Abruzzo · Pescara
Tocco da Casauria
A 356-meter hill town between the Pescara river and the Maiella, built around a Carolingian abbey and an herb liqueur called Centerba.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Tocco da Casauria is on our list
It holds Città del Vino and Città dell'Olio.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 47 min from Pescara
- Population
- 2,346
- J11°
- F14°
- M14°
- A17°
- M22°
- J27°
- J31°
- A30°
- S26°
- O22°
- N16°
- D12°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Tocco sits on a hill between the Pescara river and the Arolle stream, with the Maiella massif behind it. The town is first recorded in 872 as an estate under the abbey nearby, which Louis II founded in fulfillment of a vow made during his imprisonment in Benevento. The abbey held the relics of Pope Clement I.
The town was simply Tocco until after Italian unification in 1861, when Casauria was added to its name to honor the abbey it grew up beside. The centro storico is dominated by the Caracciolo Castle, rebuilt in Renaissance style after the 1456 earthquake, while the lower slopes toward the Pescara valley carry olive groves and Montepulciano vines, the produce that earned the town its place among the Città dell'Olio and Città del Vino. Centerba, the high-proof liqueur made from a hundred Maiella herbs, has been distilled here since the mid-19th century by the Toro family. What holds the town together is the relationship between the abbey below and the settlement on the hill: a monastic foundation that gave the place its name, its early authority, and, centuries later, its liqueur trade and vineyards grew up in the valley it once governed.
How to get there
From Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 2 h 8 min by car.
Ancona (AOI) is about 2 h 22 min away.
By car from the center of Pescara 47 min or Ancona 2 h 17 min.
Coming from Rome?
Coming by train into Pescara Centrale? Tocco da Casauria is about 48 min away by road.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Abbazia di San Clemente a Casauria
A national monument since 1894, standing just outside the commune in Castiglione. Founded by Louis II, its bronze doors and their 72 panels remain the reason to make the detour.
Castello Caracciolo
First raised in the 11th century, rebuilt under Frederick II and again in Renaissance style after the 1456 earthquake, dominating the centro storico.
Chiesa di Sant'Eustachio
Main church of Tocco, first recorded in 1169 and rebuilt in 18th-century style after the 1706 earthquake, named for the town's patron, with the statue of the saint inside.
Torre dell'Orologio
Late medieval clock tower of the old village, square in plan, standing at the corner of Via Oriolo and Via della Corte.
Palazzo Toro
Mid-19th-century palazzo built by Enrico Toro as family home and factory for Centerba, the herb liqueur the town is famous for, completed around 1870.
Living here
Could you live here?
Tocco da Casauria is at the end of the road.
- A village of 2,346. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Manoppello, is 35 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Chieti, a city of 48,403, is 37 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 2,346, down 12.7% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Chieti, 37 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Popoli Terme, 8 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €450 to €670 per m² to buy, €1.80 to €2.70 per m² a month to rent
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 100% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 1, Italy's highest hazard
- Pescara airport (PSR), 46 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital L'Aquila, 1 h 23 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
5% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from North Macedonia, Romania and India, against 9% across Italy. There are 254 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 51% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Pescara province ranks 40th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Popoli Terme, 8 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Terni, 111 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Pescara, 36 km away. The nearest IB school is Marymount International School Rome, 123 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Canadian College Italy, 39 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 0.86% 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 between 0.3% and 0.6% to your income tax, depending on your income, with nothing due on income under €15,000. 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. In Pescara, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.55, a meal in a pizzeria €10.62 and a man's haircut €19.36.
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. The national maps show no residents in a high or medium flood zone. 6% 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
CENTERBA
High-proof Maiella herb liqueur, first made by the pharmacist Beniamino Toro in the early 19th century, the signature product of the commune.
SAN CLEMENTE
Benedictine abbey founded in 871 by Louis II, which received the relics of Pope Clement I in 872, bronze doors with 72 figurative panels.
OLIVE & WINE
Both Città dell'Olio and Città del Vino, with Montepulciano d'Abruzzo vineyards and olive groves on the Pescara valley slopes.
Common questions
- What is Tocco da Casauria known for?
- Tocco da Casauria is a 356-meter hill town between the Pescara river and the Maiella, built around a Carolingian abbey and an herb liqueur called Centerba.
- Where is Tocco da Casauria?
- Tocco da Casauria is a comune in the province of Pescara, in Abruzzo, at 356 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Tocco da Casauria?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Pescara (PSR), about 46 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Pescara to Tocco da Casauria?
- About 47 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Tocco da Casauria?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Tocco da Casauria?
- Controguerra, Morino and Gerace.
- How many people live in Tocco da Casauria?
- 2,346 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Tocco da Casauria a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Tocco da Casauria is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Manoppello, is 35 min away. The nearest city, Chieti, is 37 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Popoli Terme, 8 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 100% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 356 m
- Population: 2,346
- Surface area: 29.67 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 Tocco da Casauria appears in
- The best hill towns in the province of PescaraPescara provincehill town7 towns · smallest 851 residents
- The best small olive oil towns within 90 minutes of PescaraNear Pescaraolive oilwithin 90 minsmall7 towns · smallest 440 residents · closest 47 min away
- The 8 best small wine towns within 90 minutes of PescaraNear Pescarawinewithin 90 minsmall8 towns · smallest 440 residents · closest 25 min away
- The best wine towns in AbruzzoAbruzzowinehidden9 towns · smallest 440 residents
- The best small hill towns inside a national park in AbruzzoAbruzzohill towninside a parksmall10 towns · smallest 440 residents
Similar
Towns like Tocco da Casauria
What all six share with Tocco da Casauria: inland, away from the coast · under 3,000 people · hill towns
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