Molise · Campobasso
Termoli
Molise's only port, a walled promontory of fishermen's houses on the Adriatic, with the ferry pier for the Tremiti islands.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Termoli is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia, Bandiera Blu and Città dell'Olio.
Subscribe and you get Termoli's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- May–Sep
- By car
- 1 h 19 min from Pescara
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 31,836
- J12°
- F14°
- M15°
- A17°
- M22°
- J27°
- J30°
- A30°
- S26°
- O22°
- N17°
- D14°
- 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 12°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
Termoli sits on a promontory pushing into the Adriatic between two beaches, the only port in Molise. The walled quarter occupies the tip of the promontory itself: a maze of narrow lanes lined with low white and ochre houses, built for fishermen and still laid out as they left it, with the castle anchoring one end and the cathedral square at the center. Outside the walls, the coast runs east and west with the wooden trabucchi platforms still worked from the rocks on calm days, while the newer town extends inland from the old core.
One of the largest tank battles of the 1943 Italian campaign was fought through these streets between 2 and 6 October. What holds the town together is the promontory itself: a small fortified point that has had to serve as harbor, defense, parish and battlefield in turn, with the rest of Termoli built up around it rather than the other way round.
How to get there
From Bari (BRI), about 2 h 16 min by car.
Ancona (AOI) is about 2 h 57 min away.
By car from the center of Pescara 1 h 19 min, Bari 2 h 20 min or Ancona 2 h 52 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Bari?
Coming by train into Foggia? Termoli is about 1 h 9 min away by road.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Castello Svevo
The fortress Frederick II rebuilt stands as the visual anchor of the borgo antico, its walls facing the sea rather than the town it once defended.
Cattedrale di Santa Maria della Purificazione
Apulian Romanesque cathedral from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, holding the relics of San Basso and San Timoteo, patrons of the city.
Borgo antico
Walled fishermen's quarter on the promontory, a maze of low white and colored houses, narrow lanes and small piazzas above the sea.
Trabucchi
Wooden fishing platforms cantilevered over the rocks, used to net fish from shore without a boat, restored along the coast east and west of town.
Spiaggia di Sant'Antonio and Rio Vivo
Two sand beaches flanking the promontory, both holding Bandiera Blu status, with the ferry to the Tremiti islands sailing from the central pier.
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.
Federico IIRistorante
Federico II has one Gambero Rosso fork (75/100) and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
SveviaRistorante
Svevia holds one Gambero Rosso fork (76/100) and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Da NicolinoRistorante
Da Nicolino holds a Gambero Rosso listing.
2 more places the guides name in Termoli
Don Giovanni Steak HouseGriglieria
Don Giovanni Steak House holds a Gambero Rosso listing.
Il PortoRistorante
A Gambero Rosso listing, at Il Porto.
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?
Termoli meets 1 of our 3 rules for a small town.
- 31,836 people, above our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: big enough that it can split into neighborhoods.
- Foggia, a city of 145,198, is 1 h 11 min by car. Further than our 30 to 60 minutes, a long way for the hospital visit or the monthly shopping.
- 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 31,836, down 4.3% since 2015
- Nearest city Foggia, 1 h 11 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,300 to €2,700 per m² to buy, €4.60 to €6.60 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Remote
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 97% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Pescara airport (PSR), 1 h 22 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Campobasso, 1 h 14 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
4% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Ukraine and Albania, against 9% across Italy. 52 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United States, Germany and France. There are 236 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 24% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Campobasso province ranks 73rd of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
There is an emergency room in the comune. The nearest major one is in Foggia, 78 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 208 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Canadian College Italy, 56 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 0.8% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €12,000. 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 Molise spends about €2,050 a month, €570 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €274 a year for water, on the Molise average.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone C, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 15 to March 31, up to 10 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. Under 1% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 3% in a high or medium one. 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
CASTELLO SVEVO
Rebuilt in 1240 after a Venetian fleet wrecked the earlier castle; it still dominates the promontory.
TRABUCCHI
Wooden shore-fishing platforms used for centuries to net fish without a boat, still operated on calm days along the coast.
TREMITI FERRY
Termoli is the main port of departure for the Tremiti islands, the small Adriatic archipelago off the Gargano peninsula.
Common questions
- What is Termoli known for?
- Molise's only port, a walled promontory of fishermen's houses on the Adriatic, with the ferry pier for the Tremiti islands.
- Where is Termoli?
- Termoli is a comune in the province of Campobasso, in Molise, at 15 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Termoli?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Pescara (PSR), about 1 h 22 min by car.
- Can you get to Termoli 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 Termoli?
- About 1 h 19 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Termoli?
- Best in May–Sep. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Termoli?
- Fasano, Vasto and Ugento.
- How many people live in Termoli?
- 31,836 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Termoli a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Termoli is a small town that meets 1 of our 3 rules. The nearest city, Foggia, is 1 h 11 min away by car. There is a national health service hospital in the comune. Full fibre reaches 97% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 15 m
- Population: 31,836
- Surface area: 55.64 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 Termoli appears in
- The 6 best olive oil towns you can reach by train within 90 minutes of FoggiaNear Foggiaolive oilby trainwithin 90 min6 towns · smallest 7,926 residents · closest 31 min away
- The best towns with a serious restaurant that eat well within 90 minutes of FoggiaNear Foggiawithin 90 minserious restauranteats well6 towns · smallest 7,926 residents · closest 31 min away
- The best olive oil towns in the province of CampobassoCampobasso provinceolive oil7 towns · smallest 596 residents
- The best olive oil towns that eat well within 90 minutes of FoggiaNear Foggiaolive oilwithin 90 mineats well7 towns · smallest 5,876 residents · closest 31 min away
- The prettiest villages within 90 minutes of FoggiaNear Foggiawithin 90 minprettiest villages9 towns · smallest 682 residents · closest 34 min away
Similar
Towns like Termoli
What all six share with Termoli: on the Adriatic coast · over 10,000 people · near sea level · have a railway station in the comune
The letter
Termoli 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 Termoli comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Scheggino, 195 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.