- Population 5,496
- Commuter belti
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest airport Rimini, 41 min drive
- Regional capital Ancona, 1 h 11 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 8 m
- Population: 5,496
- Surface area: 4.94 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Featured on
Gabicce Mare appears on this themed pick from our Collections:
Close by
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A walled Conca-valley borgo, granary of the Malatesta state, where the Notte delle Streghe has marked the summer solstice since 1988.
Montefiore Conca
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A 385-meter Malatesta hilltop above the Conca valley, dominated by a fourteenth-century fortress that was once a summer residence of the lords of Rimini.
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Montegridolfo
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A walled borgo of fewer than a thousand residents on the Romagna-Marche border, held alternately by the Malatesta and the Montefeltro through the fifteenth century.
🟦 Bandiera Blu
More Bandiera Blu towns in Marche
Fermo
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Mondolfo
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Numana
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A Conero coastal town at 56 meters above its port, the Picene harbour that traded with Greek ships from the sixth century BC.
Porto San Giorgio
Province: Fermo
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