Termoli

The Borgo Antico occupies a small promontory behind walls, with a Swabian castle of the thirteenth century on the seaward side and a Romanesque cathedral inside holding the relics of Saints Basso and Timoteo, the latter rediscovered walled up in 1945. Rebuilding of the walls in the nineteenth century left a passage called A' Rejecelle, a lane between houses about forty centimetres wide at its narrowest, sometimes cited as the narrowest street in Italy. Termoli is the mainland port for the Tremiti islands, with ferries running through the summer, and the town has its own version of fish soup, brodetto.

History

People lived here in prehistoric times, as the necropolises of Porticone and Difesa Grande show, and the town is first documented in the 10th century, through the forerunner of the present cathedral. It was a Lombard county until the Normans came, under whom it flourished, and after a long decline it grew again from around 1770, when the Kings of Naples let local nobles build along the coast (Wikipedia, Termoli).

What's there

• The walled promontory - an old town enclosed above the sea.
• The Swabian castle - a thirteenth-century fort on the seaward wall.
• A' Rejecelle - a lane about forty centimetres wide at its narrowest.
• The ferry port - departures for the Tremiti islands in season.

When to go

May to September for the beaches and Tremiti ferries; the town works year-round. August is busy with Italian holidaymakers. Winter ferry service is minimal.

Things to know

The old town is very small, walked in half an hour. Ferries to the Tremiti are seasonal and weather dependent. Beaches either side are developed.

Nearby

The Tremiti islands lie offshore; the Gargano is south.

Key facts