Marche · Ascoli Piceno
Grottammare
A double town on the Riviera delle Palme, with a palm-lined seafront and a medieval upper borgo where Pope Sixtus V was born.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Grottammare is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia, Bandiera Blu and Spighe Verdi.
Subscribe and you get Grottammare's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- May–Sep
- By car
- 59 min from Pescara
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 15,924
- J12°
- F13°
- M14°
- A16°
- M21°
- J26°
- J29°
- A29°
- S25°
- O21°
- N16°
- D13°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 29° and coldest in February at 10°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
Grottammare sits on the Ascoli Piceno coast at the mouth of the Tesino. The town splits into two nuclei that never merged: a lungomare on the Adriatic, laid out with palms and Liberty villas in the late nineteenth century, and an older settlement on the hill above, reached by climbing away from the water rather than along it. Felice Peretti was born in that upper settlement on 13 December 1521, in a house on what became the borgo's central square.
He left, rose through the church, and returned as Pope Sixtus V only in monument: two churches he commissioned for his birthplace after 1585, one built beside the house itself and one now holding the collection of objects he sent back from Rome. The upper town still carries its eleventh-century walls and the traces of an earlier fortress on the Incasato spur, and it has been named among the Borghi più belli d'Italia. The coast below has its own separate recognitions, for water quality and for the management of the hills behind it. The two halves read as a single biography split in space: the hill holds the birth and the memory, the shore holds the later invention of the town as a seaside resort, and neither nucleus explains itself without the other.
How to get there
From Ancona (AOI), about 1 h 8 min by car.
Rimini (RMI) is about 2 h 11 min away.
By car from the center of Pescara 59 min or Ancona 1 h 3 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming by train into Pescara Centrale? Grottammare is about 57 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Ancona airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Paese Alto (Borgo Antico)
Brick lanes climb the Incasato hill inside the eleventh-century walls, past the remains of a fortified spur that looks down over the seafront below.
Chiesa di Santa Lucia
On the central square of the upper town, next to the house of Peretti's birth, a plain sixteenth-century commission from a native son grown powerful.
Museo Sistino
Inside the Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista, the liturgical objects on display came back to the town only after the local boy had become pope.
Lungomare De Gasperi
The promenade runs beneath rows of palms and the facades of Liberty-era villas, its water carrying the Bandiera Blu designation.
Teatro dell'Arancio
A small nineteenth-century theater set inside the Palazzo del Comune, named for the orange tree still standing in its courtyard.
From the guides
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.
Attico sul MareRistorante
Two Gambero Rosso forks (82/100) for Attico sul Mare, and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Don DiegoRistorante
Don Diego holds one Gambero Rosso fork (77/100).
Il TopiccoRistorante
Il Topicco carries a Slow Food snail.
1 more place the guides name in Grottammare
La Cantina di Sant'Agustino 1650Trattoria
La Cantina di Sant'Agustino 1650 holds two Gambero Rosso prawns.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Grottammare meets all 3 of our rules for a small town.
- 15,924 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Ascoli Piceno, a city of 45,277, is 35 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 15,924, up 0.1% since 2015
- Nearest city Ascoli Piceno, 35 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital San Benedetto del Tronto, 7 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,500 to €3,000 per m² to buy, €6.60 to €14.20 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Commuter belt
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 96% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Ancona airport (AOI), 1 h 8 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Ancona, 1 h 3 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
6% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Albania, Romania and Tunisia, against 9% across Italy. 27 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany and the Netherlands. There are 219 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 32% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Ascoli Piceno province ranks 22nd of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in San Benedetto del Tronto, 7 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Ancona, 72 km away. The nearest IB school is Viterbo International School, 158 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Marche International School, 42 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Working from here
Poste Italiane has finished a coworking room in the comune, on its register of 30 September 2026. Check that it is open on Poste's booking site before you count on it.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Marche spends about €2,480 a month, €620 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €643 a year for water, on the Marche average. In Ascoli Piceno, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.28, a meal in a pizzeria €11.39 and a man's haircut €18.98.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone D, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 1 to April 15, up to 12 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 7% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate medium for floods. Under 1% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
POPE SIXTUS V
Felice Peretti, born in the Paese Alto on 13 December 1521 and elected pope in 1585, rebuilt much of Rome and commissioned two churches in his birthplace.
RIVIERA DELLE PALME
Palm-lined Adriatic seafront with Liberty villas and clean water, holder of both the Bandiera Blu and the Spighe Verdi recognitions.
PAESE ALTO
The medieval upper town on the Incasato hill, ranked among the Borghi più belli d'Italia, with eleventh-century walls and brick lanes.
Common questions
- What is Grottammare known for?
- Grottammare is a double town on the Riviera delle Palme, with a palm-lined seafront and a medieval upper borgo where Pope Sixtus V was born.
- Where is Grottammare?
- Grottammare is a comune in the province of Ascoli Piceno, in Marche, at 4 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Grottammare?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Ancona (AOI), about 1 h 8 min by car.
- Can you get to Grottammare without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Pescara to Grottammare?
- About 59 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Grottammare?
- Best in May–Sep. August is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 11 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Grottammare?
- Mondolfo, Loreto and Alba Adriatica.
- How many people live in Grottammare?
- 15,924 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Grottammare a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Grottammare is a small town that meets all 3 of our rules. The nearest city, Ascoli Piceno, is 35 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in San Benedetto del Tronto, 7 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 96% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 4 m
- Population: 15,924
- Surface area: 18 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.
The ranked lists
Lists Grottammare appears in
- The 6 best towns you can get around without steps in MarcheMarchestep-free6 towns · smallest 1,331 residents
- The 6 prettiest villages with a serious restaurant within 90 minutes of PescaraNear Pescarawithin 90 minserious restaurantprettiest villages6 towns · smallest 1,058 residents · closest 48 min away
- The best coastal towns you can reach by train in MarcheMarchecoastalby train6 towns · smallest 13,066 residents
- The 8 prettiest villages that eat well in MarcheMarcheeats wellprettiest villages8 towns · smallest 3,625 residents
- The best coastal towns that eat well within 90 minutes of PescaraNear Pescaracoastalwithin 90 mineats well8 towns · smallest 2,302 residents · closest 26 min away
- The best towns with a serious restaurant that you can reach by train within 90 minutes of PescaraNear Pescaraby trainwithin 90 minserious restaurant8 towns · smallest 13,275 residents · closest 26 min away
Featured on
Grottammare appears on this themed pick from our Collections:
Similar
Towns like Grottammare
What all six share with Grottammare: over 10,000 people · near sea level
Mondolfo
Province: Pesaro e Urbino
both on the Adriatic coast · both have a railway station in the comune
Loreto
Province: Ancona
both on the Adriatic coast · both have a railway station in the comune
Alba Adriatica
Province: Teramo
both on the Adriatic coast · both have a railway station in the comune
Giulianova
Province: Teramo
both on the Adriatic coast · both have a railway station in the comune
Trinitapoli
Province: Barletta-Andria-Trani
both on the Adriatic coast · both have a railway station in the comune
Isola di Capo Rizzuto
Province: Crotone
both on the coast
The letter
Grottammare 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: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Grottammare comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Scheggino, 90 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.