Abruzzo · L'Aquila
Pettorano sul Gizio
At 656 meters above the Gizio river, a Cantelmo fortress town that guarded the gateway to the Peligna valley for four hundred years.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Pettorano sul Gizio is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia and Comuni Virtuosi.
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 10 min from Pescara
- Population
- 1,259
- J9°
- F11°
- 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
Pettorano sits at 656 meters on a hill above the Gizio river, at the southern entrance of the Valle Peligna, at the foot of the Maiella. The Castello Cantelmo, a pentagonal stone tower built in the 11th century and held by the Cantelmo family from 1310 to the mid-1700s, dominates the village from above. The 16th and 17th centuries left palazzi behind: Palazzo Croce, Palazzo Gravina, Palazzo Vitto-Massei.
The Church of San Nicola outside the walls is documented in 1112. Today the commune sits inside the Riserva Naturale Monte Genzana, and the castle, restored between 1992 and 1998, hosts exhibitions and the reserve's visitor center. The Marsican brown bear passes through these woods.
Pettorano is a Borghi più belli d'Italia and one of the Comuni Virtuosi, the network of municipalities that signed up to specific environmental commitments. The population has held steady around 1,300 while neighbouring villages shrank.
How to get there
From Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 2 h 12 min by car.
Ancona (AOI) is about 2 h 45 min away.
By car from the center of Pescara 1 h 10 min or Ancona 2 h 40 min.
Coming by train into Pescara Centrale? Pettorano sul Gizio is about 1 h 11 min away by road.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Castello Cantelmo
Pentagonal 11th-century fortress above the Gizio, seat of the Cantelmo family from 1310 to the mid-18th century, restored as exhibition space.
Chiesa di San Nicola
Small church outside the medieval walls, already documented in 1112, the oldest religious building in the commune.
Chiesa di Sant'Antonio Abate
Patron-saint church inside the centro storico, repeatedly rebuilt after earthquakes, with traces of earlier medieval structure.
Palazzo Vitto-Massei
16th-17th century palazzo, one of several built during Pettorano's two centuries of economic and cultural prosperity under Cantelmo rule.
Riserva Naturale Monte Genzana Alto Gizio
Regional reserve protecting the ridge between Pettorano and Scanno, a corridor for the Marsican brown bear and Apennine wolf.
Living here
Could you live here?
Pettorano sul Gizio is at the end of the road.
- A village of 1,259. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Sulmona, is 21 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Chieti, a city of 48,403, is 1 h 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 1,259, down 9% since 2015
- Nearest city Chieti, 1 h drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Sulmona, 11 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €350 to €520 per m² to buy, €1.00 to €1.50 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 99% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 1, Italy's highest hazard
- Pescara airport (PSR), 1 h 14 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital L'Aquila, 1 h 24 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
4% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania and Ukraine, against 9% across Italy. There are 286 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 62% 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, 11 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Caserta, 104 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 122 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Canadian College Italy, 46 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 0.86% 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. 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. 3% 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 CANTELMO
Pentagonal medieval fortress held by the Cantelmo family from 1310 to the mid-18th century, anchor of the Peligna valley defence.
MARSICAN BEAR
The Monte Genzana reserve, surrounding the village, is an active corridor for the endangered Marsican brown bear population.
COMUNI VIRTUOSI
One of the small Abruzzo municipalities that joined the national network committed to specific environmental and sustainability standards.
Common questions
- What is Pettorano sul Gizio known for?
- At 656 meters above the Gizio river, a Cantelmo fortress town that guarded the gateway to the Peligna valley for four hundred years.
- Where is Pettorano sul Gizio?
- Pettorano sul Gizio is a comune in the province of L'Aquila, in Abruzzo.
- What is the nearest airport to Pettorano sul Gizio?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Pescara (PSR), about 1 h 14 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Pescara to Pettorano sul Gizio?
- About 1 h 10 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Pettorano sul Gizio?
- Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Pettorano sul Gizio?
- Pacentro, Introdacqua and Lama dei Peligni.
- How many people live in Pettorano sul Gizio?
- 1,259 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Pettorano sul Gizio a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Pettorano sul Gizio is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Sulmona, is 21 min away. The nearest city, Chieti, is 1 h away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Sulmona, 11 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 99% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 656 m
- Population: 1,259
- Surface area: 62.85 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 Pettorano sul Gizio appears in
- The prettiest villages inside a national park in the province of L'AquilaL'Aquila provinceinside a parkprettiest villages6 towns · smallest 105 residents
- The 10 prettiest small villages in the province of L'AquilaL'Aquila provinceprettiest villagessmall10 towns · smallest 105 residents
- The best mountain towns inside a national park within 90 minutes of PescaraNear Pescaramountaininside a parkwithin 90 min10 towns · smallest 105 residents · closest 68 min away
- The prettiest small villages inside a national park in AbruzzoAbruzzoinside a parkprettiest villagessmall10 towns · smallest 105 residents
- The prettiest villages inside a national park within 90 minutes of PescaraNear Pescarainside a parkwithin 90 minprettiest villages10 towns · smallest 105 residents · closest 48 min away
Similar
Towns like Pettorano sul Gizio
What all six share with Pettorano sul Gizio: mountain-valley towns · under 3,000 people · high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
The letter
Pettorano sul Gizio 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 Pettorano sul Gizio comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Scheggino, 124 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.