Abruzzo · Chieti
Monteferrante
At 800 meters on a terrace above the Sangro valley, a 12th-century Caracciolo feud of 103 people facing the Maiella.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Monteferrante is on our list
It holds Borghi Autentici.
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 25 min from Pescara
- Population
- 103
- J8°
- F11°
- M11°
- A14°
- M19°
- J25°
- J28°
- A27°
- S23°
- O19°
- N13°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Monteferrante sits in the Chieti hinterland between the Maiella and the Adriatic, on a terrace above the middle Sangro valley. The village is first documented in the 12th century, when the feud was assigned to Roberto di Monteferrante, a vassal of Count Simone di Sangro. That early feudal grant explains the shape of the place: a small fortified seat controlling its stretch of the valley rather than a settlement built for trade or transit.
The historical center, where the parish church stands, occupies the terrace itself. The Marian sanctuary lies apart from it, in the woods on the slope below, a separate point of reference outside the built-up village. The two churches mark the poles of the settlement: one at the center of daily life, one at the edge of the forest that surrounds it.
What these facts add up to is a village whose whole layout, from feudal grant to church placement, was shaped by its position on a defensible terrace above the valley, rather than by any role in wider trade or travel.
How to get there
From Naples (NAP), about 2 h 48 min by car.
Ancona (AOI) is about 2 h 58 min away.
By car from the center of Pescara 1 h 25 min, Naples 2 h 52 min or Ancona 2 h 58 min.
Coming by train into Pescara Centrale? Monteferrante is about 1 h 26 min away by road.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista Decollato
Parish church in the historical center, standing after repeated rebuilds across the centuries.
Chiesa di Santa Maria del Monte
Forest church set in the woods outside the village, a small Marian sanctuary on the slope above the Sangro.
Belvedere sulla Valle del Sangro
Village terrace with a panorama from Lake Bomba in the south to the Maiella massif to the west.
Borgo medievale
Compact stone village laid out along lines set by feudal-era rule, home to a small and steadily shrinking population.
Living here
Could you live here?
Monteferrante is at the end of the road.
- A village of 103. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Atessa, is 42 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Chieti, a city of 48,403, is 1 h 23 min by car. Further than our 30 to 60 minutes, a long way for the hospital visit or the monthly shopping.
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 103, down 24.8% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Chieti, 1 h 23 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Atessa, 16 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €420 to €630 per m² to buy, €1.80 to €2.70 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Very remote
- Pharmacy: none mapped
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 99% of homes
- No primary school in the comune's register
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Pescara airport (PSR), 1 h 27 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital L'Aquila, 2 h 32 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
2% of residents are foreign citizens, against 9% across Italy. There are 430 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 79% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Chieti province ranks 62nd of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Atessa, 16 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Benevento, 95 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 158 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Canadian College Italy, 31 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 0.86% 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. 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. 51% 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
TERRAZZA SUL SANGRO
Village terrace at 800 meters with a panorama from Lake Bomba to the Maiella, framed by forests and streams.
CARACCIOLO
Held from the 15th century to the end of feudalism by the Caracciolo family, who shaped the current urban layout.
103 RESIDENTS
Among the smallest comuni in the province of Chieti, with population in steady decline from a 19th-century peak.
Common questions
- What is Monteferrante known for?
- At 800 meters on a terrace above the Sangro valley, a 12th-century Caracciolo feud of 103 people facing the Maiella.
- Where is Monteferrante?
- Monteferrante is a comune in the province of Chieti, in Abruzzo.
- What is the nearest airport to Monteferrante?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Pescara (PSR), about 1 h 27 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Pescara to Monteferrante?
- About 1 h 25 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Monteferrante?
- Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 28 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Monteferrante?
- Montelapiano, Alfedena and Cimbergo.
- How many people live in Monteferrante?
- 103 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Monteferrante a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Monteferrante is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Atessa, is 42 min away. The nearest city, Chieti, is 1 h 23 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Atessa, 16 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 99% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 800 m
- Population: 103
- Surface area: 15.29 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 Monteferrante appears in
Similar
Towns like Monteferrante
What all six share with Monteferrante: under 1,000 people · high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
Montelapiano
Province: Chieti
both mountain-valley towns
Alfedena
Province: L'Aquila
both mountain-valley towns
Cimbergo
Province: Brescia
both mountain-valley towns
Guardia Perticara
Province: Potenza
both mountain-valley towns
Sadali
Province: Cagliari
both mountain-valley towns
Castel del Giudice
Province: Isernia
1 h apart by road
The letter
Monteferrante 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 Monteferrante comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Scheggino, 153 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.