What is Zungoli known for?

Byzantine-era cave network under the centro storico, hand-dug, used today to age Caciocavallo Podolico cheese at constant temperature. Castrum Curoli built by Leandro Curolo in the eleventh century, gave the village its name, three of four cylindrical towers still standing. Città dell'Olio for Ravece variety extra-virgin olive oil, harvested from groves on the slopes between the Ufita valley and the Daunian hills.

When is the best time to visit Zungoli?

Apr–Oct. April through June and September into October are the dry months on the Irpinia ridge, when the Ufita valley is green and the cave temperature stays even for cheese tasting. July and August touch the low thirties, lighter than the coastal heat but still drying the surrounding pasture; the tuff caves below the houses become the cool refuge. November through March is cold, with rain and occasional snow above six hundred meters, the castle silhouette appearing through low fog. The Sagra del Caciocavallo Podolico happens in early September and the Festa della Madonna delle Fratte falls in early May, pulling the diaspora home.

Zungoli is a comune in the province of Avellino, Campania region of Italy, about 69 kilometers from Foggia.

How do I get to Zungoli?

From Foggia, Zungoli is roughly 69 km by road.

Campania · Avellino

Zungoli

An Irpinia ridge between the Ufita valley and the Daunian hills, with walls above and tuff caves below the houses.

Known for

TUFF CAVES
Byzantine-era cave network under the centro storico, hand-dug, used today to age Caciocavallo Podolico cheese at constant temperature.
NORMAN CASTLE
Castrum Curoli built by Leandro Curolo in the eleventh century, gave the village its name, three of four cylindrical towers still standing.
RAVECE OIL
Città dell'Olio for Ravece variety extra-virgin olive oil, harvested from groves on the slopes between the Ufita valley and the Daunian hills.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

The festa: Sant'Anna, 26 July

Why come

Zungoli sits on the eastern edge of the province of Avellino, one of the higher villages in Irpinia, with the Ufita valley on one side and the Daunian Mountains on the other. The settlement dates to around 900 AD. Frederick II made it a universitas in 1232, by which point a Norman captain had already built the first fortification and left the place his name.

The houses of the centro storico climb the ridge around that castle, and the ground beneath them is hollow: the whole old quarter sits over a network of caves cut by hand in the Byzantine period, long before the cheese and oil that now fill them. Above ground the stone and the towers date the village; below it, the caves keep it at a constant temperature, which is why what was dug for one purpose is still put to use for another.

The Sunday letter

We haven’t written Zungoli’s letter yet.

One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.

What to see

Castello dei Susanna
The castle's three surviving towers rise over the roofline of the village, the fourth lost to the 1456 earthquake; the walls are the highest point on the ridge.
Grotte Bizantine
The cave network runs beneath the streets, low and cool, still stacked with wheels of Caciocavallo Podolico and jars of oil the way it has been used for centuries.
Centro storico medievale
Stone alleys and stairways around the castle on a 657-meter ridge, a Borgo più Bello d'Italia and Bandiera Arancione with views toward the Daunian Mountains.
Convento di San Francesco
Sixteenth-century Franciscan convent on the edge of the village, founded after a visit attributed to Saint Francis himself in 1222.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Zungoli fits in a slow Italy circuit.

Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.

Plan your trip

Living here

Population 942
Off the beaten pathi
Pharmacy: none mapped
High school within a 30-minute drive
Nearest airport Naples / Salerno, 1 h 48 min drive
Regional capital Napoli, 1 h 52 min drive

Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

Recognised as

The numbers

Elevation: 657 m
Population: 942
Surface area: 19.22 km²

On the map

Google Maps Apple Maps Directions from Foggia

These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

Close by