Termoli Geography & Climate

Termoli sits on the only significant promontory on a very short and otherwise straight piece of coast.

The headland

A low spur of sandstone and clay pushes out into the Adriatic and then drops in a small cliff. The old town occupies all of it, inside walls that follow the edge, and the modern town spreads along the flat ground behind.

Thirty-five kilometres

Molise's coast is the shortest of any Italian region that has one, running from the mouth of the Trigno to the mouth of the Saccione. Termoli sits in the middle of it and is the only town of any size on it.

Two rivers

The Biferno reaches the sea just south of the town, after crossing the whole region from the hills near Campobasso; the Trigno marks the border with Abruzzo to the north. Both carry sediment that builds the beaches.

The Tremiti

Twenty-two kilometres offshore lie the Tremiti islands, limestone, cliffed and clear-watered, which belong administratively to Puglia and practically to Termoli, since this is where the boats leave from.

The Gargano

South along the coast the land rises into the Gargano promontory, visible from the walls on a clear day.

A silted coast

Longshore drift moves sand steadily along this shore, and the beaches are groyned and periodically replenished; the port itself has to be dredged to stay open.

Sand and rock

North of the headland the shore is rocky and holds the trabucchi; south of it, long sand beaches run for kilometres, backed by dunes and pine in the stretches that were never built on.

Termoli has a mild Mediterranean coastal climate, and the difference between it and the interior of Molise is startling.

Winter

Winter is mild and damp, with highs around 12°C and frost uncommon. Snow on the coast is rare and newsworthy, while Campobasso an hour inland is regularly under it.

Wind

The town is exposed and windy year-round. In winter the northeasterly off the Adriatic is cold and persistent; in summer an afternoon sea breeze is what makes the beaches bearable.

Spring

Spring is long and pleasant, with April and May warm and clear, though the sea stays cold well into June.

Summer

July and August are hot and humid rather than scorching, with highs in the low thirties, warm sea and busy beaches. Humidity is the real discomfort.

Autumn

September is the best month of the year here: the sea is at its warmest, the crowds have gone within days of Ferragosto, and the weather usually holds through October, when the fishing season picks up again.

Rainfall

Moderate, concentrated in autumn and winter, and low through the summer.

Storms

Autumn storms off the Adriatic can be violent and are what damages the trabucchi; several have been rebuilt more than once.

Mild for its region

The contrast with the interior is the point: Campobasso, an hour up the valley and six hundred metres higher, has a mountain winter while Termoli has a Mediterranean one, and people move between the two daily.

What to bring

Something windproof in any season, and nothing much else in summer.