Abruzzo · L'Aquila
Sulmona
In the Valle Peligna, birthplace of Ovid in 43 BC and home of the sugared-almond confetti craft since the 15th century.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 57 min from Pescara
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 21,759
- J10°
- F13°
- M13°
- A17°
- M22°
- J27°
- J31°
- A31°
- S26°
- O21°
- N15°
- D12°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Sulmona sits in the Valle Peligna, at the confluence of the Gizio and Vella rivers, ringed by the Maiella, the Morrone and the Genzana ranges. The Roman poet Ovid was born here in 43 BC and never stopped writing about the salubrity of its water, a claim still made by the town. Under Frederick II in the 13th century, Sulmona became the capital of the imperial province of Abruzzo and got the aqueduct of Manfred of Swabia, which still defines the long side of Piazza Garibaldi.
The town rebuilt after the earthquakes of 1456 and 1706 and became the home of confetti, the sugared-almond confection given at weddings and baptisms. Confetti Pelino, the best-known house, has been producing in town since 1783. Every July, the Giostra Cavalleresca brings out the city's seven boroughs in Renaissance procession from the Cathedral of San Panfilo, ending in a ring-jousting tournament in Piazza Garibaldi.
How to get there
From Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 2 h 5 min by car.
Ancona (AOI) is about 2 h 32 min away.
By car from the center of Pescara 57 min or Ancona 2 h 28 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Rome?
Coming by train into Pescara Centrale? Sulmona is about 59 min away by road.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Piazza Garibaldi
The town's main piazza, dominated on its long side by the 13th-century aqueduct of Manfred of Swabia, host of the July Giostra Cavalleresca.
Cattedrale di San Panfilo
Cathedral of the city's patron, the oldest church in Sulmona, starting point of the Giostra historical procession.
Palazzo dell'Annunziata
Late-Gothic and Renaissance palace on Corso Ovidio with three different facade phases visible, now housing the civic museum.
Museo dell'Arte e Tecnologia Confettiera Pelino
Confetti museum at the Pelino factory, in operation since 1783, with original 19th-century pans and molds.
Giostra Cavalleresca
July tournament with the seven boroughs of the city sending knights to thread rings on horseback, reviving a joust first recorded in 1475.
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.
ClementeTrattoria
A Michelin Bib Gourmand for Clemente, along with a Slow Food snail and a Gambero Rosso listing.
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.
Signature dish
Confetti di SulmonaSweet
Sugared almonds shaped into flowers and bouquets, a craft Sulmona has kept since the Renaissance.
See every town in our catalogue with a dish of its own.
Living here
Could you live here?
Sulmona meets 2 of our 3 rules for a small town.
- 21,759 people, above our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: big enough that it can split into neighborhoods.
- Chieti, a city of 48,403, is 47 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 21,759, down 12.2% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Chieti, 47 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €550 to €950 per m² to buy, €1.90 to €4.00 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
- Remote
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 92% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 1, Italy's highest hazard
- Pescara airport (PSR), 1 h 5 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital L'Aquila, 1 h 14 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
6% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Albania and Ukraine, against 9% across Italy. 26 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United Kingdom and the United States. There are 339 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 26% 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
There is an emergency room in the comune. The nearest major one is in Latina, 108 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 121 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Canadian College Italy, 43 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.03% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.5% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €4,000. 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 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 D, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 1 to April 15, up to 12 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. Under 1% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 1% in a high or medium one. 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
CONFETTI
Italian sugared-almond confection produced in Sulmona since the 15th century, with Confetti Pelino operating in town since 1783.
OVID
The Roman poet was born in Sulmona in 43 BC, and the town adopted his initials SMPE (Sulmo Mihi Patria Est) as its civic mark.
GIOSTRA
Annual July ring-jousting tournament of the seven city boroughs, in Renaissance costume, reviving a joust first recorded in 1475.
Common questions
- What is Sulmona known for?
- At 405 meters in the Valle Peligna, birthplace of Ovid in 43 BC and home of the sugared-almond confetti craft since the 15th century.
- Where is Sulmona?
- Sulmona is a comune in the province of L'Aquila, in Abruzzo.
- What is the nearest airport to Sulmona?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Pescara (PSR), about 1 h 5 min by car.
- Can you get to Sulmona 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 Sulmona?
- About 57 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Sulmona?
- 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 Sulmona?
- Isernia, Pisticci and Melfi.
- How many people live in Sulmona?
- 21,759 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Sulmona a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Sulmona is a small town that meets 2 of our 3 rules. The nearest city, Chieti, is 47 min away by car. There is a national health service hospital in the comune. Full fibre reaches 92% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 405 m
- Population: 21,759
- Surface area: 57.93 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 Sulmona appears in
- The best towns inside a national park that have a serious restaurant in AbruzzoAbruzzoinside a parkserious restaurant7 towns · smallest 659 residents
- The best towns you can reach by train that have a serious restaurant in AbruzzoAbruzzoby trainserious restaurant7 towns · smallest 4,957 residents
- The 8 best hill towns that eat well within 90 minutes of PescaraNear Pescarahill townwithin 90 mineats well8 towns · smallest 4,169 residents · closest 25 min away
- The best hill towns in the province of L'AquilaL'Aquila provincehill town8 towns · smallest 440 residents
- The best towns with a serious restaurant that you can reach by train within 90 minutes of PescaraNear Pescaraby trainwithin 90 minserious restaurant8 towns · smallest 13,275 residents · closest 26 min away
- The best towns that eat well in the province of L'AquilaL'Aquila provinceeats well10 towns · smallest 659 residents
Similar
Towns like Sulmona
What all six share with Sulmona: inland, away from the coast · over 10,000 people · hill towns · have a railway station in the comune
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.
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