Campania · Napoli
Nola
The Campanian plain town where Augustus died in AD 14 and Giordano Bruno was born in 1548, famous for the June Festa dei Gigli.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Nola is on our list
It holds Città della Nocciola.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 28 min from Naples
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 34,111
- J13°
- F15°
- M16°
- A19°
- M24°
- J29°
- J33°
- A33°
- S28°
- O23°
- N18°
- D15°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Nola sits on the plain between Vesuvius and the Apennines, twenty kilometers east of Napoli. It was an Oscan and Samnite town before Rome, and the place where Augustus died in AD 14, in the same house his father had died in. Giordano Bruno was born here in 1548, the Nolano who called his philosophy nolana before he was burned at the Campo de' Fiori in 1600.
The town is best known today for the Festa dei Gigli, a UNESCO Intangible Heritage celebration on the Sunday after June 22 in which eight twenty-five-meter wooden obelisks, each weighing over two tonnes, are carried through the streets by teams of about 128 bearers. The festival honors Paolino di Nola, the fifth-century bishop whose return from captivity, as the legend tells it, the townspeople greeted with lilies. Outside the festival, Nola is a working town of warehouses and commerce.
How to get there
From Naples (NAP), about 24 min by car.
Rome Fiumicino (FCO) is about 2 h 36 min away.
By car from the center of Naples 28 min or Salerno 39 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming by train into Napoli Centrale? Nola is about 28 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Naples airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Cattedrale di Nola
Cathedral of the Assunta and San Paolino, rebuilt between 1869 and 1909 after the fire of 1861, with relics of the patron bishop.
Festa dei Gigli
UNESCO Intangible Heritage festival in June: eight 25-meter wooden obelisks carried through the streets by teams of about 128 bearers.
Anfiteatro Romano di Nola
Roman amphitheater of the first century BC, 138 by 108 meters, about a third of it excavated, open to visitors by booking.
Museo Storico Archeologico
Town archaeology museum with finds from Oscan, Samnite and Roman Nola, plus the Bronze Age village preserved by a Vesuvian eruption.
Luogo natale di Giordano Bruno
The contrada of San Giovanni del Cesco at the foot of Monte Cicala, where the philosopher was born in 1548 in a house that no longer stands.
From the guides
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.
Re Santi e LeoniRistorante
One Michelin star for Re Santi e Leoni, along with two Gambero Rosso forks (86/100) and a place in L'Espresso's Top 300.
Rear RestaurantRistorante
Rear Restaurant has two Gambero Rosso forks (81/100) and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Le BaccantiRistorante
Le Baccanti has a spot in the Michelin Guide to its name.
2 more places the guides name in Nola
Otoro IshiFusion
Otoro Ishi has two Gambero Rosso Mappamondi to its name.
Vero - Omakase RooftopGiapponese
Three Gambero Rosso Mappamondi, at Vero - Omakase Rooftop.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Nola meets 1 of our 2 rules for a small town.
- 34,111 people, above our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: big enough that it can split into neighborhoods.
- Acerra, a city of 58,676, is 17 min by car. Closer than our 30 to 60 minutes: handy for everything, so check the town still keeps a life of its own.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
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 34,111, up 0.6% since 2015
- Nearest city Acerra, 17 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,350 to €2,050 per m² to buy, €4.50 to €6.80 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- A local hub
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 92% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Naples airport (NAP), 24 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Naples, 28 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
5% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Bangladesh, Ukraine and Romania, against 9% across Italy. There are 155 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 23% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Naples province ranks 104th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
There is an emergency room in the comune. It has a children's emergency room too. The nearest major one is in Avellino, 22 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 201 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is École Francaise de Naples Alexandre-Dumas, 27 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Working from here
Poste Italiane has finished a coworking room in the comune, on its register of 30 September 2026. Check that it is open on Poste's booking site before you count on it.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, 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 is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Campania spends about €1,800 a month, €650 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €328 a year for water, on the Campania average. In Naples, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.25, a meal in a pizzeria €11.02 and a man's haircut €18.55.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone C, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 15 to March 31, up to 10 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 3% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 3% in a high or medium one. 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
FESTA DEI GIGLI
UNESCO Intangible Heritage festival in late June: eight 25-meter obelisks danced through the streets by teams of about 128 bearers.
AUGUSTUS
Roman emperor Augustus died at Nola on 19 August AD 14, in the same house where his father had died decades earlier.
GIORDANO BRUNO
Philosopher and Dominican friar born in Nola in 1548, burned for heresy in Rome in 1600, the Nolano who shaped early modern thought.
POMODORO S. MARZANO DELL'AGRO SARNESE-NOCERINO
The commune lies inside the Pomodoro S. Marzano dell'Agro Sarnese-Nocerino DOP production zone.
Common questions
- What is Nola known for?
- Nola is the Campanian plain town where Augustus died in AD 14 and Giordano Bruno was born in 1548, famous for the June Festa dei Gigli.
- Where is Nola?
- Nola is a comune in the province of Napoli, in Campania, at 34 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Nola?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Naples (NAP), about 24 min by car.
- Can you get to Nola 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 Nola?
- About 28 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Nola?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 33 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Nola?
- Benevento, Caserta and Lecce.
- How many people live in Nola?
- 34,111 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Nola a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Nola is a small town that meets 1 of our 2 rules. The nearest city, Acerra, is 17 min away by car. There is a national health service hospital in the comune. Full fibre reaches 92% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
The numbers
- Elevation: 34 m
- Population: 34,111
- Surface area: 39.19 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 Nola appears in
- The best towns that eat well within 45 minutes of NaplesNear Napleswithin 45 mineats well6 towns · smallest 23,647 residents · closest 16 min away
- The 7 best hill towns that eat well in CampaniaCampaniahill towneats well7 towns · smallest 5,083 residents
- The best hill towns you can reach by train within 90 minutes of NaplesNear Napleshill townby trainwithin 90 min7 towns · smallest 5,083 residents · closest 28 min away
- The best towns you can reach by train within 45 minutes of NaplesNear Naplesby trainwithin 45 min7 towns · smallest 23,647 residents · closest 16 min away
- The best hill towns that eat well within 90 minutes of NaplesNear Napleshill townwithin 90 mineats well8 towns · smallest 4,096 residents · closest 28 min away
- The best hill towns you can reach by train in CampaniaCampaniahill townby train8 towns · smallest 756 residents
Similar
Towns like Nola
What all six share with Nola: inland, away from the coast · over 10,000 people · near sea level · have a railway station in the comune
The letter
Nola 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 Nola comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Cerveteri, 236 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.