Marche · Ancona
Numana
A Conero coastal town above its port, the Picene harbor that traded with Greek ships from the sixth century BC.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Numana is on our list
It holds Bandiera Blu and Spighe Verdi.
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Sep
- By car
- 30 min from Ancona
- Population
- 3,762
- J11°
- F13°
- M14°
- A17°
- M22°
- J27°
- J30°
- A30°
- S25°
- O21°
- N16°
- D12°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 28° and coldest in February at 11°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
Numana sits fifteen kilometers south of Ancona, on a cliff overlooking the Adriatic at the foot of the promontory that shapes this stretch of coast. The old town, Numana alta, runs along the ridge in continuity with Sirolo, while Numana bassa wraps around the port below, so the visitor moves between two settlements joined by a single slope rather than one town with two names. The place was a Picene harbor that traded with Greek and Etruscan ships from the sixth century BC, and a major center of pre-Roman Italy before the rise of Ancona pushed it into decline around 500 BC. That decline is what left the burial grounds undisturbed long enough to be excavated centuries later, and it is also why the town's oldest identity is archaeological rather than architectural: a harbor that mattered, stopped mattering, and was rediscovered through what it buried.
How to get there
From Ancona (AOI), about 40 min by car.
Rimini (RMI) is about 1 h 43 min away.
By car from the center of Ancona 30 min or Pescara 1 h 41 min.
Coming by train into Rimini? Numana is about 1 h 27 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Ancona airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Antiquarium Statale di Numana
Opened 1974, holding more than five hundred Picene burials from the Conero necropolises, plus a sixth-century BC limestone warrior's head found on a Numana beach in 1892.
Santuario del Crocifisso
Rebuilt in 1969 on a 1566 foundation, the current structure standing on a sanctuary site with roots three centuries older than the rebuild itself.
Porto di Numana
Working fishing and pleasure port at the foot of the cliff, with daily boat services along the Conero cliffs to the otherwise inaccessible Due Sorelle beach.
Spiaggia dei Frati
Pebble-and-shingle beach below the southern cliff of Numana alta, reached by stepped paths from the upper town.
Parco del Conero
Regional park covering 6,000 hectares of limestone promontory between Ancona and Numana, with Monte Conero rising above the town.
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.
Casa RapisardaRistorante
Casa Rapisarda has two Gambero Rosso forks (84/100) and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
In Riva a NumanaRistorante
A place in L'Espresso's Top 300 for In Riva a Numana, and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
La TorreRistorante
La Torre carries one Gambero Rosso fork (77/100).
1 more place the guides name in Numana
Riva Restaurant del View Place HotelRistorante
Riva Restaurant del View Place Hotel holds two Gambero Rosso forks (87/100).
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?
Numana is a village with a town close by.
- A village of 3,762, with Castelfidardo (18,418 people) 12 min away for the shopping and a meal out. Our rule is a town within 15 minutes.
- Ancona, a city of 99,533, is 30 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
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 3,762, up 1.2% since 2015
- Nearest city Ancona, 30 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Ancona, 13 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,850 to €2,650 per m² to buy, €6.20 to €9.10 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 48% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Ancona airport (AOI), 40 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Ancona, 30 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
6% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Albania and Ukraine, against 9% across Italy. 20 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany. There are 330 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 71% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Ancona province ranks 30th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Ancona, 13 km as the crow flies, and it is a major one. The nearest children's emergency room is in Ancona, 13 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Rimini, 104 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Marche International School, 19 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.7% 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 Ancona, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.30, a meal in a pizzeria €12.69 and a man's haircut €20.60.
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. 3% 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
TOMB OF THE QUEEN
Sixth-century BC Picene royal burial with Attic pottery, bronze, ivory and amber, the central exhibit of the Antiquarium and proof of trade ties to Greece.
CONERO COAST
Town at the southern foot of Monte Conero, the 572-meter limestone promontory that gives the Conero Riviera its cliffs and Blue Flag beaches.
CROCIFISSO
Thirteenth-century Romanesque-Byzantine wooden crucifix in the sanctuary, venerated since the sixteenth-century discovery and a pilgrim draw across the centuries.
Common questions
- What is Numana known for?
- Numana is a Conero coastal town at 56 meters above its port, the Picene harbor that traded with Greek ships from the sixth century BC.
- Where is Numana?
- Numana is a comune in the province of Ancona, in Marche.
- What is the nearest airport to Numana?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Ancona (AOI), about 40 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Ancona to Numana?
- About 30 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Numana?
- Best in May–Sep. August is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 11 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Numana?
- Sirolo, Miglianico and Gradara.
- How many people live in Numana?
- 3,762 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Numana a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Numana is a village with a town of 5,000 people within 15 minutes (Castelfidardo, 12 min). The nearest city, Ancona, is 30 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Ancona, 13 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 48% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 56 m
- Population: 3,762
- Surface area: 10.94 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 Numana appears in
- The 6 best towns inside a nature park in the province of AnconaAncona provinceinside a park6 towns · smallest 1,648 residents
- The 6 best towns that eat well in the province of AnconaAncona provinceeats well6 towns · smallest 2,168 residents
- The best coastal towns within 90 minutes of AnconaNear Anconacoastalwithin 90 min6 towns · smallest 3,762 residents · closest 28 min away
- The best hidden coastal towns in MarcheMarchecoastalhidden6 towns · smallest 3,762 residents
- The 9 best beach towns in MarcheMarcheclean beach9 towns · smallest 3,762 residents
- The 9 best towns inside a nature park in MarcheMarcheinside a park9 towns · smallest 1,648 residents
Featured on
Numana appears on this themed pick from our Collections:
Similar
Towns like Numana
What all six share with Numana: on the Adriatic coast · between 3,000 and 10,000 people · near sea level
The letter
Numana 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 Numana comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Gubbio, 86 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.