Coast and lakes
10 seaside towns that face east: the sunrise coast of the Adriatic
Ten towns: what each is best for, what a home costs, and the catch. A square meter runs from €520 in Melendugno to €3,000 in Grottammare.
Adriatic coastal comuni in the catalogue, where the sea light comes in the morning. 10 towns shown, ranked by recognitions held.
Table no. 33 · Ranked by residents · 10 towns
The Adriatic coast faces the sunrise, which changes its habits: fishing boats leave in the dark, the beach fills early, the evening belongs to the piazza rather than the shore.
These are the catalogue's Adriatic comuni, ranked by the recognitions they hold. The light at seven in the morning is the argument.
- 1.Vieste13,279 residentsFoggia · PugliaBest for a long lunch. Food guides list four tables here.1 h 49 min from Foggia · homes €1,400 to €2,000 a m² in the centerThe Gargano headland of whitewashed alleys on a white limestone cliff, with the 25-meter Pizzomunno sea stack standing on the beach.The catch: The nearest airport, Bari, is 2 h 55 min away by road.
- 2.Senigallia43,863 residentsAncona · MarcheBest for everyday life on foot. Nine of the ten everyday services we look for are mapped within 500 meters of the center.41 min from Ancona · homes €1,700 to €2,500 a m² in the centerThirteen kilometers of fine sand on the Adriatic, hometown to a chef and a photographer whose names carry beyond the region.
- 3.Peschici4,276 residentsFoggia · PugliaBest for walks in a national park. Part of the comune lies in a national park.1 h 55 min from Foggia · homes €1,300 to €1,900 a m² in the centerA Gargano cliff-top village above the Adriatic, white houses spilling toward the sea and trabucchi on the headlands.The catch: The nearest airport, Pescara, is 2 h 47 min away by road.
- 4.Gradara4,856 residentsPesaro e Urbino · MarcheBest for a slow weekend. The Touring Club gives it its orange flag for small inland towns.30 min from Rimini · homes €2,150 to €2,800 a m² in the centerThe walled hill borgo at 142 meters above the Adriatic where Dante set the deaths of Paolo and Francesca, with one of Italy's best-preserved castles.
- 5.Melendugno10,055 residentsLecce · PugliaBest for olive oil. It belongs to the national association of olive oil towns.1 h 57 min from Taranto · homes €520 to €730 a m² in the centerSalento's archaeological-beach comune: 17 km of Adriatic coast in Lecce province combining karst pools, Bronze-Age-to-Messapian ruins, and a run of blue-flagged sand.
- 6.Mondolfo14,416 residentsPesaro e Urbino · MarcheBest for a walk through the old town. It is on the list of Italy's most beautiful villages.44 min from Ancona · homes €1,050 to €1,400 a m² in the centerA walled hill borgo at 144 meters above the Adriatic, with the frazione of Marotta and its beach below.
- 7.Pineto14,803 residentsTeramo · AbruzzoBest for a day out from Pescara. It is 26 min by car.26 min from Pescara · homes €2,000 to €2,950 a m² in the centerA planned twentieth-century beach town named for D'Annunzio's poem, with the sixteenth-century Cerrano tower anchoring Abruzzo's first marine protected area.
- 8.Grottammare15,924 residentsAscoli Piceno · MarcheBest for a trip without a car. The train stops in the commune.59 min from Pescara · homes €1,500 to €3,000 a m² in the centerA double town on the Riviera delle Palme, with a palm-lined seafront and a medieval upper borgo where Pope Sixtus V was born.
- 9.Carovigno17,040 residentsBrindisi · PugliaBest for a swim. The comune's beach holds a Blue Flag.1 h 9 min from TarantoAn upper Salento hill town between Brindisi and Ostuni, with a marine reserve on its coast.
- 10.Comacchio21,910 residentsFerrara · Emilia-RomagnaBest for a soak. The comune has thermal baths.45 min from Ravenna · homes €850 to €1,200 a m² in the centerA canal town on thirteen islets, with brackish lagoons that hold three hundred bird species.
FOUR OF THE TOP TEN ARE IN PUGLIA
We write letters from the Italian towns we visit: the town, what is worth eating there, and when to turn up. It is free, and you can leave whenever you like.