Abruzzo · L'Aquila
Pacentro
A medieval village at 650 meters under the Caldora castle towers, where every September a barefoot race honors a Madonna and a pop singer's grandparents.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Pacentro is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia.
Subscribe and you get Pacentro's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- May–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 9 min from Pescara
- Population
- 1,058
- J9°
- F12°
- M12°
- A15°
- M20°
- J26°
- J30°
- A29°
- S24°
- O20°
- N14°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Pacentro sits at 650 meters on a hill spur in the Peligna valley, eight kilometers from Sulmona and inside the Maiella National Park. The Castello Caldora, with its three surviving square towers, dominates the village from the Colle Castello above. The site has held a castle since the eleventh century; the structure visible today was begun by the Caldora-Cantelmo family in the late fourteenth century and bought by the comune in 1957 and restored.
On the first Sunday of September, the Corsa degli Zingari sends barefoot runners down a rocky slope from Monte Ardinghi into the village in honor of the Madonna di Loreto. The race is documented since the fifteenth century. The other thing people come for is the Ciccone house.
Madonna's paternal grandparents, Gaetano Ciccone and Michelina Di Iulio, emigrated from Pacentro in 1919. The pop singer visited in 2013.
How to get there
From Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 2 h 11 min by car.
Ancona (AOI) is about 2 h 44 min away.
By car from the center of Pescara 1 h 9 min or Ancona 2 h 39 min.
Coming by train into Pescara Centrale? Pacentro is about 1 h 10 min away by road.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Castello Caldora-Cantelmo
Late fourteenth-century fortress on the Colle Castello, three of its four corner towers still standing, restored after 1957.
Borgo medievale
Stone houses arranged on terraces below the castle, listed among the Borghi più belli d'Italia, preserved in its medieval plan.
Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore
Sixteenth-century parish church with a baroque interior, holding the Madonna di Loreto honored in the September race.
Monte Ardinghi
Slope above the village from which barefoot runners descend in the Corsa degli Zingari, one of Italy's oldest documented races.
Casa Ciccone
Ancestral home of Madonna's paternal grandparents, who left Pacentro for the United States in 1919, marked with a plaque.
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.
Taverna dei CaldoraRistorante
Taverna dei Caldora carries a Michelin Bib Gourmand, one Gambero Rosso fork (76/100), plus a Slow Food snail.
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?
Pacentro is at the end of the road.
- A village of 1,058. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Sulmona, is 18 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Chieti, a city of 48,403, is 59 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 1,058, down 11.5% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Chieti, 59 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Sulmona, 5 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €420 to €620 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
- Remote
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 98% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 1, Italy's highest hazard
- Pescara airport (PSR), 1 h 11 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital L'Aquila, 1 h 26 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
5% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Ukraine and Tunisia, against 9% across Italy. 13 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe. There are 317 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 59% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. L'Aquila province ranks 69th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Sulmona, 5 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Caserta, 111 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Pescara, 48 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 126 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Canadian College Italy, 39 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 0.96% 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 0.8% to your income tax. 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. 15% 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
CASTELLO CALDORA
Fourteenth-century fortress with three surviving towers built by the Caldora-Cantelmo family, restored by the comune after 1957.
CORSA DEGLI ZINGARI
Barefoot race down Monte Ardinghi on the first Sunday of September, documented since the fifteenth century.
MADONNA
Ancestral village of singer Madonna, whose paternal grandparents emigrated to the United States in 1919.
Common questions
- What is Pacentro known for?
- Pacentro is a medieval village at 650 meters under the Caldora castle towers, where every September a barefoot race honors a Madonna and a pop singer's grandparents.
- Where is Pacentro?
- Pacentro is a comune in the province of L'Aquila, in Abruzzo.
- What is the nearest airport to Pacentro?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Pescara (PSR), about 1 h 11 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Pescara to Pacentro?
- About 1 h 9 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Pacentro?
- Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Pacentro?
- Pettorano sul Gizio, Introdacqua and Lama dei Peligni.
- How many people live in Pacentro?
- 1,058 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Pacentro a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Pacentro is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Sulmona, is 18 min away. The nearest city, Chieti, is 59 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Sulmona, 5 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 98% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 650 m
- Population: 1,058
- Surface area: 72.59 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 Pacentro appears in
- The 6 prettiest villages with a serious restaurant within 90 minutes of PescaraNear Pescarawithin 90 minserious restaurantprettiest villages6 towns · smallest 1,058 residents · closest 48 min away
- The best hidden towns inside a national park that eat well within 90 minutes of PescaraNear Pescarainside a parkwithin 90 mineats wellhidden6 towns · smallest 659 residents · closest 48 min away
- The best hidden towns with a serious restaurant in the province of L'AquilaL'Aquila provinceserious restauranthidden6 towns · smallest 659 residents
- The prettiest villages inside a national park in the province of L'AquilaL'Aquila provinceinside a parkprettiest villages6 towns · smallest 105 residents
- The 7 best small towns that eat well in the province of L'AquilaL'Aquila provinceeats wellsmall7 towns · smallest 659 residents
- The best towns inside a national park that have a serious restaurant in AbruzzoAbruzzoinside a parkserious restaurant7 towns · smallest 659 residents
Similar
Towns like Pacentro
What all six share with Pacentro: mountain-valley towns · under 3,000 people · high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
The letter
Pacentro 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 Pacentro comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Scheggino, 120 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.