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Borgo Antico of Termoli

A walled promontory old town with a Swabian castle, working trabucchi and a Romanesque cathedral.

  • Termoli
  • District
Plan your visit
Where
Termoli
Best for
Swabian Castle
Allow
1 hr 30 min
Tickets
Free

Termoli’s old quarter fills a small promontory on the Molise coast, its pastel houses packed inside sea walls. The octagonal Swabian Castle, reinforced under Frederick II after 1240, anchors one corner, and one of the medieval towers still guards the entrance to the borgo.

A lane called A Rejecelle, barely wide enough for one person, competes for the title of Italy’s narrowest street. Below the walls, wooden trabucchi, old fishing platforms with long overhanging beams and lowered nets, still work the water, and a walkway follows the walls from the castle to the port. The Apulian-Romanesque cathedral of Santa Maria della Purificazione, built in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, faces the main square.

The old quarter of Termoli seen from the beach at sunset, with the castle tower and a trabucco
Pastel houses packed behind sea walls, with the castle at the tip.

Look closer

The square stone Castello Svevo of Termoli under a blue sky
Castello SvevoA plain, forbidding castle stripped of ornament, the symbol of Termoli.
The Romanesque facade of Termoli cathedral with its rose window and blind arcades
The Romanesque cathedralA pale limestone front with a rose window and blind arcades, on the highest ground of the promontory.
A wooden trabucco fishing platform reaching out over the sea off Termoli
A trabucco at seaA wooden fishing platform on long beams, still working the Adriatic.

Five things worth finding

If you see nothing else, see these.

  1. Castello Svevo

    A plain, forbidding castle stripped of ornament, the symbol of Termoli; its rooms house the sea museum.At the tip of the old quarter

  2. Cathedral of Santa Maria della Purificazione

    A Romanesque cathedral that holds the bodies of the city’s patron saints, Basso and Timoteo.Piazza Duomo, the highest point of the promontory

  3. A Rejecelle

    A lane so narrow that one person fits at a time, claimed as one of the narrowest streets in Italy.In the heart of the borgo

  4. Torretta Belvedere

    A small tower with an arched gate, still the main way into the old quarter from the harbor side.Entrance to the old town from the port

  5. Trabucchi

    Wooden fishing platforms with long beams and lowered nets, a working relic of Adriatic fishing.Below the walls along the seafront

Plan your visit

Everything you need before you go.

Tickets
Free
Booking
No booking needed
Time needed
1 hr 30 min
Best time
Early evening, when the fishing boats return and the walls glow
Getting there
Termoli has a station on the Adriatic coast line, and the old quarter lies at the end of the seafront, on foot from the station. It is also the main ferry port for the Tremiti Islands. By car, leave the A14 at Termoli and park near the port or seafront.
Accessibility
Narrow medieval lanes with uneven stone paving and some steps make the old quarter difficult for wheelchairs; the seafront walkway is flatter.

Walking the old quarter and entering the cathedral are free.

Walk the Passeggiata dei trabucchi from beneath the castle along the walls to the port, then find A Rejecelle on the way back. Dine at a seafront place where the catch comes off the same platforms.

Official website
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Good to know

How long should you spend in Termoli’s old town?

Ninety minutes is enough for the castle, the cathedral, the lanes and the walk along the walls. Add time for a seafront lunch or a look at the port.

Do you need to book Termoli’s old town?

No, the old quarter is free to wander. Only the castle museum or a boat trip to the Tremiti Islands may need tickets, and the latter fills in high season.

Can you combine Termoli with the Tremiti Islands?

Yes, Termoli is the main ferry port for the Tremiti, so most people do the old town before or after the crossing. Book the boat ahead in summer and keep the old town for the evening.

More to see nearby

Same city first, then the nearest across the region.

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