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00 Caiazzo
Stemma di Caiazzo

Campania · Caserta

Caiazzo

A Cittaslow hill above the Volturno, turned by Franco Pepe's pizza into a destination for 800 covers a day in eighteenth-century rooms.

Best time
Apr–Oct
By car
53 min from Naples
By train
Station in the comune
Population
5,205

Known for

  • PEPE IN GRANI

    Franco Pepe's pizzeria, opened 2012 in an eighteenth-century palazzo, ranked best in the world by Michelin in 2018 and serving 800 pizzas a day.

  • PALLAGRELLO

    Indigenous Caserta grape recovered in the 1990s, vinified in white and black versions on the Caiazzo slopes alongside Casavecchia red.

  • CITTASLOW

    Member of the slow city network, with policies on local sourcing, sustainable tourism and protection of the Volturno valley landscape.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Oct

  • J12°
  • F14°
  • M15°
  • A18°
  • M23°
  • J29°
  • J33°
  • A33°
  • S28°
  • O22°
  • N17°
  • D13°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

The festa: Stefano Minicillo, 29 October

Why come

Caiazzo sits on a small hill above the Volturno, forty kilometres north of Naples, between the Matese foothills and the Caserta plain. The town is older than the surrounding province: Caiatia was already a Samnite then Roman centre, and the medieval cathedral preserves a Lombard crypt under its eleventh-century floor. What pulls visitors today is not the cathedral but a pizzeria.

In 2012 Franco Pepe, third-generation baker, opened Pepe in Grani in an eighteenth-century palazzo on Vico San Giovanni Battista, working long-fermented doughs with local Pallagrello flour, Conciato Romano cheese and Caiazzo olive oil. Tre spicchi from Gambero Rosso for ten straight years and a Michelin world-best ranking in 2018 turned the centro storico into a destination that handles 800 pizzas a day. Caiazzo is a Cittaslow, a Città del Vino for Pallagrello and Casavecchia, and a Città dell'Olio.

The Sunday letter

Caiazzo is on our list. Its letter is still to come.

We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Caiazzo comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.

Read on

Caiazzo in our articles

How to get there

From Naples / Salerno (NAP), about 48 minutes by car.

Rome (FCO) is about 3 hours away.

By car from the centre of Naples 53 minutes or Salerno 1h 17m.

There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.

Coming from Naples?

Coming by train into Napoli Centrale? Caiazzo is about 53 minutes away by road.

Every town within reach of Naples / Salerno airport.

Caiazzo, photo 1
Caiazzo, photo 2

What to see

  • Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta

    Eleventh-century cathedral with a Lombard crypt beneath the floor, baroque interior and the relics of San Stefano Minicillo, patron of Caiazzo.

  • Castello di Caiazzo

    Medieval castle of Lombard origin on the highest point of the centro storico, remodelled under the Normans and later princes of Caiazzo.

  • Pepe in Grani

    Franco Pepe's pizzeria in an eighteenth-century palazzo on Vico San Giovanni Battista, ranked best in the world by Michelin in 2018.

  • Centro storico samnitico-romano

    Old town built on the Roman and Samnite Caiatia plan, with Lombard, Norman and Renaissance layers and the Cittaslow palazzo as administrative seat.

  • Pallagrello and Casavecchia vineyards

    Slopes around Caiazzo planted to two indigenous grapes recovered in the 1990s, with Conciato Romano sheep cheese aged in nearby cellars.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Caiazzo fits in a slow Italy circuit.

Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.

Plan your trip

We recommend

Where to eat

Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.

  • Pepe in GraniRistorante

    Pepe in Grani carries a Slow Food snail.

Living here

  • Population 5,205
  • Commuter belti
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Train station in the comune
  • Nearest airport Naples / Salerno, 48 min drive
  • Regional capital Napoli, 53 min drive

Common questions

What is Caiazzo known for?
Caiazzo is a Cittaslow hill above the Volturno, turned by Franco Pepe's pizza into a destination for 800 covers a day in eighteenth-century rooms.
Where is Caiazzo?
Caiazzo is a comune in the province of Caserta, in Campania, at 200 meters above sea level.
What is the nearest airport to Caiazzo?
Naples / Salerno (NAP), about 48 minutes by car.
Can you get to Caiazzo without a car?
Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
How long is the drive from Naples to Caiazzo?
About 53 minutes by car.
When is the best time to visit Caiazzo?
Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 33 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
Is there a sagra or a festival in Caiazzo?
The town keeps its patron saint's day: Stefano Minicillo, 29 October.
Which other towns are like Caiazzo?
Balsorano, Sammichele di Bari and Manoppello.
How many people live in Caiazzo?
5,205 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 200 m
  • Population: 5,205
  • Surface area: 37.04 km²

These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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