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Stemma di Pineto

Abruzzo · Teramo

Pineto

A planned twentieth-century beach town named for D'Annunzio's poem, with the sixteenth-century Cerrano tower anchoring Abruzzo's first marine protected area.

Known for

  • TORRE DEL CERRANO

    Sixteenth-century Spanish-era watchtower, now the visible centre of Abruzzo's first marine protected area established in 2010.

  • PINETA

    Continuous coastal pine forest planted to hold the dunes, the feature that named the town after D'Annunzio's poem in 1925.

  • BANDIERA BLU

    Holder of the Blue Flag for beach water quality in most years since 2007, one of the Sette Sorelle of the Teramo coast.

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

Pineto sits at sea level, one of the Sette Sorelle, the seven Adriatic resorts of the Teramo coast. The town was planned in the 1920s by Luigi Filiani as a beach resort under pine forest, and renamed Pineto in 1925 after Gabriele D'Annunzio's poem La Pioggia nel Pineto. In 1929 it replaced Mutignano, the older hill village above, as the capoluogo of the comune.

Two kilometers south of the centre stands the Torre del Cerrano, built around 1568 by Charles V as a watchtower against Ottoman raiders. In 2010 the tower and the stretch of sea in front of it became Abruzzo's first marine protected area, 3,431 hectares of coast and shallow water. The beach has held a Blue Flag in most years since 2007. The pine canopy, planted to hold the dunes, still shades the seafront promenade as far north as the Vibrata river.

The Sunday letter

We haven’t written Pineto’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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Pineto — photo 1
Pineto — photo 2

What to see

  • Torre del Cerrano

    Sixteenth-century watchtower built around 1568 under Charles V against Ottoman raids, now the gateway to Abruzzo's first marine reserve.

  • Area Marina Protetta Torre del Cerrano

    3,431 hectares of protected coast and shallow Adriatic water established in 2010, the first marine reserve in the region.

  • Pineta Catucci

    Coastal pine forest planted in the early twentieth century to hold the dunes, shading the seafront promenade and the bike path.

  • Mutignano

    Medieval hill frazione above Pineto, the original capoluogo of the comune until 1929, with the Chiesa di San Silvestro Papa.

  • Chiesa di Sant'Agnese

    Modern parish church near the seafront, the religious centre of the twentieth-century resort grid.

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.

  • Bacucco d’OroRistorante

    Bacucco d’Oro holds a Slow Food snail.

  • La Conchiglia d'OroRistorante

    La Conchiglia d'Oro has a spot in the Michelin Guide to its name.

  • ResilienzaRistorante

    Resilienza carries a spot in the Michelin Guide.

Living here

  • Population 14,571
  • In-betweeni
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Train station in the comune
  • Nearest airport Ancona / Pescara, 1 h 32 min drive
  • Regional capital L'Aquila, 1 h 7 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 4 m
  • Population: 14,571
  • Surface area: 38.11 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.

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