Sirolo

Sirolo is a hilltop village on the Conero Riviera, in the province of Ancona, perched on cliffs above the Adriatic. Its historic centre grew up around an 11th-century castle, traces of which survive in the bell tower and town walls. The area has one of the longest records of human presence in the Marche, with evidence from the Neolithic and Bronze Ages, followed by Piceni and Roman settlement. In the "I Pini" area near Sirolo is one of the largest Piceni-era necropolises in the region, including a roughly 40-metre circular grave known as the Tomb of the so-called "Queen of Sirolo," excavated with two chariots and rich grave goods dating to the 6th century BC. Below the cliffs, several beaches are reached by boat or by paths through the Mediterranean scrub, most famously the Due Sorelle ("Two Sisters") beach, named for the pair of sea stacks that flank one end of it.

Sirolo has no railway station of its own; the nearest is Ancona, from where local bus services run along the Conero coast to Sirolo. By car, it is reached from Ancona via the SS16 around Monte Conero.

The hilltop village is walkable, but reaching the beaches below the cliffs requires descending a path or steps, or arriving by boat.

Sirolo's historic centre retains its 11th-century-castle origins in its bell tower and surviving town walls. Nearby, the I Pini archaeological area holds one of the Marche's largest Piceni-era necropolises, including the circular grave known as the Tomb of the "Queen of Sirolo." Below the cliffs, the Due Sorelle beach, framed by two offshore sea stacks, is one of the Conero Riviera's best-known beaches, reachable by boat or on foot through the Mediterranean scrub.