Campania · Avellino
Summonte
An Irpinia hill village at 738 meters on the slope of the Partenio massif, built around a 16-meter Angevin cylinder tower.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Summonte is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia and Città della Nocciola.
Subscribe and you get Summonte's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- May–Oct
- By car
- 55 min from Salerno
- Population
- 1,478
- J8°
- F10°
- M11°
- A14°
- M19°
- J24°
- J29°
- A28°
- S23°
- O18°
- N13°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Summonte sits at the foot of the Partenio massif, ten kilometers from Avellino. The name comes from the Latin Submontis, under the mountain. Pre-Roman tombs of the Osci show the slope was inhabited well before the current village, which dates from the 5th century when refugees from Nola, Abella and Abellinum took to the heights to escape the barbarian raids.
The borgo grew in concentric arcs around its tower, and the arrangement still reads on the ground: stone houses ring the base of Monte Vallatrone in rising bands, with the old center closest to the summit and the parish church down in the lower village. The Della Leonessa family held the fief through the late Middle Ages and the Doria del Carretto controlled it for two centuries until feudalism ended in 1806. Hazelnuts from the surrounding slopes feed the Avellino industrial chain that supplies Nutella and the pasticceria of Naples.
The shape of Summonte, refuge above, orchard below, is the same logic repeated twice: the village climbed the mountain for safety, and the economy came back down it for trade.
How to get there
From Naples (NAP), about 52 min by car.
Bari (BRI) is about 2 h 45 min away.
By car from the center of Salerno 55 min, Naples 56 min or Bari 2 h 49 min.
Coming by train into Napoli Centrale? Summonte is about 54 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Naples airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Torre Angioina
Built 13th-14th century on the ruins of a Norman-Swabian castle, the tower stands as the center and emblem of the village on Monte Vallatrone, its cylinder rising clear of the rooftops.
Centro storico di Summonte
Concentric medieval village wrapped around the tower, stone houses climbing the slope with views across the Partenio.
Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore
Parish church in the lower village, with a Baroque interior reconstructed after the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.
Parco Regionale del Partenio
Regional park covering the wooded massif east of town, with hazelnut groves on the lower slopes and beech forest above 1,000 meters.
Living here
Could you live here?
Summonte is a village with a town close by.
- A village of 1,478, with Avellino (51,975 people) 15 min away for the shopping and a meal out. Our rule is a town within 15 minutes.
- Avellino, a city of 51,975, is 15 min by car. Closer than our 30 to 60 minutes: handy for everything, so check the town still keeps a life of its own.
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 1,478, down 10.2% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Avellino, 15 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Avellino, 5 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €680 to €810 per m² to buy, €2.40 to €3.00 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Commuter belt
- Pharmacy: none mapped
- Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
- Full fibre reaches 76% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Naples airport (NAP), 52 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Naples, 56 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
4% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Ukraine and Albania, against 9% across Italy. There are 251 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 34% 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 Avellino, 5 km as the crow flies, and it is a major one. It has a children's emergency room too. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 215 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is École Francaise de Naples Alexandre-Dumas, 45 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 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 0.8% 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. 2% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods. 20% 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
TORRE ANGIOINA
Sixteen-meter cylindrical tower built around the stub of a Norman castle razed by Roger II in 1134, visible from across the Partenio.
NOCCIOLA
Hazelnut groves on the lower slope feed the Avellino industrial chain that supplies Italian pasticceria and Ferrero.
PARTENIO
Slope of Monte Vallatrone at 738 meters, part of the Partenio regional park, with beech forest above 1,000 meters.
Common questions
- What is Summonte known for?
- Summonte is an Irpinia hill village at 738 meters on the slope of the Partenio massif, built around a 16-meter Angevin cylinder tower.
- Where is Summonte?
- Summonte is a comune in the province of Avellino, in Campania.
- What is the nearest airport to Summonte?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Naples (NAP), about 52 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Salerno to Summonte?
- About 55 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Summonte?
- Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 16 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Summonte?
- Oratino, Sepino and Greccio.
- How many people live in Summonte?
- 1,478 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Summonte a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Summonte is a village with a town of 5,000 people within 15 minutes (Avellino, 15 min). The nearest city, Avellino, is 15 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Avellino, 5 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 76% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 738 m
- Population: 1,478
- Surface area: 12.37 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 Summonte appears in
- The prettiest villages inside a nature park within 90 minutes of SalernoNear Salernoinside a parkwithin 90 minprettiest villages6 towns · smallest 644 residents · closest 16 min away
- The best wine towns within 90 minutes of NaplesNear Napleswithin 90 minwine zone7 towns · smallest 756 residents · closest 53 min away
- The prettiest villages in the province of AvellinoAvellino provinceprettiest villages7 towns · smallest 682 residents
- The best mountain towns within 90 minutes of SalernoNear Salernomountainwithin 90 min9 towns · smallest 720 residents · closest 55 min away
- The best small mountain towns in CampaniaCampaniamountainsmall10 towns · smallest 619 residents
- The prettiest villages within 90 minutes of SalernoNear Salernowithin 90 minprettiest villages10 towns · smallest 644 residents · closest 16 min away
Similar
Towns like Summonte
What all six share with Summonte: mountain-valley towns · under 3,000 people · high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
The letter
Summonte is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Summonte comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Cerveteri, 249 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.