Campania · Salerno
Trentinara
A Cilento balcony at 606 meters on the Cantenna cliff, called the Terrazza del Cilento, with a 1,500-meter zipline that drops 170 meters toward Paestum.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 9 min from Salerno
- Population
- 1,563
- J10°
- F11°
- M12°
- A15°
- M20°
- J26°
- J29°
- A29°
- S25°
- O20°
- N15°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Trentinara sits at 606 meters on the Cantenna cliff in the northern Cilento, forty-five kilometers from Salerno, ten from Paestum. From the cliff edge the view runs across the Sele plain, the Greek temples below, the Gulf of Salerno and Capri on a clear day, which is why the town is called the Terrazza del Cilento. The local legend explains the cliff a different way.
Saul, a bandit chief, fell in love with Isabella, daughter of the marquis. Forbidden to marry, the two jumped from the Cantenna together; the boulders below, the Preta 'ncatenata, are still pointed out as the place where their bodies fused. The Cilento in Volo zipline opened on the cliff edge: 1,500 meters of cable, 170 meters of drop, top speed 120 km/h, ending near Capaccio. The centro storico above is small, around 1,563 residents, with the Chiesa di San Nicola at the top of the ridge and a glass terrace, the Coast to Coast skywalk, suspended over the void.
How to get there
From Naples (NAP), about 1 h 53 min by car.
Bari (BRI) is about 3 h 46 min away.
By car from the center of Salerno 1 h 9 min, Naples 1 h 53 min or Bari 3 h 49 min.
Coming by train into Salerno? Trentinara 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
Terrazza del Cilento
Panoramic cliff edge looking across the Sele plain to Paestum, the Gulf of Salerno and Capri, with a glass-floor skywalk added in 2021.
Cilento in Volo
Zipline 1,500 meters long with a 170-meter drop and top speed of 120 km/h, descending from Monte Cantenna toward Capaccio.
Preta 'ncatenata
Two boulders below the cliff, identified as the place where the legendary lovers Saul and Isabella came to rest, the so-called Romeo and Juliet of the Cilento.
Chiesa di San Nicola di Mira
Parish church at the top of the centro storico, on the ridge of the Cantenna cliff, with views across the medieval lanes below.
Centro storico
Small stone village of around 1,563 residents, built along the spine of the cliff, with stepped lanes and arches typical of the inland Cilento.
Living here
Could you live here?
Trentinara is at the end of the road.
- A village of 1,563. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Capaccio Paestum, is 32 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Salerno, a city of 126,000, is 1 h 9 min by car. Further than our 30 to 60 minutes, a long way for the hospital visit or the monthly shopping.
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 1,563, down 5.6% since 2015
- Nearest city Salerno, 1 h 9 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Roccadaspide, 6 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €550 to €680 per m² to buy, €1.60 to €1.90 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Remote
- Pharmacy: none mapped
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 91% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Naples airport (NAP), 1 h 53 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Naples, 1 h 53 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
2% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania and Ukraine, against 9% across Italy. There are 214 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 53% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Salerno province ranks 90th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Roccadaspide, 6 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Salerno, 40 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Salerno, 40 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 274 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is École Francaise de Naples Alexandre-Dumas, 89 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. 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.
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. 19% 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
TERRAZZA DEL CILENTO
Cliff-edge viewpoint at 606 meters over the Sele plain and Paestum, with a glass-floor skywalk projecting over the drop.
ZIPLINE
Cilento in Volo: 1,500 meters of cable, 170 meters of drop, top speed 120 km/h, descending from Monte Cantenna toward Capaccio.
SAUL E ISABELLA
Local Romeo and Juliet legend tied to the Preta 'ncatenata boulders below the cliff, the source of Trentinara's reputation as a borgo dell'amore.
Common questions
- What is Trentinara known for?
- Trentinara is a Cilento balcony at 606 meters on the Cantenna cliff, called the Terrazza del Cilento, with a 1,500-meter zipline that drops 170 meters toward Paestum.
- Where is Trentinara?
- Trentinara is a comune in the province of Salerno, in Campania.
- What is the nearest airport to Trentinara?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Naples (NAP), about 1 h 53 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Salerno to Trentinara?
- About 1 h 9 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Trentinara?
- Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 16 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Trentinara?
- Savignano Irpino, Lama dei Peligni and Pettorano sul Gizio.
- How many people live in Trentinara?
- 1,563 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Trentinara a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Trentinara is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Capaccio Paestum, is 32 min away. The nearest city, Salerno, is 1 h 9 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Roccadaspide, 6 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 91% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 606 m
- Population: 1,563
- Surface area: 23.44 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 Trentinara appears in
- The best mountain towns within 90 minutes of SalernoNear Salernomountainwithin 90 min9 towns · smallest 720 residents · closest 55 min away
- The best small towns inside a national park in the province of SalernoSalerno provinceinside a parksmall9 towns · smallest 573 residents
- The best small mountain towns in CampaniaCampaniamountainsmall10 towns · smallest 619 residents
Similar
Towns like Trentinara
What all six share with Trentinara: mountain-valley towns · under 3,000 people · high up, between 600 and 1,000 metres
The letter
Trentinara 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 Trentinara comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Cerveteri, 308 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.