Molise · Campobasso
Ripalimosani
A sandstone-ridge village at 640 meters above the Biferno valley, the historic land of the funai rope makers and a Tintilia wine commune.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Ripalimosani is on our list
It holds Borghi Autentici and Città del Vino.
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Oct
- By car
- 2 h 12 min from Pescara
- Population
- 2,985
- J9°
- F12°
- M13°
- A16°
- M21°
- J27°
- J31°
- A31°
- S25°
- O21°
- N15°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Ripalimosani sits at 640 meters on a sandstone ridge above the Biferno valley, six kilometers north of Campobasso. The village is historically defined as la terra dei funai, the land of the rope makers: between the nineteenth century and the early twentieth a small industry of hemp cordage flourished here, the long ropewalks laid out along the ridge above the valley. The Tintilia grape, the only indigenous red grape of Molise and a DOC since 2011, has its surviving vineyards in the hills around Campobasso, Ferrazzano, Cercemaggiore and Ripalimosani; one of the region's organic Tintilia producers, Agricola Vinica, works the slopes below the village.
The centro storico is stone, the mother church is Santa Maria Assunta, and the Convento di San Pietro Celestino sits on the edge of the borgo. Ripalimosani holds Borghi Autentici and Città del Vino at once, a combination it shares with few of its size in Molise.
How to get there
From Naples (NAP), about 2 h 29 min by car.
Bari (BRI) is about 3 h 5 min away.
By car from the center of Pescara 2 h 12 min, Salerno 2 h 33 min or Naples 2 h 34 min.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Centro storico
Stone village on a sandstone ridge above the Biferno, with the historic ropewalks of the funai still legible in the long, narrow back streets.
Chiesa Madre Santa Maria Assunta
Mother church of the village, central piazza, the historic parish around which the borgo grew through the nineteenth century.
Convento di San Pietro Celestino
Celestine convent on the edge of the borgo, named for the hermit pope and a quiet survival of the order's Molise presence.
Vigne di Tintilia
Surviving vineyards of Molise's only indigenous red grape, worked on the slopes below the village by organic producer Agricola Vinica.
Living here
Could you live here?
Ripalimosani is a village with a town close by.
- A village of 2,985, with Campobasso (47,547 people) 12 min away for the shopping and a meal out. Our rule is a town within 15 minutes.
- Campobasso, a city of 47,547, is 13 min by car. Closer than our 30 to 60 minutes: handy for everything, so check the town still keeps a life of its own.
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 2,985, down 5.7% since 2015
- Nearest city Campobasso, 13 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Campobasso, 5 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €750 to €1,100 per m² to buy, €3.00 to €4.40 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Commuter belt
- Pharmacy: none mapped
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 91% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Pescara airport (PSR), 2 h 16 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Campobasso, 13 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
5% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Nigeria, Bangladesh and Argentina, against 9% across Italy. There are 224 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 31% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Campobasso province ranks 73rd of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Campobasso, 5 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Benevento, 52 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 183 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Canadian College Italy, 73 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 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. Under 1% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate medium for floods. 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
FUNAI
Historic rope-maker town: between the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries a small industry of hemp cordage worked the ridge.
TINTILIA
One of the surviving Molise communes for Tintilia, the region's only indigenous red grape, DOC since 2011.
CONVENTO CELESTINO
Celestine convent on the edge of the borgo, the local trace of Pope Celestine V's hermit order in inner Molise.
Common questions
- What is Ripalimosani known for?
- Ripalimosani is a sandstone-ridge village at 640 meters above the Biferno valley, the historic land of the funai rope makers and a Tintilia wine commune.
- Where is Ripalimosani?
- Ripalimosani is a comune in the province of Campobasso, in Molise.
- What is the nearest airport to Ripalimosani?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Pescara (PSR), about 2 h 16 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Pescara to Ripalimosani?
- About 2 h 12 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Ripalimosani?
- Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Ripalimosani?
- Ferrazzano, Brentonico and Pescina.
- How many people live in Ripalimosani?
- 2,985 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Ripalimosani a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Ripalimosani is a village with a town of 5,000 people within 15 minutes (Campobasso, 12 min). The nearest city, Campobasso, is 13 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Campobasso, 5 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 91% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 640 m
- Population: 2,985
- Surface area: 33.83 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 Ripalimosani
What all six share with Ripalimosani: mountain-valley towns · between 3,000 and 10,000 people · high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
The letter
Ripalimosani 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 Ripalimosani comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Scheggino, 194 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.