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00 Frigento
Stemma di Frigento

Campania · Avellino

Frigento

An Irpinia hill village at 911 meters with a Republican-era Roman cistern complex on its summit and four valleys at its feet.

Best time
May–Oct
By car
1 h 24 min from Salerno
Population
3,462

Known for

  • CISTERNE ROMANE

    First-century BC vaulted water complex at 911 meters, the largest preserved Republican cistern in Irpinia, linked to villas of Aeclanum.

  • FOUR VALLEYS

    Ridge summit with views over the Ufita, Fredane, Ansanto and Calore valleys; the local nickname for Frigento is the balcone d'Irpinia.

  • 1980 EARTHQUAKE

    The Irpinia earthquake of 23 November 1980 hit the centro storico hard; reconstruction has been slow and is still partly underway.

When to visit

Best · May–Oct

  • J7°
  • F9°
  • M10°
  • A13°
  • M19°
  • J25°
  • J29°
  • A28°
  • S23°
  • O18°
  • N12°
  • D9°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

The festa: Marciano di Frigento, 14 June

Why come

Frigento sits at 911 meters on a ridge in central Irpinia, 40 kilometers from Avellino, on a hill that overlooks the Ufita valley to the north, the Fredane to the south, the Ansanto to the east and the Calore to the west. The summit holds an opus incertum water complex from the 1st century BC, the Cisterne Romane, a vaulted chamber system probably built to serve a cluster of rustic villas linked to nearby Aeclanum on the Via Traiana. The medieval village grew on top of the same ridge in the late Lombard period as a defensive site between the bishoprics of Benevento and Conza.

The 1980 Irpinia earthquake hit the centro storico hard; reconstruction has been slow but most of the old village still stands in stone above the cisterns. From the summit the view runs from the Apennines to the Daunia hills on a clear day. The commune is a Borgo più Bello d'Italia and a hazelnut and grain area, with cheese from the surrounding pastures.

The Sunday letter

Frigento 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 Frigento comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.

Read on

Frigento in our articles

How to get there

From Naples / Salerno (NAP), about 1h 31m by car.

Bari / Brindisi (BRI) is about 2 hours away.

By car from the centre of Salerno 1h 24m, Naples 1h 35m or Bari 2h 10m.

Coming by train into Salerno? Frigento is about 1h 26m away by road.

Every town within reach of Naples / Salerno airport.

Frigento, photo 1
Frigento, photo 2

What to see

  • Cisterne Romane

    Opus incertum water complex from the 1st century BC at the highest point of the village, the largest preserved Republican cistern in Irpinia.

  • Centro storico di Frigento

    Medieval stone village on the summit ridge, partly rebuilt after the 1980 Irpinia earthquake, with the four-valley panorama from the upper streets.

  • Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta

    Former cathedral of the Diocese of Frequentum, reconstructed after the 1980 earthquake, with a Renaissance baptismal font and a crypt.

  • Belvedere del Limiti

    Panoramic terrace at the edge of the ridge, with views over the Ufita, Fredane, Ansanto and Calore valleys at the four cardinal points.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Frigento 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.

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We recommend

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.

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.

Living here

  • Population 3,462
  • In-betweeni
  • Pharmacy: none mapped
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Nearest airport Naples / Salerno, 1 h 31 min drive
  • Regional capital Napoli, 1 h 35 min drive

Common questions

What is Frigento known for?
Frigento is an Irpinia hill village at 911 meters with a Republican-era Roman cistern complex on its summit and four valleys at its feet.
Where is Frigento?
Frigento is a comune in the province of Avellino, in Campania.
What is the nearest airport to Frigento?
Naples / Salerno (NAP), about 1h 31m by car.
How long is the drive from Salerno to Frigento?
About 1h 24m by car.
When is the best time to visit Frigento?
Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
Is there a sagra or a festival in Frigento?
Yes. Cicerchiamo and Festa dell'Organetto di Frigento.
Which other towns are like Frigento?
Nusco, Gesualdo and Morcone.
How many people live in Frigento?
3,462 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 911 m
  • Population: 3,462
  • Surface area: 38.04 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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