Campania · Avellino
Savignano Irpino
A 718-meter stone borgo above the Cervaro valley on the Campania-Apulia border, called Savignano di Puglia until 1963.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Savignano Irpino is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia.
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 47 min from Salerno
- Population
- 1,021
- J8°
- F10°
- M11°
- A14°
- M20°
- J26°
- J30°
- A29°
- S24°
- O19°
- N13°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Savignano Irpino sits at 718 meters on the edge of Irpinia, where the province narrows toward Apulia. The Latin name Sabinius points to a Roman landowner, but the village as it stands now grew up between the seventh and eighth centuries around a defensive castle on the high ground. Under the Normans it became part of a barony dependent on Ariano Irpino, with Ferrara and Greci.
In 1193, during Tancredi d'Altavilla's reign, governor Sarolo Guarna was executed on the castle tower. In 1445 the Guevara family, Spanish nobles, turned the medieval manor into a lordly residence; their name still attaches to the castle. The town was called Savignano di Puglia until 1963, when the border-of-region status pushed the rename.
The Mother Church of San Nicola and Sant'Anna and the Castello Guevara anchor the medieval core. It joined the Borghi più belli network in 2016.
How to get there
From Naples (NAP), about 1 h 49 min by car.
Bari (BRI) is about 1 h 58 min away.
By car from the center of Salerno 1 h 47 min, Naples 1 h 53 min or Bari 2 h 1 min.
Coming by train into Foggia? Savignano Irpino is about 1 h 1 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Naples airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Castello Guevara
Norman fortress on the high point of the village, rebuilt in 1445 by the Guevara family who held the fief for generations.
Chiesa Madre di San Nicola e Sant'Anna
Mother church on a medieval sacred site, its bell tower originally a watchtower over the Cervaro valley below.
Centro storico
Compact stone-built medieval core between castle and church, Borghi più belli member since 2016.
Valle del Cervaro-Miscano
Surrounding valley of wheat fields and pasture between Campania and Apulia, traversed by the regio tratturo transhumance routes.
Living here
Could you live here?
Savignano Irpino is at the end of the road.
- A village of 1,021. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Ariano Irpino, is 23 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Benevento, a city of 55,712, is 57 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 1,021, down 11.1% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Benevento, 57 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Ariano Irpino, 9 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €440 to €530 per m² to buy, €1.90 to €2.30 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 90% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Naples airport (NAP), 1 h 49 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Naples, 1 h 53 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
7% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Morocco, Bangladesh and Tunisia, against 9% across Italy. There are 291 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 67% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Avellino province ranks 77th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Ariano Irpino, 9 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Benevento, 34 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Benevento, 34 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 236 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is École Francaise de Naples Alexandre-Dumas, 91 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 0.96% 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 0.2% 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 Campania spends about €1,800 a month, €650 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €328 a year for water, on the Campania average. In Avellino, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.20, a meal in a pizzeria €16.06 and a man's haircut €15.95.
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. 7% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate medium for floods. 80% 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
GUEVARA CASTLE
Norman keep on the high ground, rebuilt in 1445 by the Spanish Guevara family who held Savignano as a fief for generations.
CACIOCAVALLO
Cervaro-Miscano valley pastures feed cows that produce the spun-curd caciocavallo, including the Caciocavallo Silano PDO.
BORDER BORGO
Called Savignano di Puglia until 1963, the rename to Irpino marked its administrative loyalty to Campania over the Apulian plain it overlooks.
IRPINIA - COLLINE DELL'UFITA
The commune lies inside the Irpinia - Colline dell'Ufita DOP production zone.
Common questions
- What is Savignano Irpino known for?
- Savignano Irpino is a 718-meter stone borgo above the Cervaro valley on the Campania-Apulia border, called Savignano di Puglia until 1963.
- Where is Savignano Irpino?
- Savignano Irpino is a comune in the province of Avellino, in Campania, at 718 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Savignano Irpino?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Naples (NAP), about 1 h 49 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Salerno to Savignano Irpino?
- About 1 h 47 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Savignano Irpino?
- Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Savignano Irpino?
- Trentinara, Lama dei Peligni and Caldes.
- How many people live in Savignano Irpino?
- 1,021 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Savignano Irpino a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Savignano Irpino is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Ariano Irpino, is 23 min away. The nearest city, Benevento, is 57 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Ariano Irpino, 9 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 90% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 718 m
- Population: 1,021
- Surface area: 38.47 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 Savignano Irpino appears in
- The prettiest small villages within 90 minutes of FoggiaNear Foggiawithin 90 minprettiest villagessmall6 towns · smallest 682 residents · closest 34 min away
- The prettiest villages in the province of AvellinoAvellino provinceprettiest villages7 towns · smallest 682 residents
- The best mountain towns within 90 minutes of FoggiaNear Foggiamountainwithin 90 min9 towns · smallest 142 residents · closest 34 min away
- The best olive oil towns within two hours of SalernoNear Salernowithin 2 hoursolive oil zone9 towns · smallest 904 residents · closest 59 min away
- The prettiest villages within 90 minutes of FoggiaNear Foggiawithin 90 minprettiest villages9 towns · smallest 682 residents · closest 34 min away
- The best olive oil towns within two hours of NaplesNear Napleswithin 2 hoursolive oil zone10 towns · smallest 904 residents · closest 70 min away
Similar
Towns like Savignano Irpino
What all six share with Savignano Irpino: mountain-valley towns · under 3,000 people · high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
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