Abruzzo · L'Aquila
Scurcola Marsicana
At 700 meters below Monte San Nicola, the field where a medieval battle ended Swabian power in southern Italy.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Scurcola Marsicana is on our list
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 11 min from Rome
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 2,686
- J9°
- F12°
- M12°
- A15°
- M20°
- J25°
- 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
Scurcola Marsicana sits on the western rim of what was once the Fucine lake. The earliest finds in the area date to the ninth and eighth centuries BC; the toponym is Lombard and shows up around 1150, long before the events that made the place known. The village and its castle sit on the hill, the abbey and the battlefield lie on the plain below, and the mountain rises behind the whole arrangement: high ground, open ground, and the ruin that commemorates what happened on the open ground, all within sight of one another on the plain.
The commune has 2,686 residents today, and the Festone every August reenacts the Madonna della Vittoria tradition. A small town, then, built around a plain that settled a dynastic war.
How to get there
From Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 1 h 26 min by car.
Naples (NAP) is about 2 h 22 min away.
By car from the center of Pescara 1 h 20 min or Naples 2 h 27 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming by train into Roma Termini? Scurcola Marsicana is about 1 h 10 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Rome Fiumicino airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Ex Abbazia di Santa Maria della Vittoria
Now ruined but still readable: broken walls and arches standing in the open plain, the clearest physical trace left of the 1268 victory and the monks who once held the site.
Castello Orsini
Medieval fortress on the hill above the village, later passed to the Colonna family with the rest of the marquisate.
Piani Palentini
The wide plain stretches flat in front of the village, open ground with little to break the sightline, the kind of terrain that explains why an army would meet another here rather than in the hills.
Monte San Nicola
Apennine peak of about 1,265 meters above Scurcola, with a marked trail leading from the village to the summit.
Living here
Could you live here?
Scurcola Marsicana is a village with a town close by.
- A village of 2,686, with Tagliacozzo (6,416 people) 14 min away for the shopping and a meal out. Our rule is a town within 15 minutes.
- L'Aquila, a city of 70,425, is 36 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
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 2,686, down 5.2% since 2015
- Nearest city L'Aquila, 36 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Avezzano, 9 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €470 to €700 per m² to buy, €1.60 to €2.40 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Commuter belt
- 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
- Rome Ciampino airport (CIA), 1 h 9 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital L'Aquila, 36 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
6% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Morocco, Romania and China, against 9% across Italy. There are 256 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 49% 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 Avezzano, 9 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Rome, 75 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in L'Aquila, 37 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 73 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Little Genius International, 62 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 0.8% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €7,999. 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 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. 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.
Known for
BATTLE OF 1268
Charles of Anjou defeated Conradin of Hohenstaufen on the Piani Palentini on 23 August 1268, a battle cited in Dante's Inferno.
ABBAZIA DELLA VITTORIA
Cistercian abbey founded by Charles in 1274 and consecrated in 1278, built to commemorate the victory and house monks from Burgundy.
FESTONE
Annual August procession reenacting the Madonna della Vittoria tradition that grew up around the medieval abbey.
Common questions
- What is Scurcola Marsicana known for?
- At 700 meters below Monte San Nicola, the field where a medieval battle ended Swabian power in southern Italy.
- Where is Scurcola Marsicana?
- Scurcola Marsicana is a comune in the province of L'Aquila, in Abruzzo.
- What is the nearest airport to Scurcola Marsicana?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Rome Ciampino (CIA), about 1 h 9 min by car.
- Can you get to Scurcola Marsicana without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Pescara to Scurcola Marsicana?
- About 1 h 20 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Scurcola Marsicana?
- Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Scurcola Marsicana?
- Greccio, Sante Marie and Castiglione di Sicilia.
- How many people live in Scurcola Marsicana?
- 2,686 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Scurcola Marsicana a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Scurcola Marsicana is a village with a town of 5,000 people within 15 minutes (Tagliacozzo, 14 min). The nearest city, L'Aquila, is 36 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Avezzano, 9 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 98% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 700 m
- Population: 2,686
- Surface area: 30.38 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 Scurcola Marsicana appears in
- The best mountain towns you can reach by train within 90 minutes of RomeNear Romemountainby trainwithin 90 min6 towns · smallest 1,059 residents · closest 60 min away
- The 7 best small mountain towns you can reach by train in the province of L'AquilaL'Aquila provincemountainby trainsmall7 towns · smallest 512 residents
- The best hidden mountain towns within 90 minutes of RomeNear Romemountainwithin 90 minhidden10 towns · smallest 325 residents · closest 57 min away
- The best mountain towns within 75 minutes of RomeNear Romemountainwithin 75 min10 towns · smallest 273 residents · closest 57 min away
Similar
Towns like Scurcola Marsicana
What all six share with Scurcola Marsicana: mountain-valley towns · high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres · have a railway station in the comune
Greccio
Province: Rieti
both under 3,000 people
Sante Marie
Province: L'Aquila
both under 3,000 people
Castiglione di Sicilia
Province: Catania
both under 3,000 people
Pescina
Province: L'Aquila
31 min apart by road
Acerenza
Province: Potenza
both under 3,000 people
Capistrello
Province: L'Aquila
22 min apart by road
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