3 nights near Senigallia: Trip Report

We leave the flat on the lake at about 8.15 on a Sunday morning.

It’s a Sunday at the very end of September, later than we normally head off for our autumn trip, and the weather forecast isn’t particularly encouraging for a holiday which is supposed to include some sea and sand, but it’s the best we can do. But it isn’t actually raining and it isn’t actually sunny which is ideal weather for driving and it’s an easy drive down the motorway from Brescia to Cremona and then to Rimini, well, Ikea Rimini, where we stop for lunch. While we are drinking coffee we get a message that our accommodation is ready so we do the final few kilometres to Marotta.

This apartment had a rating of 9.9 out of 10 on Booking.com. I’m therefore disappointed that the view from the front window is of corrugated sheeting of a never-started building plot, that the cleaning doesn’t rate more than 7/10 and dilapidated mosquito netting has allowed several mosquitos to get in. Did the previous guests who gave 10/10 not notice the black mould in the shower? 

Oh, well. It’s a self check-in and I haven’t the energy to complain and there is a coffee machine so we settle in as best we can, have a coffee, and then go for a walk along the sea front. Marotta is not the most popular resort along the Adriatic coast because the beachy isn’t sandy. This also means that it isn’t very much urban high rise behind the beach and there isn’t the usual long line of beach clubs blocking the view of the sea from the promenade. Yes, there are some, but you can see the sea. The beach itself is made up of very flat rounded stones so it’s ok to walk there as well. It’s a cool and breezy day but the sea air is refreshing. There are a few people walking.

We notice dark clouds out to sea without knowing the weather movements in the area and we are lucky to make it inside the local Conad supermarket just before a torrential downpour. It stops in time for us to walk back to the accommodation with enough shopping for a simple supper.

On Monday it's a beautiful sunny day and we visit Mondolfo, Corinaldo and Mondavio. Our first stop, Mondolfo, offers 5/6 murals, if you can find them, and a smallish historical centre which is pleasant but does not distinguish itself from dozens of others in Italy. The nicest thing is the welcome we get from a kind and friendly volunteer at the Sant’Agostino Musem where we see a small museum, a room of accordions, some art, and the cloister. 

Our next stop, Corinaldo, is very pretty. There's a well-preserved and historical nucleus in warm brick with towers, ramparts and the famous steps with the Polenta Well. We stop there for a light lunch at the chiosco near the church.

Mondavio, a short drive away, with its Rocca, historical centre and tiny but perfect theatre is also enchanting and so peaceful it's a shock to get back down on the main road in the traffic.

We return home for supper, stopping at the nearby Conad for some very decent triglie. It was a very pleasant and relaxing day. These charming small towns and villages of the 'entroterra marchigiana' have not been discovered by mass tourism, but are as beautiful as their more famous counterparts in Tuscany or Umbria. 

More details about our day here.

On Tuesday we visit Senigallia in the morning. It's ok, but perhaps I expected more. The historical centre and shops area is separated from the seaside by the railway and some untidy urban areas which put me off a little. Maybe too, we are influenced by the fact that the foro has the remains of an event cluttering up what maybe would be an attractive area. The beach is nice, and walkable, and the sea is blue. 

But nothing really clicks for us. We have lunch at the Pesceazzurro self-service place which is ok. Later in the afternoon we drive to Fano, which I think I like more than Senigallia, despite the stony beach, but we don't really spend long enough to get a feel for the place. A 'taster', let's say and probably enough to return in the future, maybe combined with Pesaro. 

Here's our day more in detail.

We spent three nights near Senigallia on our way south to Puglia. But Senigallia or Marotta or Fano could be a good base for a much longer stay to visit places like (times by car from Senigallia):

Urbino - 1 hour 

Pesaro - 40 mins

Gradara - 45 mins

Jesi - 30 mins

Ancona - 40 mins

Osimo - 45 mins (and Offagna)

Numana, Sirolo, Conero area - 45 mins

Fano - 25 mins

Mondavio - 30 mins

Corinaldo - 25 mins

And many more......