Marche · Fermo
Amandola
A Sibillini gateway at 550 meters on three hills above the Tenna valley, founded 1248 and damaged but not levelled in 2016.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Amandola is on our list
It holds Bandiera Arancione, Città del Miele and Città del Tartufo.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 33 min from Ancona
- Population
- 3,222
- J9°
- F12°
- M12°
- A15°
- M20°
- J26°
- J29°
- A29°
- S23°
- O19°
- N13°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Amandola spreads across three hills, Marrubbione, Castel Leone and Agello, on the eastern slope of the Sibillini at 550 meters, above the left bank of the Tenna river. The town was founded in 1248 from the merger of three earlier castles and grew into one of the main civic centers of the Sibillini area, with the Palazzo del Podestà built in 1352 and the tower rebuilt in 1547. The Chiesa di San Francesco, Romanesque-gothic in the lower town, preserves a twelfth-century wooden crucifix and a cloister that now houses the Museo Antropogeografico and the museum of peasant culture.
The 24 August 2016 earthquake damaged many buildings; the artworks were moved into the deconsecrated Collegiata for safekeeping while reconstruction continues. The territory is the third largest in the Fermo province and includes 48 frazioni, beekeepers, truffle hunters and the eastern access trails into the Monti Sibillini National Park.
How to get there
From Ancona (AOI), about 1 h 38 min by car.
Rimini (RMI) is about 2 h 41 min away.
By car from the center of Ancona 1 h 33 min, Perugia 1 h 44 min or Pescara 1 h 45 min.
Every town within reach of Ancona airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Chiesa di San Francesco
Romanesque-gothic church with twelfth-century wooden crucifix and a cloister that holds the Museo Antropogeografico and the museum of peasant culture.
Palazzo del Podestà
Built 1352, with the tower partially rebuilt in 1547, the civic anchor of the centro storico across the Agello hilltop.
Ex Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
Deconsecrated former collegiate church, now used to house artworks recovered from buildings damaged in the 2016 earthquake.
Abbazia dei Santi Rufino e Vitale
Romanesque abbey 8 km northeast of town, with three naves and apses and a vaulted crypt, one of the oldest religious foundations in the Sibillini.
Parco Nazionale dei Monti Sibillini
Amandola is the eastern gateway commune to the park, with trails climbing toward Monte Sibilla and the Lago di Pilato above.
Living here
Could you live here?
Amandola is at the end of the road.
- A village of 3,222. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Montegiorgio, is 33 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Ascoli Piceno, a city of 45,277, is 44 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
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 3,222, down 11.7% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Ascoli Piceno, 44 min drive
- A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €600 to €850 per m² to buy, €2.60 to €3.90 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Remote
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 89% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Perugia airport (PEG), 1 h 36 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Market day Saturday
- Regional capital Ancona, 1 h 33 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
10% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from India, Romania and the United Kingdom, against 9% across Italy. 58 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United Kingdom and Germany. There are 329 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 46% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Fermo province ranks 47th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
There is an emergency room in the comune. The nearest major one is in Ancona, 67 km away. The nearest IB school is Viterbo International School, 120 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Marche International School, 49 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 0.7% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town qualifies, for someone with a foreign pension who has lived abroad for five years: 7% on foreign income, for ten years.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Marche spends about €2,480 a month, €620 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €643 a year for water, on the Marche average.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. Under 1% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate medium for floods. 3% 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
SIBILLINI GATEWAY
Eastern entrance commune to the Monti Sibillini National Park, with trail access toward Monte Sibilla and the Lago di Pilato.
WHITE TRUFFLE
Prized white truffles from the surrounding hardwood slopes, celebrated annually at the autumn truffle fair.
2016 EARTHQUAKE
The 24 August 2016 earthquake damaged civic buildings and churches; artworks were moved to the Ex Collegiata while reconstruction continues.
Common questions
- What is Amandola known for?
- Amandola is a Sibillini gateway at 550 meters on three hills above the Tenna valley, founded 1248 and damaged but not levelled in 2016.
- Where is Amandola?
- Amandola is a comune in the province of Fermo, in Marche.
- What is the nearest airport to Amandola?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Perugia (PEG), about 1 h 36 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Ancona to Amandola?
- About 1 h 33 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Amandola?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 16 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Amandola?
- Sarnano, Sassoferrato and Pergola.
- How many people live in Amandola?
- 3,222 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Amandola a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Amandola is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Montegiorgio, is 33 min away. The nearest city, Ascoli Piceno, is 44 min away by car. There is a national health service hospital in the comune. Full fibre reaches 89% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 550 m
- Population: 3,222
- Surface area: 69.5 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.
Similar
Towns like Amandola
What all six share with Amandola: inland, away from the coast · between 3,000 and 10,000 people · hill towns
The letter
Amandola is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Amandola comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Campello sul Clitunno, 50 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.