On the night of 14 to 15 March 1962 the cargo ship Potho, launched in 1916, 89.2 metres long and carrying twenty-one men, was dragged by the current onto the two stacks that close this bay and broke into two pieces. Eleven were saved. The wreck stayed where it fell, in less than fourteen metres of water: boilers, winches, a mast and the big propeller, which divers now reach from the shore in a few minutes.
What to see
The twin stacks that give the beach its name rise from the water close to one another and, seen from off shore, look like two kneeling nuns: hence “the two sisters”. The beach is also called spiaggia delle Velare and is made of gravel and white pebbles that stay visible under the surface, pinned against the Conero cliff by spurs of rock. There is no bar, no shower, no sunbed: the choice was to leave it in its natural state, like the neighbouring Sassi Neri shore.
To the north it continues as the spiaggia dei Lavori, cobbles and boulders smoothed by the sea, left from a stone quarry that closed at the start of the sixties. The bay is a protected botanical area under a regional law of 1976 and lies inside the Conero park, created in 1987 over 6,011 hectares: peregrine falcon, alpine swift and buzzard nest on the wall above, and the scrub is holm oak, mastic and strawberry tree, which gave the mountain its name. In 2011 the Italian post office devoted a stamp to the beach, issued in a limited run and even in silver foil.
Visiting
The only way in is by sea. The Passo del Lupo path, which came down from above and was already graded as very difficult, is closed; what remains are the boats running in season, plus a dinghy or a kayak for anyone with the arms for it. The crossings work to fixed times out and back, so your stay lasts as long as the boat decides, usually two or three hours. With no services you carry everything in - water, a hat, something to eat - and carry the rubbish out again. Shoes with grip are better, because the stones are round and they slide.
Our editors' tip
Take the first crossing of the morning, when the water is still and the bay is in shadow: the Conero wall lights up later, and underwater the difference shows. If you have a mask and fins, swim to the foot of the stacks, where the bottom drops away and the water stays clear. And if there is a swell the trip is off, so keep a spare day rather than push it, because with the path closed there is no alternative from land.
