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.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Pescopennataro is on our list
It holds Borghi Autentici.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar
- By car
- 1 h 42 min from Pescara
- Population
- 231
- J6°
- F8°
- M8°
- A12°
- M16°
- J22°
- J25°
- A25°
- S20°
- O16°
- N10°
- D7°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
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 231 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.
How to get there
From Naples (NAP), about 2 h 22 min by car.
Rome Fiumicino (FCO) is about 3 h 10 min away.
By car from the center of Pescara 1 h 42 min, Naples 2 h 27 min or Salerno 2 h 51 min.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
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.
Living here
Could you live here?
Pescopennataro is at the end of the road.
- A village of 231. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Castel di Sangro, is 33 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Isernia, a city of 20,529, is 1 h 6 min by car. Further than our 30 to 60 minutes, a long way for the hospital visit or the monthly shopping.
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 231, down 20.3% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Isernia, 1 h 6 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Agnone, 10 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €380 to €570 per m² to buy
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Very remote
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 98% of homes
- No primary school in the comune's register
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Pescara airport (PSR), 1 h 45 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Campobasso, 1 h 28 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
5% of residents are foreign citizens, against 9% across Italy. There are 368 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 68% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Isernia province ranks 89th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Agnone, 10 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Caserta, 88 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 150 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Canadian College Italy, 40 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 0.4% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €15,000. 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 Molise spends about €2,050 a month, €570 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €274 a year for water, on the Molise average.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone F, the coldest of Italy's six, with no national limit on when the heating runs. The national maps show no residents in a high or medium flood zone. 8% 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
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.
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?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Pescara (PSR), about 1 h 45 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Pescara to Pescopennataro?
- About 1 h 42 min 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.
- Which other towns are like Pescopennataro?
- Capracotta, Scontrone and Rivisondoli.
- How many people live in Pescopennataro?
- 231 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Pescopennataro a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Pescopennataro is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Castel di Sangro, is 33 min away. The nearest city, Isernia, is 1 h 6 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Agnone, 10 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 98% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 1190 m
- Population: 231
- 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.
Similar
Towns like Pescopennataro
What all six share with Pescopennataro: high in the mountains · under 1,000 people · mountain towns above 1,000 metres
The 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: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Pescopennataro comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Scheggino, 152 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.