What is Campo di Giove known for?

Ski slopes climbing to 2,360 meters on the western Maiella, the highest piste in Abruzzo, with the village as base at 1,064 meters. Stronghold of the Cantelmo family in the 14th century, then the Caldora, Belprato, Pignatelli, and Recupito until the abolition of feudalism. Anonymous 15th-century painter named for the polyptych he made for the village church, now in the Museo Nazionale d'Abruzzo in L'Aquila.

Where is Campo di Giove?

Campo di Giove is a comune in the province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo region of Italy, about 93 kilometers from Pescara.

Abruzzo · L'Aquila

Campo di Giove

At 1,064 meters under the southwestern Maiella, the highest village in the park, named for a Roman temple to Jupiter.

1064m

Elevation

93 km / 58 mi

Nearest hub (Pescara)

748

Population

Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Campo di Giove sits at 1,064 meters at the foot of the southwestern Maiella, the highest commune inside the Maiella National Park. The name is documented as Campo Jovis from the 4th century AD, with local tradition claiming a Roman temple to Jupiter on the site after a victory over the Paeligni. A villager called Odorisio appears in a document from January 1136. In the 14th century the village was a Cantelmo stronghold; it then passed to the Caldora, the Belprato, the Pignatelli, and finally the Recupito. Above the village, the ski station operates between 1,150 and 2,360 meters, the highest piste in Abruzzo. The mother church of Sant'Eustachio holds the statue of the patron saint. Sant'Antonino was one of the sixteen convents founded by Fra Pietro da Morrone, the hermit who would become Pope Celestine V. The Master of Campo di Giove, an anonymous 15th-century painter named for the polyptych he made for the village church, is on display at the Museo Nazionale d'Abruzzo in L'Aquila.

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Gallery

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Known for

Chiesa Madre di Sant'Eustachio
Parish church of the village patron, with the statue of Sant'Eustachio, the saint celebrated each September with the village feast.
Convento di Sant'Antonino
One of the sixteen convents founded by Fra Pietro da Morrone, the hermit who became Pope Celestine V, documented in a 1274 papal bull.
Palazzo delle Logge
16th-century palazzo with arched loggia on the main piazza, one of several Renaissance buildings from the Caldora and Pignatelli periods.
Casa Quaranta
15th-century house, one of the oldest residential buildings in Campo di Giove, with original stone door frames intact.
Stazione sciistica Campo di Giove-Majella
Ski area between 1,150 and 2,360 meters, the highest piste in Abruzzo, with the cable car climbing the western flank of the Maiella.

When to visit

Best months · Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

Campo di Giove runs on two seasons. December through March, the Maiella ski lifts run from the village edge to 2,360 meters, the highest piste in Abruzzo. June through September is the second season: temperatures stay below 25 even in August at 1,064 meters, and the Sentiero della Libertà hike, retracing the WWII escape route over the Maiella, draws walkers. April, May, October and November are quiet, with most hotels closed and the village population dropping to a few hundred resident families. The Sant'Eustachio feast in September pulls back emigrants. The cable car runs in summer for hikers to reach the high pastures.