What is San Donato Val di Comino known for?

Pass at 1,538 meters above the village, the most photographed beech forest in central Italy in October. Center documenting the 1940 internment of foreign Jews and the medieval Jewish community of the village. Last Lazio village before the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park, the access point for the Camosciara trails.

Where is San Donato Val di Comino?

San Donato Val di Comino is a comune in the province of Frosinone, Lazio region of Italy, about 106 kilometers from Latina.

Lazio · Frosinone

San Donato Val di Comino

A medieval village at 728 meters at the gateway to Forca d'Acero, the pass into the Abruzzo National Park.

728m

Elevation

106 km / 66 mi

Nearest hub (Latina)

1,888

Population

May–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

San Donato Val di Comino sits at 728 meters on the eastern wall of the Val di Comino, the last Lazio village before the Forca d'Acero pass crosses into Abruzzo at 1,538 meters. The Samnite town of Cominium stood near here until the Romans destroyed it in 293 BC. The current village formed around the Church of San Donato in the 12th century. The Jewish community here is among the better-documented in southern Italy: forced to wear the badge in the 13th century, expelled and readmitted through the medieval period, and in 1940 the village became one of the internment locations chosen by the Fascist regime for foreign Jews, a story documented in the Casa della Memoria. The position at the foot of the Forca d'Acero pass makes the village the standard starting point for climbing into the beech forests and the Pescasseroli plateau on the Abruzzo side.

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Gallery

9 photos · scroll →

Known for

Centro storico
Medieval village at 728 meters, built around the Church of San Donato from the 12th century, encircled by Bourbon-era walls.
Chiesa di San Donato
Parish church on the site of the 12th-century original, the nucleus around which the village formed.
Casa della Memoria
Documentation center on the 1940 internment camp for foreign Jews and on the village's medieval Jewish community.
Forca d'Acero
Mountain pass at 1,538 meters above the village, the road into the Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo and the famous autumn beech forest.
Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise
Italy's second-oldest national park, with trails from the village toward Camosciara, Opi and Pescasseroli.

When to visit

Best months · May–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

May through October is the active season. June and July bring the high pastures into production and the trails dry. September and October are the visual peak: the beech forests of Forca d'Acero turn red and gold, drawing day-trippers from Rome and Naples. August is hot in the lower valley but pleasant at 728 meters. November through April is quiet and often snowed in; the pass to Pescasseroli closes regularly for snow. The village's Sagra del Marrocco, a chestnut and chickpea bread festival, runs in early October. The walk up to the Forca d'Acero meadows is best done at first light in autumn before the cars arrive.

How to get there

From Latina, San Donato Val di Comino is roughly 106 km by road. Allow about 91–127 minutes depending on traffic and route choice (autostrada vs scenic).

Drive time to the nearest gateway airports