Molise · Isernia
Pizzone
A 300-person Mainarde village at 724 meters, above the Volturno springs.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Pizzone is on our list
It holds Borghi Autentici.
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 55 min from Naples
- Population
- 300
- J9°
- F11°
- M12°
- A15°
- M19°
- J25°
- J28°
- A28°
- S23°
- O18°
- N13°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Pizzone sits at 724 meters on the eastern flank of the range that closes the northern edge of Molise against the Abruzzo border. In 1990 the commune ceded part of its territory to the national park, together with Castel San Vincenzo, Rocchetta a Volturno, Filignano and Scapoli, adding high pasture and beech forest to what became the Mainarde sector. The karst plateau on Pizzone's own territory is one of the signature high meadows of the southern Apennines.
The Volturno springs at the foot of the range and the Rio Jemmare that crosses Pizzone feed the lake just below the village. The village itself is small, stone houses set on a ridge under the peaks, with the church at its center. A few kilometers north stands the abbey of San Vincenzo al Volturno. Pizzone reads as a mountain edge settlement: its territory gave ground to the park and kept the high meadow, while the water descending from its slopes shapes the lake and the abbey site below.
How to get there
From Naples (NAP), about 1 h 51 min by car.
Rome Fiumicino (FCO) is about 2 h 36 min away.
By car from the center of Naples 1 h 55 min, Salerno 2 h 20 min or Pescara 2 h 27 min.
Every town within reach of Naples airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Mainarde
Limestone mountain range on the Abruzzo-Molise border, the Molise sector of the Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise.
Pianoro delle Forme
Karst high meadow on Pizzone's territory, one of the signature plateaus of the southern Apennines and a summer pasture for grazing flocks.
Lago di Castel San Vincenzo
Turquoise artificial lake at the foot of the range, four kilometers downhill from the village.
Chiesa di San Marco Evangelista
Stone façade and bell tower on the ridge, the parish that anchors daily life for the village's residents.
Living here
Could you live here?
Pizzone is at the end of the road.
- A village of 300. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Castel di Sangro, is 42 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Isernia, a city of 20,529, is 42 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 300, down 11.8% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Isernia, 42 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Castel di Sangro, 15 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
- Remote
- Pharmacy: none mapped
- Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
- Full fibre reaches 79% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 1, Italy's highest hazard
- Naples airport (NAP), 1 h 51 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Campobasso, 1 h 31 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
1% of residents are foreign citizens, against 9% across Italy. There are 500 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 71% 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 Castel di Sangro, 15 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Caserta, 70 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 131 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Canadian College Italy, 69 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, 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 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 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. 56% 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
PARK SECTOR
Part of Pizzone's territory went to the Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise in 1990 to create the Mainarde sector.
MAINARDE
Limestone range on the Abruzzo-Molise border, the geographic anchor of the village and the highest country in this corner of Molise.
PIANORO DELLE FORME
Karst plateau on the commune's territory, a signature high meadow of the southern Apennines used for summer pasture.
Common questions
- What is Pizzone known for?
- Pizzone is a 300-person Mainarde village at 724 meters, above the Volturno springs.
- Where is Pizzone?
- Pizzone is a comune in the province of Isernia, in Molise.
- What is the nearest airport to Pizzone?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Naples (NAP), about 1 h 51 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Naples to Pizzone?
- About 1 h 55 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Pizzone?
- Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 28 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 16 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Pizzone?
- Castel San Vincenzo, Celle di San Vito and Faeto.
- How many people live in Pizzone?
- 300 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Pizzone a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Pizzone is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Castel di Sangro, is 42 min away. The nearest city, Isernia, is 42 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Castel di Sangro, 15 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 79% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 724 m
- Population: 300
- Surface area: 33.49 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 Pizzone appears in
- The best small towns inside a national park in MoliseMoliseinside a parksmall6 towns · smallest 300 residents
- The best mountain towns in the province of IserniaIsernia provincemountain7 towns · smallest 231 residents
- The best towns inside a national park in the province of IserniaIsernia provinceinside a park7 towns · smallest 300 residents
Similar
Towns like Pizzone
What all six share with Pizzone: mountain-valley towns · under 1,000 people · high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
The letter
Pizzone 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 Pizzone comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Terni, 152 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.