The walls and the Polenta Well
On a hill in the hinterland of Senigallia, Corinaldo is one of the best preserved walled villages in the Marche, one of the "Borghi più belli d'Italia", enclosed by a ring of fifteenth century walls about 900 metres long, intact, with towers, bastions, gates and a walkway that can be walked along the top, offering views of the hills and the countryside. The walls were built to defend the village from the attacks of the neighbouring towns, and resisted a famous siege by the troops of Cesare Borgia in 1503. Inside, the village climbs up the hill with steep lanes, palaces and churches.
The heart of Corinaldo is the Piaggia, a long, steep stairway of over a hundred steps that crosses the village from the lower gate to the upper part, lined with old houses. Halfway up the stairway is the "Pozzo della Polenta", the Polenta Well, a medieval well linked to a funny local legend: a peasant, climbing up the steps with a heavy sack of corn flour for polenta, stopped to rest on the edge of the well, but the sack fell into the water, and he jumped in to recover it, without success; from then on, the people of Corinaldo were teased as those who "made polenta in the well", and the village has turned the legend into a symbol, with a festival called the "Contesa del Pozzo della Polenta" in July. Corinaldo is also the birthplace of Saint Maria Goretti, born here in 1890, whose house is a place of pilgrimage, and every year at the end of October the village hosts a big Halloween festival, with witches, wizards and events.
Tip: walk along the walls at sunset; climb the Piaggia to the top and visit the shrine of Saint Maria Goretti.
Where it is
More things to see in Marche
Where to stay near Corinaldo
Tours and activities nearby
Offers from GetYourGuide. Some links are affiliate links: if you book we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.