Marche · Macerata
Montecosaro
A walled hilltop borgo above the Chienti valley, with a Romanesque basilica rebuilt in 1125 on the river plain below.
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 47 min from Ancona
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 7,369
Known for
PIÈ DI CHIENTI
1125 Romanesque basilica on the river plain below town, rebuilt by the Lombard abbot Agenolfo on a Farfa monastic foundation of 936.
WALLED CENTRO
Oval-walled fourteenth-century borgo on the hilltop, with concentric streets climbing to the Cassero and views over the Chienti valley.
AUGUSTINIAN CONVENT
Mid-thirteenth-century Augustinian settlement founded under Innocent IV and Alexander IV, with the conventual church reshaped in the eighteenth century.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J10°
- F12°
- M13°
- A16°
- M21°
- J27°
- J30°
- A29°
- S25°
- O20°
- N15°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
The festa: San Lorenzo, 10 August
Why come
Montecosaro sits on a hill above the lower Chienti valley, fifteen kilometers from Macerata and inland from the Adriatic at Civitanova. The first record of a monastery in the river plain dates to 936, when the abbot Ildebrando received the church of Santa Maria from Farfa. The current Basilica di Santa Maria a Piè di Chienti was raised in 1125 by the Lombard abbot Agenolfo, on the left bank a few kilometers from the river mouth: a three-nave Romanesque church with a raised presbytery and a ring of apsidioles, holding among the strongest Cluniac architecture in central Italy.
The hilltop borgo above grew from a medieval castle after 1200, walled in the fourteenth century inside an oval that culminates at the Cassero, the former fortress now a public garden. The Augustinian convent and the church of Sant'Agostino in the upper town date from the same century, rebuilt in the late eighteenth.
The Sunday letter
Montecosaro 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 Montecosaro comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.
Read on
Montecosaro in our articles
The best towns that eat well in the province of Macerata6 towns, Montecosaro among them.
The 7 best towns with a medieval festival in Marche7 towns, Montecosaro among them.
The best hill towns you can reach by train within 90 minutes of Ancona7 towns, Montecosaro among them.
The 8 best towns you can reach by train that eat well within 90 minutes of Ancona8 towns, Montecosaro among them.
How to get there
From Ancona / Pescara (AOI), about 51 minutes by car.
Rimini (RMI) is about 2 hours away.
By car from the centre of Ancona 47 minutes or Pescara 1h 30m.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming by train into Pescara Centrale? Montecosaro is about 1h 28m away by road.
What to see
Basilica di Santa Maria a Piè di Chienti
Romanesque church rebuilt in 1125 by the Lombard abbot Agenolfo on a Farfa monastic foundation of 936, three naves with raised presbytery and apsidioles.
Centro storico
Oval-walled medieval centro storico on the hill, with fourteenth-century walls and concentric streets climbing toward the Cassero.
Cassero
Highest point of the walled borgo, where the medieval fortress once stood, now a public garden with views over the Chienti valley.
Chiesa di Sant'Agostino
Augustinian conventual church built in the mid-thirteenth century and reshaped in the second half of the eighteenth, in the upper part of the town.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Montecosaro 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.
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.
Due Cigni RistoranteRistorante
One Gambero Rosso fork (78/100), at Due Cigni Ristorante.
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.
Contesa dei Cento Ducatihistorical re-enactment
usually held in August. lemarche.it
Morsi di Pizzafood festival
usually held in September. TrovaSagre
Living here
- Population 7,369
- Commuter belti
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest airport Ancona / Pescara, 51 min drive
- Regional capital Ancona, 46 min drive
Common questions
- What is Montecosaro known for?
- Montecosaro is a walled hilltop borgo at 267 meters above the Chienti valley, with a Romanesque basilica rebuilt in 1125 on the river plain below.
- Where is Montecosaro?
- Montecosaro is a comune in the province of Macerata, in Marche.
- What is the nearest airport to Montecosaro?
- Ancona / Pescara (AOI), about 51 minutes by car.
- Can you get to Montecosaro without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Ancona to Montecosaro?
- About 47 minutes by car.
- When is the best time to visit Montecosaro?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and March the wettest, with about 10 rain days.
- Is there a sagra or a festival in Montecosaro?
- Yes. Contesa dei Cento Ducati and Morsi di Pizza. August is when the first of them falls.
- Which other towns are like Montecosaro?
- Morrovalle, Spello and Deruta.
- How many people live in Montecosaro?
- 7,369 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 267 m
- Population: 7,369
- Surface area: 21.88 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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