Conero Riviera and the Frasassi caves

Route description

South of Ancona, Monte Conero rises straight from the sea, the only high cliff coast between Trieste and the Gargano. Portonovo’s bay has a Romanesque church and a Napoleonic fort; in summer, use the park-and-ride shuttle rather than the steep access road.

Sirolo and neighbouring Numana are small resort towns on the cliff edge; the famous Due Sorelle beach below them is reached only by boat. Inland, Loreto’s basilica draws pilgrims from all over the world, and Recanati, a few kilometres on, is the hometown of the poet Giacomo Leopardi.

Cross the hills to Jesi, a walled town among the Verdicchio vineyards, and take the SS76 up the Esino valley. At Genga the Frasassi caves are visited on guided tours from a car park with a shuttle bus; the temperature inside stays around 14 °C all year.

Near the caves, a short walk leads to the Valadier Temple, an octagonal church built into the rock of the gorge. Beaches are crowded in August, so June and September are the best months.