Roio considers itself the home of cooks, and at the entrance to the village there is a monument that says so: a monument to the cook. For generations cooks have left this place for half the world, and their descendants come back in summer for the festivals, which in a village of a hundred people draw crowds from all over Italy.
The name appears in 1309 as Royo, and probably comes from Podium, the knoll: some documents read «Podium cum Rogitello», that is Roio and little Roio, a sign that there were two settlements here with the same name. The explanations that circulate in the village are others — the Spanish rojo, «red», after an invasion of red ants, or «red with blood» after a raid of brigands — but the older documents disprove them.
Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
Near Roio del Sangro
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Places to see within 25 km
Outside Roio del Sangro, but an easy day trip away.