Molise · Isernia
Pescopennataro
An Alto Molise stone village at 1,190 meters, the paese della pietra e degli abeti, above a rare high-altitude white-fir forest.
- Best time
- Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar
- By car
- 1 h 42 min from Pescara
- Population
- 239
Known for
ABETI SOPRANI
Rare natural white-fir forest below the village, one of the most important high-altitude Abies alba woods in southern Italy.
STONE VILLAGE
The paese della pietra: most buildings carved from local limestone by a stonemason school documented from the 1700s.
1,190 METERS
Among the highest villages of Molise and one of the rare 1,000-meter-plus communes in the inner south of the country.
When to visit
Best · Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar
- J6°
- F8°
- M8°
- A12°
- M16°
- J22°
- J25°
- A25°
- S20°
- O16°
- N10°
- D7°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
The festa: San Rocco, 16 August
Why come
Pescopennataro sits at 1,190 meters in Alto Molise, twelve kilometers north of Capracotta on the same ridge above the Sangro valley. The village is nicknamed il paese della pietra e degli abeti, the village of stone and firs: most of its buildings are made from local stone and Pescopennataro carries a school of stonemasons and sculptors documented from the 1700s. Below the village, the Bosco degli Abeti Soprani is one of the most important high-altitude fir forests in southern Italy and one of the rare survivals of natural white fir, Abies alba, in the southern Apennines.
The commune holds 239 residents and a single Borghi Autentici badge. The walking trails into the Abeti Soprani run north toward the Eremo di San Luca, a small hermitage in the forest; the same trails ski-tour in winter. Few inland villages in Molise sit higher.
The Sunday letter
Pescopennataro 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 Pescopennataro comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.
Read on
Pescopennataro in our articles
How to get there
From Naples / Salerno (NAP), about 2h 22m by car.
Ancona / Pescara (AOI) is about 3h 15m away.
By car from the centre of Pescara 1h 42m, Naples 2h 27m or Salerno 2h 51m.
What to see
Bosco degli Abeti Soprani
High-altitude white-fir forest below the village, one of the rare natural Abies alba survivals in the southern Apennines.
Centro storico
Tightly built stone village at 1,190 meters, with buildings carved from the local limestone by generations of village stonemasons.
Eremo di San Luca
Small forest hermitage on the trail north of the village, in the heart of the Abeti Soprani fir woods.
Scuola degli scalpellini
Stonemason tradition documented from the 1700s, visible in the lintels, balconies and church façades carved through the centro storico.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Pescopennataro 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.
Living here
- Population 239
- Very remotei
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Nearest airport Naples / Salerno, 2 h 22 min drive
- Regional capital Campobasso, 1 h 28 min drive
Common questions
- What is Pescopennataro known for?
- Pescopennataro is an Alto Molise stone village at 1,190 meters, the paese della pietra e degli abeti, above a rare high-altitude white-fir forest.
- Where is Pescopennataro?
- Pescopennataro is a comune in the province of Isernia, in Molise, at 1190 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Pescopennataro?
- Naples / Salerno (NAP), about 2h 22m by car.
- How long is the drive from Pescara to Pescopennataro?
- About 1h 42m by car.
- When is the best time to visit Pescopennataro?
- Best in Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar. July is the warmest month, averaging 25 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 16 rain days.
- Is there a sagra or a festival in Pescopennataro?
- The town keeps its patron saint's day: San Rocco, 16 August.
- Which other towns are like Pescopennataro?
- Capracotta, Scontrone and Rivisondoli.
- How many people live in Pescopennataro?
- 239 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 1190 m
- Population: 239
- Surface area: 18.84 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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💎 Borghi Autentici
More Borghi Autentici towns in Molise
Capracotta
Province: Isernia
At 1,421 meters the second-highest commune in central Italy, holder of the world record for snowfall in 24 hours: 2.56 meters on 5 March 2015.
Castel del Giudice
Province: Isernia
An Alto Molise borgo of 308 residents at 800m that rebuilt an abandoned schoolhouse as a diffuse hotel and recovered 5,000 ancient apple trees into an organic-orchard cooperative.
Macchiagodena
Province: Isernia
Molise's white truffle capital: a 1,648-resident hilltop borgo at 868m in the Apennine middle Molise, with intact medieval streets and 30+ active truffle hunters working the surrounding oak forests, the Molise white truffle harvest running October-December.
Pizzone
Province: Isernia
A 313-person Mainarde village at 724 meters, above the Volturno springs.
Ripalimosani
Province: Campobasso
A sandstone-ridge village at 640 meters above the Biferno valley, the historic land of the funai rope makers and a Tintilia wine commune.