From
Ancona, the first port of call is
Portonovo, the smallest retreat on the
Conero Riviera.
The Conero trail skirts the base of the
mountain with sweeping views inland. Around 8 km S from the junction for
Portonovo, follow signs for
Monte Conero to drive up to
Badia di San Pietro, built in the 12thC as a Benedictine Hermitage and now a
hotel. This is the highest point on the
mountain reachable by car and worth the journey for the views.The whole area was declared a regional
nature park in 1987 and a web of signed footpaths cover the peak - maps and information from the
Consorzio del Parco del Conero at
Sirolo. On the summit (572 mt) traces of a Paleolithic settlement dating back 100,000 years have been discovered - the earliest signs of human presence in the region.The southern spur of
Conero shelters the riviera' s two chief resorts.
Sirolo is the most attractive, with a spruce medieval centre and a tree - lined, balcony piazza that teeters high above the sea. The best beaches are accessible using a half - hourly bus service that drops down to each of the coves. The mass of campsites and hotels below the old town runs seamlessly into more of the same at
Numana. Still, it has a fine long beach to the south and an archeological museum documenting the history of the Piceni tribes who lived here until Rome muscled.