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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.

Best time
Apr–Oct
By car
28 min from Naples
By train
Station in the comune
Population
33,629

Known for

  • FESTA DEI GIGLI

    UNESCO Intangible Heritage festival in late June: eight 25-meter obelisks danced through the streets by hundred-bearer teams.

  • 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.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Oct

  • J13°
  • F15°
  • M16°
  • A19°
  • M24°
  • J29°
  • J33°
  • A33°
  • S28°
  • O23°
  • N18°
  • D15°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 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 before June 22 in which eight twenty-five-meter wooden obelisks, each weighing over a ton, are carried through the streets by teams of one hundred bearers. The festival honors Paolino di Nola, the fifth-century bishop whose return from captivity in North Africa it commemorates. Outside the festival, Nola is a working town of warehouses and commerce.

The Sunday 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 every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Nola comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.

Read on

Nola in our articles

How to get there

From Naples / Salerno (NAP), about 24 minutes by car.

Bari / Brindisi (BRI) is about 3 hours away.

By car from the centre of Naples 28 minutes, Salerno 39 minutes or Rome 2h 26m.

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

Coming from Naples or Rome?

Coming by train into Napoli Centrale? Nola is about 28 minutes away by road.

Every town within reach of Naples / Salerno airport.

Nola, photo 1
Nola, photo 2

What to see

  • Cattedrale di Nola

    Cathedral of the Assunta and San Paolino, twentieth-century rebuilt after fire, with relics of the patron bishop who returned from Africa.

  • Festa dei Gigli

    UNESCO Intangible Heritage festival in June: eight 25-meter wooden obelisks carried through the streets by teams of one hundred bearers.

  • Anfiteatro Romano di Nola

    Roman amphitheater excavated on the southern edge of town, where Augustus was honored with funeral games in AD 14.

  • Museo Storico Archeologico

    Town archaeology museum with finds from Oscan, Samnite and Roman Nola, plus the Bronze Age village preserved by a Vesuvian eruption.

  • Casa di Giordano Bruno

    Eighteenth-century building marked as the philosopher's likely birthplace, in the centro storico west of the cathedral.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Nola 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

We recommend

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.

  • Otoro IshiFusion

    Otoro Ishi has two Gambero Rosso Mappamondi to its name.

  • Vero - Omakase RooftopGiapponese

    Three Gambero Rosso Mappamondi, at Vero - Omakase Rooftop.

Living here

  • Population 33,629
  • A local hubi
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Train station in the comune
  • Nearest airport Naples / Salerno, 24 min drive
  • Regional capital Napoli, 28 min drive

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?
Naples / Salerno (NAP), about 24 minutes 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 minutes 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?
33,629 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 34 m
  • Population: 33,629
  • 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.

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