Marche · Ancona
Sirolo
A clifftop borgo on the southern flank of Monte Conero, above the Due Sorelle sea stacks of the Adriatic.
Known for
MONTE CONERO
The only coastal high point on the Adriatic between Trieste and the Gargano, 572 meters of limestone above the sea.
DUE SORELLE
Twin sea stacks below the Conero cliffs, reachable only by boat, the defining seascape of the Riviera del Conero.
PICENE QUEEN
Late sixth-century BC tomb excavated above town, with two chariots and a gig now held in the Antiquarium Statale in Numana.
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
The festa: Nicola di Bari, 9 May
Why come
Sirolo sits on the southern slope of Monte Conero, twenty kilometers from Ancona. The mountain is the only coastal high point on the Adriatic between Trieste and the Gargano: 572 meters of white limestone falling straight into the sea, the geology that gives the Conero Riviera its character. The medieval village belonged to the Conti Cortesi family and kept one of the two original castle towers, now incorporated into the eighteenth-century parish church of San Nicolò di Bari.
The belvedere above Piazza Vittorio Veneto looks out across the bay toward the Due Sorelle, the twin sea stacks reachable only by boat. Below town, the Picene necropolis of I Pini holds the late sixth-century BC tomb of the Picene Queen, whose chariots and grave goods are now in the Antiquarium at neighbouring Numana. The town doubles in summer and empties again in October.
The Sunday letter
We haven’t written Sirolo’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
Centro storico
Medieval village on the Conero clifftop with the Arco Gotico from around the year 1000, the Piazzetta and a belvedere looking out across the Adriatic.
Chiesa di San Nicolò di Bari
Eighteenth-century parish church built over a thirteenth-century structure, incorporating one of the two surviving towers of the medieval Sirolo castle.
Teatro Cortesi
Municipal theatre inaugurated in 1875, built in white Conero stone, restored and reopened in 1989.
Necropoli picena de I Pini
Picene burial ground above town, where the tomb of the Picene Queen was excavated with two chariots and a gig, dated to the late sixth century BC.
Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle
Beach beneath the cliffs reachable only by boat, dominated by the twin sea stacks that give the cove its name.
Parco del Conero
Regional natural park covering Monte Conero and the surrounding ridge, with marked trails from town down to the sea.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Sirolo fits in a slow Italy circuit.
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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.
Living here
- Population 4,097
- Commuter belti
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Nearest airport Ancona / Pescara, 44 min drive
- Regional capital Ancona, 31 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 125 m
- Population: 4,097
- Surface area: 16.68 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.
Close by
More towns near Sirolo
Numana
Province: Ancona
A Conero coastal town at 56 meters above its port, the Picene harbour that traded with Greek ships from the sixth century BC.
Loreto
Province: Ancona
A hilltop pilgrimage town at 127 meters above the Adriatic where, since 1294, the Marian sanctuary has guarded the Holy House of Nazareth.
Offagna
Province: Ancona
A hilltop borgo at 309 meters between Ancona and Osimo, dominated by a Rocca built in just two years by the Anconitans in 1454-56.
Recanati
Province: Macerata
The hill town at 296 meters where Giacomo Leopardi was born in 1798 and wrote L'Infinito looking over the Musone valley toward the Adriatic.
Montelupone
Province: Macerata
A walled hill borgo at 272 meters above the lower Potenza valley, with a fourteenth-century civic loggia and a 1889 horseshoe theatre.
🟦 Bandiera Blu
More Bandiera Blu towns in Marche
Fermo
Province: Fermo
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Gabicce Mare
Province: Pesaro e Urbino
The northernmost Marche seaside on the Adriatic, where the Riviera Romagnola meets the cliffs of the Parco del San Bartolo at the Romagna border.
Grottammare
Province: Ascoli Piceno
A double town on the Riviera delle Palme, with a palm-lined seafront and the medieval Paese Alto where Pope Sixtus V was born.
Mondolfo
Province: Pesaro e Urbino
A walled hill borgo at 144 meters above the Adriatic, with the frazione of Marotta and its Bandiera Blu beach below.
Pesaro
Province: Pesaro e Urbino
The Adriatic port at the mouth of the Foglia, founded as Roman Pisaurum in 184 BC and given to the world by Rossini in 1792.