Abruzzo · L'Aquila
Roccaraso
At 1,236 meters, the south of Italy's largest ski resort, leveled in 1943 and rebuilt from rubble.
Picked by Peter Benei
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Visiting
- Best time
- Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar
- By car
- 1 h 34 min from Pescara
- Population
- 1,492
- 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
The town sits where the plateaus of Aremogna and Pizzalto meet the higher ground toward Monte Greco, the peak that anchors the whole range at 2,283 meters. The two plateaus are joined by lift, grazed and hiked in summer, cut into pistes in winter: the same trails serve both seasons under different cover. Four kilometers uphill sits the older, smaller settlement, a medieval frazione that took the weight of the war the valley town below did not escape either.
The Germans dug into the Gustav Line where it crossed through here, the Allies bombed in response, and the town below was leveled along with it. What stands in Roccaraso now was rebuilt after that, stone by stone, from what the bombing left. The first ski lift on Monte Zurrone went up in 1936, years before any of it, and skiing resumed after the rebuilding and never really stopped.
The area has held its place as the south's ski capital since, though the snow line keeps rising: in January 2024 only twenty of Abruzzo's 122 pistes were open. A resort built twice, once by engineers before the war and once by survivors after it, still runs on the same slopes either way.
How to get there
From Naples (NAP), about 2 h 13 min by car.
Rome Fiumicino (FCO) is about 2 h 40 min away.
By car from the center of Pescara 1 h 34 min or Naples 2 h 17 min.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta
Baroque travertine façade, gilded walnut pulpit in the shape of a Greek cross, painted and gilded wooden organs.
Pietransieri
Medieval frazione where the Limmari Massacre took place; the Gold Medal of Military Valour recognizes what its people lost that winter.
Piano Aremogna
High pasture and ski terrain at 1,650 meters, the eastern flank of the Alto Sangro ski domain.
Pizzalto
Second major ski plateau, connected to Aremogna by lift, used for summer hiking and grazing in the warm months.
Monte Greco
At 2,283 meters, the highest peak in the surrounding range and the geographical anchor of the ski area.
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.
ChichibioRistorante
Two Gambero Rosso forks (81/100) for Chichibio, along with a place in L'Espresso's Top 300 and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
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?
Roccaraso is at the end of the road.
- A village of 1,492. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Castel di Sangro, is 23 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Isernia, a city of 20,529, is 56 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 1,492, down 7.2% since 2015
- Nearest city Isernia, 56 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Castel di Sangro, 8 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,950 to €2,850 per m² to buy, €4.90 to €7.10 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Very remote
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 98% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 1, Italy's highest hazard
- Pescara airport (PSR), 1 h 42 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital L'Aquila, 1 h 49 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
6% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Kosovo, North Macedonia and Poland, against 9% across Italy. There are 305 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 85% 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, 8 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Caserta, 88 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 132 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Canadian College Italy, 50 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. 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. 2% 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
ALTO SANGRO
160 km of slopes and 36 lifts shared with Rivisondoli, the largest ski area in central and southern Italy.
GUSTAV LINE
Leveled by Allied bombing in 1943 when the German defensive line cut through town; rebuilt entirely after the war.
PIETRANSIERI
The frazione 4 km uphill awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valour for civilian sacrifices during the 1943-44 winter.
Common questions
- What is Roccaraso known for?
- At 1,236 meters, the south of Italy's largest ski resort, leveled in 1943 and rebuilt from rubble.
- Where is Roccaraso?
- Roccaraso is a comune in the province of L'Aquila, in Abruzzo, at 1236 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Roccaraso?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Pescara (PSR), about 1 h 42 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Pescara to Roccaraso?
- About 1 h 34 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Roccaraso?
- 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 Roccaraso?
- Pescocostanzo, Sappada and Ponte di Legno.
- How many people live in Roccaraso?
- 1,492 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Roccaraso a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Roccaraso is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Castel di Sangro, is 23 min away. The nearest city, Isernia, is 56 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Castel di Sangro, 8 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 98% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 1236 m
- Population: 1,492
- Surface area: 49.91 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 Roccaraso appears in
- 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 in AbruzzoAbruzzoserious restauranthidden10 towns · smallest 659 residents
- The best small ski towns in the province of L'AquilaL'Aquila provinceski areasmall10 towns · smallest 576 residents
- The best towns that eat well in the province of L'AquilaL'Aquila provinceeats well10 towns · smallest 659 residents
Similar
Towns like Roccaraso
What all six share with Roccaraso: high in the mountains · under 3,000 people · mountain towns above 1,000 metres
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