Camerata Nuova, Italy: travel guide to the Simbruini village and the Camposecco plateau

Camerata Nuova is a small mountain village in the Metropolitan City of Rome, in Lazio, set at around 810 metres in the Monti Simbruini Regional Park on the border with Abruzzo, about 50 kilometres east of Rome. With only some 400 inhabitants, it is one of the least densely populated places near the capital and a fine gateway to a wild, wooded landscape.

For travellers searching for Camerata Nuova, the Monti Simbruini, the Camposecco plateau or the ghost village of Camerata Vecchia, it offers walking, mountain scenery and a touch of cinema history.

Camerata Vecchia and Camposecco

The present village was founded in 1859 after a terrible fire destroyed the old hilltop settlement of Camerata Vecchia, whose ruins still cling to a rocky crag at around 1,200 metres and can be reached on foot, with an imposing arch surviving among the remains of the old houses and streets. Above the village lies the karst plateau of Camposecco, whose striking scenery served as a film set for Italian "spaghetti western" movies and which today is a favourite with walkers and riders.

Nature and traditions

Set among the beech woods of the Simbruini, Camerata Nuova is a base for hiking and is especially beautiful during the autumn foliage. Local food festivals, including those devoted to the grilled braciola and the Cameratano ravioli, keep its rural traditions alive.

Practical information

Camerata Nuova lies about 50 kilometres east of Rome on the edge of Abruzzo, reached by road through the Aniene valley near Subiaco, making it an easy escape into the mountains from the capital.