Puglia · Bari
Poggiorsini
The smallest commune in metropolitan Bari, an Orsini estate of 1609 that became an independent town only in 1957.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Poggiorsini is on our list
It holds Borghi Autentici.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 14 min from Bari
- Population
- 1,275
- J11°
- F13°
- M14°
- A18°
- M24°
- J30°
- J34°
- A33°
- S27°
- O22°
- N16°
- D13°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
The name records the founding family. The Orsini dukes of Gravina bought the rural estate in 1609 and turned it into a working settlement, raising the ducal palazzo and the parish church of Maria Santissima dei Sette Dolori between 1723 and 1727. Until 1957 the village was a frazione of Gravina, administered from outside its own borders even as the palazzo and church gave it the shape of a town; only in that year did it become an autonomous commune, and with 1,275 residents it remains the smallest in the metropolitan city.
The village sits on the Alta Murgia, fifty-five kilometers south of Bari, entirely inside the national park that carries the plateau's name. Three kilometers north, on the road between Gravina and Spinazzola, a fortress ruin stands on a Murgia outcrop above the old road that once linked the two towns, listed among the emperor's holdings and predating the town itself by centuries. The current parish church replaced the older building after the 1930 Vulture earthquake, so the settlement's oldest structure sits outside it, on the plateau, while the village center is largely a rebuilt one. What the estate's late founding and its small size add up to is a place whose civic history is short and legible: bought, built, and only recently let govern itself, set inside a landscape far older than any of its buildings.
How to get there
From Bari (BRI), about 1 h 9 min by car.
Naples (NAP) is about 3 h 5 min away.
By car from the center of Bari 1 h 14 min, Salerno 2 h 33 min or Lecce 3 h 1 min.
Coming by train into Bari Centrale? Poggiorsini is about 1 h 17 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Bari airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Castello del Garagnone
Norman fortress on a Murgia ridge three kilometers north, rebuilt by Frederick II in 1220 to control the Appian Way; now ruins in the national park.
Chiesa di Maria Santissima Addolorata
Three-nave parish church built shortly after the 1930 Vulture earthquake, the centerpiece of the modern village.
Palazzo Orsini
Ducal palace raised by the Orsini family between 1723 and 1727 when they reorganized the rural estate into a town.
Parco Nazionale dell'Alta Murgia
National park of karst plateau, dolines and pseudosteppe, with Europe's largest population of lesser kestrels nesting in the rock outcrops.
Living here
Could you live here?
Poggiorsini is at the end of the road.
- A village of 1,275. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Spinazzola, is 19 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Altamura, a city of 70,163, 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 1,275, down 8.1% since 2015
- Nearest city Altamura, 42 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Corato, 22 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €480 to €700 per m² to buy, €1.40 to €2.00 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Remote
- Pharmacy: none mapped
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 99% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Bari airport (BRI), 1 h 9 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Bari, 1 h 14 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
5% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Tunisia, Albania and Georgia, against 9% across Italy. There are 239 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 38% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Bari province ranks 67th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Corato, 22 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Potenza, 47 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Barletta, 41 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 332 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is International School of Brindisi, 144 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, 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 Puglia spends about €1,500 a month, €440 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €545 a year for water, on the Puglia average. In Bari, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.21, a meal in a pizzeria €11.13 and a man's haircut €14.53.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone D, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 1 to April 15, up to 12 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. Under 1% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods. They show no residents in a high landslide zone.
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
SMALLEST IN BARI
Fewer than 1,300 residents, the smallest commune in the metropolitan city, autonomous only since 1957 after centuries as a Gravina frazione.
GARAGNONE
Norman castle ruins three kilometers north, rebuilt by Frederick II in 1220, an outpost on the Appian Way between Gravina and Spinazzola.
ALTA MURGIA
Inside the national park on the karst plateau at 461 meters, dolines, pseudosteppe and lesser kestrels in the rock.
LENTICCHIA DI ALTAMURA
The commune lies inside the Lenticchia di Altamura IGP production zone.
Common questions
- What is Poggiorsini known for?
- Poggiorsini is the smallest commune in metropolitan Bari, an Orsini estate of 1609 that became an independent town only in 1957.
- Where is Poggiorsini?
- Poggiorsini is a comune in the province of Bari, in Puglia, at 461 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Poggiorsini?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Bari (BRI), about 1 h 9 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Bari to Poggiorsini?
- About 1 h 14 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Poggiorsini?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 34 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 12 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Poggiorsini?
- San Mauro Forte, Grottole and Miglionico.
- How many people live in Poggiorsini?
- 1,275 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Poggiorsini a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Poggiorsini is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Spinazzola, is 19 min away. The nearest city, Altamura, is 42 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Corato, 22 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 99% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 461 m
- Population: 1,275
- Surface area: 43.44 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 Poggiorsini appears in
- The best small hill towns in PugliaPugliahill townsmall6 towns · smallest 1,275 residents
- The best hill towns inside a national park in PugliaPugliahill towninside a park7 towns · smallest 1,275 residents
- The best towns known for what they grow within 75 minutes of BariNear Bariwithin 75 minproduce zone7 towns · smallest 1,275 residents · closest 39 min away
Similar
Towns like Poggiorsini
What all six share with Poggiorsini: inland, away from the coast · under 3,000 people · hill towns
The letter
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