What is Grottammare known for?

Felice Peretti, born in the Paese Alto on 13 December 1521 and elected pope in 1585, rebuilt much of Rome and commissioned two churches in his birthplace. Palm-lined Adriatic seafront with Liberty villas and clean water, holder of both the Bandiera Blu and the Spighe Verdi recognitions. The medieval upper town on the Incasato hill, ranked among the Borghi più belli d'Italia, with eleventh-century walls and brick lanes.

Where is Grottammare?

Grottammare is a comune in the province of Ascoli Piceno, Marche region of Italy, about 75 kilometers from Pescara.

Marche · Ascoli Piceno

Grottammare

A double town on the Riviera delle Palme, with a palm-lined seafront and the medieval Paese Alto where Pope Sixtus V was born.

75 km / 47 mi

Nearest hub (Pescara)

15,814

Population

May–Sep

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Grottammare sits on the Ascoli Piceno coast at the mouth of the Tesino, with two distinct nuclei: the lungomare on the Adriatic, lined with palms and Liberty villas from the late nineteenth century, and the Paese Alto, the medieval borgo on the hill above. Felice Peretti was born in the upper town on 13 December 1521. As Pope Sixtus V from 1585 to 1590 he rebuilt much of Rome, then commissioned two churches in his birthplace: the Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista, which holds the Sistine Museum of objects he donated, and the Chiesa di Santa Lucia, built next to the house where he was born. The Paese Alto preserves its eleventh-century walls and the remains of an earlier fortress on the Incasato spur. The seafront below earned the Bandiera Blu for water quality and the Spighe Verdi for sustainable agricultural management of the surrounding hills. The Borgo Antico is one of the Borghi più belli d'Italia.

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Gallery

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Known for

Paese Alto (Borgo Antico)
Medieval upper town on the Incasato hill, with eleventh-century walls, brick lanes and the remains of a fortified spur above the seafront.
Chiesa di Santa Lucia
Sixteenth-century church commissioned by Pope Sixtus V next to the house where he was born in 1521, on the central square of the Paese Alto.
Museo Sistino
Inside the Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista, holds the collection of liturgical objects Sixtus V donated to his hometown after his election in 1585.
Lungomare De Gasperi
Palm-lined seafront promenade with Liberty-era villas, part of the Riviera delle Palme, holder of the Bandiera Blu for water quality.
Teatro dell'Arancio
Small nineteenth-century theatre inside the Palazzo del Comune in the Paese Alto, named for the orange tree in its central courtyard.

When to visit

Best months · May–Sep

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

May through September is the main window for Grottammare. The Bandiera Blu seafront is open from late spring, the palms on Lungomare De Gasperi catch full light from June, and the Paese Alto stays a few degrees cooler than the beach. July and August touch the low thirties on the coast; the upper town shaded lanes are the cool retreat. June brings the Cabaret Amore Mio comedy festival to the Paese Alto piazzas, July and August fill the lungomare with the worst of the Adriatic crowd. April and October are quieter, with the inland hills toward Ripatransone and Offida turning green or gold. November through March is the slow season: most beachfront restaurants close, the Paese Alto stays open, and the Sistine Museum keeps winter hours.