Campania · Benevento
Cusano Mutri
A Sannio hill borgo on the south face of the Matese, the only town in the area spared by the 1688 earthquake.
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 36 min from Naples
- Population
- 3,763
Known for
SAGRA DEI FUNGHI
Porcini festival from mid-September to mid-October, more than forty editions and over 100,000 visitors a year through the centro.
1688 SURVIVOR
The medieval fabric stands because the 1688 Sannio earthquake spared Cusano while it leveled Cerreto Sannita and Civitella Licinio next door.
INFIORITALIA
Flower-petal carpet tradition that fills the lanes of the borgo in early summer, part of the Infioritalia national network.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J10°
- F12°
- M13°
- A16°
- M21°
- J26°
- J31°
- A30°
- S25°
- O20°
- N15°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
The festa: Nicola di Bari, 6 December
Why come
Cusano Mutri sits on the south-facing slope of the Matese massif, in the Parco Regionale del Matese and at the historical border of Sannio Pentro with what is now Molise. The territory climbs from the Lavella gorge to Monte Mutria, a vertical kilometer in less than ten of road. The 1688 Sannio earthquake destroyed nearby Cerreto and Civitella Licinio; Cusano Mutri was the rare town in the area to come through with its medieval fabric standing, which is why the stone houses, arches, and stepped lanes of the centro look the way they do today.
The commune joined the Borghi più belli d'Italia in 2006. The Sagra dei Funghi runs from mid-September to mid-October and draws more than 100,000 visitors a year for porcini gathered on the Matese slopes. The Infioritalia carpets fill the streets in early summer.
The Sunday letter
Cusano Mutri 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 every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Cusano Mutri comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.
Read on
Cusano Mutri in our articles
The 8 best hill towns inside a national park in Campania8 towns, Cusano Mutri among them.
The best towns with a food festival in Campania9 towns, Cusano Mutri among them.
10 towns whose festa falls in the dead of winter10 towns, Cusano Mutri among them.
Every town in our catalogue inside a national park151 towns, Cusano Mutri among them.
How to get there
From Naples / Salerno (NAP), about 1h 31m by car.
Bari / Brindisi (BRI) is about 3h 14m away.
By car from the centre of Naples 1h 36m, Salerno 2 hours or Rome 3 hours.
What to see
Centro storico di Cusano Mutri
Medieval old town of stone houses, arches and stepped lanes that came through the 1688 earthquake intact while neighbouring towns fell.
Monte Mutria
1,823-meter peak on the Campania-Molise border, the highest point of the commune and the head of its trekking routes.
Gole di Caccaviola
Narrow limestone gorge cut by the Titerno torrent, with footbridges, waterfalls and a via ferrata used in summer.
Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista
Eighteenth-century parish church in the centro, with a Baroque interior rebuilt around the medieval core.
Parco Regionale del Matese
Mountain park of beech and chestnut woods on the south Matese slopes, with porcini gathered every autumn for the Sagra dei Funghi.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Cusano Mutri fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
Through the year
What happens here
Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.
Sagra dei Funghifood festival
usually held in September. TrovaSagre
Living here
- Population 3,763
- Remotei
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Nearest airport Naples / Salerno, 1 h 31 min drive
- Regional capital Napoli, 1 h 36 min drive
Common questions
- What is Cusano Mutri known for?
- Cusano Mutri is a Sannio hill borgo at 475 meters on the south face of the Matese, the only town in the area spared by the 1688 earthquake.
- Where is Cusano Mutri?
- Cusano Mutri is a comune in the province of Benevento, in Campania.
- What is the nearest airport to Cusano Mutri?
- Naples / Salerno (NAP), about 1h 31m by car.
- How long is the drive from Naples to Cusano Mutri?
- About 1h 36m by car.
- When is the best time to visit Cusano Mutri?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
- Is there a sagra or a festival in Cusano Mutri?
- Yes. Sagra dei Funghi. September is when the first of them falls.
- Which other towns are like Cusano Mutri?
- Calitri, Altomonte and Irsina.
- How many people live in Cusano Mutri?
- 3,763 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 475 m
- Population: 3,763
- Surface area: 58.86 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.
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