Tuscany · Arezzo
Anghiari
A walled medieval town over the upper Tiber valley, where Florence beat Milan in 1440 and Leonardo started the fresco he never finished.
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 17 min from Perugia
- Population
- 5,384
Known for
BATTAGLIA DEL 1440
Florentine victory over Milan on 29 June 1440 in the plain below town, commissioned as Leonardo's Palazzo Vecchio fresco in 1505 and never finished.
MOSTRA MERCATO
Spring craft fair filling the centro storico with Valtiberina artisans every year since 1976, the working continuation of the town's textile and woodwork traditions.
PALAZZO TAGLIESCHI
State museum holding Jacopo della Quercia's wooden Madonna, Della Robbian terracottas and a sixteenth-century table organ that still plays.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J8°
- F11°
- M13°
- A16°
- M21°
- J26°
- J31°
- A30°
- S24°
- O19°
- N13°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Anghiari sits on a spur above the upper Tiber valley, the Valtiberina, between Arezzo and the Umbrian border. The walled centro storico is intact, the streets running steeply from the Porta Sant'Angelo up to the Castello. On 29 June 1440 the Florentine army defeated a Milanese force under Niccolò Piccinino in the plain below town, a battle that secured Florence's hold over central Italy and gave Leonardo da Vinci the commission for the Palazzo Vecchio fresco he started in 1505 and never finished.
The painting, the Lost Leonardo, is presumed still to be hidden behind a Vasari wall in Florence. Palazzo Taglieschi in the centro storico holds a polychrome wooden Madonna by Jacopo della Quercia and a working sixteenth-century table organ. The Mostra Mercato dell'Artigianato della Valtiberina has filled the streets with craft producers every spring since 1976, a working continuation of the textile and woodwork traditions that supported the town through the twentieth century.
The Sunday letter
Anghiari 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 every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Anghiari comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.
Read on
Anghiari in our articles
The best hill towns that live slowly within 90 minutes of Perugia6 towns, Anghiari among them.
The best hill towns in the province of Arezzo7 towns, Anghiari among them.
The 9 best hill towns that live slowly in Toscana9 towns, Anghiari among them.
The prettiest hidden villages with a serious restaurant within 90 minutes of Perugia9 towns, Anghiari among them.
How to get there
From Rimini (RMI), about 2h 14m by car.
Bologna (BLQ) is about 2h 26m away.
By car from the centre of Perugia 1h 17m, Florence 1h 27m or Siena 1h 41m.
Coming by train into Perugia? Anghiari is about 1h 20m away by road.
What to see
Palazzo Taglieschi
Sixteenth-century palace in the centro storico, now the Museo Statale di Palazzo Taglieschi, with a wooden Madonna by Jacopo della Quercia and a working table organ.
Castello di Anghiari
Medieval fortified core at the top of the town, walls and gates still intact, the visual anchor of the silhouette from the valley below.
Campo della Battaglia
The plain at the foot of the walls where Florence defeated Milan on 29 June 1440, the battle that inspired Leonardo's lost Palazzo Vecchio fresco.
Museo della Battaglia
Civic museum in Palazzo del Marzocco dedicated to the 1440 battle and the Leonardo cartoon, with weapons, banners and contemporary documents.
Badia di San Bartolomeo
Eleventh-century Camaldolese abbey at the lower edge of the centro storico, with frescoes and a thirteenth-century crucifix attributed to the school of Cimabue.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Anghiari fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
We recommend
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Da AlighieroRistorante
Da Alighiero has a Michelin Bib Gourmand to its name.
Il Cappello di PagliaRistorante
A Slow Food snail, at Il Cappello di Paglia.
Through the year
What happens here
Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.
Palio della Vittoria di Anghiarihistorical re-enactment
usually held in June. Borghi Toscana - Eventi
I Centogusti dell'Appennino ad Anghiarifood festival
usually held across October and November. Borghi Toscana - Eventi
Living here
- Population 5,384
- In-betweeni
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Nearest airport Rimini, 2 h 14 min drive
- Regional capital Firenze, 1 h 27 min drive
Common questions
- What is Anghiari known for?
- Anghiari is a walled medieval town at 430 meters over the upper Tiber valley, where Florence beat Milan in 1440 and Leonardo started the fresco he never finished.
- Where is Anghiari?
- Anghiari is a comune in the province of Arezzo, in Tuscany.
- What is the nearest airport to Anghiari?
- Rimini (RMI), about 2h 14m by car.
- How long is the drive from Perugia to Anghiari?
- About 1h 17m by car.
- When is the best time to visit Anghiari?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
- Is there a sagra or a festival in Anghiari?
- Yes. Palio della Vittoria di Anghiari and I Centogusti dell'Appennino ad Anghiari. June is when the first of them falls.
- Which other towns are like Anghiari?
- Citerna, Poppi and Fosdinovo.
- How many people live in Anghiari?
- 5,384 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
The numbers
- Elevation: 430 m
- Population: 5,384
- Surface area: 130.92 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.
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