Abruzzo · L'Aquila
Introdacqua
At 670 meters in the Valle Peligna, the spring-fed village whose Latin name means inside the waters, now a magnet for foreign residents.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Introdacqua is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia.
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 1 min from Pescara
- Population
- 1,932
- J9°
- F11°
- M12°
- A15°
- M20°
- J26°
- J30°
- A29°
- S24°
- O20°
- N14°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Introdacqua sits at 670 meters on the edge of the Valle Peligna, just north of Sulmona, between the Contra and Sant'Antonio valleys. The name is Latin, inter aquas, meaning inside the waters: springs run through the territory, which is the reason the Lombards founded the village here in the 9th century. Five earthquakes hit between 1654 and 1915.
The town survived them all and now ranks among I Borghi più belli d'Italia. In recent years RAI and other outlets have profiled Introdacqua as a borgo cosmopolita: foreign residents from northern Europe, the UK and North America have bought houses in the historic center, and the village has become known across Abruzzo for its outside-Italian population per capita. The population is just under 2,000, including the returning families and the long-term resident foreigners. The annual Festa del Ringraziamento celebrates the harvest in late autumn.
How to get there
From Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 2 h 3 min by car.
Ancona (AOI) is about 2 h 35 min away.
By car from the center of Pescara 1 h 1 min or Ancona 2 h 32 min.
Coming by train into Pescara Centrale? Introdacqua is about 1 h 3 min away by road.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Centro storico
Medieval village core rebuilt after each of the five recorded earthquakes between 1654 and 1915, now ranked among I Borghi più belli d'Italia.
Chiesa di San Giuseppe
Principal parish church in the upper village, with a stone portal and a small piazza that opens toward the Peligna valley.
Sorgenti dell'Introdacqua
Spring system that gave the village its Latin name inter aquas, still running through the territory and feeding the lower valley.
Monte Genzana
Limestone massif rising west of the village toward Pettorano sul Gizio, the geographic spine of the surrounding nature reserve.
Living here
Could you live here?
Introdacqua is a village with a town close by.
- A village of 1,932, with Sulmona (21,759 people) 12 min away for the shopping and a meal out. Our rule is a town within 15 minutes.
- Chieti, a city of 48,403, is 52 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 1,932, down 8.7% since 2015
- Nearest city Chieti, 52 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Sulmona, 7 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €470 to €690 per m² to buy, €1.80 to €2.30 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: none mapped
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 57% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 1, Italy's highest hazard
- Pescara airport (PSR), 1 h 10 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital L'Aquila, 1 h 32 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
7% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, the United States and the United Kingdom, against 9% across Italy. 52 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United States and the United Kingdom. There are 372 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 43% 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 Sulmona, 7 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Latina, 104 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 118 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Canadian College Italy, 48 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. The national maps show no residents in a high or medium flood zone. 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
BORGO COSMOPOLITA
Recent destination for northern European and North American residents buying houses in the historic center.
INTER AQUAS
Latin name meaning inside the waters, marking the spring system that runs through the territory.
FIVE EARTHQUAKES
Survived seismic events in 1654, 1703, 1704, 1706 and 1915, each time rebuilding the centro storico in place.
Common questions
- What is Introdacqua known for?
- At 670 meters in the Valle Peligna, the spring-fed village whose Latin name means inside the waters, now a magnet for foreign residents.
- Where is Introdacqua?
- Introdacqua is a comune in the province of L'Aquila, in Abruzzo.
- What is the nearest airport to Introdacqua?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Pescara (PSR), about 1 h 10 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Pescara to Introdacqua?
- About 1 h 1 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Introdacqua?
- Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Introdacqua?
- Pettorano sul Gizio, Pacentro and Lama dei Peligni.
- How many people live in Introdacqua?
- 1,932 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Introdacqua a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Introdacqua is a village with a town of 5,000 people within 15 minutes (Sulmona, 12 min). The nearest city, Chieti, is 52 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Sulmona, 7 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 57% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 670 m
- Population: 1,932
- Surface area: 37.11 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 Introdacqua appears in
Similar
Towns like Introdacqua
What all six share with Introdacqua: mountain-valley towns · under 3,000 people · high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
The letter
Introdacqua 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 Introdacqua comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Scheggino, 118 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.