Lazio · Viterbo
Capodimonte
The lakefront Farnese stronghold on a peninsula jutting into Europe's largest volcanic crater lake, with an extra-virgin olive oil tradition recognized by Città dell'Olio.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Capodimonte is on our list
It holds Città dell'Olio.
The nearest town with a letter is Viterbo, No. 66, 34 min by car.
Subscribe and you get Capodimonte's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 49 min from Rome
- Population
- 1,650
- J10°
- F12°
- M14°
- A17°
- M22°
- J27°
- J31°
- A31°
- S25°
- O20°
- N15°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Capodimonte is a 1,700-resident lakeside borgo on the southwestern shore of the lake, formed 370,000 years ago when the Vulsini volcanic complex collapsed inward. The town sits on a low peninsula that juts into the water, and the centro is built around that geography: the fortress anchors the point of land, the gardens run beside it, and the shore curves away on both sides into the pebble beaches used for swimming. From the peninsula's tip the view opens across the water toward the larger of Bolsena's two islands, still privately owned but open for guided visits, while the smaller Isola Martana nearby is uninhabited.
Capodimonte is also a Città dell'Olio, and the Tuscia hills behind the town produce a DOP Sabina-style olive oil pressed in small frantoi within 10 km. The lake itself is deep and clean, warm enough for swimming from May to October, and bream and coregone from its water turn up on every local table. The Via Francigena pilgrimage route passes 8 km east.
The Etruscan necropolis at Vulci is 30 minutes west, and the painted tombs of Tarquinia an hour southwest, both UNESCO sites, while Civita di Bagnoregio, the dying city on its tufa pinnacle, lies 25 km north. The town's identity comes from that position on the water: a fortified point of land looking out at an island that was once its own private world, with the surrounding hills supplying the oil that still runs through the local economy.
How to get there
From Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 1 h 40 min by car.
Ancona (AOI) is about 3 h 21 min away.
By car from the center of Perugia 1 h 55 min or Siena 2 h 18 min.
Every town within reach of Rome Fiumicino airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Palazzo Farnese (Rocca Farnese)
The fortress built for Pope Paul III's family stands over formal Italian gardens, partially open for visits. Its octagonal plan is unusual among lakeside strongholds of the period.
Isola Bisentina
Reached from the peninsula's tip, the island holds seven Renaissance chapels, a Franciscan convent and the Farnese tombs, a quiet cluster of buildings for a place that was long the only inhabited island on the lake.
Lago di Bolsena swimming + beaches
Clean and warm from May to October, with short pebble strands on either side of the Capodimonte peninsula.
Tuscia olive oil + frantoi
Small frantoi within 10 km press the local oil and offer tastings, a working landscape rather than a showcase one.
Coregone + lake whitefish
The lake's signature fish appears on every Capodimonte trattoria menu, grilled or in pasta, and is always paired with a local Est! Est!! Est!!! from Montefiascone next door.
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.
Pepe NeroRistorante
Pepe Nero carries a Gambero Rosso listing, plus a spot in the Michelin Guide.
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?
Capodimonte is at the end of the road.
- A village of 1,650. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Montefiascone, is 23 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Viterbo, a city of 66,393, is 34 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 1,650, down 4.7% since 2015
- Nearest city Viterbo, 34 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Viterbo, 18 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €850 to €1,300 per m² to buy, €3.80 to €5.00 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Commuter belt
- Pharmacy: none mapped
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 91% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Rome Fiumicino airport (FCO), 1 h 40 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Rome, 1 h 49 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
6% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Sri Lanka and France, against 9% across Italy. 13 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany and France. There are 426 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 52% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Viterbo province ranks 71st of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Viterbo, 18 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Terni, 62 km away. The nearest IB school is Viterbo International School, 22 km as the crow flies.
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 is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Lazio spends about €2,270 a month, €580 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €647 a year for water, on the Lazio 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. Under 1% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods. 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
LAGO DI BOLSENA
Europe's largest volcanic crater lake, 370,000 years old and 151m deep. Capodimonte sits on a peninsula jutting into it.
FARNESE STRONGHOLD
Antonio da Sangallo the Younger built the octagonal Rocca in 1513 for the Farnese family, who ran the lake's northern shore from here.
ISLA BISENTINA OFFSHORE
The lake's only historically-inhabited island, 2 km away. Seven Renaissance chapels and Farnese tombs. Guided visits Saturdays in summer.
CITTÀ DELL'OLIO
Tuscia DOP Sabina-style oil from the surrounding hills. Several small frantoi within 10 km.
Common questions
- What is Capodimonte known for?
- Capodimonte is the lakefront Farnese stronghold on a peninsula jutting into Europe's largest volcanic crater lake, with an extra-virgin olive oil tradition recognized by Città dell'Olio.
- Where is Capodimonte?
- Capodimonte is a comune in the province of Viterbo, in Lazio, at 364 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Capodimonte?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 1 h 40 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Perugia to Capodimonte?
- About 1 h 55 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Capodimonte?
- Best in Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Capodimonte?
- Bomarzo, Bassano in Teverina and Nemi.
- How many people live in Capodimonte?
- 1,650 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Capodimonte a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Capodimonte is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Montefiascone, is 23 min away. The nearest city, Viterbo, is 34 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Viterbo, 18 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 91% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 364 m
- Population: 1,650
- Surface area: 61.29 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 Capodimonte appears in
- The 7 best lake towns in LazioLaziolake7 towns · smallest 1,650 residents
- The best olive oil towns in LazioLazioolive oil8 towns · smallest 1,197 residents
- The best small towns in Lazio for dinnerLazioserious restauranthidden8 towns · smallest 1,650 residents
- The 9 best olive oil towns within 90 minutes of TerniNear Terniolive oilwithin 90 min9 towns · smallest 334 residents · closest 34 min away
- The best towns that eat well in the province of ViterboViterbo provinceeats well9 towns · smallest 902 residents
Featured on
Capodimonte appears on this themed pick from our Collections:
Near here, with a letter
- Written about. No. 66.
Viterbo
Province: Viterbo
The medieval capital of the Tuscia, papal seat from 1257 to 1281, when five popes were elected here, and home to the longest conclave in Church history.
34 min by car
- Written about. No. 83.
Orvieto
Province: Terni
Etruscan Velzna on a 325-meter tufa butte, later a medieval refuge of popes.
25 km away
- Written about. No. 65.
Bomarzo
Province: Viterbo
The Tuscia village below a garden built by a condottiero and later dedicated to his dead wife, all stone monsters and no apology for it.
29 km away
Our guide
Capodimonte is in our Tuscia guide
Tuscia: the towns, when to go, how to get there
The Tuscia guide came out of the letter. Letters from the towns we visit. Free.
Read the guide: The land Rome took twice. 16 towns, the drive and train times, the months, where to eat and sleep.
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.