Campania · Caserta
Sessa Aurunca
Ancient Suessa Aurunca on the south slope of an extinct volcano, with a Romanesque cathedral of Cosmatesque mosaics built in 1103.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Sessa Aurunca is on our list
It holds Città dell'Olio and Città del Tartufo.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 12 min from Naples
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 20,093
- J12°
- F14°
- M15°
- A18°
- M23°
- J27°
- J31°
- A31°
- S27°
- O22°
- N17°
- D13°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Sessa Aurunca sits on the southwest slope of the extinct volcano Roccamonfina, between the Garigliano river and the Aurunci hills, forty kilometers west-northwest of Caserta. The Aurunci, the Italic people who held this land before Rome, gave the town its name; the Latin colony of Suessa Aurunca was founded here in 313 BC on the road between Capua and Rome. The Roman theater on the slope below the cathedral is one of the largest in southern Italy, with stage decoration found in the 2000s excavations now on display in the Castello Ducale.
The Cattedrale dei Santi Pietro e Paolo was built in 1103 over an Augustan-era temple, with twelve antique columns in the nave, an ambon and Easter candelabrum covered in Cosmatesque marble inlay, and a Byzantine-influenced apse. The commune is Città dell'Olio for the Aurunci olive groves, Città del Tartufo for the truffles of the Roccamonfina foothills, and lies on the Via Francigena del Sud between Rome and Brindisi.
How to get there
From Naples (NAP), about 1 h 8 min by car.
Rome Fiumicino (FCO) is about 2 h 24 min away.
By car from the center of Naples 1 h 12 min or Salerno 1 h 37 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming by train into Napoli Centrale? Sessa Aurunca is about 1 h 12 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Naples airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Cattedrale dei Santi Pietro e Paolo
Romanesque cathedral consecrated in 1113 with twelve antique columns, a Cosmatesque ambon and paschal candelabrum, and a Byzantine apse.
Teatro Romano di Sessa Aurunca
First-century Roman theater on the slope below the cathedral, one of the largest in southern Italy, with sculpted stage decoration recovered after 2000.
Castello Ducale
Medieval fortress rebuilt by the Lombards, the Normans and the Aragonese, now housing the civic museum with Roman finds from the theater.
Ponte degli Aurunci
Roman road viaduct below the town, 21 arches, built around the turn of the second century AD to carry the road across the Rio Travata valley.
Vulcano di Roccamonfina
Extinct volcano north of the town, with the Caldera trail through chestnut and oak forest used by truffle hunters in the Roccamonfina park.
Living here
Could you live here?
Sessa Aurunca meets 2 of our 3 rules for a small town.
- 20,093 people, above our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: big enough that it can split into neighborhoods.
- Caserta, a city of 72,793, is 59 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 20,093, down 8.1% since 2015
- Nearest city Caserta, 59 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €500 to €750 per m² to buy, €2.20 to €3.30 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
- In-between
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 81% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Naples airport (NAP), 1 h 8 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Naples, 1 h 12 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
4% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Ukraine and India, against 9% across Italy. 20 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly France. There are 259 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. Caserta province ranks 101st of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
There is an emergency room in the comune. The nearest major one is in Caserta, 39 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Caserta, 39 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 140 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Teodoro Monticelli International School, 35 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: check before you count on it. The limit rose to 30,000 people in April 2026 and guidance is still to come. The regime is 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.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone C, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 15 to March 31, up to 10 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 6% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 8% in a high or medium one. 7% 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
ROMANESQUE CATHEDRAL
Built 1103-1113 with twelve antique columns, Cosmatesque ambon and Easter candelabrum, one of the major Romanesque cathedrals in Campania.
ROMAN THEATER
First-century theater on the slope below the cathedral, one of the largest in southern Italy, restored after 2000 excavations.
AURUNCI OLIVE OIL
Terre Aurunche DOP olive groves on the volcanic slopes of Roccamonfina; the commune is part of the Città dell'Olio network.
OLIVA DI GAETA
The commune also lies inside the Oliva di Gaeta DOP production zone.
Common questions
- What is Sessa Aurunca known for?
- Ancient Suessa Aurunca on the south slope of an extinct volcano, with a Romanesque cathedral of Cosmatesque mosaics built in 1103.
- Where is Sessa Aurunca?
- Sessa Aurunca is a comune in the province of Caserta, in Campania, at 203 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Sessa Aurunca?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Naples (NAP), about 1 h 8 min by car.
- Can you get to Sessa Aurunca without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Naples to Sessa Aurunca?
- About 1 h 12 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Sessa Aurunca?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Sessa Aurunca?
- Venafro, Castellana Grotte and Conversano.
- How many people live in Sessa Aurunca?
- 20,093 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Sessa Aurunca a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Sessa Aurunca is a small town that meets 2 of our 3 rules. The nearest city, Caserta, is 59 min away by car. There is a national health service hospital in the comune. Full fibre reaches 81% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 203 m
- Population: 20,093
- Surface area: 162.18 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 Sessa Aurunca appears in
- The best olive oil towns within 90 minutes of NaplesNear Naplesolive oilwithin 90 min6 towns · smallest 3,542 residents · closest 53 min away
- The best hill towns you can reach by train within 90 minutes of NaplesNear Napleshill townby trainwithin 90 min7 towns · smallest 5,083 residents · closest 28 min away
- The best hill towns you can reach by train in CampaniaCampaniahill townby train8 towns · smallest 756 residents
- The 9 best olive oil towns in CampaniaCampaniaolive oil9 towns · smallest 904 residents
- The best hill towns within 75 minutes of NaplesNear Napleshill townwithin 75 min9 towns · smallest 756 residents · closest 28 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
Similar
Towns like Sessa Aurunca
What all six share with Sessa Aurunca: inland, away from the coast · over 10,000 people · hill towns · have a railway station in the comune
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