Abruzzo · L'Aquila
Rivisondoli
At 1,320 meters on the Cinque Miglia plateau, a village known for its Epiphany living nativity.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Rivisondoli is on our list.
Subscribe and you get Rivisondoli's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar
- By car
- 1 h 29 min from Pescara
- Population
- 659
- J5°
- F8°
- M8°
- A11°
- M16°
- J21°
- J25°
- A24°
- 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
Rivisondoli sits on the flank of Monte Calvario, looking down at the plateau that runs north toward Roccaraso. The town was first recorded in 724 in a diploma of Grimoald II, Duke of Benevento, and grew in the 12th century along the Via degli Abruzzi, the military and trade route across the central Apennines. It was once known for its weapons production. The 1792 fire destroyed most of the village, and the opening of the Sulmona-Isernia railway in the 19th century turned it toward tourism rather than trade. The Italian royal family kept a residence here in 1913.
Rivisondoli and Roccaraso face each other across the Cinque Miglia plateau, close enough that their ski slopes were joined into one domain and their names are now said together. The older village, rebuilt twice, climbs one flank of the mountain while the plateau below stays open and treeless, the same ground that once slowed traders and caravans on the route through the Apennines. What began as a stop on a military road became, after fire and war remade the town twice, a place oriented instead toward winter visitors and a single night in January.
How to get there
From Naples (NAP), about 2 h 17 min by car.
Rome Fiumicino (FCO) is about 2 h 39 min away.
By car from the center of Pescara 1 h 29 min or Naples 2 h 21 min.
Coming by train into Pescara Centrale? Rivisondoli is about 1 h 30 min away by road.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Alto Sangro ski area
The lift network runs between 1,309 and 2,142 meters, joining Rivisondoli's slopes to Roccaraso's across the open plateau.
Presepe Vivente
Hundreds of villagers in period costume take the hillside outside town for the performance, the cast spread across the open ground rather than a stage.
Altopiano delle Cinque Miglia
Treeless and averaging 1,250 meters, the plateau in the Alto Sangro is prone to extreme winter winds, a stretch that historically caught travelers unprepared.
Centro storico
Rebuilt after the 1792 fire and again after WWII damage along the Gustav Line, the village climbs the southern flank of Monte Calvario.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Da GiocondoRistorante
Da Giocondo carries a Michelin Bib Gourmand.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Rivisondoli is at the end of the road.
- A village of 659. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Castel di Sangro, is 27 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Isernia, a city of 20,529, 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 659, down 4.4% since 2015
- Nearest city Isernia, 1 h drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Castel di Sangro, 11 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,850 to €2,500 per m² to buy, €4.30 to €6.40 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Very remote
- Pharmacy: none mapped
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 99% of homes
- No primary school in the comune's register
- Earthquake zone 1, Italy's highest hazard
- Pescara airport (PSR), 1 h 41 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital L'Aquila, 1 h 43 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
6% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from North Macedonia and Romania, against 9% across Italy. There are 464 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 89% 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 Castel di Sangro, 11 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Caserta, 90 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, 48 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.14% 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. 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 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. Under 1% 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.
Thermal baths in town: Terme Alte.
Known for
ALTO SANGRO
Half of the linked ski domain shared with Roccaraso, 90+ kilometers of slopes, the largest in central and southern Italy.
PRESEPE VIVENTE
The January 5 Living Nativity, one of the oldest large-cast presepi viventi in Italy, performed on the slopes outside town.
CINQUE MIGLIA
The high plateau between Rivisondoli and Roccaraso, an exposed karst landscape where historical caravans froze in winter storms.
Common questions
- What is Rivisondoli known for?
- At 1,320 meters on the Cinque Miglia plateau, a village known for its Epiphany living nativity.
- Where is Rivisondoli?
- Rivisondoli is a comune in the province of L'Aquila, in Abruzzo, at 1320 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Rivisondoli?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Pescara (PSR), about 1 h 41 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Pescara to Rivisondoli?
- About 1 h 29 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Rivisondoli?
- 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 Rivisondoli?
- Barrea, Scontrone and Capracotta.
- How many people live in Rivisondoli?
- 659 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Rivisondoli a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Rivisondoli is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Castel di Sangro, is 27 min away. The nearest city, Isernia, is 1 h away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Castel di Sangro, 11 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 99% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 1320 m
- Population: 659
- Surface area: 32 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 Rivisondoli appears in
- The best hidden towns inside a national park that eat well within 90 minutes of PescaraNear Pescarainside a parkwithin 90 mineats wellhidden6 towns · smallest 659 residents · closest 48 min away
- The best hidden towns with a serious restaurant in the province of L'AquilaL'Aquila provinceserious restauranthidden6 towns · smallest 659 residents
- The 7 best small towns that eat well in the province of L'AquilaL'Aquila provinceeats wellsmall7 towns · smallest 659 residents
- The best towns inside a national park that have a serious restaurant in AbruzzoAbruzzoinside a parkserious restaurant7 towns · smallest 659 residents
- The best hidden towns with a serious restaurant that eat well within 90 minutes of PescaraNear Pescarawithin 90 minserious restauranteats wellhidden8 towns · smallest 659 residents · closest 26 min away
- The best ski towns inside a national park within 90 minutes of PescaraNear Pescaraski areainside a parkwithin 90 min8 towns · smallest 659 residents · closest 49 min away
Similar
Towns like Rivisondoli
What all six share with Rivisondoli: high in the mountains · under 1,000 people · mountain towns above 1,000 metres
The letter
Read a sample letter
Chioggia | Everyone is wrong about this town
It’s not an alternative to Venice
Letters from the towns we visit. Free.
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.