Best time
10 towns where August is actually fine
Ten towns: what each is best for, what a home costs, and the catch. A square meter runs from €400 in Roccamandolfi to €2,700 in Pescocostanzo.
Comuni whose August is marked best or quiet in the visiting calendar, not hot and crowded. 10 towns shown, ranked by recognitions held.
Table no. 41 · Ranked by residents · 10 towns
August in Italy is a national migration with a heat problem. But the calendar is not uniform: at altitude, on windward coasts, in towns that live off their residents rather than their visitors, the month behaves.
Our calendar marks each of these as best or quiet in August, not hot and crowded. Ferragosto lunch still requires a reservation; some laws hold everywhere.
- 1.Scanno1,681 residentsL'Aquila · AbruzzoBest for a swim. The comune's beach holds a Blue Flag.1 h 20 min from Pescara · homes €800 to €1,200 a m² in the centerA 1,057-meter Sagittario valley village where women in black still walk the alleys photographed by Cartier-Bresson and Giacomelli.
- 2.Triora389 residentsImperia · LiguriaBest for a slow weekend. The Touring Club gives it its orange flag for small inland towns.2 h 28 min from Genoa · homes €670 to €900 a m² in the centerThe witches' village at 776 meters in the upper Valle Argentina, where the Inquisition put around 200 women on trial between 1587 and 1589.
- 3.Lama dei Peligni1,021 residentsChieti · AbruzzoBest for truffle season. It belongs to the national association of truffle towns.1 h 17 min from Pescara · homes €455 to €680 a m² in the centerA 669-meter Majella village known for chamois, the Cavallone cave, and a prehistoric burial dug from Fonterossi dated 7000 to 5000 BC.The catch: It has lost 22% of its people since 2015.
- 4.Sante Marie1,059 residentsL'Aquila · AbruzzoBest for a trip without a car. The train stops in the commune.1 h 8 min from Rome · homes €510 to €760 a m² in the centerA 950-meter Marsica village and the trailhead of the Cammino dei Briganti, the seven-day brigand trail through the Cartore band's territory.
- 5.Nicolosi7,696 residentsCatania · SicilyBest for olive oil. It belongs to the national association of olive oil towns.29 min from Catania · homes €640 to €950 a m² in the centerThe southern gateway to Etna at 698 meters, twice destroyed by the 1669 eruption.
- 6.Monte Sant'Angelo11,006 residentsFoggia · PugliaBest for a World Heritage site. UNESCO lists a site in the comune.56 min from Foggia · homes €700 to €1,100 a m²The Gargano peak at 843 meters, the oldest western shrine to an archangel, UNESCO since 2011.
- 7.Barrea688 residentsL'Aquila · AbruzzoBest for walks in a national park. Part of the comune lies in a national park.2 h 2 min from Pescara · homes €760 to €1,100 a m² in the centerA 1,066-meter spur above an artificial lake at the heart of the Abruzzo National Park, with a Samnite necropolis and an 11th-century di Sangro castle.
- 8.Roccamandolfi801 residentsIsernia · MoliseBest for a ski week. There is a mapped ski area in the comune.2 h 2 min from Naples · homes €400 to €600 a m² in the centerAt 850 meters at the foot of Monte Miletto, a Matese village of brigand legends, Lombard ruins, and a Tibetan bridge over the Callora canyon.The catch: It has lost 15% of its people since 2015.
- 9.Pescocostanzo1,085 residentsL'Aquila · AbruzzoBest for a long lunch. Food guides list two tables here.1 h 25 min from Pescara · homes €2,150 to €2,700 a m² in the centerA planned Renaissance town at 1,395 meters on the Quarto Grande plateau, with bobbin lace, wrought iron, and the wood ceilings of a five-nave church.The catch: January nights average 3 degrees below zero.
- 10.Gromo1,142 residentsBergamo · LombardiaBest for a walk through the old town. It is on the list of Italy's most beautiful villages.46 min from Bergamo · homes €800 to €1,100 a m² in the centerA medieval iron-forging town at 676 meters on a rock spur above the Serio, once called the little Toledo for its sword smiths.
FIVE OF THE TOP TEN ARE IN ABRUZZO
We write letters from the Italian towns we visit: the town, what is worth eating there, and when to turn up. It is free, and you can leave whenever you like.
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