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00 Montesarchio
Stemma di Montesarchio

Campania · Benevento

Montesarchio

Ancient Caudium, a Roman defeat still attached to the name two thousand years later.

Best time
Apr–Oct
By car
1 h 8 min from Naples
By train
Station in the comune
Population
12,959

Known for

  • FORCHE CAUDINE

    The 321 BC Samnite ambush of two Roman armies; the verb passare sotto le forche caudine still means humiliating defeat in Italian.

  • VASO DI ASSTEAS

    Fourth-century BC Greek red-figure krater showing the rape of Europa, displayed in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale del Sannio Caudino.

  • TABURNO WINES

    Aglianico del Taburno DOCG and Falanghina del Sannio DOC grown on the volcanic slopes around the town; Montesarchio is Città del Vino.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Oct

  • J11°
  • F13°
  • M14°
  • A17°
  • M22°
  • J28°
  • J32°
  • A32°
  • S26°
  • O21°
  • N16°
  • D13°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

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

The festa: Nicola di Bari, 6 December

Why come

Montesarchio sits at the foot of Monte Taburno, eighteen kilometers southwest of Benevento. The Latin name is Caudium, an ancient Samnite city on the road from Beneventum to Capua, and the surrender at the pass below it was so unprecedented that the Roman Senate refused to ratify the treaty that followed. The medieval town climbed the hill above the valley around its castle and tower, and that upper cluster still marks the highest and oldest part of the centro, with the newer town spreading below it into the Valle Caudina.

The commune is a Borgo più bello d'Italia, a Città del Vino, and a Città della Nocciola. What holds the place together is the vertical relationship between valley floor and hilltop: a road town and a battle site below, a fortified refuge and lookout above, the second built to guard what the first could not.

The Sunday letter

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

Read on

Montesarchio in our articles

How to get there

From Naples / Salerno (NAP), about 1 hour by car.

Bari / Brindisi (BRI) is about 2h 47m away.

By car from the centre of Naples 1h 8m, Salerno 1h 24m or Bari 2h 51m.

There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.

Coming from Naples?

Coming by train into Napoli Centrale? Montesarchio is about 1h 8m away by road.

Every town within reach of Naples / Salerno airport.

Montesarchio, photo 1
Montesarchio, photo 2

What to see

  • Castello di Montesarchio

    Medieval fortress on the hill above the town, restored and reopened in 2007 as part of the Museo Archeologico Nazionale del Sannio Caudino.

  • Torre di Montesarchio

    Cylindrical fifteenth-century tower next to the castle at 420 meters, the highest point of the centro and visible across the Valle Caudina.

  • Museo Archeologico Nazionale del Sannio Caudino

    Archaeological museum inside the castle, holding the krater as its centerpiece among the wider Samnite and Roman finds of the valley.

  • Forche Caudine

    The pass below the town where the ambush took place, its BC Greek-world notoriety carried since by a phrase still used for a forced, humiliating surrender.

  • Monte Taburno

    1,394-meter peak above the town inside the Parco Regionale del Taburno-Camposauro, with hiking trails from the centro upward.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Montesarchio 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.

Plan your trip

Living here

  • Population 12,959
  • In-betweeni
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Train station in the comune
  • Nearest airport Naples / Salerno, 1 h 6 min drive
  • Regional capital Napoli, 1 h 8 min drive

Common questions

What is Montesarchio known for?
Ancient Caudium at 300 meters, a Roman defeat still attached to the name two thousand years later.
Where is Montesarchio?
Montesarchio is a comune in the province of Benevento, in Campania.
What is the nearest airport to Montesarchio?
Naples / Salerno (NAP), about 1 hour by car.
Can you get to Montesarchio without a car?
Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
How long is the drive from Naples to Montesarchio?
About 1h 8m by car.
When is the best time to visit Montesarchio?
Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
Is there a sagra or a festival in Montesarchio?
The town keeps its patron saint's day: Nicola di Bari, 6 December.
Which other towns are like Montesarchio?
Sessa Aurunca, Venafro and Locorotondo.
How many people live in Montesarchio?
12,959 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 300 m
  • Population: 12,959
  • Surface area: 26.51 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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