Moving to Ascoli Piceno (or San Benedetto del Tronto): A Complete Guide

A native Italian's honest guide to moving to Ascoli Piceno and its coastal alternative San Benedetto del Tronto, from rent and hospitals to taxes, schools, and real daily life.

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I moved to Montegiorgio when I was nine years old. At the time, it belonged to Ascoli Piceno.

In 2004, Fermo was legislated as a new province (operational from 2009) and Montegiorgio moved with it. Well, the town didn’t move, but the borders on the map did.

So, technically speaking, Ascoli Piceno is the province that raised me. The “big” place nearby. The city you’d go during local school trips. The starting point, if you wanted to take a corriera (a long distance bus) to Rome.

And if you wanted a coastal counterpart, San Benedetto del Tronto with its endless palm trees was only 30 minutes away.

Most people who ask about moving to Ascoli Piceno are asking two questions at once, without realizing it.

The inland, medieval version of the province is Ascoli Piceno city. The palm-lined, beach, working fishing port is San Benedetto del Tronto. They are located thirty kilometers apart and yet, they may as well belong to different centuries.

This is the third and final city-level deep dive in the Marche series I promised paid subscribers in the Moving to Le Marche article. Pesaro came first. Macerata and Civitanova Marche came second. Now, it’s time for the southern end of the region.

What follows is a very chunky guide covering both cities: neighborhoods, rent prices, property costs, taxes, healthcare, schools, jobs, bureaucracy, climate, internet, social integration, transport, and a 60-day setup checklist. Identical structure to the previous two guides. Quite different facts. Different earthquake history, too.

Paid subscribers get the guide as a downloadable PDF and ePub, so you can take it with you on your phone/tablet/e-reader, or simply print it.

So here it is. Everything you need to know about moving to Ascoli Piceno (or San Benedetto del Tronto), including the stuff that doesn’t make the tourism brochures.

By way of preview, here is the table of contents:

• Introduction

• What Ascoli Piceno Is

• What San Benedetto del Tronto Is

• The Climate

• Where to Live in Ascoli

• Where to Live in San Benedetto

• What It Costs Buying Property

• Internet and Connectivity

• Jobs

• Taxes

• Your First 60 Days

• Healthcare

• Schools and Families

• Speaking English and The Expat Community

• Safety

• Getting Around

• Cultural Life

• Outdoor Life

• Food

• What These Places Lack

• Day Trips

• Seven Mistakes People Make

• Conclusion

(This post’s cover image credit: Imamerrante it, CC BY-SA 4.0.)