# Pietrabbondante and Isernia: two €6 tickets, one train

> The Samnite sanctuary at Pietrabbondante and Isernia's Paleolithic museum cost €6 each and close on Mondays. Isernia has 5 direct trains a day from Rome.

URL: https://myitalia.it/attractions/pietrabbondante-e-isernia
Last updated: 2026-09-11

The Samnite sanctuary at Pietrabbondante and the Paleolithic museum at Isernia each cost €6 full and €2 reduced, and both are closed on Mondays (2026).

## Pietrabbondante: a theater at about 1,000 meters

The Italic sanctuary at Pietrabbondante stands at about 1,000 meters on Monte Caraceno, and it's the fullest piece of architecture the Samnite Pentri left behind.

Temple B and the theater were built between the end of the 2nd and the start of the 1st century BC. The first three rows of the theater keep their stone seats, with shaped backrests and armrests carved as lion's paws.

Around them: inscriptions in Oscan, the Domus publica, and a treasury from the end of the 3rd century BC. The theater's capacity isn't published on an official source. The long version is in [the Samnite theater story](/stories/the-samnite-theatre-at-1000-metres).

## 8:45 am to 7 pm, and a shorter timetable elsewhere

The operator lists Pietrabbondante as open Tuesday to Sunday, 8:45 am to 7 pm, closed on Monday, with a €6 full and €2 reduced ticket (2026).

Some secondary sources give 10:15 am to 5:15 pm. That's probably the winter timetable, and it's not the operator's figure. Before an off-season trip, call the Direzione regionale musei nazionali Molise.

The address is Località Calcatello, 86085 Pietrabbondante.

## Isernia: a child's tooth, 586,000 years old

The National Paleolithic Museum in Isernia holds the finds from Isernia La Pineta, including a milk tooth from a child of 5 or 6, dated to 586,000 years ago.

You'll often see 700,000 years. That number circulates on tourist portals and comes from older estimates for the deposit; the state museum gives 586,000 for the tooth.

The site was discovered in 1978 and belongs to the Lower Paleolithic. The museum shows a 300-square-meter ancient ground surface with almost 6,000 original artifacts: bison and rhinoceros butchered, a bear skinned, flint flaked, bones split for marrow.

## 8:15 am to 7 pm at Via Ramiera Vecchia

The Paleolithic museum opens Tuesday to Sunday from 8:15 am to 7 pm and is closed on Monday, at Via Ramiera Vecchia, 86170 Isernia (2026).

The ticket is €6 full and €2 reduced. A search engine result showing €4 is wrong, according to the operator's page.

## Five direct trains a day from Rome

Isernia is the only town in Molise with direct trains from Rome: 5 regional trains a day from Termini, taking 2 hours 5 minutes to 2 hours 19 minutes, for €14.05 (2026).

The departures checked were 6:15 am, 9:07 am, 1:07 pm, 2:35 pm and 8:07 pm, on a single weekday, via Cassino and Vairano-Caianello. Sundays and the December timetable change can differ.

For Pietrabbondante, no bus from Isernia is verified. It's a car trip, and one worth pairing with the museum on the same day.

## 12 state sites across Molise

The state runs 12 cultural sites in Molise, spread across Campobasso, Castel San Vincenzo, Civitacampomarano, Gambatesa, Isernia, Pietrabbondante, Sepino and Venafro.

Isernia has two of them, the Paleolithic museum and the archaeological museum of Santa Maria delle Monache. Sepino has the Roman town of [Saepinum](/attractions/saepinum). For the region, see [Molise](/regions/molise) and [roots travel in Molise](/roots/in-molise).

## FAQ

### How old is the Isernia La Pineta tooth?

586,000 years. It's a milk tooth from a child aged 5 or 6, found at the Isernia La Pineta site and dated by the state museum. The 700,000-year figure on many tourist sites comes from older estimates for the deposit, not from the tooth.

### Is Pietrabbondante open on Monday?

No. The sanctuary opens Tuesday to Sunday, 8:45 am to 7 pm, according to the state museums office for Molise, and a ticket costs €6 full, €2 reduced (2026). Secondary sites list 10:15 am to 5:15 pm, probably a winter timetable, so check before an off-season trip.

### Can you get to Isernia by train from Rome?

Yes. 5 direct regional trains a day leave Roma Termini for Isernia, taking between 2 hours 5 minutes and 2 hours 19 minutes, for €14.05 (2026). It's the only town in Molise with direct trains from Rome.

### How much is the Paleolithic museum in Isernia?

€6 full and €2 reduced (2026), open Tuesday to Sunday from 8:15 am to 7 pm at Via Ramiera Vecchia. A €4 price that turns up in search results is contradicted by the operator's own page.

### How do you get from Isernia to Pietrabbondante?

No public transport link between the two is verified on an official source, so plan on a car. Pietrabbondante is in the province of Isernia, at about 1,000 meters on Monte Caraceno.

## Sources

| Fact | Source | Confidence | Valid until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Il santuario italico di Pietrabbondante, massima espressione architettonica dei Sanniti Pentri a circa 1.000 metri di quota, apre martedi-domenica 8:45-19:00 con biglietto di 6 euro intero e 2 ridotto (2026) | [Direzione regionale musei nazionali Molise - Ministero della Cultura](https://www.musei.molise.beniculturali.it/musei/santuario-italico) | medium | 2027-06-30 |
| Il Museo nazionale del Paleolitico di Isernia conserva i reperti del giacimento di Isernia La Pineta, dove e stato trovato un dente da latte di un bambino di 5-6 anni datato a 586.000 anni fa: aperto martedi-domenica 8:15-19:00, 6 euro intero e 2 ridotto (2026) | [Direzione regionale musei nazionali Molise - Ministero della Cultura](https://www.musei.molise.beniculturali.it/musei/museo-nazionale-del-paleolitico-di-isernia) | medium | 2027-06-30 |
| Lo Stato gestisce in Molise 12 luoghi della cultura, distribuiti in otto comuni: Campobasso, Castel San Vincenzo, Civitacampomarano, Gambatesa, Isernia, Pietrabbondante, Sepino e Venafro | [Direzione regionale musei nazionali Molise - Ministero della Cultura](https://www.musei.molise.beniculturali.it/musei) | medium | 2027-08-31 |
| Isernia e l'unica citta molisana raggiunta da treni diretti da Roma: cinque regionali al giorno da Roma Termini in 2 ore e 5 minuti - 2 ore e 19 minuti, a 14,05 euro (2026) | [Trenitalia (motore di ricerca soluzioni lefrecce.it)](https://www.lefrecce.it/Channels.Website.BFF.WEB/website/ticket/solutions) | medium | 2027-03-31 |

## Image

https://media.myitalia.it/media/region.molise.1600.jpg
Author: AntoRoadlover. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Italian_mountains-Monte_Miletto_Molise.jpg

## Other languages

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