Abruzzo · L'Aquila
Campo di Giove
At 1,064 meters under the southwestern Maiella, one of the highest villages in the park, named for a Roman temple to Jupiter.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Campo di Giove is on our list
It holds Borghi Autentici.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar
- By car
- 1 h 22 min from Pescara
- Population
- 746
- J6°
- F9°
- M9°
- A12°
- M18°
- J23°
- J27°
- A26°
- S21°
- O17°
- N12°
- D8°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Campo di Giove sits at 1,064 meters at the foot of the southwestern Maiella, one of the highest communes inside the Maiella National Park. The name comes from Campus Jovis, after a temple to Jupiter said to have stood here from around 300 BC, raised, local legend says, by Romans thankful for a storm that turned a battle against the Paeligni. A villager called Odorisio appears in a document from January 1136.
In the 14th century the village was a Cantelmo stronghold; it then passed to the Caldora, the Belprato, the Pignatelli, and finally the Recupito. Above the village, the ski area runs from Le Piane at 1,150 meters up to about 2,350 meters, the highest lifts in Abruzzo. The mother church of Sant'Eustachio holds the statue of the patron saint.
Sant'Antonino was one of the sixteen convents founded by Fra Pietro da Morrone, the hermit who would become Pope Celestine V. The Master of Campo di Giove, an anonymous 15th-century painter named for the polyptych he made for the village church, is on display at the Museo Nazionale d'Abruzzo in L'Aquila.
How to get there
From Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 2 h 22 min by car.
Naples (NAP) is about 2 h 41 min away.
By car from the center of Pescara 1 h 22 min or Naples 2 h 45 min.
Coming from Rome?
Coming by train into Pescara Centrale? Campo di Giove is about 1 h 24 min away by road.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Chiesa Madre di Sant'Eustachio
Parish church of the village patron, with the statue of Sant'Eustachio, the saint celebrated each September with the village feast.
Convento di Sant'Antonino
Wall fragments by a spring are all that remain of one of the sixteen convents founded by Fra Pietro da Morrone, the future Pope Celestine V, listed in a 1274 papal bull.
Palazzo delle Logge
16th-century palazzo on the main piazza, once home to the Ciufelli family, named for the small loggias along its top floor.
Casa Quaranta
15th-century house, one of the oldest residential buildings in Campo di Giove, with original stone door frames intact.
Stazione sciistica Campo di Giove-Majella
Ski area between 1,150 and about 2,350 meters, the highest lifts in Abruzzo, with a chairlift and ski tows on the western flank of the Maiella.
Living here
Could you live here?
Campo di Giove is at the end of the road.
- A village of 746. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Sulmona, is 34 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Chieti, a city of 48,403, is 1 h 12 min by car. Further than our 30 to 60 minutes, a long way for the hospital visit or the monthly shopping.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 746, down 10.8% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Chieti, 1 h 12 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Sulmona, 11 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €750 to €1,000 per m² to buy, €2.10 to €3.10 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Remote
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 100% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 1, Italy's highest hazard
- Pescara airport (PSR), 1 h 22 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital L'Aquila, 1 h 39 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
5% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Albania, Romania and Syria, against 9% across Italy. There are 527 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 87% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. L'Aquila province ranks 69th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Sulmona, 11 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Caserta, 106 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 129 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Canadian College Italy, 38 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.6% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €15,000. 7% pensioner tax: this town qualifies, for someone with a foreign pension who has lived abroad for five years: 7% on foreign income, for ten years.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Abruzzo spends about €2,120 a month, €540 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €533 a year for water, on the Abruzzo average.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone F, the coldest of Italy's six, with no national limit on when the heating runs. The national maps show no residents in a high or medium flood zone. 2% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
HIGHEST PISTE
Ski slopes climbing to about 2,350 meters on the western Maiella, the highest lifts in Abruzzo, with the village as base at 1,064 meters.
CANTELMO STRONGHOLD
Stronghold of the Cantelmo family in the 14th century, then the Caldora, Belprato, Pignatelli, and Recupito until the abolition of feudalism.
MASTER OF CAMPO DI GIOVE
Anonymous 15th-century painter named for the polyptych he made for the village church, now in the Museo Nazionale d'Abruzzo in L'Aquila.
Common questions
- What is Campo di Giove known for?
- At 1,064 meters under the southwestern Maiella, one of the highest villages in the park, named for a Roman temple to Jupiter.
- Where is Campo di Giove?
- Campo di Giove is a comune in the province of L'Aquila, in Abruzzo, at 1064 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Campo di Giove?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Pescara (PSR), about 1 h 22 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Pescara to Campo di Giove?
- About 1 h 22 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Campo di Giove?
- Best in Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar. July is the warmest month, averaging 27 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 16 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Campo di Giove?
- Castel del Monte, Pietrapertosa and Fenestrelle.
- How many people live in Campo di Giove?
- 746 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Campo di Giove a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Campo di Giove is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Sulmona, is 34 min away. The nearest city, Chieti, is 1 h 12 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Sulmona, 11 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 100% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 1064 m
- Population: 746
- Surface area: 28.9 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.
The ranked lists
Lists Campo di Giove appears in
- The best ski towns inside a national park within 90 minutes of PescaraNear Pescaraski areainside a parkwithin 90 min8 towns · smallest 659 residents · closest 49 min away
- The best high-altitude villages within 90 minutes of PescaraNear Pescaraabove 800 mwithin 90 min10 towns · smallest 103 residents · closest 68 min away
- The best mountain towns inside a national park within 90 minutes of PescaraNear Pescaramountaininside a parkwithin 90 min10 towns · smallest 105 residents · closest 68 min away
- The best small ski towns in the province of L'AquilaL'Aquila provinceski areasmall10 towns · smallest 576 residents
Featured on
Campo di Giove appears on this themed pick from our Collections:
Similar
Towns like Campo di Giove
What all six share with Campo di Giove: high in the mountains · under 1,000 people
Castel del Monte
Province: L'Aquila
both mountain towns above 1,000 metres
Pietrapertosa
Province: Potenza
both mountain towns above 1,000 metres
Fenestrelle
Province: Torino
both mountain towns above 1,000 metres
Gressoney-Saint-Jean
Province: Aosta Valley
both mountain towns above 1,000 metres
Macugnaga
Province: Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
both mountain towns above 1,000 metres
Monteviasco
Province: Varese
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