Campania · Salerno
Capaccio Paestum
Three Doric temples of 550 to 450 BC on the Sele plain, with mozzarella di bufala DOP on the buffalo flats below.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Capaccio Paestum is on our list
It holds UNESCO and Spighe Verdi.
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Sep
- By car
- 51 min from Salerno
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 22,410
- J11°
- F12°
- M13°
- A16°
- M21°
- J26°
- J30°
- A29°
- S25°
- O21°
- N16°
- D12°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 28° and coldest in February at 15°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
Capaccio Paestum is the only commune in Italy where the name pairs a medieval hilltown with an ancient city on the plain below. The seat of Capaccio sits on Monte Calpazio, while the archaeological park below, the city of Poseidonia founded around 600 BC, occupies the flat between the Sele river and the sea. The two halves of the name mark two different settlements built centuries apart and never merged into one another.
The layering below Monte Calpazio runs deeper than the founding city and the medieval hilltown: a Roman city followed the earlier one on the same plain, and the medieval Capaccio Vecchia, razed by Frederick II, was rebuilt as the hilltown that still carries the seat today. The buffalo pastures that made the area's DOP mozzarella sit inside the same national park boundary as the Sele plain and the Monte Calpazio spur, so the cheese-making land and the ruins share one stretch of ground. The commune, in effect, is stacked: hill above, plain below, and each layer on the plain built over or beside the one before it.
How to get there
From Naples (NAP), about 1 h 34 min by car.
Bari (BRI) is about 3 h 27 min away.
By car from the center of Salerno 51 min, Naples 1 h 34 min or Bari 3 h 30 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Naples?
Coming by train into Salerno? Capaccio Paestum is about 53 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Naples airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Templi di Paestum
The Basilica, the Temple of Hera II and the Temple of Athena stand on the flat ground between the Sele river and the sea, close enough to walk between in an afternoon.
Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Paestum
The frescoes are kept indoors, apart from the temples they were painted near, giving a rare look at how the tomb's painters depicted the afterlife.
Mura greche di Paestum
Almost five kilometers of Greek and Roman defensive walls with four gates, intact across the entire perimeter of the ancient city.
Basilica Paleocristiana Santa Maria del Granato
Mother church of Capaccio Vecchia, the medieval settlement destroyed by Frederick II, with a wooden statue of the Madonna del Granato displayed each May.
Cilento, Vallo di Diano e Alburni National Park
UNESCO Mediterranean Diet biosphere reserve, with the Sele river plain, the Monte Calpazio spur and the buffalo pastures inside its boundary.
From the guides
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.
Le TrabeRistorante
Le Trabe has one Michelin star, a place in L'Espresso's Top 300 and a Gambero Rosso listing.
Da Nonna SceppaRistorante
Da Nonna Sceppa carries a Gambero Rosso listing, plus a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Osteria ArbusticoRistorante
Osteria Arbustico has two Gambero Rosso forks (82/100) and a place in L'Espresso's Top 300.
5 more places the guides name in Capaccio Paestum
Tre OliviRistorante
Tre Olivi holds one Michelin star and two Gambero Rosso forks (83/100).
AliciRistorante
Alici has a place in L'Espresso's Top 300 to its name.
Bistrot 73Bistrot
Two Gambero Rosso tables, at Bistrot 73.
Casa Coloni della Tenuta Duca MariglianoRistorante
Two Gambero Rosso forks (83/100), at Casa Coloni della Tenuta Duca Marigliano.
La PergolaTrattoria
La Pergola carries a Gambero Rosso listing.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Capaccio Paestum meets 2 of our 3 rules for a small town.
- 22,410 people, above our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: big enough that it can split into neighborhoods.
- Salerno, a city of 126,000, is 51 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
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 22,410, down 2.9% since 2015
- Nearest city Salerno, 51 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Agropoli, 8 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €840 to €1,200 per m² to buy, €2.70 to €3.60 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- In-between
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 48% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Naples airport (NAP), 1 h 34 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Naples, 1 h 34 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
12% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Morocco, Romania and India, against 9% across Italy. 52 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany and the United Kingdom. There are 169 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 37% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Salerno province ranks 90th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Roccadaspide, 13 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Salerno, 33 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Salerno, 33 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 266 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is École Francaise de Naples Alexandre-Dumas, 80 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 at the 2025 rate, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: check before you count on it. The limit rose to 30,000 people in April 2026 and guidance is still to come. The regime is 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 Campania spends about €1,800 a month, €650 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €328 a year for water, on the Campania average.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone D, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 1 to April 15, up to 12 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 5% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 9% in a high or medium one. 6% 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
GREEK TEMPLES
Three Doric temples of 550 to 450 BC at Paestum, dedicated to Hera and Athena, UNESCO World Heritage and among the best preserved in the Mediterranean.
MOZZARELLA DI BUFALA
DOP buffalo mozzarella heartland on the Sele plain, with historic caseifici producing the fresh cheese every morning since the eighteenth century.
TOMB OF THE DIVER
Early fifth-century BC painted Greek tomb in the national museum, the only surviving figurative Greek tomb painting of the classical period.
Common questions
- What is Capaccio Paestum known for?
- Three Doric temples of 550 to 450 BC on the Sele plain, with mozzarella di bufala DOP on the buffalo flats below.
- Where is Capaccio Paestum?
- Capaccio Paestum is a comune in the province of Salerno, in Campania, at 419 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Capaccio Paestum?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Naples (NAP), about 1 h 34 min by car.
- Can you get to Capaccio Paestum without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Salerno to Capaccio Paestum?
- About 51 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Capaccio Paestum?
- Best in May–Sep. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 16 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Capaccio Paestum?
- Sorrento, Campiglia Marittima and Cerveteri.
- How many people live in Capaccio Paestum?
- 22,410 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Capaccio Paestum a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Capaccio Paestum is a small town that meets 2 of our 3 rules. The nearest city, Salerno, is 51 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Agropoli, 8 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 48% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 419 m
- Population: 22,410
- Surface area: 113.03 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 Capaccio Paestum appears in
- The best towns with a World Heritage site that sit inside a national park in CampaniaCampaniainside a parkWorld Heritage6 towns · smallest 4,819 residents
- The best towns you can reach by train in the province of SalernoSalerno provinceby train6 towns · smallest 2,410 residents
- The best towns with a World Heritage site that you can reach by train in CampaniaCampaniaby trainWorld Heritage8 towns · smallest 5,832 residents
- The best coastal towns inside a national park in CampaniaCampaniacoastalinside a park9 towns · smallest 2,410 residents
- The best towns you can reach by train that sit inside a national park in CampaniaCampaniainside a parkby train9 towns · smallest 2,410 residents
- The best towns with a serious restaurant that you can reach by train in CampaniaCampaniaby trainserious restaurant10 towns · smallest 2,410 residents
Similar
Towns like Capaccio Paestum
Sorrento
Province: Napoli
both on the Tyrrhenian coast · both over 10,000 people
- Written about. No. 38.
Campiglia Marittima
Province: Livorno
both on the Tyrrhenian coast · both over 10,000 people
- Written about. No. 67.
Cerveteri
Province: Roma
both on the Tyrrhenian coast · both over 10,000 people
- Written about. No. 52.
Orbetello
Province: Grosseto
both on the Tyrrhenian coast · both over 10,000 people
Sessa Aurunca
Province: Caserta
both over 10,000 people · both hill towns
Furore
Province: Salerno
both on the Tyrrhenian coast · both hill towns
The letter
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