Marche · Ancona
Numana
A Conero coastal town above its port, the Picene harbour that traded with Greek ships from the sixth century BC.
- Best time
- May–Sep
- By car
- 30 min from Ancona
- Population
- 3,741
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.
When to visit
Best · May–Sep
- J11°
- F13°
- M14°
- A17°
- M22°
- J27°
- J30°
- A30°
- S25°
- O21°
- N16°
- D12°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 28° and coldest in February at 11°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
The festa: Cristo Re, 3 May
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 harbour that traded with Greek and Etruscan ships from the sixth century BC, and a major centre 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 harbour that mattered, stopped mattering, and was rediscovered through what it buried.
The Sunday 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 every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Numana comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.
Read on
Numana in our articles
The 6 best towns inside a nature park in the province of Ancona6 towns, Numana among them.
The 6 best towns that eat well in the province of Ancona6 towns, Numana among them.
The best coastal towns within 90 minutes of Ancona6 towns, Numana among them.
The best hidden coastal towns in Marche6 towns, Numana among them.
How to get there
From Ancona / Pescara (AOI), about 40 minutes by car.
Rimini (RMI) is about 1h 43m away.
By car from the centre of Ancona 30 minutes or Pescara 1h 41m.
Coming by train into Rimini? Numana is about 1h 27m away by road.
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.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Numana 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.
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).
Riva Restaurant del View Place HotelRistorante
Riva Restaurant del View Place Hotel holds two Gambero Rosso forks (87/100).
Living here
- Population 3,741
- Commuter belti
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Nearest airport Ancona / Pescara, 40 min drive
- Regional capital Ancona, 30 min drive
Common questions
- What is Numana known for?
- Numana is a Conero coastal town at 56 meters above its port, the Picene harbour 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?
- Ancona / Pescara (AOI), about 40 minutes by car.
- How long is the drive from Ancona to Numana?
- About 30 minutes 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.
- Is there a sagra or a festival in Numana?
- The town keeps its patron saint's day: Cristo Re, 3 May.
- Which other towns are like Numana?
- Sirolo, Miglianico and Gradara.
- How many people live in Numana?
- 3,741 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 56 m
- Population: 3,741
- 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.
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