Corinaldo

Corinaldo is a hilltop town in the province of Ancona, recognised as one of "I Borghi più belli d'Italia" (the most beautiful villages of Italy). It is best known for its medieval walls, at 912 metres among the most complete and impressive in the Marche region; the southern stretch was added between 1484 and 1490 by the Sienese military architect Francesco di Giorgio Martini, and the walls still retain their murder holes, embrasures, moats, and towers. Corinaldo is also the birthplace of Saint Maria Goretti, and her childhood house and a diocesan sanctuary dedicated to her can be visited in the town. The surrounding countryside produces Verdicchio wine. The town holds several notable festivals, including the Contesa del Pozzo della Polenta each July, in which hundreds of costumed re-enactors revive a local legend around the town's Polenta Well, and a well-known Halloween festival each October.

Corinaldo is reached by road from Ancona or Senigallia; there is no railway station in the town itself.

The historic hilltop centre is small and walkable, enclosed within the medieval walls.

The medieval walls, among the best preserved in the Marche, ring the old town and include the Renaissance addition by Francesco di Giorgio Martini. The Pozzo della Polenta (Polenta Well) and the scenic Piaggia staircase are local landmarks, and Saint Maria Goretti's birth house and a sanctuary dedicated to her can be visited in town.

The Contesa del Pozzo della Polenta in July re-enacts a local legend with hundreds of costumed participants; Corinaldo's Halloween festival each October is also well known regionally.

Verdicchio wine, produced in the surrounding countryside, is a local product.

Corinaldo is within reach of Ancona and Senigallia on the Marche coast, and of other Marche hill towns further inland.