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Coastal town of Grottammare

Grottammare, in the local tongue, translates to “the caves”. That is a strange name for this charming town. It is rather small, with approximately 16000 inhabitants and it is located in southern Marche, wedged in between the mountains and the sea.

This beautiful seaside town has been around for a long time, and it shows. The historical city of Grottammare is a medieval hamlet, and its fortified walls bear witness of the town’s interesting but sometimes stormy past. Its location made it a target for attacks not only from neighbouring towns, but also from pirates raiding the coast.

This might sound grim, but Grottammare is a very friendly and hospitable town, nowadays at least. Since it has the mountains covering its back and the tepid winds from the Adriatic sea gently blowing at its face, it is provided with a warm and sunny climate. The boardwalk is lined with palm trees and the sweet smell from the surrounding orange groves fill the air.

The oldest of the churches in Grottammare, Chiesa di San Martino was built on the ruins of a temple for the etruscan goddess Cupra. Her name might sound vaguely familiar, because of her more famour heir Cupis. She was the goddess of love and fertility and maybe some of her grace is till present in Grottammare to this date. The town has a very romantic atmosphere that is hard to fight off, even for the most cynical of souls.

Another reflection of Grottammare close relationship with their traditional heritage is the annual “corsa dei cornuti”, roughly translated as “the race of the horny one”. This stems from celtic culture, and is a celebration of the celtic new year on november the 11th. In Grottammare this is celebrated with both a procession through town and an enormous fair, where one can buy products from local farms and, of course from the sea.

Another event that has made Grottammare famous is the annual comedy festival, Cabaret amoremio! This is a celebration of real comedy, and has gueststarred many of Italy’s finest comedians. It is held in early August every year.

The local cuisine is perfect for the hopeless romantic, the restaurants serve amazingly fresh fish and seafood from the grill, the wine is white and crispy cold. The view of the turquoise Adriatic sea behind the pink and white oleander hedgings is absolutely breathtaking.