Abruzzo · L'Aquila
Capestrano
A hilltop village above the Tirino valley, where in 1934 a farmer turned up the 6th-century BC limestone Warrior of Capestrano.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Capestrano is on our list.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 50 min from Pescara
- Population
- 810
- J10°
- F13°
- M13°
- A16°
- M22°
- J27°
- J31°
- A30°
- S25°
- O21°
- N15°
- D12°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Capestrano sits on a hill above the Tirino river valley, eight hundred residents inside the borders of the Gran Sasso National Park. In September 1934 a farmer working a field at nearby Cinturelli unearthed a 2.1-meter limestone statue of a helmeted warrior, now identified as a 6th-century BC depiction of an early Italic king of the Vestini tribe, sculpted by Aninis. The Warrior of Capestrano was moved to the National Archaeological Museum of the Abruzzi in Chieti, and the discovery triggered excavations that produced thirty-three tombs and a companion piece known as the Lady of Capestrano.
The town itself is dominated by the Castello Piccolomini, built for the Piccolomini in the fifteenth century and later sold to the Medici. Below the town, the springs of the Tirino feed one of the cleanest short rivers in Italy. The Abbey of San Pietro ad Oratorium stands four kilometers away, an 8th-century Lombard foundation rebuilt around 1100.
How to get there
From Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 2 h 17 min by car.
Ancona (AOI) is about 2 h 25 min away.
By car from the center of Pescara 50 min or Ancona 2 h 20 min.
Coming by train into Pescara Centrale? Capestrano is about 51 min away by road.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Castello Piccolomini
13th-century castle on the hill next to the Tirino river, later owned by the Medici and the Piccolomini families.
Abbazia di San Pietro ad Oratorium
Lombard-era abbey four kilometers from town, founded in the 8th century and rebuilt with characteristic stone masonry.
Sito di Cinturelli
Field where the Warrior of Capestrano was unearthed in 1934, alongside thirty-three Italic tombs and the Lady of Capestrano statue.
Sorgenti del Tirino
Spring system in the valley below town, source of one of the cleanest short rivers in Italy, navigable by canoe.
Living here
Could you live here?
Capestrano is at the end of the road.
- A village of 810. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Pratola Peligna, is 35 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Chieti, a city of 48,403, is 40 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
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 810, down 8.4% since 2015
- Nearest city Chieti, 40 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Popoli Terme, 12 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €440 to €660 per m² to buy, €1.60 to €2.20 per m² a month to rent
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 90% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 1, Italy's highest hazard
- Pescara airport (PSR), 1 h 1 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital L'Aquila, 56 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
14% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, the United Kingdom and North Macedonia, against 9% across Italy. 31 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United Kingdom and the United States. There are 405 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 61% 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 Popoli Terme, 12 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Terni, 97 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in L'Aquila, 32 km away. The nearest IB school is Marymount International School Rome, 113 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Canadian College Italy, 51 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 between 0.65% and 0.8% to your income tax, depending on your income, with nothing due on income under €10,000. 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 E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. The national maps show no residents in a high or medium flood zone. Under 1% 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
WARRIOR
The 6th-century BC limestone Vestini warrior unearthed in a field at Cinturelli in 1934, now in the Chieti archaeological museum.
PICCOLOMINI
13th-century hilltop castle owned in turn by the Medici and the Piccolomini, controlling the Tirino valley.
TIRINO
Spring-fed river running clear below the town, navigable by canoe through olive and almond country.
Common questions
- What is Capestrano known for?
- Capestrano is a hilltop village at 465 meters above the Tirino valley, where in 1934 a farmer turned up the 6th-century BC limestone Warrior of Capestrano.
- Where is Capestrano?
- Capestrano is a comune in the province of L'Aquila, in Abruzzo.
- What is the nearest airport to Capestrano?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Pescara (PSR), about 1 h 1 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Pescara to Capestrano?
- About 50 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Capestrano?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and March the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Capestrano?
- Roccamorice, Roccacasale and Corfinio.
- How many people live in Capestrano?
- 810 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Capestrano a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Capestrano is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Pratola Peligna, is 35 min away. The nearest city, Chieti, is 40 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Popoli Terme, 12 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 90% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 465 m
- Population: 810
- Surface area: 43.66 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.
Similar
Towns like Capestrano
What all six share with Capestrano: inland, away from the coast · under 1,000 people · hill towns
The letter
Capestrano 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: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Capestrano comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Scheggino, 91 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.