Puglia · Brindisi
Fasano
A Brindisi-province town running from the Adriatic up to the Itria escarpment, holding a Roman coastal city, a wooded highpoint, and one of Europe's largest safari parks.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Fasano is on our list
It holds Bandiera Blu and Città dell'Olio.
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Sep
- By car
- 52 min from Bari
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 38,863
- J13°
- F14°
- M15°
- A18°
- M24°
- J29°
- J33°
- A32°
- S28°
- O23°
- N18°
- D14°
- 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 14°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
The main center sits, a hinge point in a wide municipal territory that runs from the Adriatic shore up to the Itria escarpment, home to thirty-eight thousand residents spread across three distinct landscapes rather than one compact town. The coast holds the abandoned city, inhabited from the fifteenth century BC and left empty by the Middle Ages, its excavated stone now sitting a short distance from the museum built to house what came out of the ground there. Inland and uphill, the wooded escarpment climbs to become the highest ground in the province, the same slopes that carry the wildlife park across its carob and olive scrubland.
Further along the shore, the fishing port turned resort gives the territory its beach frontage. The pattern is coastal city, wooded highland, coastal resort, three pieces of a single municipality that never behaves like a single place. What the town offers is that range within one boundary: Roman ruins at sea level, a panorama at the province's highest point, and a working beachfront, none of them a detour from the others.
How to get there
From Bari (BRI), about 1 h 4 min by car.
Naples (NAP) is about 3 h 57 min away.
By car from the center of Bari 52 min, Lecce 1 h 10 min or Salerno 3 h 56 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Bari?
Coming by train into Bari Centrale? Fasano is about 54 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Bari airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Parco Archeologico di Egnazia
Ruins spread along the coast, with the Via Traiana running through the site alongside the civil basilica and a cryptoporticus still traceable underfoot.
Museo Nazionale Archeologico Giuseppe Andreassi
Museum standing next to the archaeological park, holding the objects pulled from the excavations: Messapian inscriptions, Roman finds, and material spanning the long abandonment of the city.
Selva di Fasano
Wooded escarpment reaching between 411 and 414 meters, the ground rising from carob and olive scrub to open views that give the terrace its nickname.
Zoosafari Fasanolandia
The drive-through route crosses carob and olive scrubland past some 3,000 animals of 200 species, visible at close range along the way rather than behind fencing.
Savelletri
Fishing port turned beach resort on the Adriatic, holding Bandiera Blu, its seafront given over to the municipal beach.
From the guides
Where to eat and stay
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.
Due Camini a Borgo EgnaziaRistorante
Due Camini a Borgo Egnazia has two Gambero Rosso forks (87/100) to its name.
Pentole e ProvetteRistorante
Pentole e Provette carries a spot in the Michelin Guide.
RaparossaVegetariano
Raparossa has a Gambero Rosso listing to its name.
5 more places the guides name in Fasano
Borgo EgnaziaHotel
Two Michelin Keys for Borgo Egnazia, along with a La Liste score of 92.5 and a Leading Hotels of the World listing.
Masseria Torre CoccaroHotel
Masseria Torre Coccaro has one Michelin Key and a La Liste score of 90.
Masseria CalderisiHotel
One Michelin Key, at Masseria Calderisi.
Masseria San DomenicoHotel
A place in the Michelin hotel guide, at Masseria San Domenico.
Masseria Torre Maizza, a Rocco Forte HotelHotel
Masseria Torre Maizza, a Rocco Forte Hotel has one Michelin Key to its name.
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?
Fasano meets 2 of our 3 rules for a small town.
- 38,863 people, above our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: big enough that it can split into neighborhoods.
- Brindisi, a city of 81,723, is 48 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 38,863, down 1.5% since 2015
- Nearest city Brindisi, 48 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Monopoli, 10 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes across the comune: €1,100 to €1,500 per m² to buy, €4.20 to €7.50 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
- Remote
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 74% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 4, very low hazard
- Brindisi airport (BDS), 46 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Bari, 52 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
5% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Albania, Romania and Pakistan, against 9% across Italy. 81 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United Kingdom, Germany and France. There are 212 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. Brindisi province ranks 88th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Monopoli, 10 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Martina Franca, 17 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 423 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is International School of Brindisi, 53 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 between 0.35% and 0.79% to your income tax, depending on your income, with nothing due on income under €10,000. 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 Puglia spends about €1,500 a month, €440 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €545 a year for water, on the Puglia average.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone C, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 15 to March 31, up to 10 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 2% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 8% in a high or medium one. They show no residents in a high landslide zone.
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
EGNAZIA
Messapian and Roman city on the coast inhabited from the fifteenth century BC, its ruins including the Via Traiana and the civil basilica.
ZOOSAFARI
Drive-through wildlife park opened in 1973 in the Selva, billed as the largest of its kind in Italy and one of the largest in Europe.
BALCONY OF THE ORIENT
Selva di Fasano at 414 meters, the highest point in the Brindisi province, panoramic terrace over the Adriatic and the inland olive plain.
Common questions
- What is Fasano known for?
- Fasano is a Brindisi-province town running from the Adriatic up to the Itria escarpment, holding a Roman coastal city, a wooded highpoint, and one of Europe's largest safari parks.
- Where is Fasano?
- Fasano is a comune in the province of Brindisi, in Puglia, at 118 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Fasano?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Brindisi (BDS), about 46 min by car.
- Can you get to Fasano without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Bari to Fasano?
- About 52 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Fasano?
- Best in May–Sep. July is the warmest month, averaging 33 degrees, and March the wettest, with about 11 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Fasano?
- Ugento, Vasto and Termoli.
- How many people live in Fasano?
- 38,863 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Fasano a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Fasano is a small town that meets 2 of our 3 rules. The nearest city, Brindisi, is 48 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Monopoli, 10 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 74% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 118 m
- Population: 38,863
- Surface area: 131.72 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 Fasano appears in
- The best beach towns worth staying overnight in PugliaPugliaclean beachworth staying overnight6 towns · smallest 17,353 residents
- The best coastal towns you can reach by train within 90 minutes of BariNear Baricoastalby trainwithin 90 min6 towns · smallest 17,353 residents · closest 31 min away
- The best olive oil towns that eat well within 90 minutes of BariNear Bariolive oilwithin 90 mineats well6 towns · smallest 19,156 residents · closest 31 min away
- The best towns with a serious restaurant that sit inside a nature park in PugliaPugliainside a parkserious restaurant6 towns · smallest 5,566 residents
- The 7 best beach towns inside a nature park in PugliaPugliaclean beachinside a park7 towns · smallest 11,891 residents
- The best towns inside a nature park that are worth a night in PugliaPugliainside a parkworth staying overnight7 towns · smallest 5,566 residents
Featured on
Fasano appears on this themed pick from our Collections:
Similar
Towns like Fasano
What all six share with Fasano: on the Adriatic coast · over 10,000 people · near sea level · have a railway station in the comune
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