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Stemma di Giulianova

Abruzzo · Teramo

Giulianova

Coastal town split between hilltop Paese and the Lido below, one rebuilt as a Renaissance ideal city, the other grown around a working fishing fleet.

Known for

  • ACQUAVIVA TOWN

    Refounded in 1471 by Giulio Antonio Acquaviva as a Renaissance ideal city, named for himself after the Tordino battle.

  • BRODETTO

    Brodetto alla giuliese, the local fish stew thickened with green peppers, served at the lido's traditional restaurants.

  • FISHING PORT

    One of Abruzzo's four main fishing ports, with a working fleet bringing in mantis shrimp, anchovies and seasonal Adriatic catch.

  • PRETUZIANO DELLE COLLINE TERAMANE

    The commune lies inside the Pretuziano delle Colline Teramane DOP production zone.

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: Flaviano di Costantinopoli, 24 November

Why come

The town sits at the mouth of the Tordino river, where colonists from Praetutii territory established Castrum Novum in the 3rd century BC. A medieval settlement, Castrum divi Flaviani, later stood on the same hill until it was destroyed in the Battle of the Tordino in 1460. What rose after covers the upper part of the town today: a walled, planned town on the hill, 68 meters above the water.

The Lido came later and by a different route, growing from the 19th century around the railway rather than around any single founding decision. It is now one of Abruzzo's main fishing ports, and the fish stew served along its promenade, brodetto alla giuliese, is the local counterpart to the better-known Vastese version from further south. The sanctuary on the road between the two halves of town marks the physical and historical hinge between them: hill above, coast below.

In August the Sant'Andrea feast carries the saint by boat along the water, a rite that belongs to the Lido's fishing life rather than to the hill's planned streets. The town, in effect, holds two founding stories side by side, one Renaissance and deliberate, one maritime and gradual, and neither has absorbed the other.

The Sunday letter

We haven’t written Giulianova’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.

Giulianova — photo 1
Giulianova — photo 2

What to see

  • Duomo di San Flaviano

    Cathedral in the hilltop Paese, its dome visible above the Renaissance street plan. Holds the relics of the saint after whom the medieval settlement was named.

  • Paese

    The hilltop town, walled and centered on a single piazza, its street plan unchanged since Giulio Antonio Acquaviva laid it out over the ruins of the settlement destroyed in 1460.

  • Lido

    The coastal town with promenade, fishing port and Blue-Flag beach, developed from the 19th-century railway era.

  • Santuario della Madonna dello Splendore

    Sanctuary on the road connecting the hill and the coast, its April pilgrimage marking a Marian apparition recorded in 1557.

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We recommend

Where to eat

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.

  • AprudiaRistorante

    Aprudia has two Gambero Rosso forks (81/100) and a spot in the Michelin Guide.

  • Rotta Cucina e RistoroRistorante

    Rotta Cucina e Ristoro carries two Gambero Rosso forks (80/100), plus a place in L'Espresso's Top 300.

  • Bora BoraRistorante

    Bora Bora carries a Gambero Rosso listing.

  • LuciaRistorante

    One Gambero Rosso fork (78/100), at Lucia.

Living here

  • Population 23,369
  • Commuter belti
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Train station in the comune
  • Nearest airport Ancona / Pescara, 1 h 33 min drive
  • Regional capital L'Aquila, 1 h 6 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

Recognised as

The numbers

  • Elevation: 68 m
  • Population: 23,369
  • Surface area: 28 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

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