Abruzzo · L'Aquila
Civita d'Antino
At 904 meters above the Roveto valley, the ancient Marsi town that became a Danish painters' colony from 1883 until the 1915 earthquake.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Civita d'Antino is on our list
It holds Borghi Autentici.
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 40 min from Rome
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 939
- J7°
- F10°
- M11°
- A14°
- M19°
- J25°
- J29°
- A28°
- S23°
- O18°
- N12°
- D9°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
The plateau at 904 meters sits above the Roveto valley with the Liri running below it, and the natural rock barrier that rings the village is the same wall that once enclosed the Marsi town whose Latin name, Antinum, Pliny recorded. The inscriptions built into the modern walls are the physical continuity between the ancient settlement and the village that stands on it now: one place, occupied and rebuilt on itself for centuries rather than abandoned and resettled elsewhere.
The Scandinavian colony that formed here from 1883 was not incidental to the setting. The painters came for the light over the valley and stayed because the plateau offered the same view, session after session, for thirty years. The 1915 Marsica earthquake ended it in a single day. What is left is a village whose Roman fragments and painters' colony both depend on the same geography: a defensible height above a valley, isolated enough to hold a community, whether Marsi or Danish, for as long as circumstance allowed.
How to get there
From Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 1 h 56 min by car.
Naples (NAP) is about 2 h 9 min away.
By car from the center of Pescara 1 h 43 min or Naples 2 h 13 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Every town within reach of Rome Fiumicino airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Centro storico
Stone village on a plateau at 904 meters, ringed by a natural rock barrier that has survived into the present.
Casa-museo Zahrtmann
Cerroni family house where Kristian Zahrtmann lodged every summer from 1883 to 1911, now a memorial museum to the painters' colony. Zahrtmann was made an honorary citizen in 1902, and in 1908 held a Copenhagen exhibition marking 25 years of the connection.
Resti di Antinum
Roman-era inscriptions and fragments of the ancient Marsi municipal town, scattered through the modern village walls.
Belvedere sulla Valle Roveto
Plateau-edge viewpoint over the Liri valley, the precise vantage that drew the painters and held them for thirty years.
Living here
Could you live here?
Civita d'Antino is at the end of the road.
- A village of 939. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Avezzano, is 34 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Frosinone, a city of 43,015, is 1 h 5 min by car. Further than our 30 to 60 minutes, a long way for the hospital visit or the monthly shopping.
- 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 939, down 5.3% since 2015
- Nearest city Frosinone, 1 h 5 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Avezzano, 17 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €380 to €550 per m² to buy, €1.20 to €1.80 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- In-between
- Pharmacy: none mapped
- Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
- Full fibre reaches 97% of homes
- No primary school in the comune's register
- Earthquake zone 1, Italy's highest hazard
- Rome Ciampino airport (CIA), 1 h 39 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital L'Aquila, 1 h 4 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
8% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Pakistan, Romania and Burkina Faso, against 9% across Italy. There are 362 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 55% 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 Avezzano, 17 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Latina, 68 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 82 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Children's Castle International, 67 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 0.8% to your income tax. 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. Under 1% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, under 1% in a high or medium one. 14% 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
DANISH COLONY
Summer school of Kristian Zahrtmann from 1883 to 1911, drawing some 80 Scandinavian painters including P.S. Krøyer.
ANTINUM
Ancient Marsi municipal town named by Pliny, with inscriptions still visible in the walls of the modern village.
1915 EARTHQUAKE
Marsica quake of 13 January 1915 broke the painters' colony and the 30-year link with Scandinavia.
Common questions
- What is Civita d'Antino known for?
- At 904 meters above the Roveto valley, the ancient Marsi town that became a Danish painters' colony from 1883 until the 1915 earthquake.
- Where is Civita d'Antino?
- Civita d'Antino is a comune in the province of L'Aquila, in Abruzzo.
- What is the nearest airport to Civita d'Antino?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Rome Ciampino (CIA), about 1 h 39 min by car.
- Can you get to Civita d'Antino without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Pescara to Civita d'Antino?
- About 1 h 43 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Civita d'Antino?
- Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Civita d'Antino?
- Roccamandolfi, Sasso di Castalda and Goriano Sicoli.
- How many people live in Civita d'Antino?
- 939 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Civita d'Antino a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Civita d'Antino is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Avezzano, is 34 min away. The nearest city, Frosinone, is 1 h 5 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Avezzano, 17 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 97% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 904 m
- Population: 939
- Surface area: 28.35 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 Civita d'Antino appears in
Similar
Towns like Civita d'Antino
What all six share with Civita d'Antino: mountain-valley towns · under 1,000 people · high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
Roccamandolfi
Province: Isernia
2 h 22 min apart by road
Sasso di Castalda
Province: Potenza
Goriano Sicoli
Province: L'Aquila
both have a railway station in the comune
Rocca di Botte
Province: L'Aquila
1 h 11 min apart by road
Navelli
Province: L'Aquila
1 h 34 min apart by road
Anversa degli Abruzzi
Province: L'Aquila
1 h 6 min apart by road
The letter
Civita d'Antino 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 Civita d'Antino comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Terni, 102 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.