Abruzzo · Teramo
Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia
At the foot of a massif holding the Apennines' highest peak outside Sicily, the commune's sanctuary ranks among the world's fifteen most-visited Catholic shrines.
Picked by Peter Benei
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 20 min from Pescara
- Population
- 4,438
- J10°
- F12°
- M13°
- A16°
- M21°
- J26°
- J29°
- A29°
- S24°
- O20°
- N15°
- D12°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
The commune sits in the Mavone river valley, with the southern wall of the Gran Sasso massif rising directly behind it and the territory climbing from the valley floor to Monte Corno. The convent below the peaks is traditionally said to have been founded by Francis of Assisi around 1215. Passionists arrived in 1847, and the young Gabriele Possenti reached the retreat in 1859 and died there in 1862 at 24.
He was canonized in 1920. The town itself is small, a settlement in the shadow of the rock rather than a destination built up around itself. Its two draws sit at opposite ends of the same valley system: the retreat where a young Passionist lived and died, and the summit trails that begin where the valley narrows. The pilgrims come for the saint, the climbers for the rock, and the town's whole geography is arranged around that single climb from river to peak.
How to get there
From Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 2 h 1 min by car.
Ancona (AOI) is about 2 h 9 min away.
By car from the center of Pescara 1 h 20 min or Ancona 2 h 4 min.
Coming by train into Pescara Centrale? Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia is about 1 h 18 min away by road.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Santuario di San Gabriele dell'Addolorata
A 1970 concrete-and-glass church seating six thousand stands on the site of an older convent at the foot of the massif, the scale of the building matched by the crowds it absorbs each year.
Convento dei Passionisti
The 13th-century convent traditionally attributed to Saint Francis, where Gabriele Possenti died in 1862 and where the Passionist community has been based since 1847.
Corno Grande
The rock face and its trails are approached from the valley below, with Corno Piccolo rising alongside it as the pair mark the skyline above the sanctuary.
Castelli
Neighboring comune, known for the majolica ceiling of the church of San Donato, made by Castelli's own majolica masters in 1615-17.
Living here
Could you live here?
Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia is at the end of the road.
- A village of 4,438. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Montorio al Vomano, is 31 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Teramo, a city of 51,600, is 35 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 4,438, down 6.7% since 2015
- Nearest city Teramo, 35 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Teramo, 18 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes across the comune: €410 to €1,200 per m² to buy, €1.40 to €4.00 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Commuter belt
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 94% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 1, Italy's highest hazard
- Pescara airport (PSR), 1 h 19 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital L'Aquila, 48 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
6% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Ukraine and Albania, against 9% across Italy. 11 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly France. There are 272 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 46% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Teramo province ranks 68th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Teramo, 18 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Terni, 83 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in L'Aquila, 23 km away. The nearest IB school is Acorn International School, 115 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Canadian College Italy, 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 between 0.75% and 0.8% to your income tax, depending on your income, with nothing due on income under €15,000. 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 D, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 1 to April 15, up to 12 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. The national maps show no residents in a high or medium flood zone. 20% 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
SAN GABRIELE
Sanctuary of San Gabriele dell'Addolorata, two million pilgrims annually, among the fifteen most-visited Catholic shrines in the world.
GRAN SASSO
Foot of the Corno Grande at 2,912 meters, the highest peak of the Apennines outside Sicily, inside the national park.
MAVONE VALLEY
Trailhead valley for the southern approaches to the massif, climbing 2,500 meters from the town to the summit.
Common questions
- What is Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia known for?
- At 415 meters at the foot of a massif holding the Apennines' highest peak outside Sicily, the commune's sanctuary ranks among the world's fifteen most-visited Catholic shrines.
- Where is Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia?
- Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia is a comune in the province of Teramo, in Abruzzo.
- What is the nearest airport to Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Pescara (PSR), about 1 h 19 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Pescara to Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia?
- About 1 h 20 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia?
- Campli, Civitella del Tronto and Manoppello.
- How many people live in Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia?
- 4,438 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Montorio al Vomano, is 31 min away. The nearest city, Teramo, is 35 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Teramo, 18 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 94% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 415 m
- Population: 4,438
- Surface area: 84.05 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 Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia appears in
Similar
Towns like Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia
What all six share with Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia: inland, away from the coast · between 3,000 and 10,000 people · hill towns
The letter
Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia 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 Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Scheggino, 72 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.