Umbria · Terni
Acquasparta
A hill town above the Naia valley, where a Renaissance duchy briefly became the seat of Europe's first scientific academy.
By Peter Benei
Written about. No. 73.
The letter
Acquasparta got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 48 min from Perugia
- Population
- 4,351
- J9°
- F12°
- M14°
- A17°
- M22°
- J27°
- J32°
- A31°
- S25°
- O20°
- N14°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Acquasparta sits on a hill above the Naia valley, fifty kilometers south of Perugia and thirteen north of the UNESCO town of Spoleto. The medieval upper town is walled around the palace at its center, its lanes climbing toward the piazza named for Federico Cesi. In 1588 Pope Sixtus V raised the territory to a duchy under the Cesi family, and it was Federico Cesi, the cardinal's descendant, who brought his young Accademia dei Lincei here from Rome in the early seventeenth century to convene around his cabinet of natural specimens: Galileo Galilei was among those who came, staying at the palace in 1624 to demonstrate his microscope.
Outside the walls, the Furapane and Amerino springs draw on a different history, met by the Roman censor Flaminio in the second century BC and still bottled commercially now. The town holds both threads at once, a duchy's palace turned briefly into a meeting place for the new science, and a valley whose waters were already known to antiquity. Together with the medieval upper town, they earned Acquasparta its listing among the Borghi più belli.
How to get there
From Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 1 h 39 min by car.
Ancona (AOI) is about 2 h 14 min away.
By car from the center of Perugia 48 min or Siena 2 h 11 min.
Coming from Rome?
Coming by train into Perugia? Acquasparta is about 48 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Rome Fiumicino airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Palazzo Cesi
The architectural anchor of the centro storico, where the cabinet of natural specimens once gathered by Federico Cesi drew the Accademia dei Lincei into session.
Centro storico
Medieval upper town walled around the palace, with narrow stepped lanes climbing toward Piazza Federico Cesi.
Chiesa di Santa Cecilia
Main parish church near the palace, with a Renaissance interior and altarpieces from the Umbrian school.
Sorgenti Amerino e Furapane
Springs at the edge of town, met by the Roman censor Flaminio, still bottled today under the Amerino name.
Carsulae (nearby)
Roman archaeological park six kilometers south, shared as a draw with San Gemini, with Via Flaminia paving and an honorary arch.
Living here
Could you live here?
Acquasparta is at the end of the road.
- A village of 4,351. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Todi, is 20 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Terni, a city of 106,310, is 23 min by car. Closer than our 30 to 60 minutes: handy for everything, so check the town still keeps a life of its own.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 4,351, down 9.1% since 2015
- Nearest city Terni, 23 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Spoleto, 14 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €700 to €1,000 per m² to buy, €3.50 to €6.00 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Commuter belt
- Pharmacy: none mapped
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 79% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Perugia airport (PEG), 50 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Perugia, 48 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
12% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Albania and Morocco, against 9% across Italy. 23 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United States and Ireland. There are 298 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 35% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Terni province ranks 48th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Spoleto, 14 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Terni, 15 km away. The nearest IB school is Viterbo International School, 48 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Assisi International School, 40 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Umbria spends about €2,310 a month, €550 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €677 a year for water, on the Umbria average. In Terni, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.22, a meal in a pizzeria €12.97 and a man's haircut €22.65.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone D, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 1 to April 15, up to 12 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. Under 1% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, under 1% in a high or medium one. 1% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
ACCADEMIA DEI LINCEI
Federico Cesi founded Europe's first scientific academy in 1603; Galileo demonstrated his microscope at its Acquasparta seat in 1624.
PALAZZO CESI
Late-Renaissance palace of 1561-1579 by Giovan Domenico Bianchi, seat of the Cesi duchy raised by Pope Sixtus V in 1588.
AMERINO WATERS
Mineral springs known since the second century BC, bottled commercially under the Amerino brand and shared in spirit with neighboring San Gemini.
Common questions
- What is Acquasparta known for?
- Acquasparta is a hill town at 350 meters above the Naia valley, where a Renaissance duchy briefly became the seat of Europe's first scientific academy.
- Where is Acquasparta?
- Acquasparta is a comune in the province of Terni, in Umbria.
- What is the nearest airport to Acquasparta?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Perugia (PEG), about 50 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Perugia to Acquasparta?
- About 48 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Acquasparta?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Acquasparta?
- San Gemini, Stroncone and Vitorchiano.
- How many people live in Acquasparta?
- 4,351 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Acquasparta a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Acquasparta is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Todi, is 20 min away. The nearest city, Terni, is 23 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Spoleto, 14 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 79% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 350 m
- Population: 4,351
- Surface area: 81.61 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Acquasparta appears in
Near here, with a letter
- Written about. No. 72.
Todi
Province: Perugia
A walled hill town at 398 meters on the Tiber, with Etruscan, Roman, and medieval rings stacked one above the other.
20 min by car
- Written about. No. 88.
Terni
Province: Terni
Umbria's second city, rebuilt around its steelworks, home of Saint Valentine and seven kilometers from the Cascata delle Marmore.
23 min by car
- Written about. No. 82.
Narni
Province: Terni
Narni is a hilltop town on a travertine outcrop above the Nera valley whose Latin name, Narnia, gave C.S. Lewis a word for a fictional kingdom he never set foot in.
23 min by car
The letter
Acquasparta got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.