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00 Gradara
Stemma di Gradara

Marche · Pesaro e Urbino

Gradara

The walled hill borgo above the Adriatic where Dante set the deaths of Paolo and Francesca, with one of Italy's best-preserved castles.

Best time
May–Sep
By car
30 min from Rimini
Population
4,889

Known for

  • MALATESTA CASTLE

    One of Italy's best-preserved medieval fortresses, twelfth-century core, finished under the Malatesta in the fifteenth century with double walls running almost 800 meters.

  • PAOLO AND FRANCESCA

    Setting of the fifth canto of Dante's Inferno: Francesca da Polenta and Paolo Malatesta killed here around 1289 by her husband Gianciotto.

  • BORGO DEI BORGHI

    Voted Borgo dei Borghi by RAI viewers in 2018, the national competition among Italy's most beautiful villages.

When to visit

Best · May–Sep

  • J10°
  • F13°
  • M14°
  • A17°
  • M21°
  • J27°
  • J30°
  • A29°
  • S25°
  • O21°
  • N15°
  • D11°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 29° and coldest in January at 9°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

Why come

Gradara sits on a hill three kilometers from the Adriatic, at the northern border of the Marche with Romagna. The castle was begun in the twelfth century by Pietro and Ridolfo del Grifo and completed in the fifteenth, when the Malatesta extended the double ring of walls that still runs almost 800 meters around the borgo. In the fifth canto of the Inferno, Dante placed Paolo and Francesca here: around 1275 Guido da Polenta of Ravenna married his daughter Francesca to Giovanni Malatesta and sent his younger brother Paolo as proxy.

The two fell in love. Gianciotto Malatesta caught them and killed both. Whether the killing happened at Gradara, Pesaro or Rimini is disputed among scholars; tradition keeps it here.

The borgo was voted Borgo dei Borghi by RAI viewers in 2018. The Castello and the Camerino di Lucrezia draw most visitors. Olive groves around the walls supply the Cartoceto DOP oil.

The Sunday letter

Gradara is on our list. Its letter is still to come.

We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Gradara comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.

Read on

Gradara in our articles

How to get there

From Rimini (RMI), about 45 minutes by car.

Ancona / Pescara (AOI) is about 1 hour away.

By car from the centre of Ancona 1h 15m or Bologna 1h 39m.

Coming by train into Rimini? Gradara is about 29 minutes away by road.

Every town within reach of Rimini airport.

Gradara, photo 1
Gradara, photo 2

What to see

  • Castello di Gradara

    Twelfth-century rocca completed by the Malatesta in the fifteenth century, one of the best-preserved medieval fortresses in Italy, with the Camerino di Lucrezia frescoed cycle.

  • Mura medievali

    Double ring of fourteenth and fifteenth-century walls running almost 800 meters around the borgo, walkable along the camminamento.

  • Camera di Paolo e Francesca

    Frescoed chamber inside the castle, traditionally identified as the room where Dante set the killing of the two lovers.

  • Chiesa del Santissimo Sacramento

    Parish church inside the borgo, Renaissance core with later interventions, holds a polychrome wooden crucifix of the fifteenth century.

  • Bosco di Paolo e Francesca

    Wooded slope below the castle walls, restored as a literary park with reading stations from the fifth canto of the Inferno.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Gradara fits in a slow Italy circuit.

Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.

Plan your trip

Through the year

What happens here

Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.

  • Giovedì al Castello - Rievocazione storicahistorical re-enactment

    usually held across August and September. MarchEventi

Living here

  • Population 4,889
  • Commuter belti
  • Pharmacy: none mapped
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Nearest airport Rimini, 45 min drive
  • Regional capital Ancona, 1 h 15 min drive

Common questions

What is Gradara known for?
Gradara is the 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.
Where is Gradara?
Gradara is a comune in the province of Pesaro e Urbino, in Marche.
What is the nearest airport to Gradara?
Rimini (RMI), about 45 minutes by car.
How long is the drive from Ancona to Gradara?
About 1h 15m by car.
When is the best time to visit Gradara?
Best in May–Sep. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 10 rain days.
Is there a sagra or a festival in Gradara?
Yes. Giovedì al Castello - Rievocazione storica. August is when the first of them falls.
Which other towns are like Gradara?
Gabicce Mare, Sirolo and Numana.
How many people live in Gradara?
4,889 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 142 m
  • Population: 4,889
  • Surface area: 17.53 km²

These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and 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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