Abruzzo · L'Aquila
Santo Stefano di Sessanio
A Medici outpost at 1,250 meters on the southern edge of Campo Imperatore, restored building by building since 1999 into Italy's first scattered hotel.
1250m
Elevation
89 km / 55 mi
Nearest hub (Pescara)
114
Population
Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar
Best time to visit
Recognised as
Why come
Santo Stefano di Sessanio sits at 1,250 meters on the southern rim of Campo Imperatore, the high karst plateau inside the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park. One hundred and fourteen people live in the commune. The village belonged to the Medici from 1579 to 1743, who built the Porta Medicea and the now-collapsed cylindrical tower, and ran the saffron and wool trades that gave the place its early wealth. By the late twentieth century most of the houses were empty. In 1999 the Italian-Swedish entrepreneur Daniele Kihlgren began buying ruined buildings and restoring them as the Sextantio Albergo Diffuso, opened in 2005. It is the project that defined the albergo diffuso model in Italy: rooms scattered across the village in restored medieval houses, with the original stone, lime plaster, and timber preserved. The 2017 earthquake brought down the surviving section of the Medici tower; reconstruction is underway. The Slow Food lentil, the lenticchia di Santo Stefano, is celebrated in the Sagra delle Lenticchie on the first weekend of September.
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Gallery
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Known for
Torre Medicea (ruderi)
Sixteenth-century cylindrical tower built under Medici rule, collapsed in the 2017 earthquake, reconstruction ongoing on its original footprint.
Borgo medievale e Sextantio
Restored medieval village housing the Sextantio Albergo Diffuso, Italy's prototype scattered hotel, opened 2005.
Palazzo delle Logge
Renaissance loggia overlooking the village square and the Medici gate, evidence of the Florentine administration of the territory.
Campo Imperatore
Karst plateau at 1,500 to 1,800 meters above the village, accessed by trail, summer pasture for sheep and the location of the lentil fields.
Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga
Santo Stefano lies inside the park, with the Medici gate and the village core protected at the boundary of the Campo Imperatore zone.
When to visit
Best months · Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
June through September is the high season for Santo Stefano. Days at 1,250 meters rarely cross twenty-five degrees, the wool and lentil fields on Campo Imperatore turn green and gold, and the trails up to the plateau are open. December through March brings snow, the Campo Imperatore plateau is one of the cross-country ski centers of the central Apennines, and the Sextantio rooms hold their candle-lit appeal best on long winter evenings. April, May, October, and November are the off months when most rooms close and the village empties. The Sagra delle Lenticchie is held on the first weekend of September.
How to get there
From Pescara, Santo Stefano di Sessanio is roughly 89 km by road. Allow about 76–107 minutes depending on traffic and route choice (autostrada vs scenic).
Drive time to the nearest gateway airports
- Rome3h 11m
- Ancona / Pescara3h 24m
- Naples / Salerno3h 54m
Elevation 1250 m
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